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Strategies to Prevent Burnout and Live Balanced Lives
Most of us are saturated with messages regarding the importance of eating “right” and exercising. Often these wellness messages come across as critical and judgmental, making us feel there is one more area of our lives overburdened with things we don’t have time to do. This can end up creating more stress instead of alleviating it! Read the rest of this entry »
Dealing with Negative Online Reviews for Funeral Homes
This week’s guest post is by Robin Heppell of Funeral Futurist, a funeral home consulting business. Robin presented at OGR’s Fall Forum on the hazards of the Internet and how online reviews can benefit and harm your firm. This week’s post* delves more extensively into this topic. Read below for Robin’s tips for handling negative online reviews.
How did you feel when you saw your first negative online review? Mad, irritated, concerned?
I have had a couple of clients who found themselves in this position. After talking through it, we put a plan together to make the most out of the situation.
Before we talk about the plan, I want to debunk some bad advice. Some people say not to respond to negative reviews because those reviews will be the first ones people see when they visit your Yelp or Google page. The problem with this strategy is that people are going to find poor reviews anyway, and if left unanswered, the complaint has more power.
I recommend responding to every negative review – but you can’t just blurt something out – you have to make sure that you have a methodical plan.
Here is my 3 step plan for dealing with negative reviews. Read the rest of this entry »
Remember Your Loved Ones, Not Their Hobbies
Originally posted at www.talkofalifetime.org/blog.
A carpenter named George lived in my hometown for many years. George possessed carpentry skills that were widely regarded as nothing short of amazing. When he passed away, many people who attended his visitation asked his family why none of the memorabilia on display depicted his talent for building. It would have been easy to display his worn saw horses, carefully-maintained tools and old coveralls as a tribute to the life he lived. His widow replied, “George wanted to be remembered for something other than his sanding technique and his ability to install electrical wiring in tight spaces.” Read the rest of this entry »
10 Trends in 2015 That Were Wake-Up Calls for Funeral Providers
OGR does its best to keep members in touch with the most important news stories, statistics and trends that impact independent funeral homes through OGR’s weekly e-newsletter, The Independent Insider, and its quarterly magazine, The Independent. Of the hundreds of trends we saw in 2015, the following 10 are our picks for those that give us the best clues to where we need to focus in order to serve families in ways that are more meaningful, healing and palatable. Read the rest of this entry »
Funeral Directors: An Unlikely Source of Comfort
It’s been a hard year. With terrorist attacks, mass shootings, and presidential debates that divide instead of unite, who can’t help but feel downtrodden?
Need your faith restored in humanity? Look at how funeral directors care for the grieving.
Click on the image below to see a collection of heart-warming quotes from Read the rest of this entry »
8 Easy Ways Your Funeral Home Can Adapt to Change
It’s not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.
–W. Edward Deming
Funeral directors often tell me they don’t need to change because their customers don’t want change. The same people used to tell me their cremation rate would top out at 10 percent, their average sale would never decline and their profit margin would always remain positive. I have no doubt that everyone has a pocket of families who never want funeral service to evolve. It’s the other 90 percent we have to Read the rest of this entry »
