Reputation means more than funeral costs to bereaved
Funeral costs are less important than reputation when choosing a funeral director according to figures from YouGov.
Over half (55 percent) of adults in the UK and the East say that a funeral director’s good reputation is the most important deciding factor when appointing a funeral professional.
The research, commissioned by the National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) in partnership with Cruse Bereavement Care, also revealed that when choosing a funeral director, 40 percent of families in the East of England would expect to be able to check or compare prices on their website; 7 percent above the national average of 33 percent.
Suffolk based independent funeral director, David Button comments: “It was interesting to see how the national research mirrored the East of England results, and fitting that a funeral director’s reputation is most important when choosing a funeral director.
David Button continues: “In this digital age, the challenge now for our profession is to make funeral costs as transparent and accessible as possible. Being able to check prices online before contacting a company allows people to consider their options before committing themselves emotionally and financially.”
Other figures from the research show also reveals that cost is the fourth consideration nationally (38 percent), when planning a funeral, behind:
a good reputation (55 percent)
if they were recommended by someone they knew (43 percent)
preferred choice of the family or the person who had died (43 percent)
how much the services cost (38 percent)
Alison Crake, President of the National Association of Funeral Directors, comments: “Funeral directors are an integral part of their local communities and pride themselves on building a strong reputation, built on high standards and quality of service; often caring for the same families across successive generations.
“For a standards body such as the NAFD, which places real importance on building a reputation through excellence, it was encouraging to hear that a funeral director’s good reputation was the most important characteristic for more than half of the residents of the East of England that were surveyed.”
