Sep 12, 2017
ASD Family-Member Owner, Kevin Czachor, is proud to be a Kates-Boylston Technology Partner. As part of this partnership, Kevin will respond to questions from funeral directors about telecommunications and mobile technology. This month, Kevin’s answer was published in American Funeral Director magazine.
From American Funeral Director: Each month, some of the industry’s top technology
experts provide the answers to your most common technology questions, concerns and
problems as part of Technology Touch Points.
Have a technology question
or concern you want answered?
Click here to submit your technology
questions, and look for answers in upcoming issues of American Funeral
Director.
Technology Touch Points: Here an App, There an
App…What Do I Choose?
► Question: With so many mobile apps on the market, how do
I decide what works best for me and my business?
► ASD Vice President and Family Member Owner, Kevin
Czachor, answers:
Researching mobile apps can be
a tiresome process. It’s a vicious cycle –you need to become familiar with
mobile apps to help you save time and decrease your workload, but you’re too
busy and overworked to do the research. Before you spend hours trying to figure
out how to work an app that may or may not help your funeral home, it’s best to
ask yourself a few key questions in advance.
1. What goal am I hoping to achieve? First and foremost, consider what you’re hoping to
accomplish by using mobile technology. Are you hoping to save time, stay
organized, improve communication between your team, or conduct more business on
the go? Below are a few app categories that can help you better decide what app
is right for you based on your specific goals.
- Save time: Look for
apps that allow you to streamline a process, for instance the JotNot app allows
you to transform your mobile app into a portal scanner so you can quickly
covert images into a PDF file, while the Docusign app saves you time by
allowing you to easily create forms or sign paperwork.
- Stay organized: Find an app that provides a ‘centralized location’
to help you keep organized. Apps like
Evernote allow you to keep track of projects, websites, checklists and more.
You can also use financial apps such as Mint to consolidate your bank, credit
and loan information into one place.
- Improve communication between your team: Team collaboration apps such as Asana Mobile and
Trello provided a shared task link that keeps everyone on the same page. These
apps can be used to work together on ongoing projects without email,
collaborate on ideas and assign tasks.
- Conduct business on the go: There are many apps that allow you to complete
business tasks when you are away from the office. These range from remote
desktop apps like Splashtop, which allows users to access their desktop
computer from a mobile phone, to faxing apps like eFax that allow users to send
and receive faxes remotely. Arguably the most popular one of these is Dropbox –
which gives funeral directors the flexibility to easily and securely send
important documents to families from any location.
2. Do any of the companies or vendors I already use offer a
mobile app?
From your building alarm system
to your funeral home software, there are a myriad of mobile apps created by
companies to complement their existing products and services. In most cases,
the app will be available for free to current clients and can often help you
streamline tasks or gain more control. For instance, ASD clients can use the
ASD Mobile app to respond to messages, saving time. Customers of the Nest Smart Thermostat can use the Nest app to control their home’s temperature from
anywhere. Ask your vendors if they offer a mobile solution to support their
product.
3. What do the apps rating and reviews look like? In many cases, you may discover more than one app
that claims to do the same thing. In this instance, take time to read the app’s
ratings and reviews to compare the two. Be sure to check the date on the most
recent review and confirm which app was last updated. When deciding between two
apps, always choose the more recently updated and highest rated option.
Got
more mobile app questions? I will be speaking at the 2017 NFDA Convention in
Boston about mobile technology on Tues, Oct 31, 9:45a-10:45a.
Click here to learn more about Kates-Boylston’s Technology Partners or to ask a technology question.
Related Reading
17 Helpful Mobile Apps for Busy Funeral Professionals To Try in 2017
12 Smartphone Tricks Every Funeral Director Should Try
11 Tech Tools That Will Bring Your Funeral Home Success
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
