For more than 35 years, deathcare professionals have trusted Terrybear Urns & Memorials to deliver quality best selling products supported by outstanding service. This year, just in time for the 2022 National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) International Convention & Expo, Terrybear is introducing unprecedented improvements to their MemoryofaLifetime.com digital portal, giving you and the families you serve the ability to place personalized orders anytime, from anywhere.
“We’re enhancing our online ordering system to make everything significantly easier and less stressful for funeral homes and funeral directors, specifically in regards to ordering the cremation or memorial products,” explains Nikki Nordeen, Terrybear’s Director of Marketing & Business Development.
In addition to these exciting improvements, Terrybear is offering FREE best in class engraving to funeral homes signing up for access to the MemoryofaLifetime.com portal before December 31, 2022. Trust us … it’s an offer you don’t want to miss!
Revenue-driving enhancements
Terrybear introduced its online platform, MemoryofaLifetime.com, in 2019, to give funeral homes easy access to the products in their extensive catalog. Once online, Terrybear’s QuickProofs™ technology allowed directors the ability to create and share an engraving proof with a family while they’re still in the arrangement room.
As more and more families took advantage of Terrybear’s convenient proofing and ordering system, the company listened to feedback from customers and distributors, and immediately began working on the enhancements that will be introduced this month at NFDA.
“One of the things we’ve heard in the last several years is that families are ordering their urns online; they’re going to Amazon, they’re going to Etsy,” Nordeen says. “We wanted to offer funeral homes the ability to have their own ecommerce site so they can compete with the Amazons and the Etsys and offer a great, beautiful user experience — and not lose those sales to online vendors.”
Terrybear’s new and improved MemoryofaLifetime.com portal allows you to customize and brand the site and make it your own, complete with your own logo, unique URLs, and your firm’s retail pricing.
“The site looks like it’s part of your funeral home’s website,” says Nordeen. “You can upload your retail prices so the families will see all of the pricing that matches exactly the way you want to sell it. It’s not like we choose a price and you make a commission. With the new site, you choose 100% how much money you want to make. It’s 100% in the hands of the funeral home.”
The new pricing feature also helps you adhere to The Funeral Rule and ensures that your online pricing matches your General Price List.
“We just really want to put that option in the hands of the funeral homes,” Nordeen adds.
Memories of a Lifetime made much easier
Once you’ve customized your Terrybear Memories of a Lifetime portal, you can create a unique URL to email to families who just aren’t ready to select a product during the arrangement session. This fantastic 24/7 online shopping option allows families to shop from the comfort of their own homes on their own timetable. When an order is placed, you’ll receive a notification and details so you can still manage the order.
“If families don’t have all the people there at the arrangement or if it’s just feeling too stressful for them, they can order from home,” says Nordeen. “The order still runs through the traditional channels: The family orders from the funeral home, the funeral home orders from the distributor, and the distributor orders from Terrybear. We honor the traditional channels, but allow the families to put more into their own hands.”
Families who take advantage of your branded MemoriesofaLifetime.com retail shopping experience will be able to use Terrybear’s QuickProofs™ technology to craft, preview, and approve their own personalized engraved message on the products they choose from the vast selection of urns and memorials. You and your families can also filter the selection by products that are in stock at the time of the order.
“Our tagline with these enhancements is AAA: Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere,” adds Nordeen. “Now anyone — you, your employees, or a family member — can create personalized, fully-proofed memorial products and easily place an order anytime, 24/7, from anywhere.”
You don’t have to wait for NFDA
Nordeen explains that Terrybear’s team is personally introducing these enhancements to current customers one-on-one, enabling the new features and making themselves available to train your employees and answer any questions you may have.
If you’re not already a Terrybear customer, there’s no better time to join the Terrybear family and take advantage of free engraving for your first 60 days. To get started, simply reach out to your Terrybear regional or national distributor, visit www.terrybear.com, or stop by the Terrybear booth at NFDA in Baltimore to talk with Nikki and the Terrybear team.
