5 Mistakes to Avoid While Running a Funeral Home
Running a funeral home means that you will provide a service to families who have lost a loved one. They rely on the emotional connection that you can provide and the care that you can give to their family member or friend. While operating a funeral home, you might think that your job is quite simple as the tasks that you would typically perform include embalming and preparing each body for a viewing or funeral service. However, there are some mistakes that you want to avoid making in order to provide the best care that you can to the families you serve.
Social Media
Although there are many businesses that utilize social media in order to expand, you want to avoid advertising too much about the funeral industry. Some people might not want to think about the deaths that they have encountered while others don’t want to think about planning for the death of someone they love. If you do decide to use social media to connect with those who might be interested in your funeral home and the services you provide, choose one or two sites instead of posting on numerous pages so that you can monitor the conversations and the information that you share.
Response Time
Make sure you respond to the complaints and concerns of families. If they see that something isn’t quite right with a loved one, try to do everything possible to make the situation correct so that the family is happy. You want to keep negative reviews to a minimum as these can quickly get out of control and play a part in decreasing your business, especially if people post negative comments on social media sites. Even if there is a positive review, you want to thank the person for leaving their remarks so that they spread the name of your business to others.
Value
One of the most common mistakes that you could make when you run a funeral home is not putting a value that’s high enough on the services that you provide. Although you might want to comfort those who have lost family members and friends, you still need to earn a living so that you can provide for yourself and your own family. If you can adjust the value of your services correctly, then you’ll be able to work with one or two other people instead of a large staff, allowing you the time to offer comfort and provide the services that you desire.
Learn
If you make a mistake, you need to learn from it instead of pushing it aside. This is a common ordeal that many funeral home owners face. They think that they can handle situations in any way that they like instead of looking at the big picture and what the family wants. You won’t know everything about the business when you get started, and it’s alright to admit that you’re learning. However, if you don’t learn from your mistakes, then you’re likely not going to be a success in the business. Apologize if you’ve upset a customer, and try to do everything possible to right any wrongs that could have been committed so that there are no hard feelings.
All in the Details
There are some issues that might seem a bit petty, but these issues shouldn’t be ignored. If you let them go, then it could signal that you really don’t care about the quality of the services that you provide. Some people might have questions about information you publish while others might make it a point to confront you about errors that you might make. No question should be left unanswered, and you shouldn’t think that even the smallest concern is one that shouldn’t be dealt with right away. If you’re positive about situations, then your customers will likely be more receptive to the issue without becoming agitated or angry, which could mean a positive word of mouth advertisement for your business.
