In your funeral home, have you ever served someone who:

• Had immense pride for their hometown?

• Wanted to support family-owned and independently-owned businesses?

• Enjoyed spending time outdoors, fishing, and going to the range?

If so, you likely served a Hometowner, 1 of the 7 consumer types we identified in our study with McKee Wallwork + Co. This group of individuals attends church on Sundays, keeps in touch with family, and trusts funeral directors.

Here are some tips to connect with them!

_{*Each consumer segment has a different approach to funerals, comfort levels, and behaviors. We created profiles on each of these and are giving tips to connect with our changing families. Find a brief overview of all 7 types here or check out our first three consumer deep dives: Resolute Rookies, Great Expectations, Distanced & Decided, Free Spirits, and Faith & Family.}

Hometowners at a glance:

Have a strong sense of hometown pride.

Hometowners fit their name because they love their hometown. They place value on religion and are almost as family oriented as the Faith & Family consumer segment. They’re more likely to buy local and support family-owned or independently-owned businesses, including funeral homes. In fact, they likely already have a go-to funeral home!

Particular, organized, and assertive are the words Hometowners would use to describe themselves. Compared to the other segments, they're most likely to own a shotgun, pickup truck, fishing rod, and a dog.

Hometowners basic profile: 

• Compared to other segments, they fall in the middle of the pack for education level: 41% have attended college

• Average income is $68,4000, which is slightly below the national average of $71,760

• High concentration of Christians at 64% and attend church 28 times per year on average

• 38% are employed full-time, and 23% are retired

• Skews 55-64

Hometowners funeral preferences:

Hometowners are similar to Faith & Family in that they’re likely to know a funeral home they trust (after researching its reputation) and have a preference for in-ground burial. Over half have planned a funeral before, and most of this segment believes funerals should be customized.

• 52% have been responsible for planning a funeral or memorial

• 28% more likely than average to prefer in-ground burial

• 92% say a funeral should be customized for the deceased and deceased’s family

• 81% would prearrange to reduce stress and financial obligation from family

• 86% say funerals are beneficial

• 89% say researching the reputation of a funeral home is important

• 57% think funeral homes and mortuaries are noble organizations

How to cater to their preferences

Hometowners are extremely similar to the Faith & Family consumer type, so it makes sense to adopt the same strategies to serve both groups…with some slight tweaks. 👇

#1. Track everything

Similar to Great Expectations, Hometowners are also sticklers for good service, and 89% will research a funeral home’s reputation. That means they’ll either talk to their friends or turn to the internet to read reviews and testimonials about your business.

If you aren’t taking reviews seriously, you need to! Consider using your aftercare program to increase the number of Google reviews for your business. Or post video testimonials of satisfied families to your Facebook page or on your website. You could also host events in your funeral home to give Hometowners a chance to see your great reputation in action.

Plus, you can interact with other family-owned businesses and show Hometowners that you’re invested in (and have relationships with!) other independently-owned businesses.

Learn more about Gen X tech use and Baby Boomer tech use.

#2. Encourage them to preplan

Like Faith & Family, Hometowners said they would preplan and pre-pay for their funeral to reduce the financial burden to their family. Though they might not use an online preplanning and funding tool at home, you and your staff can use the tool with the family, show them merchandise, and accept payment right away. Plus, there will be less data entry for you later on!

When the time comes, that preneed contract can be converted to an at-need case in Passare with our Funeral Directors Life integration, the only preneed integration of its kind.

Side note: Another integration that could be helpful is our Claimcheck integration for insurance assignments. 60% of Hometowners said they're likely to use assistance on life insurance assignments, which is 15% more than the average!

#3. Give them a custom experience

92% of Hometowners think a funeral should be customized for the deceased and deceased’s family. Also, 76% of them said they’d rather do something themselves than have someone do it for them. With Planning Center, you can ensure they have plenty of input for the service to make it as customized as they want!

In Planning Center, they can e-sign documents, upload photos, message you directly, work on the obituary, and more. They can also view merchandise and select different items for the service, all before the arrangement conference takes place, which gives you ample time to prepare everything. During the conference, you can make sure there are plenty of options for them to support local businesses (like your florist) and include religious symbols and traditions.

Learn more about Planning Center here >>>

Let the customization flow freely

To sum up, Hometowners have a lot of pride for where they live and support local, family, and independent businesses. Most believe funerals are beneficial, and over 1 in 2 have planned a funeral before.

For more information about Hometowners and the other consumer types, please download our New Funeral Consumer eBook.

Passare can help you connect with consumers of all types! Request a demo and find out!