Our Top Five Virtual Meeting Tips for Funeral Directors
May 5, 2021
Virtual meetings have become the reality for many professionals, including funeral directors. They started as a way to practice social distancing, but now in some cases, they’re simply a more convenient option.
For example, if family members live out of town, they can still be a part of the arrangement conference virtually. Or maybe the family does live in town but has a very busy schedule, so they’d prefer to have a virtual meeting instead of driving to your facility. Whatever the reason is, it’s another service you can offer your client families to best meet their needs.
To make sure your virtual arrangement meetings are as productive as possible, we’ve come up with our top five tips! Check them out below. (Bonus, these tips also can apply to your firm’s team meetings!)
1. Create a Virtual Meeting Agenda and Stick to It.
Have an agenda to make sure the meeting goes smoothly. You can most likely follow a similar agenda as you would for an in-person arrangement meeting, but just make adjustments for virtual as needed.
It’s also a good idea to share the agenda with families prior to the meeting, so everyone is on the same page. Also, give them a time estimate of how long the meeting will take, so they can plan their day accordingly. At the beginning of the meeting, you can give them a brief reminder of the agenda and time frame.
If multiple family members attend the virtual meeting, make sure everyone has a chance to speak. Virtual meetings can make it difficult to signal that you want to talk, so one way to make sure that everyone gets a turn is to give each person time to share their ideas, questions, and concerns.
2. Turn Your Video Camera On.
Of course, nothing beats holding the grieving person’s hand or giving them a hug to show your support. While this obviously isn’t possible with virtual meetings, you can still comfort families through video chat. Along with your tone of voice, your facial expressions and body language play a huge part in families understanding your thoughts and concerns for their well-being. Seeing your caring smile can help give them the support they need during their grief.
Even though the meeting is virtual, you should still treat it as if it’s in person. Dress as you would for an in-person meeting. Also clean up your space that will show up in the video background. A cluttered background can make families feel more stressed, so make sure your space is organized. You also could hang an interesting piece of art behind you that isn't too distracting.
3. Turn Off Your Notifications.
It’s easier to avoid distractions at in-person meetings. Virtual meetings make it tempting to quick pop into your email to see if that invoice you’ve been waiting for was submitted or to check your management software to see how another client family’s obituary is going.
But these things can wait until the meeting is over, so your full attention can be focused on the meeting. To avoid multi-tasking, turn off your notifications so you’re not interrupted by emails or messages popping up on your device. You also could silence your phone and only answer a phone call if it’s an emergency.
4. Use the Mute Button – It’s Your Friend.
We’ll start with the more obvious use for the mute button, which is to mute your mic when you’re not talking. No one wants to be distracted by background noise. Even sounds like typing on your keyboard can be distracting, so mute yourself unless you’re talking.
Another use for the mute button that you might not have thought of is to signal to others that you want to say something. This way, everyone can see when your mic goes from muted to unmuted and knows that you want to talk next. (This is another way to make sure that everyone gets a chance to talk!)
5. Take Advantage of Portable Funeral Home Management Software.
With our browser-based funeral home management software – 9Online, you can access your data anytime, anywhere, and from any device. Whether you’re at your funeral home or elsewhere, you can easily fill out the case information with the client family.
You also can eliminate the need for additional meetings with its turnkey integrations. For example, instead of meeting with the family to collect the funeral payment, they can make the payment online via E-Pay. Or instead of meeting just to sign a few forms, this can be done electronically with our E-Signature tool to save everyone time.
Ready to be more portable than ever with 9Online? Click here to book a free SRS demo.
For example, if family members live out of town, they can still be a part of the arrangement conference virtually. Or maybe the family does live in town but has a very busy schedule, so they’d prefer to have a virtual meeting instead of driving to your facility. Whatever the reason is, it’s another service you can offer your client families to best meet their needs.
To make sure your virtual arrangement meetings are as productive as possible, we’ve come up with our top five tips! Check them out below. (Bonus, these tips also can apply to your firm’s team meetings!)
1. Create a Virtual Meeting Agenda and Stick to It.
Have an agenda to make sure the meeting goes smoothly. You can most likely follow a similar agenda as you would for an in-person arrangement meeting, but just make adjustments for virtual as needed.
It’s also a good idea to share the agenda with families prior to the meeting, so everyone is on the same page. Also, give them a time estimate of how long the meeting will take, so they can plan their day accordingly. At the beginning of the meeting, you can give them a brief reminder of the agenda and time frame.
If multiple family members attend the virtual meeting, make sure everyone has a chance to speak. Virtual meetings can make it difficult to signal that you want to talk, so one way to make sure that everyone gets a turn is to give each person time to share their ideas, questions, and concerns.
2. Turn Your Video Camera On.
Of course, nothing beats holding the grieving person’s hand or giving them a hug to show your support. While this obviously isn’t possible with virtual meetings, you can still comfort families through video chat. Along with your tone of voice, your facial expressions and body language play a huge part in families understanding your thoughts and concerns for their well-being. Seeing your caring smile can help give them the support they need during their grief.
Even though the meeting is virtual, you should still treat it as if it’s in person. Dress as you would for an in-person meeting. Also clean up your space that will show up in the video background. A cluttered background can make families feel more stressed, so make sure your space is organized. You also could hang an interesting piece of art behind you that isn't too distracting.
3. Turn Off Your Notifications.
It’s easier to avoid distractions at in-person meetings. Virtual meetings make it tempting to quick pop into your email to see if that invoice you’ve been waiting for was submitted or to check your management software to see how another client family’s obituary is going.
But these things can wait until the meeting is over, so your full attention can be focused on the meeting. To avoid multi-tasking, turn off your notifications so you’re not interrupted by emails or messages popping up on your device. You also could silence your phone and only answer a phone call if it’s an emergency.
4. Use the Mute Button – It’s Your Friend.
We’ll start with the more obvious use for the mute button, which is to mute your mic when you’re not talking. No one wants to be distracted by background noise. Even sounds like typing on your keyboard can be distracting, so mute yourself unless you’re talking.
Another use for the mute button that you might not have thought of is to signal to others that you want to say something. This way, everyone can see when your mic goes from muted to unmuted and knows that you want to talk next. (This is another way to make sure that everyone gets a chance to talk!)
5. Take Advantage of Portable Funeral Home Management Software.
With our browser-based funeral home management software – 9Online, you can access your data anytime, anywhere, and from any device. Whether you’re at your funeral home or elsewhere, you can easily fill out the case information with the client family.
You also can eliminate the need for additional meetings with its turnkey integrations. For example, instead of meeting with the family to collect the funeral payment, they can make the payment online via E-Pay. Or instead of meeting just to sign a few forms, this can be done electronically with our E-Signature tool to save everyone time.
Ready to be more portable than ever with 9Online? Click here to book a free SRS demo.
It’s 2022. If you haven’t realized it already, it’s time to understand the importance of your funeral home website for your firm and community. From making funeral plans and paying the expenses to expressing condolences and learning about coping with grief, your website can do it all and so much more. Want to learn how? See how you can take your funeral home website to the next level in 2022 with these 22 must-have features. Create the Ultimate Interactive Obituary Experience . Give your families a space to grieve their loss, show their support, and honor their loved one with interactive memorial walls. With features for expressing condolences, posting photos, and sharing memories, everyone can heal and remember their loved one. Make Ordering Funeral and Sympathy Flowers Easy with an Online Store. By having an online store built directly onto your website, families can conveniently order funeral and sympathy flowers while visiting their loved one’s memorial page. Spread the Word About a Loved One’s Passing Through Social Sharing. With easy social sharing, you can let your families share their loved one’s obituary and condolences on social media to spread the word about their passing. Support Families Through Crowdfunding Campaigns. Another way to let families show their support is to have the option to donate to a funeral crowdfunding campaign directly on their loved one’s memorial wall. Include Your General Price List (GPL) on Your Funeral Home Website. Along with a breakdown of your products and services, you should include your GPL to be transparent with your families and build trusting relationships with them. Let Families Pay Directly on Your Website with an Online Payment Center. Many families want the convenience of online payments, so you can give them this with an online payment center for credit card payments and more . Give Your Families an Easy-to-Navigate Design on Any Device. No one wants to waste time finding what information they need, especially while at-need planning, so make sure your website is easy to navigate of any device. Have Forms for Families to Easily Enter Their Information. Instead of families calling your firm for everything they need, have forms that families can submit for preplanning, downloading resources, and more. Put Your Contact Information in an Easy-to-Locate Spot. If families want to call or visit your firm, don’t make it difficult for them to locate this information. Along with a Contact Us page, you should also include this information on your homepage. Provide Your Community with Grief and Funeral Planning Resources. Your website can be like an online library for families to learn about funeral planning and grief. For example, create a Resources page for your content and link to any other educational resources. Help Families Grieve and Stay Informed Through Email Subscriptions. Without any work required from your employees, let your families sign up for email subscriptions directly on your website, such as for grief support and obituary notifications. Share Frequently Asked Questions with Your Community. Many times, your employees repeatedly answer the same questions from families. To eliminate some of these repetitive questions, have a FAQ section on your website. Post Useful Information on Your Website’s Blog. Your firm’s website should have a blog for regularly sharing content about preplanning, at-need planning, personalizing a funeral, grieving, memorialization, and more. Secure Your Website with a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Certificate. Giving your families a secure connection when entering sensitive information on your website is a must-have. To do this, your website should have an SSL Certificate. Eliminate Spam Through Sophisticated Spam Filters. Eliminate spam comments and messages with sophisticated spam filters. This way, grieving families don’t have the added pain of rude comments. Develop an SEO Strategy to Get Found by More Families Online. Make sure your website gets found by more families online by including things like meta descriptions for your webpages and keywords. Design a Logo that Represents Your Firm’s Brand. Your logo should be visually appealing and reflect your firm’s brand. If it’s been a while since you’ve revisited your logo design, it’s probably time to explore some new ideas. Tell Your Families About Your Firm’s History, Employees, and Mission. Your families want to know the people behind your firm and what you stand for , so make sure to include things like your firm’s mission to serve families, history in your community, and employee bios to help them better understand your goals. Take Professional Pictures of Your Firm and Merchandise. If your website photos are low quality, this can reflect negatively on your business. To prevent this, draw families to your firm by taking professional photos of your facility and merchandise. Showcase Testimonials from Your Firm’s Client Families. Give your community real-life examples of positive experiences families had working with your firm, whether they’re text or video-based testimonials. Route Families to the Funeral Location Through Text Directions. One way to make things easier for families is to have a tool directly on your website for sending directions to the funeral or graveside service right to their phones. Integrate with Your Other Favorite Funeral Technology Solutions. Lastly, your funeral home website should integrate with your other funeral technology solutions to save you time, such as your case management software and marketing automation software. Take your firm to the next level in 2022 by upgrading to an SRS Website. Click h ere to book a free demo .
2021 was a revolutionary year for the funeral industry, but in 2022, it’s time to take it to the NEXT LEVEL. If you haven’t already, now is the time more than ever to embrace the mobile revolution . With a little help from your technology solutions, you can meet your families’ needs anytime, anywhere while creating a faster and simpler process for your firm. For the sake of time, we’ll focus on three important aspects of your firm: Funeral Options Business Management Aftercare 2022 is already here , so there’s no time to waste. Let’s start with funeral options. Take Your Funeral Options to the Next Level: Give Families Online Choices Families want online options. It’s as simple as that. They’re used to it now, so they won’t settle for anything less. The pandemic showed them that a lot of their in-person tasks can be accomplished online in less time, such as: Using an app to place your grocery order ahead of time instead of wandering the store. Scanning your check with your mobile device and depositing it without ever leaving your couch. Or simply entering your credit card number online and pressing submit. Having virtual appointments with your doctor, accountant, and other professionals instead of meeting in person. You can apply these same concepts to the funeral industry. Instead of meeting with families in person for every task, some things can be done virtually, such as selecting their funeral options on your website through a pre-planning form, signing forms, collecting files, making the payment virtually , and meeting through video chat. Of course, this doesn’t replace in-person meetings. The purpose of these features is to take tedious tasks like filling out paperwork and swiping credit cards to a virtual environment. This way, you can save in-person meetings for building more meaningful connections with your families. So going back to the question, how can you take your funeral options to the next level in 2022? Give families more online choices. Instead of driving to your firm to pay for the expenses, sign a form, or give you documents, let them do it virtually in a matter of seconds. Not to mention that this is more secure than documenting things on paper. Take Your Business Management to the Next Level: Say Hello to Case Management Software Do you want to way to offer your families everything we’ve just covered and more all in one place? Say hello to funeral home case management software. As the popular saying goes, behind every successful funeral director is a turnkey case management system. Okay, maybe people don’t go around saying that, but they should because it’s true. Without an organized and easy-to-access system, your firm couldn’t function. But you can’t use just any system. Meet 9Online , the funeral industry’s elite management software. Instead of using third-party integrations that cost you more time and money, it has built-in features for signing forms electronically, collecting the payment virtually, communicating with families in a safe, virtual environment, and so much more . Take Your Aftercare to the Next Level: Focus on Your Marketing and Website Lastly, we can’t forget about aftercare. As you know, a family’s journey with grief is long from over once the funeral takes place. It’s something that they’ll carry with them for the rest of their lives. Though this may sound daunting, you can make things much easier for them by focusing on how your website and marketing efforts can help them. By building up your aftercare resources, it could even be the reason someone chooses to work with your firm over another one. For example, these are a few ways your website and marketing can improve your aftercare efforts in 2022 and beyond: Share blog posts, guides, and other resources on your firm’s website . Engage with families on social media through posts and ads. Use email nurturing to further engage with them and provide them with grief resources. We know this sounds like a lot, so that’s why we partnered with Growth Engine. It’s the first marketing automation software designed specifically for the funeral industry and you and your families’ needs. How cool is that? Click here to learn more about this platform. Book a free SRS demo to learn even more ways to boost your business performance and better serve your families.
We want to give a shout out to our incredible clients and their brand-new SRS Websites! Thank you for trusting SRS with your funeral home's website . We’re proud of every design and make sure they accurately represent your firm and provide you with the tools you need for success. Below are just a few of our favorite SRS Website designs from this fall. Lighthouse Funeral & Cremation Owner and Manager Tate C. Goodwin opened Lighthouse Funeral & Cremation in 2013. Today, they have several Michigan locations. On their new SRS Website, families can use E-Pay to make an online payment for their loved one’s funeral service expenses.