Video: Facebook Ads – Tips & Resources
February 18, 2010
Here is a 9:35 minute video about how you can use Facebook Ads to “Narrow-Cast” – opposite of Broadcast – to connect with specific markets. Just to let you know, if you are interested getting more training about Facebook Ads at the end of the video I recommend that you register for Ryan Deiss’ Facebook Ad Power program. Even if you don’t register for his program, you will get some great gems from both my video and his.
www.FuneralFuturist.com/Facebook-Ad-Power
Disclosure: If you register for Ryan’s program through the link above, I will receive a referral fee – but also you will receive free admission to my Funeral Facebook Ads Workshop in March.
Still have questions about Facebook Ads?
Let me know if you have any questions about Facebook Ads, please email them to me at robin@funeralfuturist.com OR leave a comment below…
Thanks.
…Hepp
John Callaghan: 2010 Strategic Marketing Plan
January 11, 2010
JUST RELEASED! John Callaghan’s 2010 Edition of his Strategic Marketing Plan
You’ve heard of John Callaghan, haven’t you?
To refresh your memory, he’s one of the industry’s top speakers on funeral home marketing.
In his book, “Strategic Marketing Plan for Funeral Service Professionals” he reveals how funeral homes should market in during tough economic times.
Why am I telling you this?
Recently I convinced John to allow me to grill him during a LIVE 120-minute teleseminar!
It actually went for 2 1/2 hours.
We talked for just over an hour about his book and then we tackled dozens of questions that the attendees submitted.
You can read a partial list of questions below.
Now you can get the Book, Transcripts of the Interview, and the Recordings INSTANTLY – in download format!
89 Pages of Funeral-Specific Marketing Advice
and over 2.5 hours of recordings
(delivered immediately after you purchase below)
$147.00 Now Only $97
Save $50.00
Still Undecided? Have a Free Sample…
Here is the First Chapter of the Book
Here is a sample of the Interview
$147.00 Now Only $97
Save $50.00
-
Partial List of Questions that are answered on the Recordings
- Could you discuss the use of tasteful humor in funeral home marketing?
- Telephones, yellow page ads – How do you set yourself apart?
- How do I market my firm against the “low price firm” in the market place?
- What are your thoughts on marketing during tough economic times? Is it actually a time when you can get more bang for your buck, attract a wider audience etc?
- How do we use permission marketing in funeral service, especially with the increasing use of online guest books and internet communications with our customers?
- With a downtown location and smaller parking area, how do you compete with funeral home not downtown and more parking area?
- What is the most effective advertising in a small rural community? Should we sponsoring and attending community events, sponsor information seminars, weekly newspaper ads, local magazines etc?
- Are there new words in the death care language that are more acceptable to the public?
- What kind of ad and or marketing should a funeral home do in response to a cremation society’s direct mailing piece that they continue to do in our community?
- When asked why our funeral home was chosen, my family follow up surveys reflect that I receive 0 calls from advertising. How should I interpret this?
- How do you get the message out to Hospice that there are many more options for a family other than direct cremation?
- What would the best way to market a second location in the next city with two corporate competitors presently operate there?
- How do you determine what are the most effective strategies?
- When conducting market research in my area, what are some good sources for Secondary data or information regarding the opinions and buying preferences of ANY of my target markets?
- I’m in a small market. How do I attract more calls, when it appears, my competitor has more money for unlimited advertising?
- How can I get people out of the mindset that cremation means no viewing?
- I’m losing market share to a new funeral home, How can I combat an upstate with a better location?
- If we have a web site, what are the best strategies to make certain that someone using a search engine, such as Google, will see our listing at the top of the results list? Are there other techniques that can be used in addition to the “keywords” that are embedded into the pages of the site?
- What is the best way to counteract, “I want the cheapest funeral?
- I am an independent operated firm in my town with two other firms who are corporate run, what can I do in ads to beat them as competitors?
- What medium is the best advertising in a conservative area?
Funeral Futurist Predictions for 2010
January 1, 2010
My two main predictions can also be taken as warnings. They are strategies being played out on the internet right now and will only become more of a factor in 2010 – not that they will harm your business dramatically in 2010 but they will start to slowly erode it (if you let them).
1. Virtual Funeral Homes. These are not completely virtual businesses but are physical funeral homes that are creating a virtual presence covering a larger geographically area or even “testing the waters” in a larger or new trade area. We have seen Cremation Societies reach beyond their traditional trade area and you will other websites catering to a larger area, but being headquartered in their established bricks and mortar funeral home. Some may see this as a warning while other may see it as an opportunity.
2. Online Call Poachers. You probably haven’t heard of this term, but I couldn’t come up with a better way to name this “new player” into funeral service. These are information and resource websites about funeral service. They provide helpful information to consumers, answering questions, and maybe even providing a directory of funeral homes. These were once thought of as helpful directory sites but as they continue to add more information to their websites, they will become “funeral information juggernauts” that will rank at the top of Google and the other search engines for funeral related terms – even local terms.
Some of these sites may charge for featured listings in there directories, but what will be inevitable is that they will start receiving first calls (as people hit the Internet for information upon learning of the death of their loved one). At that point, they hold in their hand a Call that could get passed on to whoever they want to give it to – in some cases the highest bidder. They will become the online equivalent of the minister or hospice worker who can steer a family to one funeral home over another.
I am not saying that all directories and resource websites will do this but some will. This form of Lead Capture – or what I call in our industry “Call Poachers” – is actually an Internet Marketing Strategy that I have seen be taught and used in other industries where these marketers become conduit for leads and then direct them to the highest bidder. For some funeral homes, they be happy paying the “finders fee” to these companies, while others may want to control the “virtual real estate” in their market by being the go-to source for funeral information in their area.
I hate to have a negative tone while looking into a bright future, but I just want to make you aware of what is happen in the “virtual” world around you.
What are your thoughts? Please share your comments below…
Secret Tip for Dealing with Price Shoppers
December 31, 2009
You may have received an email from Mike Kubasak today his Price Shopper program. In the holiday spirit, I thought that I should share with you a SECRET TIP that you can use the next time you get a Price Shopper that will INSTANTLY build RAPPORT and CREDIBILITY with the caller – even if they want to *Think About It* – because the more COMFORTABLE they feel with you the more likely they will choose your funeral home over your competitor.
This STRATEGY can be done at the beginning or the end of the call – make sure you read both scenarios…
At the Beginning of the Phone Call as you introduce yourself…
“Hello, my name is Robin. I understand you want information about funeral costs. I will be happy to provide that information for you. Do you have a pen and some paper handy? Ok, first just jot down this number: 250-686-4576. It is my cell phone number and I wanted you to have it just in case we get cut off or if you need to contact me later for more information you can reach me directly, once again it’s 250-686-4576.”
At the End of the Phone Call if they are not making a decision right now…
Robin says: “I understand that you are just gathering information right now and I just want to let you know that if you have any other questions, you may call me at anytime. Here is my cell phone number – 250-686-4576 – if questions come up when you are discussing things with the rest of the family. Once again it’s 250-686-4576.”
So the SECRET TIP is giving the caller your CELL PHONE NUMBER.
What does giving your cell phone number accomplish?
It helps BUILD RAPPORT and TRUST (Mike has a complete section on rapport building in his Price Shopper Secrets program).
You see, you can’t just say “TRUST ME” you have to “EARN TRUST” and by offering to give the caller your cell phone number – something that most people only give to their closest friends – you are DEMONSTRATING TRUST!
Now you might be thinking, I really don’t feel comfortable giving my cell phone to a stranger? But I am guessing that over the last couple of years there has been an occasion or two where you have given your cell number to a client family and maybe you give it to them on a regular basis. So why not treat the price caller like a client family – isn’t that the GOAL anyway – to have them as a CLIENT FAMILY?
Let me know your successes with the Price Shopper Cell Phone Tip. It’s free to try and if it doesn’t work then stop offering it but you will be amazed how the tone of the conservation will change after applying this Trust Building Strategy.
If you want more Price Shopper Secrets take Mike up on his CRAZY OFFER below. I helped Mike put the course together and it is packed with tips and strategies that you can share with your entire staff and also use for FUTURE TRAINING and STAFF MEETINGS.
Plus, he has a 100% Results-Based GUARANTEE- so if you don’t win more pricing calls, you don’t pay!
You can order it here: http://www.priceshoppersecrets.com/cell/
I wish you all the best for 2010 – especially more calls!
…Hepp
Steal Online Price Shoppers from Your Competitors
August 18, 2009
Funeral Home Marketing: John Callaghan on the Hot Seat
January 30, 2009
You’ve heard of John Callaghan, haven’t you?
To refresh your memory, he’s one of the industry’s top speakers on funeral home marketing.
In his new book, “2009 Strategic Marketing Plan for Funeral Service Professionals” he reveals how funeral homes should market in during tough economic times.
Why am I telling you this?
I’m telling you this because I convinced John to allow me to grill him during a LIVE 120-minute teleseminar on January 30!
It actually went for 2 1/2 hours.
We talked for just over an hour about his book and then we tackled dozens of questions that the attendees submitted.
You can read a partial list of questions below.
86 Pages of Funeral-Specific Marketing Advice
and over 2.5 hours of recordings
(delivered immediately after you purchase below)
$147.00 Now Only $97
Save $50.00
If you follow John’s recommendations, you will save money on advertising, get better results with your marketing, and overall, Attract More Calls!
…Hepp
Partial List of Questions
- Could you discuss the use of tasteful humor in funeral home marketing?
- Telephones, yellow page ads – How do you set yourself apart?
- How do I market my firm against the “low price firm” in the market place?
- What are your thoughts on marketing during tough economic times? Is it actually a time when you can get more bang for your buck, attract a wider audience etc?
- How do we use permission marketing in funeral service, especially with the increasing use of online guest books and internet communications with our customers?
- With a downtown location and smaller parking area, how do you compete with funeral home not downtown and more parking area?
- What is the most effective advertising in a small rural community? Should we sponsoring and attending community events, sponsor information seminars, weekly newspaper ads, local magazines etc?
- Are there new words in the death care language that are more acceptable to the public?
- What kind of ad and or marketing should a funeral home do in response to a cremation society’s direct mailing piece that they continue to do in our community?
- When asked why our funeral home was chosen, my family follow up surveys reflect that I receive 0 calls from advertising. How should I interpret this?
- How do you get the message out to Hospice that there are many more options for a family other than direct cremation?
- What would the best way to market a second location in the next city with two corporate competitors presently operate there?
- How do you determine what are the most effective strategies?
- When conducting market research in my area, what are some good sources for Secondary data or information regarding the opinions and buying preferences of ANY of my target markets?
- I’m in a small market. How do I attract more calls, when it appears, my competitor has more money for unlimited advertising?
- How can I get people out of the mindset that cremation means no viewing?
- I’m losing market share to a new funeral home, How can I combat an upstate with a better location?
- If we have a web site, what are the best strategies to make certain that someone using a search engine, such as Google, will see our listing at the top of the results list? Are there other techniques that can be used in addition to the “keywords” that are embedded into the pages of the site?
- What is the best way to counteract, “I want the cheapest funeral?
- I am an independent operated firm in my town with two other firms who are corporate run, what can I do in ads to beat them as competitors?
- What medium is the best advertising in a conservative area?
Mistakes Made with Price Shoppers – I hope you don’t make them – Free Teleseminar
October 20, 2008
Winning or losing price shoppers can found a profound effect on your firm – the more you win, the more profitable you will be AND at the same time, you are weakening the competition!
Mike Kubasak and I held a teleseminar in August about Price Shoppers: “Handling Price Shoppers is Easier When You Differentiate Yourself” – over 400 funeral professionals registered!
At the end of the call we said that we would address this issue again. So Mike suggested that we tackle some of the mistakes that he has observed over the years. So this Thursday, we are going to have another telesemar…
10 Biggest Mistakes Funeral Directors Make on the
Phone when Dealing with Price Shoppers Teleseminar
Date: Thursday, October 23, 2008
Time: 2 PM Eastern / 11 AM Pacific
Register for the Teleseminar Now!
Also, if you cannot make it on Thursday, make sure that you register anyway so that I can can get a link to you for the replay. From some of the feedback we received from the summer teleseminar, we heard that many firms used the recordings for staff meetings and training – Great Idea!
Register now at: Price Shopper Biggest Mistakes Teleseminar <=== Don’t miss this!
I hope that you can join us on the call on Thursday! I’m sure that this will be an entertaining session as well.
…Hepp
Do You Have A Business Mindset for Funeral Service?
August 1, 2008
Are you frustrated with rising cremation rates?
Are your Average-Funeral-Values getting smaller?
Do you have more competitors and are they cutting into your market share?
Is your firm less profitable today than it was 5 years ago?
During the week of August 4th to August 8th, I will be hosting a series of free teleseminars focusing on the importance of taking a business approach to help deal with all of the issues that owners and managers in funeral service face today.
Session 1: “Having a Business Mindset for Funeral Service”
I will be hosting Nancy Lohman and Todd Van Beck as they will share their insights into why it is important for owners and managers to think strategically and have a business mindset to face the challenges of Funeral Service today.
Monday, August 4, 2008 at 2:00 pm Eastern / 11:00 am Pacific
Session 2: “Handling Price Shoppers is Easier When You Differentiate Yourself”
I will be hosting Mike Kubasak as he shares his experiences with Price Shoppers, how to handle them, and how to win them over without lowering your price.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008 at 2:00 PM Eastern / 11:00 am Pacific
Session 3: “Increase the Value of Your Firm with Strategic Mindset”
I will be joined by Bill Bischoff of Johnson Consulting Group who will share his experiences in creating strategic plans as well as why having a strategic plan can increase the value of your firm.
Thursday, August 7, 2008 at 2:00 PM Eastern / 11:00 am Pacific
Register below for access to all 3 of the teleseminars!
These 3 – 1 hour calls could be the start of turning your biggest challenges into a profitable future!
Be A Funeral Market Strategist (and leave your competition in the dust)
June 16, 2008
I received some great comments and questions about my “Competition” article – thank you! First, many of the issues funeral home owners and managers are unique to your specific market and situation so I cannot offer a blanket answer that everyone could benefit from. The issue was followed by the questions, “How do I fix this?” or “What should I do?”
As I always do in situations to solve problems, I reflected on the process that I have used many times in my home market that is very competitive plus is on the forefront of changing trends. In this type of market – and any market – you need to have a process to deal with issues and make decisions easily and with confidence.
By the nature of how we join funeral service, either as a calling to serve, or following in family footsteps, we rarely get taught how to think strategically. Strategy isn’t taught in mortuary colleges and the issues we face today – like increasing cremation rates, price discounters, memorial societies, and the Internet – were not big issues to the generations before us. Especially in our market where no-one had experience in dealing with these issues before – I decided that I had to go back to university and learn how professionals solve problems in other industries and then apply those methods to funeral service.
Although formal education was a great experience, what has really stuck with me was what I learned as a member of the “Case Competition” team. In a nutshell, a team of four would be given 3 hours to read and analyze a business case study and present our recommendations. Since you were “on stage” at the end of the 3 hours, I really learned to hone my strategic thinking with “tools” that made up my Business Strategy Toolkit.
At this point I could just tell you hire me to tackle your issues in a one-on-one scenario – and of course for those who wish that personal consultation I will make myself available – I also want to teach all of you “How to Fish” instead of selling you fish.
Whatever causes you the most pain – tough competition, price shoppers, losing calls, cremation families, memorial societies, expensive marketing – these tools can give can give you an competitive advantage for just a small investment of your time. So here we go – these are some of the tools that I use on a daily basis to solve clients’ problems. The three that I recommend to get started with are the Environmental Scan, Porter’s Five Forces, and the SWOT Analysis.
The Environmental Scan (sometimes referred to as PEST Analysis) looks at external factors: Political, Economic, Social, and Technological. Then Porter’s Five Forces of Competition analyzes: Power of Buyers, Power of Suppliers, Threat of New Entrants, Threat of Substitutes, and Competitive Rivalry. Then having a solid strategic framework of your market, you then look internally with a SWOT Analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Then you will have all you need to leap ahead of your competition.
Don’t worry if this seems too overwhelming, I will put together a demonstration next week using funeral industry examples. Also, I will try to pull in a favor and get another expert on the line with me and we will go through step by step through the process as it relates to us.
If you would like to have your company profiled for the example – at absolutely no charge to you, please click the link below and provide me with some basic information. Then I will be in touch to get some additional information. Be assured that your identity will be kept confidential.
Apply for the analysis of your market and company, click here and fill out the form:
http://www.funeralfuturist.com/application-for-strategic-analysis/
Thank you for your time and look for my newsletter next week for the details of the “Funeral Industry and Competitive Analysis” free training session.
Being Strategic about your competition with Brad Scott
June 7, 2008
On this show, Brad Scott, manager of R.S. Kane Funeral Home in Toronto, Ontario, has an open discussion about competition from both a independent and corporate perspective. Click the Play button at the left of the silver bar > Read more
