THE POWER OF HOLIDAYS FOR FUNERAL HOME OUTREACH

One of the best and most efficient ways to grow your funeral home is by developing connections with members of your community. Outreach, if performed attentively and with purpose, builds trust with your local community and makes families think of your funeral home when they find themselves in need of either at-need or preneed services. Hosting events that promote community engagement is a great way to bring the community to your funeral home. It also allows community members to perceive your funeral home as a valuable resource that genuinely cares about and for its community.

Holidays are a great opportunity for outreach. It’s during holidays that people invite others into their homes–even funeral homes–to share joy and connection. Hosting events at these times of gathering and reflection is a great way to show your important role in the community. Holidays are also the perfect time to remind attendees about how they can protect their own loved ones by pre-planning with your funeral home. Many consumers are unaware of pre-planning and events at your funeral home offer the perfect opportunity to provide information about how your funeral home can help before they experience a loss. By hosting events that are themed and community-driven, your funeral home offers a venue where people can come together and also become aware of your services in an organic, respectful way.

Each holiday brings about a different spirit and context that you can use to your advantage when creating events. Consider hosting events that appeal to your community’s cultural and religious background. Events can provide an opportunity to acknowledge existing traditions, educate attendees about holidays they may be unfamiliar with, or provide a space to honor lost loved ones. Here are some examples of successful events hosted by Security National’s preneed partner funeral homes:

DAY OF THE DEAD (DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS)

Day of the Dead occurs on November 1st and 2nd. This holiday originates in Mexican and Latin American cultures but is gaining popularity in many parts of the United States. It’s a time to remember and honor lost loved ones in a celebratory and reflective manner, so it’s a great time for your funeral home to connect with the community.

Funeral homes can host altar-building workshops where families construct ofrendas to pay homage to loved ones. An ofrenda (Spanish: “offering”) is the offering placed in a home altar during the annual and traditional Mexican Día de los Muertos celebration. You could have an altar-building workshop at your funeral home to teach this tradition and give space to reflect on those family members who have passed. You could also host a community memorial service. Invite the community to come forward with pictures of their loved ones and place them upon a shared ofrenda in the community. After that, have a small service to allow the people there to memorialize losses.

MEMORIAL DAY

Memorial Day, observed on the last Monday in May, honors the sacrifice of those who have died in military service for the United States. It is a day of remembrance - the perfect time for your funeral home to support the community in paying respect to those who have passed on. 

Host a flag-raising event followed by a service in memory of fallen veterans. Partner with local veterans’ groups to co-sponsor an event or provide support. This is an opportunity to create community partnerships that can last for years. Consider setting aside an area in your funeral home for a Veteran Tribute Wall where families can display pictures and stories of those veterans they would like to pay tribute to. This space can be permanent or temporary. These events are the perfect time to tell the community about special preneed packages or burial benefits you offer for veterans.

MOTHER’S DAY & FATHER’S DAY

Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are great ways to pay respects to parents and allow families to consider what kind of legacies their loved ones leave. Both emotionally charged days are an effortless fit to reach out to families via a funeral home.

Consider allocating a part of your property for a memory garden where families can plant flowers or trees in memory of their parents. If your funeral home also has a cemetery or columbarium, consider offering a small token that loved ones can place on their loved one’s grave. Or offer a space for families to take a video or audio interview with their mothers or fathers as a keepsake for many years to come. This can be tied to a discussion on the importance of legacies and preplanning.

This is also a great time to host a small brunch in your facility or nearby location. You may provide information or brief presentations regarding preneed services at the brunch and remind the family to consider how they will best take care of mom/dad in years to come.

WINTER HOLIDAYS

December is packed with winter holidays including Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, New Year’s, and more. This time of year is focused on reunification, reflection, and family. Organizing an event in the community during the holiday period can provide an opportunity for grieving to find solace or bring families together to impress the spirit of giving and love

Host a “Gratitude Gathering” near Thanksgiving where families can come together to share stories of loved ones they are thankful for. A preneed seminar can easily be added as part of the event, focusing on how preplanning can help protect and preserve family legacies.

Put up a Christmas tree in your funeral home and invite the community to put ornaments on it in memory of loved ones. The tree can become an important, powerful symbol that aids individuals in connecting with and remembering loved ones no longer present around them.

Host a holiday memorial service for families who have lost their loved ones during the year. The service can be a great source of comfort for the grieving family and an outstanding opportunity to showcase your funeral home.

The holidays are also a great way to boost your community involvement by hosting a toy drive or other charity event during the holiday season. Position your funeral home as a partner in the community–one that is interested in concerns well beyond funerary services.

These are just a few examples of events that can help you reach your community. By catering to your community’s unique needs, you can create events that make an impact. Of course, hosting these events and making sure they are successful is not something that occurs overnight; rather, it takes a team of people who understand not only the importance of engaging with the community but also how to turn these events into new customers.

A dedicated preneed team can help you focus on outreach efforts like these. Preneed agents can be out in the community assessing needs and building relationships that will pay dividends for your funeral home well into the future. A preneed agent is so much more than just a salesperson. They are the direct connection between the funeral home and those families who one day will need your services.

What is more, having a preneed-focused team can help you turn a holiday event from a simple feel-good moment to an opportunity to grow your funeral home. It ensures that someone will be present to guide participants through the advantages of preplanning during your events. Whether through one-on-ones during a Memorial Day event or a fullon presentation during a service on Christmas, having that dedicated preneed staff there allows your funeral home the opportunity to give compassionate education while meeting the community where they are.

Incorporating holiday events into your funeral home’s community outreach strategy isn’t just a good idea; it is one of the most effective ways to engender trust, educate families about important subjects, and create deep meaningful connections in the community. By thoughtfully offering compassionate gatherings throughout the year, your funeral home can provide vital support to those in need while organically raising awareness of your services in both an effective and sensitive manner. With the help of a preneed team, these events become wonderful opportunities for families to thoughtfully prepare for the future and ensure peace of mind in life’s most trying and difficult times. A focus on community involvement can reinforce your funeral home as a truly caring and vital component of your community.