07/07/2017
Dignity Funerals pilots new interactive Online Funeral Notices service
Dignity, the UK’s premium funeral director, is launching a new interactive online Funeral Notice service that will help clients to share details about a funeral.
The new online service will allow families to easily create a personal and fitting Funeral Notice and share the details of when and where a funeral is taking place. Interactive tools will initially allow mourners to get directions, make charitable donations and send flowers, but Dignity has planned to add new functionality later this year. Clients will be able to personalise their Funeral Notice by adding a photograph of their loved ones as well as a short obituary and the service will be a complimentary addition to Dignity’s funeral service.
The interactive mobile friendly site will be piloted in the East of England in July. The donation service will be provided by Just Giving, who has more than 25,000 charities registered with them. Dignity clients will be able to share the Funeral Notice via email and social media and family and friends will be able to sign up to receive an email notification should any of the funeral arrangements change.
Steve Wallis, Commercial Director of Dignity Funerals, said:
“As newspaper readership declines the traditional obituary notice is become less effective at letting people know that someone has died and informing them about a funeral. At the same time more and more people are turning to the internet for help and information when someone dies.
“Our new service has been designed to be simple and easy to use and is one the first stages our digital plan. It marks an important step change in improving the client experience and reflects our view that we must continually evolve to meet customer needs. This is especially important given that the internet and social media play such a central role in everyday consumer’s lives.
“Through our digital plan we will allow customers to access funeral services online, including the choices and pricing options available, as well as engage directly with their local funeral director. We see this as another step in raising quality and standards and modernising services within the industry.”
Dignity’s digital strategy aims to support and assist clients as the internet becomes an increasingly influential in the funeral industry. The strategy will include the creation of individual websites for each of Dignity’s 800 local funeral directors. Each website will show local services offered and pricing as well as details of staff and facilities.
Dignity committed to the Department for Work and Pensions Minister in January to put its prices online by January 2019 is very confident it will exceed the call from the National Association of Funeral Directors to have prices online by 2020.