Hello there,
I hope you’re well and had a good Easter weekend.
As we move into the new financial year, now is a great time to take a fresh look at your marketing plans for the year ahead.
So let's start off this months Marketing Tips Newsletter with some advice in regards to Marketing Strategy, and then I've included some Quick & Easy To Implement Marketing Tips further down!
STRATEGY TIP 1
CONSIDER EVERY £££ YOU SPEND ON MAREKTING AS AN INVESTMENT IN YOUR BUSINESS'S FUTURE
I really encourage you to look at your marketing budget as an investment in your business, and not a cost. Having a good marketing plan in place is not only going to help you attract new clients today, but will also help you to to secure future funerals by becoming more visible in your community.
Relying on referrals to generate new business is a risky strategy these days as so many people just head straight to google to search for a funeral director when they need one, rather than asking family and friends for a recommendation.
If you don’t have a marketing plan in place to ensure that 1) you’re ranking highly on Google search results pages and 2) you’re continually investing in your brand to be a recognised and trusted local name with local families, then you risk losing market share over time when people search online and click on a competitor business.
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STRATEGY TIP 2
HAVE A 3-PRONGED APPROACH TO YOUR MARKETING STRATEGY
Whether you’re a funeral director or a celebrant, having a three pronged approach to your marketing strategy is the way to guarantee success;
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You need marketing activities that work hard to attract clients that need a funeral today or imminently - this short term marketing strategy includes optimising your Google Business Profile, PPC advertising and SEO activities.
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Your marketing plan needs to also include activities that work to engage future clients - this means increasing your brand awareness so local families come to recognise and trust your business, so whenever they need a funeral director in the future it's your business that is top of mind. This long-term marketing strategy includes social media marketing, community engagement and local advertising.
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And finally exceptional client service and customer journeys from the very first touchpoint with your business to the funeral and beyond. Many businesses forget to consider the experience people have before and the after the funeral. So make sure you're investing in community engagement activities, provide a high-quality user experience on your website that mirrors your high quality service in real life. And it means keeping in touch with clients after the funeral and supporting them through their journey of grief and bereavement.
If you need a fresh perspective on your marketing, I offer a Marketing Audit Service to help you understand what’s working and what needs more focus. And I also offer a Marketing Strategy Service to create a personalised marketing strategy to help your business achieve its goals.
Please email debbie@avensmarketing.com or call 03330 342 477 to discuss your individual needs.
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EASY TO IMPLEMENT QUICK TIPS
Here are some easy to implement Marketing Tips for April that can have a big impact on your business:
Quick Tip 1 - Use Your People To Build Connections & Normalise
Choosing to focus your marketing on the people in your business over cars, coffins and obituary messages is a simple and super effective way to build connections with local families.
The topic of funerals is always a tricky one to get people to engage with, so using your people can help to normalise conversations and make your business more approachable.
This works simple because people buy from people. So use people images on your website and facebook banner, show your people regularly in your social media marketing too. Talk about who they are and what they do. You can ask them questions, show images of them at work and a day-in-the life.
The more you focus on your people the better the connection you are building with your local community, which helps to position you as a top of mind business.
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Quick tip 2 - Post Variety Helps To Drive Social Engagement
But knowing what to post on social media as a funeral business can be tricky. And I see many funeral businesses posting the same type of posts again and again, which aren't working to engage your local community.
As a funeral business variety is the key to engaging and connecting with local families. This means using a variety of messages and using a variety of formats, because different people engage and connect with different approaches.
So to help funeral directors and celebrants approach social media marketing more strategically, rather than scrabbling round for ideas, we have developed our IDEAS FRAMEWORK to help.
The IDEAS FRAMEWORK gives you a structure help you come up with a variety of different post ideas and it is included in our Social Media Toolkit which is available for download. There are versions for both Funeral Directors and Funeral Celebrants.
>> The Social Media Marketing Toolkit costs just £15 and you can get yours by clicking here.
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Quick tip 3 - Give Your Website A Fresh Eyes Review
When was the last time you looked at your website from a potential client point of view? Is it working hard to meet their needs and to get them to contact you? Take some time to ask yourself these questions:
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Who will be visiting your website and what do they want from your website? Think about it from the perspective of people that need a funeral now or imminently. And also people who may be thinking ahead about their own funeral wishes, and people who may be looking for grief and bereavement support.
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What first impression does your website give to visitors? Does your website represent the high quality service that you give to your clients in real life both from a functional and a design point of view? Or does your website look old and tired and is underselling your business or turning people off?
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How easy is it to find the information visitors are looking for? Are you directing people between the different pages and sections on your website with buttons and links?
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And how easy is it for people to contact you in the way they feel most comfortable? Is there a clear CTA (call to action) on each page? Can they telephone, email or send you a text or WhatsApp message?
The User Experience on a website can overtime become disjointed or overly complex as you make changes and add more content. This means it's important to regularly review the User Experience of your website to make sure it's working as hard as it can to attract new clients.
>> If you'd appreciate a fresh pair of eyes on your website with a User Experience Website Audit, then please get in touch by email - debbie@avensmarketing.com or call 03330 342 477.
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MARKETING SUPPORT FOR YOUR BUSINESS
We've launched two new services for funeral businesses recently, tailored to help you identify how your marketing is currently performing and what areas you should be focusing on to attract new clients. The Marketing Health Check is FREE and a Power Hour is a great way to get expert marketing support without any long-term commitment!
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Our FREE Marketing Health Check For Funeral Directors & Celebrants is a really useful tool to get your thinking about the health of your marketing. Simply answer 35 yes / no questions to get your score.
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Our Power Hours give you 60 minutes of focus time with a funeral marketing specialist to talk through any marketing problems or challenges. Or you can use the time getting advice, a second opinion or a bit of training.
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WILL I SEE YOU AT THE NAFD EXHIBITION IN JUNE?
I'm exhibiting and busy designing my exhibition stand at the moment. It may only be a small space compared to others, but as it’s my first time exhibiting I hope you will come along and say hello in Hall 1 Stand 36!
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ANY MARKETING QUESTIONS?
Thank you once again for your time and making it to the end of this monthly email! Please let me know if you have any particular marketing questions or challenges that you'd like me to cover in future newsletters.
But in the meantime, here's to a successful April, and I'll catch up with you again soon.
Debbie
Debbie Avens
Director of Avens Marketing
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