Who do you want to reach?
By Tim Thompson in Advertising and Promotion. Posted on May 5th, 2008
One of the key laws of marketing is that not everybody will buy your products or services; some will and they probably will have shared traits and characteristics. For example
- Basic demographic information such as age, sex, and language
- Geographic location ...
- understanding customers
- being prepared to serve customers
- helping an angry customer
- listening to customers
- being responsible for your actions ...
- The first time a man looks at an advertisement, he does not see it.
- The second time, he does not notice it.
- The third time, he is conscious o...
Nothing happens until somebody makes a sale.
By Tim Thompson in Advertising and Promotion. Posted on February 25th, 2008
Many people use the words “ marketing “ and “ sales “ as if they meant the same thing. They don’t. In fact, understanding the difference between the two is essential to success. Marketing consists of getting a mutually beneficial exchange to take place between a buyer and a seller. Marketing ...
7 Actionable Ideas
By Tim Thompson in Advertising and Promotion. Posted on February 14th, 2008
A successful marketing effort requires a combination of theory and actionable ideas. We have discussed the theoretical aspects of marketing over the last several months, so I thought it would be timely to offer seven ( 7 ) actionable ideas. These ideas can be implemented to au...
Marketing 105
By Tim Thompson in Advertising and Promotion. Posted on February 7th, 2008
Are you spending money on advertising and not getting the results you hoped for? Are you part of the statistics that indicate that somewhere between 50% - 90% of your advertising is wasted? Are you looking for a bigger bang for your buck?
Let’s take ...
A 7 Point Marketing Plan
By Tim Thompson in Advertising and Promotion. Posted on January 24th, 2008
Over the last several months, we have talked about marketing from the perspective of media choices, creative content, tracking results, and the other components outside of the advertising mix. But how does it all get started? The first key to success is the creation of a marketing plan. Why a...
Fact: “OSHA provides training free, yet funeral homes are fined every week for not doing their requ
By Gary Finch in OSHA Safety and Compliance. Posted on January 15th, 2008
I would contend that most funeral directors are unconsciously unaware of OSHA requirements. In the safety business, it is sometimes referred to as the Helen Keller syndrome. It suggests that employers and managers have no desire to know what works, see how anything works, o...
Marketing 103
By Tim Thompson in Advertising and Promotion. Posted on January 7th, 2008
“Marketing is absolutely every bit of contact your business has with any segment of the public “
JAY CONRAD LEVINSON
When we discuss the subject of marketing, we tend to focus on the advertising component, which is only one part o...
Confessions of a copywriter
By Kim Stacey in Innovative Independents. Posted on December 31st, 2007
December has brought a flurry of calls from funeral directors, many of whom commented on my most recent article in the offline publication, Mortuary Management. Published in December’s issue, the article, Making the Most of Your Yellow Page Ad addresses the fi...
Marketing 102
By Tim Thompson in Advertising and Promotion. Posted on December 17th, 2007
It’s what you say, not who you say it to that will determine your success in advertising.
Roy Williams / The Wizard of Ads
In the last article, we covered one of the key elements of your marketing efforts, that is, advertis...
Escape from excellence - an NFDA exercise in futility - OPED
By Gary Finch in OPED. Posted on December 14th, 2007
As of November 1, 2007, the National Funeral Directors Association entered into an agreement with Stericycle. It will be their job to operate the NFDA OSHA support line.
This job was initially manned by Jay Burnside. Jay was an embalmer and a safe...
Reaching for Excellence in 2008
By Kim Stacey in Advertising and Promotion. Posted on December 11th, 2007
I’ve got to tell you, I get really excited during this last month of the year. Not because of Christmas, not because I’m hosting a grand New Year’s Eve party. What else is there, you ask?
I get excited because the New Year is coming! I just love the potential of it ...
Cremation Garden, Trail Design Ideas For Spring Planning
By Stephen Hartman in Cremation. Posted on December 7th, 2007
While the rising cremation rate is affecting each segment of the death care industry in different ways, some say that it's perhaps the cemeterians who have the most to gain from successfully overcoming the challenges presented by this growing trend.
And ...
How Does Our Exposure to Formalin Compare to Workers in Other Industries - OPED
By Gary Finch in OSHA Safety and Compliance. Posted on December 5th, 2007
A survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) compared the number of workers with specific chemical exposure between various industries. For example, it compares how many Registered Nurses are exposed to formalin with how many Funeral Directors are exposed. In ...
Marketing 101
By Tim Thompson in Advertising and Promotion. Posted on November 29th, 2007
Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half.
John Wanamaker (1838 - 1922) (attributed)One of the biggest challenges that we face as funeral and cemetery marketers is the ability to ascert...
Avoiding confusion
By Kim Stacey in Grief Counseling. Posted on November 26th, 2007
How many times have you heard a story like this?
My dearest friend in the entire world found herself in a quandary this week. Her father-in-law passed away, and she needed to decide how to handle the “in lieu of flowers” statement within the death notice/obituary in the local paper. ...
Cremation alternatives 101: burial at sea
By Andrew Whitaker in Cremation. Posted on November 9th, 2007
I alluded in past articles to the plethora of unique alternatives to the standard “urn on the mantle” for those families who choose cremation. One set of alternatives revolves around burial at sea, which, though not a new idea, has recently presented some creative new options for those famil...
2007 NFDA Survey Results
By Pam Kleese in Advertising and Promotion. Posted on November 5th, 2007
Funeral Professionals Weigh In at NFDA
In the past few years Homesteaders has taken a more active role in the pursuit of knowledge about customers and consumers alike. It seemed only fitting to seize the opportunity at the NFDA convention in October to seek out opinions...Why relational people fail in competitive markets
By Alan Creedy in Grief Counseling. Posted on October 29th, 2007
The experience of the death of my father several years ago did not give me new insight into the value of funeral service, but it did sharpen my vision of the role played by the practitioner in the process.
As I expected, the “value added” came in the form of an intangible: the p...
Pre-need sales Prospecting vs. Presenting "How do you keep it all in balance?"
By Christopher Kuhnen in Preneed Vision. Posted on October 23rd, 2007
Pre-need Sales Prospecting vs. Presenting. It’s a constant balancing act that every Advance Funeral Planning Professionals must master in order to survive and flourish in the funeral pre-planning profession. Spend too much time in one area and ultimately your income suffers. Every day it’s a ...
The baby boomers and green deathcare
By Andrew Whitaker in Funerals and the Environment. Posted on October 19th, 2007
The leading edge of the largest generation of Americans is approaching its predicted lifespan, and simultaneously beginning to make end-of-life decisions, including a growing interest in and participation in eco-friendly burial. Though the Baby Boomer generation is well known for valuing traditi...
Funeral home web sites
By Kim Stacey in Advertising and Promotion. Posted on October 18th, 2007
Part Two: The Overall Design Process
Part 1: Online Brochures, or Engaging Educators?
Part 2: The Overall Design Process
Part 3: The Power is in the Prose
Part 4: Don’t Neglect Your Web Stats
________________________________We...
The new reality for independent funeral directors: The big boys are tough competition ? and about to
By Doug Hernan in Preneed Vision. Posted on October 17th, 2007
A decade ago, many independent funeral-home owners were practically begging a public consolidator to acquire a nearby firm. The boastful taunts took on a familiar tone: “The best thing that every happened to my firm was SCI buying my competition. Now, half the families that used to go ther...
What is your sword in the stone?
By Tim Thompson in Advertising and Promotion. Posted on April 7th, 2008
Any marketing effort requires several basic components, not the least of which is a positioning strategy. Positioning means determining who you are selling your products or services to, then giving your offering a unique place, or position, in that person’s mind. In other words...
Is customer satisfaction good enough?
By Tim Thompson in Advertising and Promotion. Posted on March 31st, 2008
The challenge for the 21st century is not just serving customers, it’s . . .
Marketing 108
By Tim Thompson in Advertising and Promotion. Posted on March 10th, 2008
Did you know that frequency is the key to getting results in advertising?