Spring is all about renewal. And what better way to embrace the spring season than looking for ways to refresh your funeral home and “dust off” some aspects.

CBS Small Business Pulse recommends that a small business owner should use the season to “reassess their goals, evaluate their financial picture and look for ways to increase their company’s profitability.”

Here’s a checklist of simple ways to do just that.

1. Update Your Social Media

Has it been a while since you’ve checked into your social media presence? Go through all your social media networks and make note of how they’re doing. Look for opportunities to refresh. This includes updating outdated copy, adding new photos to highlight any changes, and making sure your contact information is accurate.

It’s also a time to evaluate your social media strategy to make sure you’re engaging your families online. Take the opportunity to evaluate any new trends or changes to social media features to see if there are ways you could be reaching more potential families. (Check out our eBook library to download some free resources for funeral directors on social media.)

2. Engage Employees

Hold a meeting with employees to give them an opportunity to share any ideas or concerns they may have. This a great chance to make sure everyone’s talents are being used effectively. A Gallup poll found that employees who use their talent and strengths each day are six times more likely to be actively engaged on the job.

This also helps you discover opportunities for outsourcing work. If your current social media or digital strategy isn’t working as much as you’d like, look for experts outside the funeral home to help.

3. Evaluate your business plan

The most common advice for spring cleaning is to dust off your business plan. Any time you’ve made changes or adapted your funeral home to new trends, you should revisit your business plan and update it as well. Think of it as a living document that you use to keep you moving forward and on track with your goals for the long- (and short-) term.

4. Look at What Others Are Doing

There are two types of people you should focus on. Start with your competitors. Look at their social media channels, their services, and their community presence. Check for ways to creatively borrow ideas and then improve on them. And be on the lookout for opportunities to offer experiences or services they don’t.

That’s why you also should focus on what experts in the funeral profession are doing. They’re usually the ones to identify key funeral trends and can help you identify ways to offer a more meaningful experience for families. You also can go straight to the source and ask families in your area what they would like to see from funeral service.

5. Perform a Funeral Home Makeover

You also can take spring cleaning for your funeral home literally. With the warmer weather, take time to look over the property. Address any repairs that might be needed, or consider hiring a landscaping crew to come by to plant some new flowers to freshen things up.

You also can consider renovating your funeral home. Try swapping out old drapes for newer curtains to allow more natural light in the lobby. Or add a fresh coat of paint with modern color schemes. Check out our article on the different ways to add more impact to your lobby.

6. Modernize Your Website

Meeting families’ needs through technology is one of the key trends identified by the NFDA. That means — just like your funeral home facility — today’s families expect your website to have modern amenities.

Things like mobile-friendliness, responsive design, and easy-to-use features that allow families to get right to the information they need are all very important. If it’s been a while since you’ve updated your website, the spring season is the perfect time to freshen it up.

Ready to update your website? Schedule a Frazer website demo to see how our websites are beautiful, functional, and user-friendly.