A new year, a new you. It’s the perfect time to look back on lessons your funeral home has learned and set new goals to make the next year a successful one.

What’s on your funeral home’s New Year’s resolution list this year? Looking to offer more personalization options for families, or maybe get more families involved in the planning process? (Check out what other funeral directors had to say about 2017’s funeral trends!)

Why Do Resolutions Fail?

Whatever your funeral home’s resolutions are, sometimes it’s easier said than done. A study by the University of Scranton found that 92% of New Year’s resolutions will ultimately fail. 

If so many resolutions fail, the obvious question to ask is “why?”

The biggest reason they fail, according to psychotherapist Rachel Weinstein, is that our resolutions are simply unrealistic.

Otherwise, our resolutions are too unspecific and vague. They don’t have clearly-defined goals that need to be reached or progress isn’t tracked.

So how can you make a resolution for your funeral home and stick to it?

Tips for Keeping your Resolution

The best advice for setting a resolution and achieving it? Keep it simple. Setting a realistic goal that has noticeable results is the best way to achieving your resolution.

Here are some other tips:

• Break down your goal into smaller steps that can be achieved over short periods of time. Create a way to track your progress to help visualize your achievements.
• Share your goals with other staff and update them on your goal’s progress. One study found that those who shared goals with others and gave progress updates had a higher rate of achieving them than those that didn’t.
• Celebrate the milestones. Once you achieve a small step toward your goal for the year, treat yourself and your staff. It’ll feel rewarding and help drive momentum toward your next step.

Goals to Strive For

Looking for some inspiration this year for your resolution? Here are some great goals to commit to for 2017:

• Refresh your web presence. Is your website easy-to-use and can families quickly find the information they need? Does it look modern and fresh? Is it using up-to-date web security practices? If it’s been a while since you’ve updated your design or added any new convenient features, planning to update your website is a good goal for 2017.
• Learn something new. We’ve mentioned the benefits of being a lifelong learner. Make 2017 the year you commit to learning something new. Take a course on social media to learn some savvy new skills to promote your funeral home and interact with families. Pick up some lessons on design to learn the creative skills needed to offer more levels of personalization. Or maybe a marketing workshop to brush up on ways to tell your funeral home’s story to families.
• Develop a way to streamline your business. Before the new year starts, take a look at your business practices. Are there opportunities to create shortcuts or effectively cut corners? Technology has made it easier than ever to streamline business practices — saving time, money, and stress.
• Make personalization a priority. It was a big trend in 2016, and will only get bigger in 2017. Find new ways to personalize a memorial service or funeral. Offer your families something no other funeral home is offering. Here’s a great resource on how to promote a culture of creative thinking in your funeral home.
• Find new ways to promote your funeral home. Become the thought leader in your community. Expand your word-of-mouth marketing. Make 2017 all about getting your message out in the community.
• Take a vacation. You’ve earned it. Set aside some time off in 2017 to refresh and relax and avoid coming down with compassion fatigue or burnout.

What’s your funeral home’s resolution for 2017? Share with us in the comments below!