Is your funeral home contributing to local community?

A funeral home is an important part of the community and families turn to them at a time when they are most vulnerable. Hence if you are running one, you know how important is this trust factor that locals put in your business. It takes years for this dependence to grow and depends on how much you fulfill the needs of the community as well as how you give back to them. If you are wondering whether you have been serving the local community well or not, then read the Q and A below and see how many fit you.

If you close tomorrow, will the community miss you?

No business likes to close down, but if you imagine the scenario and the impact, it can help you know where you stand in the community. If you think that there is a funeral home that can offer the service that you are providing and do it well, then have you thought that they may provide the same to your existing community right now? Hence by answering this question honestly, you can find out the edge you can have over your competitors in the community. Plus, will the community miss you when you are gone? If the answer is “no” it means you haven’t supported enough local causes and charities for the community to feel that you are an essential establishment in the history of the community.

Are you fitting in the values and issues of the community you are serving?

Each community has its own value system and issues they are concerned about. To be a part of that community, you have to address those issues and values. For example, if your funeral home is situated in an area that predominantly has a “sandwich” population (a generation that is in their prime and hence have to take care of their children as well as their aging parent), then their concerns and expectations from you will be vastly different if your community is mostly elderly, retired persons. Hence to be useful to the community, you need to know your demography very well and cater to their need and assuage their concerns.

How well known are your funeral home’s programs in the community?

Funeral homes today don’t just offer help organizing funerals; many also offer after-funeral programs for the deceased’s family because handling grief is a long journey. Then there are special memorial services held during festivals and anniversaries. If your funeral home is offering these kinds of services, does your community know about them? if the answer is “yes”, then congratulations, you have done a good job. If it is “no”, then you need to reach out more. And it can be during community celebrations like town foundation day or other such events. Have an open house during such events to show how your funeral home has been an integral part of the town/community’s history. Or sponsor floats and charities that go with your business’s core values and image.

So, these are three important Q and A you need to know to understand how vital you are to the community and then work towards maintaining or attaining that.