CHECK THE EXISTENCE OF A DEATH PLAN FOR DEATH

The first step is to find out if the deceased person has a funeral plan.

 more and more people are contracting funeral insurance to relieve their families of decisions regarding the funeral and the economic costs that it implies. In addition to finding out if you had a funeral insurance, we must know if you have made any type of planning for your own funeral regarding the way of farewell, treatment of the body, etc. If you have a pension plan, you should contact the insurance to determine the funeral costs considering the type of plan that the deceased had hired and the funeral home that has been designated for him. 

CONTACT 2 OR 3 FUNERARIES 

If you do not have a funeral plan, choose two or three funeral homes that have a nearby location and establish a first contact with them.

  You can talk on the phone or present yourself at the place to be informed about the type of services they offer, their prices and facilities. If you show up personally, be sure to be accompanied by a friend or family member to help you ask questions and get all the necessary information to make the best decision. This contact can be complemented by looking at the funeral home website to see images about the products and services they offer. When choosing a funeral company we will consider several questions: Which one is closest? Is it wide enough for my particular needs? Is it a comfortable environment to gather family and friends? Is the place clean and tidy? 

EVALUATE THE REPUTATION OF THE FUNERARIES THAT CONTACT 

By knowing the funeral home's reputation you can rest assured that they will provide you with quality service.

 From online directories to suggestions from friends and family members, there are many ways to find funeral homes in your area and learn about the experiences that other people have had in them. At present, the online search for comments regarding the services offered by the funeral company is a great tool when deciding whether to hire your plans. Find out online if previous clients posted comments regarding the quality and guarantee of the services offered. We also ask for references if other family members or friends have hired their services in the past to know what their advantages and deficiencies are. 

CONSIDER THE TRAINING OF THE FUNERARY STAFF 

The funeral ceremony requires qualified personnel to know how to respond to all family concerns.

  The mourners who enter the funeral home to request their services usually have little or no experience in planning a funeral so the funeral company must have suitable personnel to advise on what you need. It must be an experienced and friendly staff that considers the doubts of each particular family taking the necessary time to solve their questions, know what their wishes are and design the ceremony that best suits their budget by providing a space of comfort in which the Families feel safe and accompanied. 

REQUEST THE QUOTE OF AT LEAST 3 FUNERARIES 

The prices and the quality of the funeral services can vary notably between different funeral homes in the same area.

  Get more than one budget to compare costs. Contact at least three funeral homes to ask for a price list in which you can verify your individual values ​​as well as as a whole. Do not hesitate to ask all the questions you deem necessary regarding your services and costs in order to obtain a written budget detailing the individual services and their total value. If you choose the first funeral home you contact, you are likely to be disappointed when you find out about your total costs. Therefore, take the time to know the prices of each of the funeral homes chosen. This price list can be informed both personally and by telephone and via mail. 

REQUEST THE WRITTEN BUDGET 

Request that the budget be detailed in writing with the services and products chosen for the funeral ceremony.

  When we have to request a quote in more than one funeral home, it is normal that we can forget the prices that each of them has offered us. The written budget not only avoids these confusions but also assures us that the estimated value in the budget is endorsed by the funeral home staff. In this way, you can consider the total cost of the funeral and appreciate the values ​​of the individual items. Remember that funeral homes usually offer funeral packages that cost less than the purchase of individual items or services. Therefore, request a quote for both options. 

CHOOSE A FUNERARY WITH INTEGRAL SERVICES 

Hire a funeral company that offers all the products and services you want for this farewell.

  We can distinguish three categories of funeral service providers. On the one hand, funeral homes that offer a complete service responding to any service request you make, from additional vehicles for transfer to the cemetery to coffins. On the other hand, we find the funeral homes that offer specialized services thereby significantly reducing the services offered. Finally, providers with limited services that organize cremations or immediate burials, usually without ceremonies. You must choose the service that matches your expectations. The funeral involves not only time but also a great mental effort on the part of family members who are deeply hurt by this news. To make this planning easier,   

CHOOSE A FUNERARY THAT RESPECTS YOUR RELIGIOUS BELIEFS 

Before hiring a funeral service make sure that you can freely express your religious conceptions.

When choosing a funeral home, both your facilities and staff should be available to the family to meet your personal preferences regarding the way you would like to remember your loved one from a religious point of view. Each religion has its own funeral ceremonies and procedures so you should talk with the staff about your expectations regarding the religious characteristics of the funeral in order to avoid future inconveniences. 

While the task of choosing a funeral home will not be easy, these eight steps will be essential for you to hire a reliable funeral home that provides comprehensive services by first placing the family's wishes and expectations for this last farewell. 

Depending on a funeral agency is a mandatory and often sudden necessity, and it is also a task to be carried out when you do not have the lucidity necessary to reason in a rational manner and deal with practical matters with the right energy. 

The danger is that of assigning the task to companies that are not very serious, unprofessional, untrustworthy or even to run into scammers (present in every sector) who take advantage of our emotional fragility. 

Most of the time you risk having nasty surprises when you settle the bill or a disservice during, or after, the funeral ceremony, but also serious problems that the chronicles report more and more often.

“The funeral is a unique event; you can't fix it next time!”

But how to identify the right funeral business? 

Our first suggestion is to get help from a family member or friend, less emotionally involved in the research and choice of the professional to contact. 

If he has already tried the funeral services of that agency, his experience will allow you to decide more calmly. 

If, on the other hand, you cannot or do not want to go to friends and want to do it yourself, then keep these instructions in mind: 

Here's who and what you should always avoid... 

• the suggestions of "experts" such as health personnel, the morgue, mortuary chambers, employees of nursing homes, rest homes, nursing hospitals or municipal employees 

• the company that claims to be affiliated with the healthcare facility, hospital or nursing home where the loved one is located

• the funeral homes that are advertised in a hidden way with hearses parked in the hospital area and morgue

• those who even contact you casually after a death to act as a funeral professional

• the company that does not want to issue a detailed written quote

• who offers you a summary agreement by voice and does not present you with a detailed estimate

• who offers you a quote by writing the price on a business card or a piece of paper

• the company that proposes you not to invoice the service or to do it for a lower amount in exchange for a discount

• who asks you for a cash payment only to make you spend less

• exclude those who do not give you clear or complete information or explanations

• stay away from those who ask you for an advance, perhaps in cash, for "living expenses"

• avoid even those who do not inspire your confidence, trust your instincts

The companies funeral consist of serious professionals who perform a necessary task that not everyone is willing to do, they have no concept of time, which must be available 24 hours a day all year round and that sometimes, not even their experience makes them emotionally prepared to deal with heartbreaking deaths like those of young people or children. 

As it happens in any other sector, it can happen to meet unscrupulous people, who obviously do not represent the category; they are only exceptions that however often make news. 

Once the dangers avoided you can devote yourself to discover the best professionals 

The best way to identify potential agencies as partners already, you find information on the Internet 

On the web you can find the list of funeral home operating in your area and can consult their sites web to get an idea of their organization 

You can find photos and videos that allow you to appreciate their way of operating, the fleet, the status of their premises. 

You can consult their offers, rates, price lists and maybe find useful tips to deal with better the grief and the following period 

you can contact them to request a detailed quote specifying your needs to more than one funeral agency 

• consider the testimonies and experiences of friends or family, not taking into account online reviews of complete strangers, they are difficult to verify, both positive and negative ones

• consider for how many years the company operates in the sector, often the business is handed down the activity for generations and this can be a sign of solidity, if you are not professional you will hardly last in the market

• consider if it was easy for you to contact the company, a professional in the sector is available 24h and also responds to requests via the web

• consider who responded to your request for a quote with a precise and detailed document that highlights the mandatory services, ancillary services and external expenses such as taxes and cemetery rights

• appreciate those who propose you to sign a contract, it will be an agreement that will guarantee both parties

• estimate those who do not weigh your request for an economic funeral and understand the sudden monetary commitment you have to bear

• you also value the company that does not ask you for any advance and trusts you

• you prefer companies that adopt codes of ethical behavior promoted by trade associations

• compare the various offers received, compare the services and choose the company that has the best quality / price ratio

And if you had the opportunity of a direct contact, consider also the impression you had of your interlocutor, the human value of the person who represents the funeral company you want to entrust to you.

Frequent errors of funeral homes on social networks

The entry of funeral homes in online marketing is very recent, so it is usual to find some common mistakes in the use of social networks. Next we will inform you why your social media is not delivering the expected results.

Social networks have become an indisputable tool in the funeral company's marketing plan. Through them we publicize our brand, attend to the concerns of families and develop a concept of our image through the web. However, when doing the community management of your funeral home you can make some mistakes that diminish the impact of your activity on the network causing even confusion among your potential clients.  

Next we will tell you what are the 5 usual mistakes that funeral homes make when they start their presence on social networks such as Facebook, Google+ or Twitter. 

1. DO NOT HAVE A PLANNING  

If you do not have a content strategy specially designed for your social accounts, it will be difficult to know what objectives you are meeting. 

For a successful online presence it is necessary to build a strategy in social networks in which the goals that must be met are conceived in order to establish what the contents will be published. It is required to establish a path to follow that is clear where a purpose is assigned for each channel, a calendar with contents according to these objectives and strategies for interaction with users. Once you have followed these steps, you will begin to enjoy a successful path in social networks. You must commit to your accounts in the social media in the long term and ensure that whoever moderates your presence in them knows deeply what are the values ​​that your company wants to represent. 

2. DOES NOT INTERACT WITH THE HEARING 

networks have a big difference from traditional media: users have the ability to respond and interact with the content.  

Not only should you think of social networks as a means to publish content about your funeral home but also as a conducive space to interact with your potential clients. Do not publish only obituaries since no one will be encouraged to participate in your updates by creating a boring and monotonous page. Instead of doing this, share articles, photos and phrases that are of real interest to your audience and do not hesitate to answer your messages quickly showing your interest in them. In this sense, it is a frequent mistake to deactivate comments for fear of a negative interaction with users of social networks. However, you can make a good impression if you respond to these concerns by showing your concern about solving the problem.  

3. AUTOMATION OF CONTENT 

Social networks do not only require programming content but also looking for real time to devote to their followers. 

Funeral homes work daily with a topic as delicate as death, so it is essential that they show interest in what happens daily to users who follow it on the networks. For this, the social media strategy cannot be based only on the programming of automatic content through social tools. A daily interaction is also required that demonstrates your funeral home's commitment to the community that follows its online publications.

Is your funeral home making any of these mistakes? Feel free to learn from them by transforming them into concrete actions to improve your company's online presence. ...........................................................................................................................................................