Experiential Marketing: What, Why, and How to Do It for Deathcare

More than 90 percent of consumers say they have a more positive feeling about a product, service, or business after attending an experiential marketing event. But does this approach work with deathcare as well as it does in industries such as hospitality or retail?

The answer is yes, but you must understand what experiential marketing is and how to apply it to your funeral marketing niche.

What Is Experiential Marketing?

This type of marketing immerses your audience in an experience that leaves them feeling engaged and positive about your brand. An example is an industry convention where businesses set up booths and experiences for attendees.

But experiential marketing doesn’t have to correlate to an event. You can do it on your website and social media pages too. Even radio or television ads can be experiential to some degree. Marketing content that speaks to the needs and emotions of people that make individuals feel like you’re talking directly to them is often experiential.

The Power of Experiential Marketing

Almost 85 percent of consumers say an important factor in their purchase decision is whether they’re treated like a person and not a number. Experiential marketing helps businesses do that. Here are a few more reasons to engage in this type of marketing:

• Around three-quarters of consumers say they’re more likely to purchase goods or services based on experiential marketing.
• More than 60 percent of shoppers say they understand products better after engaging with this type of marketing.
• 98 percent of people create their own social content based on experiential marketing (such as posting selfies from a convention or sharing and reacting to content), which can lead to greater exposure for your message.

Applying It to Funeral Home Marketing

Most people aren’t going to show up to a funeral home convention and take selfies in the casket booth, though. So, what opportunities do deathcare firms have for creating experiential marketing?

• Host seminars and webinars. Connect with people over luncheons where you teach about preplanning or invite people to join you for tea and a digital webinar. When participants sign up, mail them a unique blend of tea to try while they learn.
• Create interactive deathcare website marketing. Galleries people can scroll through, 360-degree digital tours of your visiting rooms, or quizzes to help people determine what type of preplanning is right for them are all experiential.
• Invite people to participate on social media. Create a community experience by asking questions people can engage with. Have you given a eulogy before, and do you have tips? What little thing at the last funeral you attended made it easier to honor the memory of a lost loved one? These are just some of the questions you might ask that could segue into your own services.

Ultimately, experiential marketing is about ensuring a connection through emotions. Consider ways to engage consumers on that level to make your deathcare marketing more experiential.