3 Ways to Increase Preneed Leads Online

If you’re like most funeral professionals, you want to find ways to increase your funeral home’s revenue.

However, you don’t have many options to do so. Let’s take a look at a few:

1. You can raise your prices. But most funeral homes only want to do this as a last resort.

2. You can sell more to existing families or those you’ve previously served. Again, many funeral homes don’t like this option because they don’t want to seem pushy with their offerings.

3. You can bring in new families through preneed. (You might’ve seen this coming if you saw the title of this article!)

Many funeral home owners like option three the best. They’d rather promote their services to more families and increase their market share in their community. But getting preneed leads (and even sales) can be difficult.

If you have a passive preneed program where you rely solely on walk-ins and call-ins, you won’t see many leads or sales. As a result, you will find it almost impossible to increase your market share and revenue.

One of the best ways to increase sales is through an active preneed program, where a designated person educates your community and generates referrals and leads. But even with an active program, sometimes the leads can dry up if you don’t have a variety of ways to attract them.

Another way to reach families is by taking your efforts online. According to the World Bank, 97% of Americans use the internet. That means instead of waiting for families to walk in and ask you about preplanning, bring that education to them online!

These three strategies can help you get more preneed leads online (and maybe sales!).

1. Use the Power of Social Media

Many Americans still have no idea they can make arrangements in advance and save their families from the financial and emotional burdens that come with making decisions at the time of loss. So, one of the best ways to start spreading awareness about preplanning is by connecting with them online.

Why? Based on a consumer study we did, 90% of participants use social media, including Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and other platforms. By meeting people online, where they spend a lot of time, you can get your message in front of more people faster than traditional marketing methods.

But you need the right strategy to get leads online to help those leads turn into preneed sales. You can create helpful content, such as downloadable checklists and eBooks, that cover various topics about planning ahead. Then, you can promote those resources online through digital advertising.

You capture leads by asking people for contact information, such as a phone number or email address, so you can send them resources and follow up with more information about preplanning. This principle is called the rule of reciprocity, where if you provide something of value (a helpful resource), people will provide something of value (their contact information). This strategy can help you generate leads for your funeral home on Facebook, Google, and YouTube.

Remember, with the right social media strategy, you can educate families about the importance of planning ahead, generate leads, and maybe even increase sales in the process

2. Make Your Website Work for You

Another way to get preneed leads online is by capturing the attention of people who visit your funeral home website for any reason, from those reading an obituary to those wanting information about your services.

But many funeral home websites aren’t set up for success. Here’s why:

1. They lack effective calls to action (CTAs).

2. They don’t educate the consumer.

3. They aren’t set up to be user-friendly.

Let’s look at each of these in a bit more depth.

THEY LACK EFFECTIVE CALLS TO ACTION.

According to SEO company Semrush, “A call to action is a visual prompt (usually a text link or a button) that directs a user to take a specific action.”

On websites, these CTAs might say, “Download now,” “Learn more,” or “Talk to our team.” Without CTAs, website visitors won’t know how you can help them.

To have an effective CTA for lead generation, you need to have an enticing offer that the reader can’t resist. The goal of this CTA is to provide something of value (a checklist, an eBook, etc.) in exchange for someone’s contact information. Promoting a preplanning checklist on your website is a great CTA to drive preneed leads for your funeral home.

THEY DON’T EDUCATE THE CONSUMER.

A lot of funeral home websites have something like a resources section. However, the content is minimal and doesn’t answer questions that families have. If you, the expert, aren’t educating families about how you can help them, they’ll turn to other resources online that might paint the funeral profession in a negative light.

That’s why you should post quality content that covers a variety of topics, from grief resources to common funeral or cremation questions. You can also post informative videos and articles to your website to educate families.

THEY AREN’T USER-FRIENDLY.

If someone visited your website, would they easily be able to find information and resources on preplanning? Frequently asked questions? Your general price list?

What about your website load time? Would it load quickly, even on mobile devices and tablets? Would visitors see clear images and helpful CTAs to click?

There are many factors to consider when evaluating your website for optimal engagement. If families have trouble navigating your website, they’ll more than likely leave.

The good news is if your website has compelling CTAs, educates families, and is easy to navigate, that greatly increases your chance of getting preneed leads.

3. Try an eCommerce Tool

The third way to get more preneed leads (and maybe sales) online is through an online preplanning/ eCommerce tool.

As mentioned previously, 97% of people use the internet today, which includes people of all ages. In fact, people are already making big purchases online, from cars to vacations. And more and more people want to explore their funeral options this way.

In the same consumer study from earlier, 45% of people said they would preplan and prepay for their funerals—even better if they could start the process online.

An eCommerce tool is a way for preneed families to prearrange online through your funeral home from the comfort and convenience of home. It’s essentially a digital storefront for your funeral home. That means families can:

• Select merchandise and other add-ons.

• Choose service details that align with how they want to be memorialized.

• And more importantly, gain peace of mind for the future. But what should you look for in a tool?

OPTIONS TO CONSIDER

Many online preplanning tools exist, but they’re not all equal. Some focus solely on disposition preferences and don’t educate families on the value of a funeral. Others provide a way to preplan but offer no way for families to fund their plans, even if they wanted to.

During your search for the perfect tool to generate preneed leads and sales, look for one that:

• Doesn’t solely promote direct cremations

• Educates families on the value of a funeral

• Provides recommendations based on families’ preferences

• Guides families through the entire arrangement process from start to finish

The nice thing about an online preplanning tool is the fact that you can promote it pretty easily on your website and social media, too!

YOUR PRENEED PROGRAM IS IMPORTANT

Your preneed program shouldn’t only be an additional source of revenue; it should help you with your overall growth plan for your funeral home. You should also invest in online platforms to help you increase leads for your funeral home.

By posting on social media, you can educate your community and share helpful content with more people. Your website can allow people to engage with you and take action in the form of CTAs. Lastly, an eCommerce tool lets you connect with families online who want to explore preplanning options from the comfort of home. When these three strategies work together, you significantly increase your chances of generating preneed leads and sales online.

In short, whether you have a passive or active program, there are always opportunities you can explore to improve your preneed block of business.

You just need to know where to look, and sometimes, that’s online!