How to Market Affordable Funerals and Cremations
It is no secret that the cremation rate is on the increase in the United States as CANA has reported. Add this to other significant trends such as the increase in an aging population, increasing death rate, changing attitudes to death and a global recession, and the time is definitely ripe for marketing low cost funeral options.
In my observations of the funeral industry I have seen more businesses emerge online, many even operate without a fixed funeral premises, and merely coordinate all services using providers facilities nearest to the place of death. This saves tremendously on overheads, a saving then passed onto their customers.
These funeral professionals have opted to secure a niche market for simple, low cost direct cremations and burials. No fuss, no ancillary costs, just a basic dignified send off.
Now I know there are still many within the funeral industry who refuse to acknowledge that their business is changing. Those 'traditionalists' that believe people want pomp, grandeur and a "right good send off" for a small fortune. The total cost of a full traditional funeral can amount to as much as $15,000, and will be one of the biggest expenses we make in a lifetime!
Yet at US Funeral Online we see hundreds of searches a day related to low cost funerals and cremation. When the cost of a funeral is very important, understandably at a time of distress many will turn to the tool and anonymity of the Internet, to explore their options.
I think it is an interesting dilemma for funeral businesses as to how they can effectively market their services. We still treat death as a taboo subject, I even read a story this week, where residents complained about a funeral home in Georgia erecting a sign advertising their funeral home on the road to a cemetery. I think it would be fair to say that most funeral businesses still rely upon directories such as Superpages and word-of-mouth locally. Although a great many funeral homes now operate a web site, these can often be rather poor and incomplete 'shop windows'. I find few funeral web sites that rate in search engines for valuable key word traffic. I have never yet seen a funeral home using a geo-located Adword campaign to gain them visitors.
Funeral businesses that do not harness the opportunity of the Internet, even in the death care industry, do so at their own peril. Whilst reputation and recommendation will continue to be mainstays in terms of repeat and referred business, new business can certainly be gained from an effective web presence. With further advancements in technology, our access to the Internet is moving into all fractions of our lives. Most people these days go from using a computer at home, to an iphone on the move, to being online at work. Seeking out that dusty directory tome is becoming an archaic method.
DFS Memorials is a national network of local funeral providers that believe dignified funerals should be simple and affordable.
To join DFS Memorials and become the recommended low cost provider for your local area, visit our membership page.
In addition to organic search engine traffic, DFS Memorials is affiliated exclusively with US Funerals Online, the nation's most trusted funeral home directory.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sara_Marsden