Bloomtools | Case Studies

Funeral Director Website Design Case Study

Learn about how Bloomtools created a professional and functional website for a Funeral Director, helping them achieve online success.

Like all funeral directors, Bob thought his business provided the best service for the client and created a memorable experience for them in such a sad time.  When he looked at other funeral companies in his area and how they portrayed their business, they all looked the same all offering great service and a long history of care in the region.

Bob wanted to stand out, and offer more to his clients to create an even better memory for them.  Also many of his clients, their family and friends were not always on location so needed to help them feel a part of the process and service where possible.

Driving traffic to the website

In this industry, it is important for businesses to promote themselves subtly and professionally and the Internet is the ideal medium for this.  Bob wanted to get his site appearing high in search rankings as so many people use the Internet to research funeral services because of its ease and convenience.  He chose specific keywords relating to his services and location and implemented a search engine optimisation program.

Other traffic boosting strategies include:

  • Developed alliances with some related companies and put a link to his website on their sites
  • Registered his company with Google Maps so when someone searches for funeral directors in his area, his business comes up at the top of the search results with a map
  • Added his business to directory and classifieds websites for the funeral services industry and local area (chambers of commerce etc.)

Bob also implemented some strategies with his current clients to drive more traffic to the website.  He included his website address on the newspaper death notices to make it easy for those wanting to contact the family to have access to the memorial message area.  He would also advise his client's family to check if the deceased person was an avid Facebook or Twitter user, so the message of the death could be passed on through the social networking sites - driving more people to the website, and importantly for the client, enabling the family to keep in touch with friends they were not aware of.

Direct people back to the website

It is difficult to market to funeral clients in the traditional sense because of the nature of the business, so Bob needed a respectful way to get client's coming back to the website.  After the service Bob would update their online area with a short video of part of the service, eulogies etc. for the people that couldn't attend and also allow them to order additional copies of the memorial book.

Bob's business also offers a service where the client can choose an email message to be sent to family and friends that left messages on the site and attended the service on the anniversary of the person's death.  The message thanks them for their support and encourages them to continue to share in happy memories of their loved one.  The families really appreciate this extra service because it helps the memory live on.  Bob works with client to choose this message during the process of organising the service and then automates it so it goes out in a year's time automatically without any effort from his team.

Bob also uses email marketing to communicate with his alliances and suppliers, sending both groups a monthly email newsletters.  It is a cost effective and simple way for him to stay in touch with key business stakeholders and encourages them to visit his website regularly.

Tools used

Does your business need an Internet marketing plan like this?  Contact us here if you would like one of our expert consultants to evaluate your business and recommend strategies that will suit your unique business and target market.