Until recently, funeral directors and all other funeral service professionals had to actively seek out other progressives to be informed on the “latest and greatest.” This has all changed because of the raw power of the internet and other technology applications. Now, everyone in funeral service needs to be a progressive. This is what families are demanding, and the future of your business depends on this mindset.
In today’s fast paced environment you can stay informed anywhere in the world with laptops, iPads, and Smartphones. Not to mention that all of these devices and applications are being used by the people you serve. The phrase, “My families are not ready for that type of technology” should be permanently erased from your book of favorite sayings. The widow of the WWII Veteran might not be on her Smartphone (or maybe she is?), but someone of influence within the family hierarchy is completely comfortable with these technologies. Here’s the kicker, they’re counting on you to make them a part of the funeral experience.
Technology has long been feared in many instances within funeral service, but no more. 2012 brings the opportunity for you and your staff to embrace these technologies, which I promise will improve your business and family satisfaction. Improving your business economically and aesthetically; in my opinion both equally important.
Technology is a broad term and can be attached to many different events throughout the day of a funeral director. Twice a month here at Connecting Directors, I hope to bring you meaningful content to help you separate the meaningful from the white noise. Focusing on not just particular products, but a new philosophy and approach to the world of technology within funeral service. Spending time reviewing who has the best DVD product, or the best websites is not something you’ll find here. Instead, you will find content that discusses why and how these different technologies are important to you, the families you serve, and your business as a whole.
The best to everyone in funeral service in 2012, let’s make it a great year!
Jon O’Hara is a Regional Sales Director for Tributes.com in the Midwest and a licensed funeral director and embalmer in Michigan. Tributes.com is the funeral service’s premier obituary classified partner – redefining the obituary as an important funeral service product that drives family loyalty, revenue and leads. Since the launch of Tributes.com in the fall of 2008, the brand has rapidly developed and is currently relied on monthly by 2 million consumers, thousands of funeral homes, and 100 television stations across the country to locate and publish obituary news.
This article is spot-on. As scary as some of the new technologies can sound, the reality is that most of them were designed with simplicity in mind. That’s why a 5 year old is able to use an iPad so intuitively.
Great stuff!
Kudos!
The nice thing about many of these new technologies is many are not so new anymore. They have worked out the bugs and made them more user friendly. Tested and proven has been done for you! Now is the time to implement and embrace.
Good points Jon. I look forward to reading your future columns.
Technology isn’t something the funeral industry should be afraid of, instead it should be a new cost-effective marketing tool that needs to be embraced.The fastest growing group on Facebook are seniors. http://www.allfacebook.com/facebook-seniors-2011-10Colin FirthFounder – mysendoff.comSocial media for pre-planning
Loved your work in Kings speech.
Not only should the funeral homes not be afraid of tech they need to understand the families
expectations. Meet and exceed the digital expectations that they have of the other professional services they interact with everyday. The point that we think we know our families or town or this part of the country are just not forward thinking. Take a look around or the world will pass you by.
Thank you for the comments, looking forward to contributing here!
Look forward to reading more Jon! Being up on technology is critical!