By Leader Contributor Natalie Kuri, Customer Success Manager at OneRoom
When funeral directors ask OneRoom what we think the most beneficial thing they can do for the families they serve is, we unwaveringly say to record everything. Every funeral is so important to every one of them and putting it on replay extends the benefit and value of the healing experience you provide for generations to come.
A funeral service shouldn’t be a one-time performance. It’s important for families and guests to be able to watch a service recording in their own time — either because they couldn’t congregate at your funeral home to attend services in person, couldn’t watch live, or they want to watch the service again at a later time as part of their grieving journey.
We analyzed the OneRoom Platform data between October 2019 and June 2021, looking into how the online funeral viewing behaviors evolved globally with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prior to the global pandemic, two-thirds of online family viewers watched funeral services on demand (later) rather than live. At the height of the pandemic, we saw a shift of up to 55% watching live because of attendance and travel restrictions. Since the start of 2021, we see a shift back towards watching services on demand at 60%.
During this period of time, funeral online viewing on the OneRoom platform has soared.
- The number of streamed/recorded services has tripled
- The number of events watched – both live and on demand – increased by 600%
- The number of unique online viewers increased by 1,400%
As our data shows, offering a recording of the funeral service is as important as being able to live-stream it.
“We were fortunate that we had a recording of the service. There were things that I didn’t really remember from the actual service. I enjoyed watching afterwards everyone in the audience and their laughter. Having the recording helped me, even though I cried, with the healing process.” — Nancy (wife)
At OneRoom, we believe that every funeral matters. Missing a funeral is upsetting and can cause further distress during an already difficult time. Often those attending in person are unable to take everything in and the full healing power of the service is missed.
Decisions are difficult under emotional stress and time pressure prior to the service. The family may not fully appreciate the benefit of the service until it happens. You can let them make this decision after they have experienced the service, not before. The service doesn’t have to be live-streamed, keeping it totally private until the decision is made, and the recording can be deleted at the family’s request. If the service isn’t recorded, this choice is removed, and the memories quickly fade.
About the Author: Natalie Kuri, Customer Success Manager
Natalie has been a licensed funeral director for over 20 years in New York and more recently in Texas. She served client families in different roles throughout her career ranging from daily operations, embalming, leading teams in pre need sales, managing cemeteries and crematories as well as presenting to other professionals at events. Natalie joined the OneRoom team in 2020 as a Customer Success Manager, leveraging her skills from the industry to onboard and train new customers while continuing to develop customer relationships.
