August 2020

Page A23 AUGUST 2020 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on A ProfessionalMortuaryEquipment.com Summer 2020 Hydraulic Foot Pump $3995 Steel/Battery $5395 Steel/Battery/Scale $5945 Aluminum/Battery $6895 Aluminum/Battery/Scale $7445 Crematory scissor lift Laminated body storage board $199 Casket Flag Bands (5) $39.95 single casket flag band $9.95 International Mortuary Shipping 1-800-604-9576 Mortuary stretcher $895 Oversized stretcher $1495 hydraulic embalming table $3495 Church trucks $425 slider board $99 Oversized $119 disaster body bag 5 pack $150 standard body bag 10 pack $73 www.clearviewcaskets.com 305-699-7410 U.S. Patent No. 10,596,055,B1 Rose Gold Non-Religious Platinum Collection Gold Last Supper Platinum Collection Bier Stands w/ LED Lights New! GOLD Collection Gold Hardware Angel Model “Infant Casket” U.S. Patent No. 10,596,055,B1 U.S. Patent No. 10,596,055,B1 U.S. Patent No. 10,596,055,B1 ® creating positive word-of-mouth (digitally and otherwise). Next, create processes that let clientele know that reviews are appreciated and help your business succeed. Depending on the type of services or goods you provide, you may not want to ask for a review at the time of service; it’s not tactful to press grieving families to log into their mobile phone or a kiosk in your funeral home, for example. These are tactics that are better left to restaurants or retail establishments. But deathcare companies can still ask for reviews in a number of ways: • If clientele seek you out to offer praise or positive feed- back, mention that an online review is very helpful for your company and other individuals who may be looking for similar services. Let them know that one of the best places to leave this type of review is on your Google My Business profile. • Place a discreet note on your website letting visitors know how grateful you are to be able to serve at-need families and others and that you are also appreciative of any feed- back they might provide. You might link to your GMB page so individuals can leave reviews. • Periodically post tactful reminders on your social me- dia pages that reviews are helpful and important to lo- cal businesses and that you appreciate feedback from former clientele. Keep this light and tasteful and don’t overdo the requests, or it might cause your profiles to seem too self-serving. • Incorporate review asks into follow-up contacts with cli- entele. You might include a short written call to action (CTA) about reviews on thank-you materials or invoices you mail out or send a follow-up email ensuring the fam- ily doesn’t need anything else from you and include a link to leave a review. You also could make a follow-up call to check in on the family (and mention the review process if the vibe during the call is positive about your services). You can’t entirely control the review process, but you can take action to encourage reviews from individuals who seem likely to leave positive ones. And more (mostly positive) re- views helps boost your performance in search engines and inspire trust in potential clientele. Welton Hong is the founder of Ring Ring Marketing® and a leading expert in creating case generation from online to the phone line. He is the author of Making Your Phone Ring with Internet Marketing for Funeral Homes. For more information, visit www.FuneralHomeProfits.com. Review Gating Continued from Page A22