As a funeral home, you’re always looking to increase your networking outreach in new and unique ways. Using holidays and seasonal activities is one great way to get new people into your circle of influence. Invite the community to your location by hosting an event that community members will want to come to! They will be grateful to you for organizing a fun time, and you will benefit by meeting new potential clients and getting your name out there among the locals.
Try a Trunk of Treat
A trunk or treat is an outdoor event that takes place in the parking lot of your funeral home. People bring their cars, decorate their trunks to be spooky and cool, and give out candy to kids in costume. It’s basically trick-or-treating in a closer, more controlled environment. Such an easy event to throw! Organize some creepy music, set up a car or two on your own, and if you’re feeling really generous, set up an apple cider or hot chocolate table near the entrance. Pass out cups of warm cider with new client coupons tied to the top. Tape business cards to Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and hand them out to the ghosts’ and gouls’ parents.
Set Up a Spook Alley
If you are looking to attract an even bigger crowd, set up a spook alley inside your building. Imagine the turn out for a haunted funeral home! Send flyers in your local newspaper, post advertisements on your Facebook page, post posters around the high school. Use people’s fear of the funeral industry to your advantage! You could even charge admission, or do a deal where clients who refer a friend get free tickets to the spook alley.
Do the Day of the Dead
If Halloween season is too busy for you, do the Day of the Dead on November 1st. Host a get-together celebrating the community’s loved ones who have passed away while simultaneously partying with people you may not contact in any other capacity. Celebrate life, death, and the Hispanic culture with the traditional treats and tunes of El Dia De Los Muertos. People will love the idea of a tasting a different type of holiday that looks at the dead in a different way. Use this to your advantage! Educate future potential clients on what you do and how you do it while giving them the reason and means to celebrate a holiday they may not know about.
Market to the Mood
In your email blasts or your direct mail campaign, take Halloween in stride. Use Halloween-y images, make funny Halloween jokes, encourage treat-or-treaters to come to your building on Halloween night and bring back a voucher for a candy bar. Anything that gets people to look at your brand or read your copy will be work the extra work! People love holidays and themes and fun, what could it hurt to try and exploit that a little?
