Computers are stupid!

My name is Mark Miatello. You pronounce it just how it looks.  Mark.  No, I mean Miatello. Mee-ah-tell-oh. Pretty simple.

I’ve been with FrontRunner Professional going on four years and it was decided that I should share some of my accumulated wisdom with you so that’s why you’re reading this.

When it comes to our software, I’ve seen almost every possible issue and usually numerous times…too numerous to count. Every one of our clients has been a newbie at one time. You may be one of the new ones and are a little overwhelmed with all the features available in the system and where to go to do what. You may be one of our long-time clients and know all there is to know about the IMS until that one day when you are sitting there thinking, “How do I do that again?”  Hopefully, I can be of assistance with some of the main things that you’re going to run into.

The Noise: What it is and how it could be killing your business

A recent study suggested that the typical funeral home in North America receives an average of 19 unsolicited sales contacts per day. Being in the technology space, I am saddened to say that in today’s market, most of these contacts involve someone trying to sell some form of technology.

We live in a new world of digital phone service with unlimited calling, email blasts, digital fax machines, and social media. Many technology companies use these techniques because they require little to no investment in advertising and no personal contact. Most don’t know anything about the funeral profession because their sales ‘experience’ has focused on everything from vacuum cleaners and photocopiers to used cars. The noise they generate can be relentless and deafening.

Be Smart about Social Media

Ashley Montroy, FrontRunner Professional’s Marketing and Social Media Manager spoke with Lauren Moore for her article Be Smart about Social Media. The article is published in the March 2014 issue of American Funeral Director Magazine.

The Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project, which has been studying  online adults’ social networking site use since 2005, found that last year, 73 percent of adults that are online are using social networking sites. Like it or not, your customers – and your employees – are using social media, probably on a daily basis. It’s crucial, then, that you consider implementing a social media policy for your funeral home.

Technology Roundtable for the Funeral Professional

FrontRunner Professional CEO and Founder, Kevin Montroy, participated in a Technology Roundtable. The following article by Patti Martin Bartsche was published in the March 2014 issue of American Funeral Director Magazine.

There’s no question businesses – including funeral homes – are operating in a rapidly changing technological environment. What worked five years ago is now considered antiquated and not in tune with the times. But how do funeral professionals determine the right time to upgrade, what technology tools best fit their business model and how to protect themselves from security breaches? We turn to three industry leaders: Wes Johnson, president and CEO of Continental Computer Inc.; Kevin Montroy, founder and CEO of FrontRunner Professional; and Kimberly Simons, vice president of SRS Computing, to get the answers.

How Funeral Firms Can Provide the Ultimate Online Experience (Part 2)

In the previous post, I set out to explore the ways funeral firms can provide an ultimate online experience for their communities using the wisdom of Scott Deming, a keynote speaker at this year’s ICCFA Convention. He asserts that a business’s brand is not derived from marketing and advertising efforts, but from customers.

In a brief exploration of what defines an ultimate online experience, I determined (with the help of a few Facebook friends and my own online experience) that it involves: responsiveness to inquiries; the ability to personalize the platform to provide the most relevant information for my needs and expectations; general ease-of-use; and finally, price and service-related value.

How Funeral Homes Can Provide the Ultimate Online Experience (Part 1)

What a fantastic line-up this year for the ICCFA All Star Annual Convention & Exposition! Congratulations to Program Co-Chairs Gary Freetag and Scott Sells for the keynote presentations and breakout session topics in what promises to be a stellar event (no pun intended). (For registration information, visit the ICCFA website. Or download a PDF version of the Program to learn more.)

I am especially intrigued by Scott Deming’s Keynote presentation: Creating the Ultimate Customer Experience, which will be held Wednesday, April 9^th. The premise is this: while businesses often consider their branding to be simply a logo and tagline, in reality, their brand is defined by their customers. “Deming will explain,” notes the synopsis, “how to break the boundaries of typical customer service or brand-building processes and dispel the popular, yet incorrect, thinking that advertising and marketing lead to powerful, emotional brands.”

How families are connecting to share stories and say goodbye

Stories. We love them, We’ve always loved them. Even ‘history’ as a word comes from ‘his’ ‘story.’ We like to hear them, and we like to share them. The stories we like most are the ones involving those we love. Those colorful characters and plot twists make up the text of our life stories, and sharing those stories brings us greater connection to each other.