Funeral service providers, from funeral directors to celebrants to manufacturers, now have a one-stop resource to attract new customers, connect with vendors and keep current on industry news. AbsentFriends.com, just launched, is a dual-audience web site serving those in the funeral trade as well as consumers of funeral services. This breakthrough concept requires no software purchase and provides funeral professionals with the only financially accessible site for advertising, marketing and operational tools.
AbsentFriends.com is the visionary effort of businesswoman Jane Bourke and funeral director Richard Ireton. They created the site to bring together trade professionals with each other and with consumers. ?AbsentFriends.com is a resource unlike any other and truly on the cutting edge,? comments Bourke. ?It coordinates in one virtual location the elements for successfully operating within the funeral trade.? It also gives the bereaved a unique resource during a most difficult time by providing the supports they need, such as access to information from trade professionals, free obituaries and memorial sites with photo galleries, videos, even archiving of funeral webcasts.
The site serves the funeral trade on several key levels. One impressive example is the Products and Services Directory, with more than 70 categories. A premium listing within the directory is available at just $89 for six months, allowing advertisers to create multiple web pages and photo galleries. Additionally, they may submit an article on their new or innovative products at no additional charge. ?Other ventures require the purchase of software and impose ongoing service fees,? notes Bourke. ?Our goal is to make absentFriends.com the funeral industry?s most used ? and useful ? trade resource, at a price that is affordable for all.?
Affordability and quality are the hallmarks of this unique site. AbsentFriends Trade Association (AFTA) membership is available at a modest $55 annually, giving members direct, web-based access to tools designed to increase their revenue, such as:
? Templates for funeral service presentations
? Complimentary obituaries up to 400 letters,
? $45 webcasting with no additional charges or commitment
?Technology has made it possible for absentFriends.com to serve the global funeral trade, giving people around the globe equal and easy access,? states Bourke. The funeral trade is invited to visit absentFriends.com to take advantage of the many business-boosting options available through the site.
About AbsentFriends.com directors, Jane Bourke and Richard Ireton:
Jane brings to the project her experience in sales and marketing, product development, manufacturing and distribution.
Dick, a funeral director, owns two funeral homes and a crematorium. He has much experience in international disaster response and has worked on many international tragedies, including the Bali bombings and the tsunami in Thailand.
