Whether it’s the funeral profession or another industry, today’s customers care about transparency.

Not only do they want to know everything about your products and services, they also want to know you. People buy from people, so they want to know and trust who they’re planning their funeral arrangements with.

According to a survey by Label Insight, about 94% of consumers are likely to be loyal to a brand that’s completely transparent, and 81% of those surveyed said they would be willing to sample more of a company’s products if they were comfortable with their transparency.

Even though this survey focused on the food industry, its findings still apply to the funeral profession. In terms of your funeral home, being transparent means that your client families are more likely to recommend your facility to their family and friends. They’d also be more willing to look into all your memorialization and personalization options.

Below are some tips on how your funeral home’s staff can be transparent with your client families.

Be Honest

Being honest with your client families is number one. To be completely honest and transparent, you need to lay everything out on the table about your products and services. The easiest way to do this is to have them tell you their funeral preferences and budget. Then, you can suggest some options that you think would be a good fit for them.

For example, let’s say a family comes to you wanting to plan a funeral for their loved one Robert — a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and friend. They want the funeral to showcase his love of fishing, but they’re also tight on funds.

You can suggest some personalized funeral stationery that features fishing-themed imagery and go over the different options and price ranges. As for the funeral payment, you can suggest some alternative payment options, like crowdfunding or a loan. You can discuss the details of whichever option they’re most interested and walk them through exactly how the process works.

Be Genuine

Paying attention to detail and finding ways to create personalized funeral experiences shows families your intentions are genuine. Things like actively listening to a loved one’s story to create a personalized funeral experience show where your heart is at. The focus is on the family’s loved one but there is still a way to be transparent and cover necessary topics without being insensitive.

For instance, if the family wants to establish a memorial in their community for their loved one, such as a memorial bench, you can help them make this happen. Maybe all their funds went to the funeral expenses and there isn’t anything left over for a memorial. This is when an option like crowdfunding can be beneficial. You can suggest your funeral home’s crowdfunding service as a way to raise funds for the memorial.

Practice Open Communication

Practicing open communication shows families that you’re not afraid to be transparent with them. Let them know they can ask you any questions, whether they’re about your specific services or about funerals in general.

Many families may feel uncomfortable bringing up questions because they think it’s an irrelevant or awkward topic. But by letting them know that no question is irrelevant and you’ll happily answer it to the best of your ability, they’ll feel more comfortable going into funeral planning.

Provide Resources

Providing online and offline resources adds to your funeral home’s transparency. Having informational guides about your products and services, compelling funeral home staff biographies, and other educational resources help show families who you are.

To start, you can check out our Resources Page for some free eBooks, media kits, and other resources. Many of our eBooks have content that you can share with your families, such as our 101 Unique Ways to Memorialize a Loved One eBook. Or if your funeral home has a Frazer-powered website with Tribute Pay, you can take advantage of our free financing media kit — which includes content like a Tribute Loans brochure that you can give to your families.

Build Trust

Ultimately, being transparent with your client families helps build trusting relationships with them. By building trust, they’ll feel that they can come to you with any questions or for guidance. They’ll understand your funeral home’s values, mission, and story, and know that they’re making funeral arrangements with someone they can trust.

What are your thoughts on transparency in the funeral profession? Share them with us in the comments!