Aug 01, 2013
This has certainly been a newsworthy week here at ASD. We were just featured on the cover of the July/August issue of Funeral Business Advisor for our award-winning smartphone app, ASD Mobile. Our two articles, Using Statistics to Grade Your Answering Service and ASD’s 2013 Funeral Telecommunications Survey, were just published in Kate Boyston’s Funeral Director’s Guide to Statistics (2013 version). Finally, we were visited earlier this week by Philadelphia’s Fox29 News team who were at ASD to record a segment about our exercise workstations.
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Your Office At Your Fingertips
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Published in the July/August 2013 Issue of the Funeral Business Advisor (Cover Story).
In today’s rapid business climate, funeral professionals are pulled in a dozen different directions. While an increasing number of industries have shifted towards automation, funeral service remains deeply invested in tradition and personal service. The stress factors that burdened directors 50 years ago such as an unpredictable schedule and labor-intensive tasks still exist. Today’s funeral professionals face added challenges due to society’s demand for instant results.
The expectations of the public have shifted considerably yet few tools are available to help funeral homes streamline their operations. As a result, directors are forced to stretch themselves even further than in the past. In 2011, ASD – Answering Service for Directors set out to develop a mobile app that would provide more efficiency and convenience to funeral directors. The company’s Smartphone app, ASD Mobile for iPhone and Android, has enhanced communication for thousands of funeral homes nationwide.
Click here or on on the screenshot above to continue reading.
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Using Statistics to Grade Your Answering Service
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Originally published in Kates Boylston Publications’ Funeral Director’s Guide to Statistics.
For better or worse, the first impression others have of a funeral home may determine its reputation for years to come. As a funeral director, there are a multitude of small details you must refine on a daily basis. From updating the appearance of your chapel to polishing the look of your website, it is crucial to create a welcoming atmosphere for visitors. However, with so much focus on the visual elements of your funeral home, it may be easy to lose sight of the enormous impact of telecommunications.
According to IBM, telecommunications has experienced more change in the past decade than in its entire history. In 1999, only 15% of the world’s population had access to a telephone; by 2009, nearly 70% had mobile phone subscriptions. For funeral homes, these changes signify the importance of recognizing the telephone as a vital communication tool and taking steps to safeguard every call.
Click here to continue reading
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ASD’s 2013 Funeral Telecommunications Survey
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Originally published in Kates Boylston Publications’ Funeral Director’s Guide to Statistics.
ASD – Answering Service for Directors recently conducted research on the telecommunication trends and behaviors of the funeral service profession. The information gathered was based on feedback from more than 300 funeral professionals. Mobile Phones
More than half of all funeral directors surveyed prefer the iPhone (about 52 percent) to other models with Android coming in as the clear second choice (about 25 percent). More than 80 percent of funeral directors surveyed are using some type of Smartphone. However, more directors prefer an outdated flip or slide phone than either the Blackberry (nearly 5 percent) or Windows Smartphone (3 percent). Click here to continue reading
Fox29 News Visits ASD’s Office
We were excited to have Joyce Evans and the FOX 29 news team visiting ASD this week to learn about our unique exercise workstations. Joyce interviewed several ASD employees about how our exercise workstations improve their overall mental and physical health while providing an energy boost to the office. We expect the segment to run sometime in the coming months and look forward to sharing it with everyone. Here are some photos of the Fox29 News visit:
To learn more about ASD’s Exercise Stations, click here.
ASD on the Road
ASD Family-Member Owner and Vice President, Kevin Czachor, and Business Development Manager, Mary Ann Carlisle, had a wonderful time talking to friends and clients at the FCCFA convention in Naples. We enjoyed seeing everyone and having an opportunity to discuss the latest funeral trends. Thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth!
Congratulations to Mark Kays at Kays-Ponger & Uselton and Lemon Bay Funeral Homes on winning the iPad Mini ASD raffled off at the FCCFA convention. We hope you enjoy it!
ASD’s New Convention Raffle Item:
Check out our Cemetery Lego Set on display at our booth at the FCCFA Convention. We’ll be giving away more at future shows later this year, so be sure to drop by our booth for your chance to win one for your desk! Earlier this year, ASD posted an image of a Lego Cemetery set from eBay. The image went viral online and many directors commented that they wanted one for their office. For awhile, it appeared as though it was sold out but ASD made special arrangements with the seller so we could give funeral directors a chance to take home this unique gift.
Congratulations to Ruth Anne Yeats at Baldwin Brothers Cremation Society on taking home the 1st Lego Cemetery!
Next Convention Stops:
Cremation Association of North America’s 95th Annual Convention, August 7-9 in Washington, DC
New York State Funeral Directors Association’s Annual Convention, August 18-21 Saratoga Springs, NY
ASD’s Sensitive Save of the Week
The unpredictable nature of death often requires Funeral Directors to react to situations at a moments notice. At ASD, we understand that receiving advance notification of a recent passing helps you to better prepare before handling the first call. This week our Call Specialist, Kristen, answered a call from a woman who wanted to verify the funeral home’s address. The caller nearly hung up after the information was relayed, but Kristen asked if her call was regarding a passing. The woman, it turns out, had just lost her mother but thought that she should wait for a hospice nurse to arrive before speaking to someone at the funeral home. Kristen assured the woman that a director could speak to her without delay and contacted the on call director. She is this week’s Sensitive Save winner for ensuring that the director had time to prepare before arranging transportation for the deceased and that the caller understood her needs were of high importance to the funeral home.
Click here to see last week’s winner.
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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
