Dec 31, 2021
The past two years have not been easy ones for death care professionals. For many, 2020 and 2021 have felt like a surreal blur. As we welcome the beginning of the new year, many are looking back in search of important truths and valuable lessons we can take with us into the future. One truth that has certainly been put into sharp focus is the fact that time is precious. Every moment we spend on this earth is priceless.
For funeral directors, every day brought that reality painfully close to home as funeral directors witnessed lives being cut short ahead of their time while being forced to push themselves to their absolute limit. This has always been a profession comprised of people willing to sacrifice their own free time in service of their community, but never has the need to help morticians reclaim some of those minutes been more crucial.
At ASD, we understand funeral directors need support to take care of themselves so they can take care of others. In recent months, many of our clients began utilizing features that take advantage of ASD’s automatic communication methods. These solutions save the funeral home staff valuable time while also helping to reduce their billable phone calls. They also help our answering service perform at the highest level. One thing the pandemic years have shown us is that when families need us the most at unexpected times, being able to relay information to funeral directors in the most efficient way possible can make a big difference. If you have not already, we strongly encourage you and your staff to explore these options in the new year. You can also explore our Quick Tips video series to see helpful tutorials on using the tools listed below.
6 Resolutions to Improve Your Funeral Home’s Communication Strategy
1. Reply to messages via ASD Mobile or text message
Responding to your message via ASD Mobile or text message by SAVING or DELETING it instantly communicates to ASD that the message has been received by the funeral home. This prevents any further contact attempts from ASD and ensures our staff is spending less time dialing out to clients on messages they have already received. Replying to messages via SAVE or DELETE also saves your funeral home money by eliminating billable dial out calls.
2. Return calls as quickly as possible
Following up with your callers in a timely fashion will help reduce the number of incoming calls from those who are still waiting for a call back.
3. Use No Answer Call Forwarding
Manually forwarding your funeral home’s phone lines every day requires you call in to ASD to test your phone lines. However, you can instruct your phone company to program your phone lines to automatically forward to ASD after a predetermined number of rings, saving you time.
4. Change your on-call info online or via ASD Mobile
Rather than calling in to let us know which directors are on-call, you can easily communicate this information via ASD’s website or mobile app. Visit the On-Call section of ASD Mobile or myASD.com to update your on-call information in seconds. This option also decreases the funeral home’s billable phone calls since your staff won’t need to call in to ASD to relay on-call details.
5. Change your contacting criteria as often as needed
We understand there are times when you may prefer ASD to screen your calls more thoroughly or even occasions when you would prefer for us to hold all calls until further notice to give your staff a break. You can easily customize what types of calls we are contacting you for using ASD Mobile, myASD.com or by contacting our supervisor team 24/7.
6. Add special notations to your funeral home account
If there is anything you want ASD to communicate to callers on your behalf related to your funeral home’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, please do not hesitate to let us know. Our supervisors are available 24/7 via telephone at 800-868-9950 ext 2 or email . If you want callers to be made aware you may be delayed in returning phone calls or have special policies in place you want the public to be made aware of we can update your account to make sure our Call Specialists are relaying this information to your callers.
These are difficult and trying times for everyone, but most especially for funeral directors, and we commend you for the service you are providing in your local areas. Please do not hesitate to let us know how we can help you. We pray for an end to this devastating pandemic.
RELATED READING
ASD’s Quick Tips Video Series
How ASD is Keeping Your Phone Lines Protected During These Challenging Times
7 Bad Communication Habits that Waste Funeral Professionals Time
About The Author
Jess Farren (Fowler)
Jess Farren (Fowler) is a Public Relations Specialist and Staff Writer who has been a part of the ASD team since 2003. Jess manages ASD’s company blog and has been published in several funeral trade magazines. She has written articles on a variety of subjects including communication, business planning, technology, marketing and funeral trends. You can contact Jess directly at Jess@myASD.com
