The following article is taken from the Nov/Dec 2019 edition of SAIFInisght Magazine.
Jeff Gascoigne from A. J. Gascoigne & Son in Northumberland shares his experience of localfuneral.co.uk and its many features so far.
What made you choose to list your prices on localfuneral.co.uk?
The Competition & Markets Authority is looking at the funeral industry to ensure better service and transparency for the general public.
Prices will always differ, and some companies will provide better service than others. Adding our prices allows the customer to decide.
What would you say to other Independents who are thinking about listing their prices on localfuneral.co.uk?
Traditionally, families have used the same company where they’ve received a good service in the past, and word of mouth is also a big factor. However, in this age of technology, more people are looking online for services and localfuneral.co.uk is featured heavily on funeral searches.
That means if you’re not on there, you won’t get noticed. If your prices aren’t listed then there’s a good chance you’ll be overlooked by the customer as they want to know upfront what they’re getting for their money.
What other aspects of localfuneral.co.uk have you found that have benefited your business?
Today there are fewer people buying newspapers, and more are using mobile phones and going online to keep updated with news. Lots of families are now moving towards Facebook to inform family and friends of funeral arrangements.
That’s why we’ve been using localfuneral.co.uk’s Funeral Notice tool, which provides an additional service for families at no charge. The notices can be displayed on your own website and shared on Facebook, with the option for family and friends to leave condolence messages and link to a donations or charity site.
Today’s families are looking for more and the Funeral Notice feature offers this as an alternative to traditional newspapers without the additional cost. Give it a go. It provides an extra service for clients and hopefully it will drive more traffic to your website.
