Spring Cleaning Tips for Your Funeral Home

Springtime is always a period of renewal.

When the sun peeks out from behind the clouds that kept it hidden for 6 months (or 8, if you live in Ohio!), there is a new energy that inspires people to complete all sorts of tasks they’ve put off throughout the winter. For many, one of those tasks is a good thorough spring cleaning of their home. Even the cleanest and the best-organized homeowner is surprised by just how much clutter can build up from those winter months. But, the battle against clutter shouldn’t just be confined to your residence. There is another battlefield to be conquered within the confines of your funeral home!

Clutter can take many forms. In the case of your funeral home, it can be physical clutter and debris that can build up around the grounds, but it can also be virtual clutter. There might be some bookkeeping and marketing housekeeping that needs to be done, and spring is a great time to tackle some of the day-to-day tasks you’ve been putting off or just couldn’t get into during the winter months. So, we thought it might be a good time to give you some tips on things you can “clean up,” now that spring has arrived.

Time for a deep clean!

This one goes without saying, but it might be time for you to clean out the storage areas, garage areas, and out-of-sight hiding places around your business. Often, funeral homes are so busy keeping the customer contact areas of the business clean that they neglect the attics, basement crawl spaces, and outdoor sheds that hold equipment and items that aren’t used every day. Although the day-to-day operation hours can be unpredictable, try to plan a day where the whole team can come in and take advantage of some warmer temperatures to tackle those tucked away corners that don’t get the attention they need. Consider donating any working tools, equipment, artwork, etc. that you haven’t used in a while to a local charitable group. Use this cleaning frenzy as an opportunity to help others.

Clean out those filing cabinets.

Although many funeral homes have made the conversion to digital platforms for all bookkeeping, there are some of you who have been hesitant. Now is the time. Use this spring as your catalyst to make the transition from paper files to digital files. A small funeral home can handle the task on its own, and if you are a larger home or multi-location facility there are companies out there that can help you make that transition! Docufree has a great guide with 5 tips to help your company transition from paper to digital files.

Clean up your marketing strategy.

Spring is also a great time to move your home’s marketing strategy forward. Start a social media page and take advantage of the sunshine and spring flowers to post some beautiful pictures of your grounds and amenities. Spring is a great time to host community events as well, so think about hosting a welcome to spring open house for local businesses and community members. Everyone is looking for something to do to celebrate the warmer weather - why not use it as an opportunity to showcase your funeral home?

Freshen up your website.

Spring is also a great time to freshen up your website. Change old images to fresh pictures that show the beauty of your grounds in springtime. Update event calendars to make sure everything reflects upcoming opportunities at your funeral home. Add a new blog that is timely for the season. Think about taking some new video footage that can be used on your site as well. Your site should look fresh, and spring is the perfect time to do that. If your site isn’t mobile friendly, now is the time to call your developer up and have them get your site smartphone compatible. Now is the time of year when you get those customers who are experiencing a death event while they are out of town, and you want to make it as easy as possible for them to contact you if an unfortunate circumstance happens while they are away from home.

Spring is also a great time to make sure you’ve got the latest resources available to you to make your business more efficient. That makes it a great time to download the NMS Death Call App to your home screen, so you’re always one tap away from the most user-friendly out-of-town funeral planning in the industry. Download our app today and clean up your out-of-town funeral process!