How to Grow Your Mortuary Business with Funeral Home Promotional Products

Leverage the Power of Promotion Products to Enhance Your Brand as You Help Your Customers

Promotional products work for all businesses, including (and perhaps especially) funeral homes. When looking at appropriate mortuary, funeral home or parlor promotional items for your business, focus on items that encourage a trustworthy, positive connection between you and your target audience.

The occasion of death is traumatic and the services you provide are a lighthouse in the storm. The promotional products you choose for your funeral home should leverage your unique capacity to ease stress in a time of great burden. Offer your customers a gift that makes this part of their journey a bit easier and demonstrates your concern for their well-being.

Below we present appropriate promotional items to support your funeral home business, along with key selling points and overall industry trends to keep in mind when looking to grow your business.

Funeral Home Promotional Items

Choose among the items below for in-person meetings with your customers. In addition, distribute your promotional items when you participate in community events, and as part of direct mail campaigns within the area you serve. This ensures your name is top of mind when your services are needed. Based upon your budget, these items can also be offered to attendees of the funeral or memorial service.

• Document Bag: Non-Woven Document Sleeve with Zipper
• Pre-planning Calendar (Christian): Everlasting Word Calendar with Funeral Planning Form
• Journal: Meissa Journal with Pen
• Photo Frame: Photo and Memory Box with Custom Box or 5″ x 7″ Photo Frame
• Fridge Magnet: Oval Magnet 5 3/4″ x 3 3/4″
• Pocket Flashlight: LED Flashlight Key Chain
• Tissues: Mini Tissue Pack
• Snacks: Zagasnacks Promo Snack Pack Bags-Full Color or Zagasnacks Promo Snack Pack Bags – Full Color (Trail Mix/Almonds)
• Mints: Starlite Breath Mints-Ind Wrapped/Full Color
• Water: Bottled Water with Twist Cap – 16.9 oz
• Hand Fan: Full Color Hourglass Hand Fan
• Stuffed Animal: 6″ Plush Big Paw Dog with Custom Box
• Stress Reliever: Cloud Shape Stress Reliever or Promotional Round Stress Reliever Ball
• Calming Coloring Books: Color Therapy® Adult Coloring Book & Pencils Set and Color Comfort™ – Shades of Relaxation (Animals)

Trends in the Funeral Industry

Many funeral and memorial service businesses are seeing a decline due to a perfect storm of several factors. This makes promoting your business more important than ever.

• “The report of my death was an exaggeration:” As Mark Twain wrote to dispel rumors of his demise, the Baby Boomer generation could say as much today. Years ago, experts predicted that the Baby Boomer generation would die at a rate that’s not been realized due to a much longer-than-expected life expectancy. For instance, a 65-year-old man has a 50/50 chance of living another 17 years. That’s a lot of time for a funeral home to stand at the ready!
• Let’s Just Say I’m Spiritual, Not Religious: That nature of funeral services is changing along with the culture. More and more services are secular. The term Celebration of Life is often used in place of Memorial Service and the surroundings, mood, food, and program reflect this. Loved ones are releasing doves, decorating with balloons, and incorporating other unique and personal elements into their service.
• Close-Outs on Caskets? Cremation is rising in popularity over burial, with 2015 being the first year that cremation surpassed burial. For funeral homes, casket sales are giving way to other sources of revenue. Cremation is also widely accepted or encouraged in many religions represented in our country’s diverse population, including many Christian denominations, Reform Judaism, and the Buddhist and Hindu traditions.
• Destination Funeral, Anyone? The increase in cremation allows family and friends more time to plan the service, allows out-of-town guests to attend, and presents the possibility of what is sometimes referred to as a “destination funeral,” where loved ones gather at a favorite spot to celebrate a life, mourn a loss, distribute ashes, and heal together in a special setting.

Your promotional approach and offerings—including promotional items you pick—should reflect your ability to address current trends where it makes sense for your brand and target audience.

Key Selling Points to Consider

Certainly we are seeing shifts in customer preferences with respect to planning and personalizing funeral services. At the same time, some aspects, such as the value of a local, personal resource to turn to for planning and executing, are as important as ever. Whether in person, through community engagement and sponsorships, or via direct mail, when you include funeral home promotional items in your outreach plan, you’re assured of winning the attention of your target audience. Now that you have eyes on you, focus your messaging on any of the elements below that are true for your company:

• Your ability to accommodate personal preferences
• Secular and non-secular offerings
• Pre-planning and other cost-saving options
• Your commitment to the community

Funeral Parlors Continue to Play a Critical Role

With the changes we’re seeing in how those who pass are remembered and how surviving loved ones grieve, there is ample opportunity for your funeral business to play a leading role in supporting age-old traditions while also facilitating new directions and ceremony styles. Enjoy promoting the vital role you serve in your community!

P.S. If you’re including funeral home promotional products in a direct mail campaign, check out our blog, 5 Effective Lumpy Mail Ideas for Direct Mail Campaigns to understand why flat mail is flat-out inferior to lumpy!