NAFD launches marketing support for smaller funeral firms
Larger funeral directors have the resources and capabilities to study the marketing of their services, effect appropriate changes and test new ideas, whereas it is rare for marketing professionals to be employed in the independent sector.
To address this imbalance, the NAFD has launched a new marketing support service for smaller funeral firms. NAFD members that carry out up to 200 funerals a year can now benefit from a comprehensive and cost-effective ‘off-the-shelf’ package of professional marketing consultancy.
The NAFD has entered into an arrangement with marketing strategy firm FMC, which has worked with some of the leading independent firms in the funeral service, to develop a programme that will deliver the best value and includes:
- An on-street survey of consumer attitudes to local funeral firms
- Research with intermediaries regarding funeral services in the local market
- A competitor analysis
- Establishing the key factors for success in the firm’s market
- An internal business review
- Determining the future direction
- Preparing an action plan
“Many small businesses think of marketing in terms of sales and advertising, but this is an over simplification,” says FMC consultant and account manager Marcus Barker.
“Effective marketing really does make a difference and funeral directors need to understand that they can plan for the future by finding out key facts, such as the projected number of deaths in their local marketplace over the next few years, deciding how many funerals they need to conduct just to hold their current market share and asking local families what they really want from their funeral director.”
The programme FMC has developed to support NAFD members is designed to deliver the best value for smaller funeral firms by drawing on the company’s experience of working with larger independents. The key components reflect the methodology FMC has used to review their markets and develop future strategies which will improve on the service they provide to families in their locality.
FMC provides marketing consultancy services to a wide range of clients throughout the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. It operates throughout the UK from offices in Lincoln, Nottingham and Bristol, with a Glasgow office set to open shortly. The company is highly experienced in the funeral sector and conducts the Member Attitude Survey on behalf of the National Association of Funeral Directors.
FMC works to a code of professional conduct that avoids conflicts of interest. As a consequence, the company can only work with one client in each local market.
“As the voice of the profession the NAFD is responsible for representing the interests of all funeral firms, whatever their size, and we were concerned that smaller businesses might not benefit from the kind of marketing consultancy work FMC carries out because they could not afford to commission it,” says NAFD chief executive officer Alan Slater.
“The new marketing consultancy service guarantees our smaller independent members access to high quality support to help develop their businesses.”
