BATESVILLE, IN., June 27, 2018 – As a leading partner to funeral homes, Batesville is committed to providing solutions to support funeral professionals in helping families honor their loved ones in as many ways as possible. Recognized for innovative product personalization, the company also offers enhanced capabilities on its website platform to allow families to add personal touches at every step of their journey, starting with the obituary.
“Families find comfort in sharing the stories and relationships that made their loved one special, and themed obituaries do that by combining powerful imagery with photos that evoke memories and personal connections,” said Troy Turner, senior vice president, sales and marketing at Batesville. “The obituary becomes more than just an announcement; it starts to build the foundation for a truly personal experience for the family, friends and community.”
Themed obituaries are available as a standard (no-cost) feature on Batesville’s Web Professional platform. Families can provide personal photos or choose from a gallery of more than 200 unique images, with a variety of themes, color schemes, styles, and designs to create a compelling backdrop for the individual’s life story.
Response from families and funeral directors to the personalized obituaries has been tremendous. In the first six months, nearly 24,000 families have created themed obituaries using images from the gallery, or using their own personal photos. Similar to other forms of personalization, religion and patriotism are among the most popular themes, along with nature and flowers.
The success was not surprising, according to Turner. “Photos and videos are the primary ways today’s social media-savvy consumers share what’s going on in their lives. Allowing families to tell their loved ones’ stories in this same way makes the experience more relatable.”
“Batesville’s obituary themes are fast becoming one of the most popular website features,” said Scott Macy of Hultgren Funeral Home in Wheaton, Illinois. “Now, when discussing memorial themes with a family, the question is never IF they want to personalize their obituary page, but simply which photo they want to use. It’s just a natural outflow of what they are doing every day with their phones and computers.”
A quick look at the statistics shows the power of the obituary – not just to the family, but to the funeral home as well. More than 98% of visitors to a funeral home’s website view an obituary. More than half of them are viewing the site from a mobile device, and another 13% are using a tablet. Responsive design principles, which are used by Batesville, allow you to provide the best experience for all visitors, regardless of their device.
“We’re proud of the advancements we’ve made in providing highly functional websites that support the funeral home and the family, and excited to unveil new value-added features throughout the summer,” said Turner. The company is launching four new responsive designs this month, giving funeral homes additional choices to distinguish their websites, and has two major enhancements coming in July and August.
To learn how you can offer families the benefits of personalized obituaries, call the Batesville Technology Solutions team at 877.287.8661 or send an email to Technology.Sales@Batesville.com.
ABOUT BATESVILLE
Batesville (www.Batesville.com), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE:HI), is the leader in the North American death care industry, offering a comprehensive portfolio of Burial Solutions, Cremation Options, Memorial Solutions and Technology Solutions. For more than 125 years, Batesville has been dedicated to helping families honor the lives of those they love®. Batesville’s innovation has changed the face of funeral service, from advancements in manufacturing and quality to patented features and memorialization offerings, technology and web-based solutions, and profit-enhancing merchandising systems. Our history of manufacturing excellence, product innovation, superior customer service and reliable delivery has helped Batesville become – and remain – a market leader.
