November 2018

Page A26 NOVEMBER 2018 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on A Funeral Directors Research,Inc. AMRA INSTRUMENT, LLC 623 N. Tower (P.O. Box 359) Centralia, WA 98531 “the shorter the supply line the better off you are” TM ® WEB DIRECT GIFT & PRICING www.amrainstruments.com www.preproomdirect.com Resources are available in English and Spanish to help you create meaningful and healing memorialization experiences for families and communities. Learn more at FuneralServiceFoundation.org E-BOOK AND VIDEO FREE to share on your website DOWNLOAD embed code online 12-PAGE BOOKLET REQUEST complimentary copies online CUSTOMIZE and purchase with your logo Understanding the important role funerals and memorialization play in the lives of youth News Association Take Customer Service to the Next Level with New Secret Shopper Program BROOKFIELD,WI— For funeral home owners and managers, im- proving customer service is criti- cal for increasing the satisfaction and loyalty of client families. The National Funeral Directors As- sociation (NFDA) has expanded its Discount Advantage Program with the addition of 360 Intel, one of the country’s premier se- cret shopper services. Secret shop- per programs are used in many service-based businesses to provide valuable and unbiased feedback on how customers interact with staff. After discussing the unique needs and challenges a firm faces, 360 In- tel will work with funeral home owners or managers to design a cus- tomized secret shopper program. Firms can choose a mix of shop types – in person or phone. There are standard questions shoppers re- spond to but NFDA member firms can add custom questions pertain- ing to their firm and operations. When a secret shopper visits or calls a funeral home, he or she will engage members of the staff (both funeral directors and non-licensed staff) and complete a detailed assessment. The confidential results are shared with- in 48 hours with the funeral home owner or manager and will provide insight into immediate opportuni- ties for improving customer service. A visit or call from a secret shop- per can provide a great deal of in- formation about specific customer service skills on which employees can be coached; however, analyz- ing overall customer service trends within the funeral home is also im- portant. 360 Intel also offers own- ers and managers an online report- ing dashboard which houses data from all shops, along with custom- izable charts and graphs that will enable them to analyze trends in customer service ratings over time. “Our initial response from mem- bers who have used 360 Intel has been very positive,” said NFDA director of member development Lacy Robinson, who has trained funeral professionals on customer service skills for years. “I am con- fident owners and managers will find great value in the feedback from 360 Intel. Follow-up reports will identify strengths and areas in which employees can improve their approach to families.” 360 Intel offers specially negoti- ated discounts for NFDA mem- bers. Association members will not be required to make major com- mitments to a certain number of shops over a particular period of time. They will also have the ability to customize a portion of the ques- tions used for each shop and have the opportunity to anonymously benchmark their customer service scores with those of other NFDA member funeral homes participat- ing in the secret shopper program. This interactive online learning course is ideal for all funeral home employees, from funeral directors and preneed specialists to admin- istrative assistants. The course ad- dresses specific questions they may frequently hear from people who call the funeral home, such as “How much is cremation?” and “Why are you more expen- sive?” Those who take the course will be able to download handouts and worksheets to further develop their customer service skills. Funeral home staff, who want to learn more about how 360 Intel, can help their firm take its custom- er service to a new level can visit the NFDA Discount Advantage page, www.nfda.org/discountadvantage. There, they can learn more about the program, exclusive benefits for members and how to begin. NFDA’s Discount Advantage Program offers association mem- bers exclusive discounts on a variety of everyday resources such as pre- scription drugs, travel and vacations, including cruises, hotels, rental cars and Orlando theme park tickets. While learning more about 360 Intel, members should learn more about the other ex- clusive discounts avail- able to them. Passionate about deliv- ering programs to help clients get a 360-view of their customers, 360 Intel is a customer ex- perience measurement company specializing in mystery shopping servic- es, feedback surveys, and field audits. With clients across industries, 360 Intel helps brands like Marriott, Little Caesars, It’Sugar, Emagine Enter- tainment, and Sonobello uncover the data needed to monitor and measure customer satisfaction. Learn more at https:// www.360intel.com. NFDA is the world’s leading and largest fu- neral service associa- tion, serving more than 20,000 individual mem- bers who represent near- ly 11,000 funeral homes in the United States and 39 countries around the world. NFDA is the trust- ed leader, beacon for eth- ics and the strongest ad- vocate for the profession. NFDA is headquartered in Brookfield, WI and has an office in Washington, DC. For more informa- tion, visit www.nfda.org. Call 1-800-321-7479 or visit www.nomispublications.com THE 2019 EDITIONS