I know that I have preaching this for some time, but besides the mere act of putting obituaries on your website, doing this will drive very targeted traffic – and they are the exact people who will want to by flowers, memorial jewelry and other remembrance items. Watch the video and you will see what I mean.
[Read more…] about Viral Marketing for Funeral Homes
Archives for Gain Greater Exposure
Funeral Blogging 101 Teleseminar
Video How Create & Announce Your COVID-19 (Coronavisus) Status
Here is a quick and timely “How To” on creating and promoting a statement about the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and how it is affecting your firm.
Here are the bullet points presented in the video.
Compose Your Statement
- Conduct research and consult with staff
- State current operational status
- Provide directives from governing bodies
- Announce additional measures taken by firm
- Offer additional services
- Provide links to health resources
Amended Service Offerings
- Offer Live Stream or On Demand video of funeral service
- Offer to make arrangements online or over the phone
- Offer to Sign Forms online
- Offer to provide Digital Identification of deceased
Post Statement on Website
- Create a post on Website Blog
- Add a Banner or Call Out
- Add a Slider on Homepage
- Add excerpt to all Obits
Promote Statement on Social Media
- Create a Google My Business post
- Create a Facebook post
- Create a LinkedIn post
- Create a Twitter tweet with a link to the post
Review and Revise Statement
- Stay abreast on news about COVID-19
- Monitor Government and Health directives and recommendations
- Be aware of what other companies are doing in your area and in funeral service
- Revise your Statement accordingly
Resource Links
- NFDA: https://nfda.org/covid-19
- WHO: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
- US (CDC): https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html
- CDC (Funerals): https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/faq.html#funerals
- Canada: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection.html
Example Links
- McCall Garden’s statement: https://www.mccallgardens.com/2020/03/12/mccall-gardens-coronavirus-covid-19-update
- Whitney Murphy’s Hugs From Home: https://www.whitneymurphyfuneralhome.com/hugs-from-home/
- The Chapel of Peace’s statement: https://www.thechapelofpeace.com/covid-19-statement/
- Egan Funeral Home’s statement: https://www.eganfuneralhome.com/covid-19-update/
- Cremation Care of Florida: https://www.cremationcarefl.com/coronavirus-covid-19-precautionary-measures/
- Connelly-McKinley’s statement: https://www.connelly-mckinley.com/corona-virus-protocol/
Press Release: Funeral Champions Unite To Create Funeral Industry Supersite: FuneralGurus.com
Contact:
Mr. Robin Heppell
Phone: (250) 686-4576
Email: [email protected]
February 4, 2015.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FUNERAL CHAMPIONS UNITE TO CREATE FUNERAL INDUSTRY SUPERSITE, FUNERALGURUS.COM
VICTORIA, BC – Three highly-regarded leaders in the North American funeral industry have today announced the creation of an industry ‘supersite’, FuneralGurus.com. The site is dedicated to the training and mentorship of those within the profession, and the promotion of best-practises, from both funeral service and business perspectives.
The specialists behind the new venture are:
Todd Van Beck, CFSP, who has over 40 years experience in funeral service. He is the Director of Continuing Education at John A. Gupton College in Nashville, and Dean of the College of Funeral Home Management at ICCFA University.
John McQueen, CFSP, a funeral director and owner of Anderson-McQueen Funeral Homes in St Petersburg, FL. He is the President of the Board of Trustees of the Academy of Professional Funeral Service Practice, and is a world leader in Bio-Cremation using alkaline hydrolysis.
Robin Heppell, CFSP, is owner of Funeral Futurist Marketing Consultancy, with over 25 years experience in the funeral profession. Mr. Heppell is a 4th generation funeral director, a Certified Celebrant, and a Certified Google Adwords Partner.
Meeting Funeral Professionals Needs
“FuneralGurus.com is an online membership site that has been created to meet the needs of those within the funeral industry who wish to grow their traditional people-focused businesses using twenty-first century technology to guide them” explained Mr. Heppell.
“Our goal has been to create one destination where funeral home owners and staff are able to quickly and easily access training, obtain the very latest resources, and have their questions answered by industry leaders” he continued.
“Through FuneralGurus.com we are providing all of this, in one central location, at a fraction of the cost they would otherwise be paying for the training element alone.”

Shared Knowledge
Members of FuneralGurus.com will be able to draw upon an immense digital library of funeral industry resources, and tap into the decades of industry knowledge of not just McQueen, Van Beck, and Heppell – they will also benefit from the combined knowledge that other members bring to the group.
“A Funeral Gurus membership provides members with the tools they need to embrace and overcome the challenges we face in funeral service today. As an example, by using our ready-to-use content they are able to plan staff meetings and conduct training sessions without leaving their premises – a huge saving in time and expense” said Mr. McQueen.
“When planning our service offering, we took a holistic approach to running a funeral home. To this end, we have included training and guidance for administrative staff, and ongoing, online, mentorship to sales staff – all with a focus on ethical practices.”
“One of our training modules includes providing an insight into the psyche of price shoppers, and shares proven strategies to help convert them from prospects to clients, including some sophisticated digital strategies.”
A free webinar, and details on becoming a charter member of Funeral Gurus, at an introductory discounted rate, can be found at: http://www.funeralgurus.com/
Press Release: The Ultimate Do-It-Yourself Funeral Home Marketing Strategy
What Your Funeral Home Competitor Hopes You’ll Never Discover:
The Ultimate Do-It-Yourself Funeral Home Marketing Strategy
Local funeral homes just got their wakeup call: Funeral Futurist Robin Heppell launches his best training program to date: The go-to reference and resource for marketing and advertising for Funeral Homes – the Funeral Marketing Blueprint – Home Study Edition. http://www.FuneralMarketingBlueprint.com
Victoria, BC – Robin Heppell knows funeral home owners and managers have a choice in which programs they invest in for their firm’s growth. With funeral homes investing hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars every year in professional development, the Funeral Marketing Blueprint program has been developed to give members a complete road map for their marketing initiatives. It is based on over 25 years experience, over $70,000 of education, the development of over 200 funeral websites, and the creation of a multimillion dollar preneed program.
John McQueen of Anderson-McQueen Funeral Home in St. Petersburg, FL, said, “After taking the program, I know that I made the right choice by investing in Rob and the Funeral Marketing Blueprint program. Any funeral professional out there that wants to be successful for years to come in their market should make sure that they take the Funeral Marketing Blueprint program.”
Robin Heppell, the creator of the Funeral Marketing Blueprint proclaimed, “What makes this program a really unique learning experience is that it is a complete plan with a consistent message that can be implemented. It can be applied at a very high level to an entire marketing plan or down to creating a simple ad for a church bulletin or hospice flyer.”
Program members will gain easy, step-by-step knowledge on all of the following:
- How to incorporate all marketing channels including print, direct mail, websites, search engine optimization, social media, email marketing, mobile marketing, and online reputation management into an easy-to-implement marketing plan
- How to educate potential client families to choose one firm instead of their competitor
- How to easily track the effectiveness of the funeral home’s advertising and eliminate the “guessing of what half of the advertising” works
- How to have the Funeral Home “Top Of Mind” at the very moment that a client family chooses a funeral home
- How to access what strategies are right for a specific market and how to implement them immediately to get maximum results
Jeremy DeBord, 4th Generation Funeral Director & Owner from Lancaster, PA. stated: “Way too often funeral home owners are unable or unwilling to adapt to the changing environment but spending some time with Heppell really was a breath of fresh air of someone who is in fact a forward thinker. I enjoyed the “flow” and “order” of the Funeral Marketing Blueprint starting with the marketing “legends” which have pioneered the world of marketing and the strategies and theories that they follow.”
The Funeral Marketing Blueprint reveals insider secrets and proven techniques to making a funeral home’s marketing plan more effective and easier to follow.
This home-study program is delivered with a combination of a hardcover binder – filled with all of the training slides, checklists, worksheets and other resources – together with access to a private, online membership website with all of the training videos, live and recorded question and answer sessions, plus additional how-to tutorial videos and resources to allow funeral homes to put these strategies into action as quickly as possible.
When asked about her thoughts on Heppell’s Marketing program, Anne Geib of Geib Funeral Homes of New Philadelphia & Dover, Ohio said, “Rob’s done an excellent job of not only telling about very technical details but providing overview, how it can fit into your entire marketing plan. We’re learning why you do things, how to measure them, and how it’s going to benefit your company, which I think has been exceptional for me. Not only has he given us very specifics, but he’s allowed your mind to wander and to figure out how it fits into your organization. It’s been incredibly helpful.”
In particular, members will receive:
- All Funeral Marketing Blueprint Worksheets, Checklists & Resources
- Funeral Futurist Online Price Comparison System
- Funeral Futurist Turnkey Online Review Generator System
- Funeral Futurist Social Media Maximum Effectiveness – Minimum Effort System
- Online Membership Area to access all multi-media and editable resources
- 8 Live-Online Q & A webinars
- 2 Live-Online Marketing Makeover webinars where I will review your current advertising assets
The current enrollment of the Funeral Marketing Blueprint program will be open until December 1, 2014. Complete program details can be found at http://www.FuneralMarketingBlueprint.com/
For a sample of the worksheets, the 2015 Funeral Marketing Calendar can be downloaded for free at: http://www.FuneralMarketingBlueprint.com/calendar/
On Tuesday, November 25, 2015, there was a free Funeral Marketing Q & A Teleconference available to all members of the funeral profession. To get instant access to the replay, go to: http://www.FuneralMarketingBlueprint.com/replay-teleconference/
About Robin Heppell
Robin Heppell, CFSP of FuneralFuturist.com is recognized in the Funeral Profession as a marketing strategist and thought leader for positioning funeral homes to embrace the future and has spoken in front of thousands of funeral professionals on topics of Marketing, Strategy, Competition, Websites, Social Media, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and Google AdWords.
For a brief overview of the Funeral Marketing Blueprint and the 7 Ms of Funeral Home Marketing, go to http://www.FuneralMarketingBlueprint.com/poster to download the Blueprint Overview.
For media inquiries, please visit http://www.FuneralFuturist.com/connect/ for immediate download of the Funeral Futurist infographic.