In the last two years I’ve had had the slight misfortune to visit an underaker twice – and not because they needed help with their marketing. After my more recent interaction with an undertaker, I realised that actually the one I have dealt with doesn’t need any help with marketing, as they already know exactly what they are doing and how to run a sustainable business. So I decided to talk about undertakers in general as Marketing Experts in this issue of my blog.

Experts in Repeat Business

At first glance, you might think that undertakers don’t get much repeat business. Once someone has had their funeral, they don’t need another, do they? However, the undertakers that we used for my Mother’s funeral did such a wonderful job, that of course we went straight back to them, when we needed to arrange my Father’s funeral. I’ve heard of a number of people doing this – using the same firm for both parents or other members of their family. When you find an undertaker who can handle a very sensitive situation and give you really great, kind, compassionate customer service, why wouldn’t you go back to them the next time?

What can you do to keep your clients back time and time again?

Experts in Customer Service

Good undertakers know exactly who you are, when you call them for the second time. The good ones seem to have a knack for remembering names and details, which makes the whole process much less painful. They also know how to handle everything, provide advice – especially if it’s your first time arranging a funeral and you don’t quite know what you’re doing. They’re not patronising and don’t expect you to have any of the answers. They don’t talk in industry jargon or make you feel as if you should know what to do.

The undertakers we’ve used twice now also go the extra mile. They made things happen for us that we weren’t sure would be possible. They pulled strings and worked really hard for us, to help both funerals run smoothly. When you’re in a bit of an emotional state, the last thing you want to be doing is worrying about what should be happening and when. You just want it all to happen, when it needs to. And that’s what the good ones will do for you, quietly and gently, with so much kindness and compassion.

How can you go the extra mile for your clients, to keep them coming back?

Running a sustainable business is about looking after your clients, so that they keep coming back to you and so that they recommend you to other people. Look after your clients and you reduce the time and money that you need to spend on marketing and finding new clients. What can you do to keep your current clients coming back? How can you go the extra mile for them? Put these questions into your marketing mix and you’ll notice a big difference.