Sep 01, 2019
ASD’s At-Need Connect® and Pre-Need Connect® were created so funeral directors could be available instantly to serve loved ones in their time of need. These tools provide funeral professionals with the flexibility to conduct business away from the office while providing the personal touch of a director, day or night. ASD created At-Need Connect® and Pre-Need Connect® so funeral directors could return to their roots, adapting the latest technology to rebuild the personal director/family relationships of yesterday.
The history behind ASD’s At-Need Connect® feature dates back to when ASD first began offering text messaging and patching solutions to our clients. We spoke with many funeral directors who appreciated these new features and ASD’s ability to help them connect with families in less time.
As an increasing number of clients communicated to us the importance of immediacy for their business, ASD’s Tech team began to brainstorm ways we could combine both our text messaging and patching capabilities to offer an unparalleled solution to funeral directors. This led to the creation of ASD’s At-Need Alert® and At-Need Connect® features.
When a First Call is reported to ASD, the moment our Call Specialist recognizes that someone has passed, he or she will open up a special form to gather more information. This triggers an At-Need Alert® that is sent out to the on-call director, notifying him or her of a “death call in progress.”
Example of an At-Need Alert® text message and different At-Need Connect® options
The director on-call may then activate At-Need Connect® by tapping the number sent to their cellphone phone and selecting among these options: press 3 to enter the call immediately, press 1 to listen to the call in a stealth muted mode or press 0 to speak with the call specialist prior to joining the call. This range of options gives directors the ability to decide how to handle the death call based upon the situation at hand.
With the development of the ASD Mobile app, push notifications were introduced to further streamline communication for on-call directors. When the At-Need Alert® is sent out, the on-call director can simply tap on the phone number instead of having to waste time dialing. App controls allow directors to set up their own specific preferences including an alert schedule, notification display options and different sound alerts.
Example of an At-Need Alert® push notification which appear even when the phone is locked.
In 2015, ASD introduced Pre-Need Alert® and Pre-Need Connect®.This feature offers the same functionality to pre-need calls that are handled for ASD clients. Funeral directors can immediately connect with families wishing to make prearrangements for loved ones, enhancing their customer service and giving their funeral home a competitive edge.
ASD invented At-Need Connect® and Pre Need Connect® so our clients could be available instantly to serve loved ones in their time of need. For the past ten years, these features have given funeral professionals the flexibility to conduct business away from the office while providing families the personal touch of a director, day or night. We are proud to be able to offer this innovative technology exclusively to ASD clients.
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
