Hepp to Speak at New Jersey State (NJSFDA) Convention

MEDIA RELEASE: NJSFDA Convention and Expo. Robin Heppell addresses Funeral Directors on Reaching Your Community Via

Offering the same quality programming and networking you have come to expect from the New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association (NJSFDA), Robin Heppell has been requested to speak at the NJSFDA Convention and Expo held in Atlantic City, NJ. Heppell addresses funeral directors on the crucial focus of using the power of the Internet to reach their community.

Victoria, BC — Funeral Futurist, Robin Heppell has been secured by the NJSFDA to speak as one of the internationally recognized funeral experts offering funeral directors proven techniques and innovative strategies during the NJSFDA Convention and Expo.

The objective of Heppell’s presentation, “Reaching Your Community Via The Internet” is to empower Funeral Directors to take their past and current relationship building mindset and incorporate powerful online social media strategies to build their “virtual” community.

Robin Heppell, funeral speaker and funeral web strategist, added,“Internet usage is increasing faster than the cremation rate. If your funeral home has not yet established a web presence or begun marketing through electronic communications, you’re falling behind the curve. It is time to catch up now.”

With the difficulty of finding practical and relevant technologies for electronic communications for funeral homes, this presentation provides insight into the use of online articles with blogs, online radio shows with podcasts, online videos and social networks. The ultimate goal of focusing on these topics is to assist funeral directors in building relationships in the online community and dominating search engine rankings. A familiarity with valuable online services such as WordPress, YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn will also be shared.

Over 150 delegates attended the Funeral Futurist’s presentation on the topic of Marketing to Your Community through the Internet at ICCFA, 2007. Mr. Daniel Osorio from ICCFA Administration commented, “Excellent info on how we can effectively use the Internet to market our business.”

(NOTE: For excerpts from previous events visit http://www.funeralfuturist.com/keynotes-workshops/speaker-video-clips)

“I have heard a lot of great things about the NJSFDA and its Convention and I am honored to be a part of its line up of presenters. It will also be great to meet face to face with the New Jersey funeral professionals who I have become “virtually” acquainted with through Facebook and my Funeral Futurist Newsletter!” remarked Heppell. “Plus I will recording more interviews for the FuneralGurus.com website so make sure you jot down what specific service or offering that your firms provides that makes you different and unique.”

About Robin Heppell
Robin Heppell, CFSP, combines his expertise in technology and pre-need, his formal business knowledge and his deep-rooted legacy in the funeral profession so that he can help funeral homes and cemeteries be more competitive, more profitable, and provide the best possible service for the families they serve. Through his consulting firm, FuneralFuturist.com in Victoria, British Columbia, he assists funeral directors and cemeterians throughout North America embrace and incorporate innovative strategies and technologies. His own websites include FuneralGurus.com and FuneralFuturist.com.

About NJSFDA
The New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association (NJSFDA) is nationally recognized. Founded in 1902, the NJSFDA is a not-for-profit trade organization that is committed to ensuring that communities receive professional and ethical funeral care. The organization provides resources to funeral directors, funeral homes, funeral consumers and the funeral profession as a whole.

The Convention will be held starting on Tuesday September 29, 2009 until Thursday October 1, 2009 located at the New Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, NJ. Registration will begin this summer and is open to all licensed funeral directors. All other registrations are subject to management discretion. For convention questions please contact Emily A. Moscetti, convention manager, via email to convention@njsfda.org or by calling 732.974.9444 or visit NJSFDA.com.

For media inquiries, please visit www.FuneralFuturist.com/media-room

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Hepp to Speak at Kentucky State (FDAofKY) Convention

MEDIA RELEASE: 127th FDA of Kentucky Annual Convention – Robin Heppell presents: Technology is a Funeral Director’s Friend

Victoria, BC — Funeral Futurist, Robin Heppell has been secured to speak at the 2009 FDA Kentucky Annual Convention in Louisville, KY. The Funeral Futurist will give Funeral Directors insight on how certain technologies increase efficiency allowing cost effective funeral operations.

Robin Heppell and the Funeral Directors Association of Kentucky have a similar purpose in terms of instructing funeral professionals. With a membership of 500 firms and associates, the Funeral Directors Association of Kentucky assists funeral industry professionals to stay current with an increasingly complex profession for the purpose of serving families better. Heppell’s area of expertise provides Funeral Directors with knowledge and skills related to technology in order to improve the way they serve families.

Robin Heppell, funeral consultant and funeral web strategist, added, “I won’t be promoting one product, service or software over another, just trying to teach you how to use technology to your benefit.”

The objective of Heppell’s presentation is to empower Funeral directors to enhance the way they currently operate their businesses.

“I was really excited when Kim House, Convention Coordinator for the Kentucky Association asked if I would present at their Annual Convention.  The funeral industry and technology are my two passions so the attendees will get a great presentation with a lot of practical advice and valuable, easy-to-use take-aways.” remarked Heppell. “Plus I will recording more interviews for the FuneralGurus.com website so make sure you jot down what specific service or offering that your firms provides that makes you different and unique.”

Addressing the lack of information and guidance on how to use technology in funeral homes, Heppell will discuss the following in his presentation:

• Commercial applications such as Excel, PowerPoint and Photoshop and how they can give Funeral Directors the competitive advantage
• The free resource of Google Applications and how they can be used within a funeral home
• A variety of options in creating video tributes
• Basic technologies including email, the Internet, and even wireless technology making businesses more efficient and also saving money

Within the funeral industry, Heppell has successfully presented internationally on several topics including technology and Internet strategies. “Rob’s knowledge of technology makes his presentations both unique and very beneficial for Funeral Directors and preneed consultants.” Sheila Nunn, Funeral Plans Canada.

For more information download Robin Heppell’s Speaker’s Kit at http://www.funeralfuturist.com/keynotes-workshops/

About Robin Heppell
Robin Heppell, CFSP, combines his expertise in technology and preneed, his formal business knowledge and his deep-rooted legacy in the funeral profession so that he can help funeral homes and cemeteries be more competitive, more profitable, and provide the best possible service for the families they serve. Through his consulting firm, FuneralFuturist.com in Victoria, British Columbia, he assists funeral directors and cemeterians throughout North America embrace and incorporate innovative strategies and technologies. His own websites include FuneralGurus.com and FuneralFuturist.com.

About FDA of Kentucky
As early as 1861, persons engaged in funeral service met informally to discuss issues of common interest. Mr. T. J. Danahy of Lexington had been in correspondence with the undertakers of the various towns and cities in Kentucky in an effort to organize a convention or association for the purpose of mutual assistance, information, and so forth for a year. Then in 1882, the formal organization of the Kentucky Undertaker’s Association was established statewide. With this humble, yet sturdy beginning, The Funeral Directors Association of Kentucky was born. It has continued to this day as a strong organization to promote professional ideas and public service.

Robin Heppell will deliver his presentation on Monday, June 22, 2009 from 12:30pm to 2:00PM. The Convention will be held starting June 22-24, 2009 located at Hyatt Regency Hotel, Kentucky International Convention Center, Louisville, KY. For more information contact: Association Office 800-866-3211 or visit www.FDAofKY.com.

For media inquiries, please visit www.FuneralFuturist.com/media-room

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Blogger Hep in American Funeral Director

The July 2008 issue of American Funeral Director, Thomas Parmalee wrote a great article about Blogging and the Funeral Industry: “Is it time to Get a Blog? Weighing the Positives and Negatives”

The article featured follow Funeral Industry Bloggers, Brian Hanner of Geib Funeral Home in Ohio, BT Hathaway of Hathaway Funeral Homes in Massachusetts, and Tim Totten of Final Embrace in Florida.

Tom does a great job of pulling the insights from all of us as well as providing a balanced view of the topic of blogging.  He starts the article with…

They are everywhere, and sometimes, it seems they are taking over the world.  They can rocket you to fame because of a mere hundred words.  And they seem to be making inroads at virtually every business, big and small.

Tom interviewed me a few months back and captured some great thoughts – he can make my thoughts sound better than when I think them!

“We are in the people business, and a blog should be able to connect with the consumer almost more than any type of marketing because it is very personal.”

Tim Totten of Final Embrace (who supplies Cot Covers for removal stretchers), stated:

“[Blogging] does give you a way to connect much more closely to at least a few people in your community. If only five people in your community read it, they will become ambassadors for you and generate business.”

Brian Hanner of Geib Funeral Home says:

“I think of this like many of our other PR activities – you can’t expect it to pay dividends in the short term.”

BT Hathaway, the grandfather of funeral blogs (3 years since the launch of his Funeral Words blog), comments:

“It’s part if developing relationships with folks out there, and part of it is a challenge of keeping my ideas fresh.  To write something on a regular basis, you have to be pushing yourself to read, notice things and to ask yourself difficult questions. So from that standpoint, it’s a good self-examination exercise to make sure I’m thinking ahead regarding my business needs.”

All of the bloggers have agreed to join me in hosting a Funeral Blogging 101 teleseminar on July 30th in the afternoon.  To register and start your path of building a better and deeper relationship with your community, visit: www.FuneralBlogging101.com. If you can’t make the teleseminar, still register to get access to the replay and ask any questions about blogging, social media, website development, or internet marketing and promotion. 

Hep in Wired.com

While presenting at the ICCFA 2008 Annual Convention in San Diego, my Blackberry went off and it was a freelance reporter, Marty Graham. She had been monitoring the schedule of the San Diego Convention Center and saw that there was a Funeral Convention taking place in her town.

Wired is the first word on technology. Every month in the magazine and every day on the website, WIRED explores how ideas fueled by innovation change the world. – Wired.com

I made arrangements for Marty to receive a Press Pass and she attended my “Web 2.0 – The New Internet for Funeral Directors” presentation. After my session we had a great interview, and a couple of follow-up phone conversations. Also, she was able to get in touch with pal, John Heald at Tributes.com.

Tributes.com is part of the Eons.com, founded by Monster.com’s Jeff Taylor. In the Tech World, the founder of Monster has a little more appeal than the Funeral Futurist, so Taylor and his efforts are the stars of the article. Marty penned a great story, you should go check it out at Wired: Monster.com Founder Starts Social Networking Site for the Dead.

“People who spend the winter in Florida log on to faraway websites during the winter to check to see who died back home,” the Vancouver-based funeral director and consultant says. “Most funeral homes have websites now, and those that don’t are looking at setting up.”

Word of caution in the comments – there was some whining going on by the folks at Legacy.com that they didn’t get the props that they thought they deserved in the article. It appears that Legacy has some agreement with various newspapers throughout the U.S. It has been reported to me that these in papers, funeral homes are not allowed to include a reference to their website for friends to leave condolences for the family because the paper has this ability via Legacy. This seems more like collusion and less like serving families – what do you think?

For all of the funeral directors reading this, please let me know if you are forbidden to include your website’s URL in your local newspaper’s obituaries – I would love to know!

Johnson Consulting Group launches new virtual marketing platform

The Johnson Consulting Group – leaders in Funeral and Cemetery Consulting and Management Services – have just launched their new website – www.JohnsonConsulting.com.

Tom and Jake Johnson, together with their associates, have formed an all-star lineup of senior executives from the funeral profession. Most recently they acquired Legacy Management Services from Keystone. To showcase their depth in their team and of their services offerings, Johnson retained the services of Robin Heppell to guide them through the development of their new online presence. With the goal of creating a platform to provide the most relevant and current information to funeral and cemetery professionals, Heppell harnessed the power of the WordPress weblog functionality and applied the best practices of online marketing and public relations.

Bill Bischoff, Communications and Marketing Strategist for Johnson Consulting, stated:

“What set Heppell apart from standard web development companies was the fact that he took the time to thoroughly understand our business and what our vision was for our Company. Heppell then built us more than a common website, he constructed us a virtual marketing platform that will greatly assist us in achieving our Corporate Vision “To be the best…” Thanks, Rob we could not be more pleased.”

Key features of this site above the usual website components:

• Audio clips welcoming visitors to specific sections of the site – the goal is to make visitors comfortable with members of the team, hence building relationships
• Testimonials are displayed throughout the site, some randomly in the right sidebar and others relating to specific service offerings
• Media Room lists all press releases with the most recent ones first – this page is dynamically created and new releases are uploaded with the same ease as sending an email with an attachment – no more web developer fees to add new information

Johnson Consulting has also developed a complimentary newsletter that will go out to members of the death care community. It will consist of some of the latest developments within the industry, best practices for the management of cemeteries and funeral homes, and profiles highlighting JCG team members and how they can assist clients achieve their goals. To sign up for their newsletter, go to the Johnson Consulting Group Newsletter.

If you would like more information on taking your online presence from just a website to a virtual marketing platform to reach out to your community, contact Robin Heppell at 800-810-3595 or 250-744-3595 or email at robin@funeralfuturist.com.

Funeral Costs – What I Didn’t Get to Say

I had the opportunity to be on the Seattle NPR Weekday radio program this morning. The show was hosted by Steve Scher with guests, John Eric Rolstad of the People’s Memorial Association and Char Barrett of A Sacred Moment who performs home funerals. The show covered three main topics: Embalming, Cremation, and Funeral Costs. If you want to get the gist of what is happening in the Pacific Northwest, I would recommend that you have a listen to the program.

To listen to the Replay visit: “Funerals on Weekday at KUOW 94.9”

A couple things that weren’t mentioned but should be noted. The home funeral movement I feel is appropriate for those families wanting something private and under the ideal conditions. Dry ice might retard decomposition, but I would question if the family was prepared to deal with purge, urination, defecation, or the more unpleasant things that funeral directors have quietly looked after like tissue gas and maggots.

I give credit to Char for carving out a niche that she is serving – her website is informative and the families that she looks after will be the benefactors of her passion. Her website is: http://www.ASacredMoment.com.

When it came to funeral costs, John, from the People’s Memorial Association, referred to its price survey of funeral homes from western and central Washington state. He stated that there is such a wide range of prices for similar services – 300 to 400% compared to other industries that are 10 to 20% citing Target, WalMart and Costco. Unfortunately, it was the top of the hour and the host, Steve couldn’t see the disappointment face when I was unable to expand upon funeral costs – but this is what I would have said:

John is referring to commodities – things that do not have a qualitative differentiation in a given market. Funeral services couldn’t be further away from a commodity. The flaw in their survey is that they have requested a stripped down service to try to compare apples to apples. What aren’t considered are the differentiation factors like the level of service, the location and quality of facilities, and time frame and number of transfer staff dispatched to a residence, to name a few. Also, not considered in the price survey are other items such as DVD tributes, online memorialization, facilities, equipment, and knowledge of creating and facilitating events that are very personalized.

A more relevant comparison would have been to look at other service / experiential oriented industries like hotels – Motel 6 vs. Crowne Plaza or McDonalds vs. Seattle’s El Gaucho Restaurant – and oh, what about a cup of coffee? I am not saying that one has to choose the most expensive, but not everyone is shopping purely on price. Research that I have seen indicates that only 17 to 22% of consumers are truly shopping on price but the majority of consumers are value shoppers.

“With a more educated consumer and with a wide variety of funeral service providers, the business model of a Memorial Society is obsolete!”

Memorial Societies were formed to give people the opportunity to choose a simpler, less expensive option. A generation later funeral homes are either serving specific niches or offering a wide range of service options. Now with so many different choices, families can get whatever service they want. Just as funeral homes 50 years ago assumed that everyone wanted “traditional” funeral services, Memorial Societies should be aware that not everyone wants the cheapest! For someone who wants the absolute cheapest, I would forgo a Memorial Association membership fee and compare prices – save your 25 bucks.

It is a consumer-driven market so only those funeral providers who cater to what their community wants and what they are willing to pay will survive – if they are too expensive or too cheap they won’t.

I would like to thank the host, Steve Scher and the producers, Sage Van Wing and Katy Sewall of KUOW for inviting me as a guest on their show. I would invite comments from Char, John, other listeners, and my readers and fellow funeral professionals to continue this conversation.

Final point: I believe that any dialogue that serves as a catalyst for the general public consider how they would like their last wishes to play out is a benefit to them, their families, and to the funeral industry.

Things are Heating Up & I’m not talking Cremation!

I just wanted to let you know a couple of things happening in the next couple of weeks.

First off this that the ICCFA Pre-Convention Interviews have commenced and can be found at the Funeral Gurus website: http://www.funeralgurus.com/2008/iccfa-2008. ICCFA is in a couple of weeks and they have a great lineup of speakers and panel discussions. I will be conducting some Funeral Gurus video interviews, so if you are going to be there, track me down and get some free publicity for your funeral home or cemetery. Also, during my presentation I will be demonstrating step by step how to use online video to promote your firm – plus I will be sharing some very recent case studies on the results of marketing with online video.

Also, I am going to be on the hot seat next Wednesday – the National Public Radio (NPR) station out of Seattle is having and hour long discussion about funeral trends and the future of funeral service – right up my alley, right? Well sure, but it is not just one on one, it is going to be a panel and on the panel is someone from the Peoples Memorial Society, someone who arranges home funerals, and they are still trying to get a representative from one of the normal -I mean traditional – funeral homes (I will be lonely if they can’t)! So it should be interesting and if you are interested, you can listen live on their website. If you are listening and you want me to make a point, you can Instant Message through Google Talk ( funeralfuturist [at] gmail [dot] com) – sorry that’s so the spammers and robots leave me alone OR through SKYPE at ( funeral.futurist)

Here are the show details:

• KUOW http://www.kuow.org Pudget Sound Public Radio 94.9 FM
• Wednesday, March 19, 2008 at 9:00 AM Pacific time
• To listen, look in the left column under Listen Live for listening options

Wish me luck – I will report back later next week!

…Hep

Google and the Funeral Industry

In the February 2008 issue of Mortuary Management, Funeral Futurist Robin Heppell starts his multi-part series on how Search Engines like Google, Yahoo, and MSN Live will play a part in the marketing and promotions of funeral homes.

For an increasing number of users, search engines are the new Yellow Pages. No longer are search engines used only to find books, airline tickets, and CDs. They are being used to find local services.

The funeral industry is no exception. It is a local service. It has traditionally been a word of mouth business. Funeral homes can benefit from high Google rankings. You have used Google to find out information about other products or services – others will use Google to find out information about YOU!

Check out the latest article of Mortuary Management for the entire article or check back in March to read it on in Funeral Articles here at FuneralFuturist.com.

Heppell to Keynote at Oregon’s Annual Convention

Mark Stehn, CFSP, Executive Director of the Oregon Funeral Directors Association has secured Robin Heppell, CFSP, to keynote at its annual convention in April. With the theme of this year’s convention being, “Ride the Wave – Sea the Future” it only seems appropriate that Heppell – the Funeral Futurist – be involved.

Heppell’s keynote is titled, 3 Keys to Future Funeral Service Success!

There has never been a tougher time to be in Funeral Service. We as funeral professionals face many challenges: changing trends, increased outside competition and technology overload – all things that did not affect the former generations. If we could only change one thing – our mindset – and embrace these challenges and more importantly take action on them, it will be the best time to be in Funeral Service. Are you up for the Funeral Futurist Challenge?

Heppell will also be facilitating 4 workshops:

1. Google and the Funeral Industry: With three quarters of the population using the Internet, and Google being the go-to place to find information, it is imperative to understand the basics of how Google see you. This workshop will feature live demonstrations so if you would like a free website review, please let the Association know.
2. Your Funeral Home on YouTube: The fourth most popular website on the Internet and being owned by Google, YouTube has the attention of Internet users! Are you using YouTube to get your customers’ attention? This workshop will feature a live example so if you have a television commercial or other video and you want it up on the Internet, please let the Association know.
3. Funeral Home eNewsletters: Learn the basics of launching a successful eNewsletter program. This workshop will provide you with a starter guide that addresses get people to subscribe to your list, content, format, and frequency as well as references to other programs available.
4. Ask the Futurist: In this fourth session, members can ask questions of Heppell on a variety of topics. From his travels around the country, his interviews with funeral professionals on FuneralGurus.com, and practicing funeral services in a high cremation, highly competitive market to the North, he can provide insight, suggestions, or at least the resources to your questions! If you have questions ahead of time, submit them to the Association, and Heppell with answer them at this session or on his website if time does not permit.

The conference will be held from April 24th to 27th in Seaside, Oregon. For more information and for registration details, visit: www.ofda.org.

Funeral Futurist Launches new Website powered by WordPress

Robin Heppell of FuneralFuturist.com launched his new website build on the WordPress Weblog Platform. This site is built to quickly disseminate information to the funeral industry as well as providing multi-media content through “Funeral Futurist Radio” and Funeral Futurist TV”.

Heppell explains, “Funeral Futurist Radio is accomplished by harnessing the power of podcasting and will feature interviews and commentary on the latest trends and issues. Funeral Futurist TV offers video tutorials as well as recorded presentations!”

Visitors can visit often for updates or subscribe to alerts on particular topic areas or get the monthly newsletter – their choice!

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