Taking Advantage of the “Wow!” Factor
Carl Jenkins, of Jenkins Funeral Home
Carl enthusiastically shared his opinion on the value of Tribute Blankets from Funeral Home Gifts.
“I truly believe this to be a business-builder. I particularly love the quality of the woven blankets.” In our interview he was quick to add, “We also use them quite effectively with the clients of our pet cremation business, Forever Paws.” Carl has been using Tribute Blankets from Funeral Home Gifts for “about a year.”
When asked the question, “What has been the response of your client families?” he was eager to share. “They are so amazed, overwhelmed and surprised. It’s a tear-jerking moment.”
When they walk into the visitation, there is the blanket hanging in a prominent place behind the casket or urn, with the card on it reading, “Our gift to you…The staff of Jenkins Funeral Home. We get numerous responses from the visitors indicating how nice it is that we offer this gift and that they know of no other funeral home that does what we do.”
His strategy is simple. He doesn’t tell client families they will be receiving a Tribute Blanket. “I simply surprise them with it at the first view time. Although I have a sample blanket hanging in the conference room, rarely do they know about it beforehand.”
It’s easy to order a blanket, because he uses the same photo for the Tribute Blanket as he does for the cover of the Service Bulletin. “It is definitely a “wow” factor for our services, and “many families order duplicate blankets, after seeing the original in the service. In fact one family ordered five,” shared Carl. “Most of the reorder families get one or two duplicates. I charge $150.00 for one, 125.00 for two and $100.00 for three or more. Funeral Home Gifts makes it very profitable for funeral homes which generate reorders. There’s room for profit, even when the reorder price-to-consumer is set lower than Carl’s. “I have been considering lowering the cost to test the reorders,” he confided. “However, so far, it hasn’t been a price issue, it’s an emotional one.”
Interestingly, Carl has also sold non-funeral blankets for various individuals. “People often want a blanket to commemorate an anniversary, birthday, or other moment in their lives.” Carl is truly a big fan of the company, as well as the product. “I met two funeral directors from Texas at a recent training conference and shared this idea with them. Within minutes, they had signed on with Funeral Home Gifts. It was the exclusivity for their market that sold them.” He had praise for the Funeral Home Gifts staff as well. “Karl Riley and Lane Cross have been wonderful to work with. The entire staff has been very accommodating. I honestly couldn’t ask for more responsive partners in promoting my business.”
