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JANUARY 2013
FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS
S ec t i on B
Chicago Office
1-800-4-HEARSE
Twin Cities Office
1-800-639-0604
Forever Legacy releases Mausoleum
Construction Video
FuneralDecisions’ Consumer Response
Manager is ready to Help You Help
More Families
Lamcraft, Inc. offers Ten New Designs
in Premium Memorial Cards
ASD – Answering Service for Directors
launches New Android Application
LEE’S SUMMIT,MO—
In
order to offer greater flexi-
bility in its 3” x 9” memori-
al bookmark line,
Lamcraft
has introduced ten new de-
signs, each with eleven dif-
ferent verse options.
Artwork on the new
bookmarks features florals,
landscapes, textured back-
grounds and graphic design
elements. But rather than
producing a limited num-
ber of verses on each card,
Lamcraft is now offering its
customers the opportuni-
ty to choose from a variety
of selections. Verses include
long-time customer favor-
ites such as “Footprints,”
“Afterglow,” “Twenty-third
Psalm,” “You Are Not For-
gotten,” as well as some
verses never before offered
by Lamcraft, but which
complement the new de-
signs.
The new bookmarks can
be viewed and ordered on-
line at www.lamcraft.com.
Customers with questions
about the verse selections
and those who wish to see
larger images can call Lam-
craft’s toll free number
1-800-821-1333.
MEDIA,PA—
ASD – Answering Service
for Directors
is pleased the announce the
official release of its full-featured mobile ap-
plication for Android phones and tablets.
This revolutionary app allows funeral pro-
fessionals to manage every aspect of their
ASD account. The app’s intuitive interface,
rapid push messaging and unrivaled func-
tionality make “ASD Mobile for Android”
the complete mobilized solution for funeral
directors on-the-go.
ASD Mobile took home the 2012 Inno-
vation Award at the NFDA
convention this past Octo-
ber. The company has now
duplicated the functionality
of their app for the Android
platform with the help of
over 200 beta testers. The
feedback and suggestions
received from the test group
helped ASD’s technical
team enhance the app’s per-
formance and ensure that it
was fully functional on all
Android devices. Using the
app, clients have one-touch
access to hear and read all
aspects of their message,
with an option to share the
data via email or text. Fu-
neral directors can update
service information, change
on-call details, and provide feedback in sec-
onds using “ASD Mobile for Android.”
Funeral Director
Bryan Chandler
of
Chandler Funeral Home
in Caldwell, OH
was one of the first to beta test the “ASD
Mobile for Android: “Just received the lat-
est Beta Version of the ASD App for An-
droid and wow has this made my life easi-
er!” Bryan wrote on ASD’s Facebook page.
“I can’t wait until the final release. I think
everyone will be very satisfied.”
“ASD Mobile for Android” harnesses the
power of push notification technology, al-
lowing clients to customize how, when and
why they are contacted for their messages.
These rapid notifications make commu-
nication with ASD simple and seamless:
new messages appear on the screen with
incredible speed. For first calls, clients can
be notified via push notification the mo-
ment an ASD Call Specialist begins to
gather information.
“Rather than settling for a very generic
app, we created our own custom interactive
mobile solution,” says ASD vice president
and family member owner
Marty Czachor
,
who designed the app with ASD’s technical
team. “ASD clients have come to expect a
higher standard and our Android app is an-
other example of the ways ASD has worked
to improve our clients’ lives
with the most advanced
technology. With our call
in-progress push alerts and
intuitive systems, clients
keep a finger on the pulse of
their operation at all times
and can respond immedi-
ately if a call requires their
immediate attention.”
“ASD Mobile for An-
droid” joins the company’s
Five-Star rated iPhone app.
With over 3,000 downloads
and 40 positive reviews, the
ASD Mobile iPhone app
has revolutionized how
ASD’s clients conduct busi-
ness. The company expects
the Android version of the
app will deliver the same
value and efficiency for Android users.
ASD – Answering Service for Directors
has created a new class of answering service
exclusively for funeral professionals. Fam-
ily owned and operated, ASD has been
helping funeral homes manage their calls
and their lives since 1972. With a vision-
ary approach to business, ASD has rede-
fined the way funeral directors serve fami-
lies through combining unparalleled levels
of training and advanced technology. The
company’s custom-built funeral commu-
nication systems and extensive, six-month
training program have made ASD the an-
swering service trusted by more than one
quarter of all funeral homes in the United
States. For more information, visit www.
r call 1-800-868-9950.
AUSTIN,TX—
Forever Leg-
acy
, premier builder of pri-
vate mausoleums, completed
a stunning granite mauso-
leum in Kansas for beloved
philanthropist
Cecil O’Brate
.
As the 15’1” tall mausoleum
was constructed of Vermont
Blue Gray Granite, Forever
Legacy committed to video-
taping the entire process, cre-
ating the first private mau-
soleum construction video.
The video can be viewed on-
line at http://private.mauso-
leum.com/video/
The Forever Legacy con-
struction process begins at
the quarry, where everlast-
ing granite pieces are quar-
ried and split with expan-
sion wedges. The granite loaf
is cut with a diamond saw
to exact measurements. Di-
amond sandpaper is used to
create a polished surface.
Mausoleum construction
requires careful tool work by
dedicated craftsmen to cre-
ate marble features including
names, column decorations,
and windows. Precision is
critical for this handcraft as
any slip ruins not only the
carving, but also the en-
tire piece of granite. After
months of quarrying, cut-
ting, carving, and finishing,
the granite is carefully pre-
pared for transport to the
construction site.
At the site, the special-
ized mausoleum construc-
tion team of Forever Legacy
works with painstaking pre-
cision to create custom ar-
chitecture. Each step in the
building process is completed
with diligence, ensuring flaw-
less construction. Once the
granite interior and exterior
are finished, design elements
are added including art glass
and statuary. In the case of the
O’Brate mausoleum, hexago-
nal glass and bronze doors are
added to complete the mau-
soleum build.
In a unique 5:23 minute
mausoleum
construction
video, the entire construc-
tion process from quarry to
completion is detailed. This
video offers unusual insight
to the mausoleum construc-
tion process, showing steps
from granite cutting to door
installation.
Bill Savino
,
Chairman of Forever Lega-
cy says, “We took the unusu-
al step of documenting the
entire process of mausoleum
construction, from start to
finish, with video and pho-
tos. Private mausoleum con-
struction requires special ma-
terials and skills, necessary to
create an eternal legacy. We
wanted to give viewers an in-
side look at the process, us-
ing the recent construction
of the O’Brate Mausoleum.
It is evident that a private
mausoleum is exceptional.”
Forever Legacy creates eter-
nal monuments, private es-
tate mausoleums made by
master craftsmen from ever-
lasting granite. Forever Leg-
acy specializes in providing
elite service to a discern-
ing clientele, guiding cli-
ents through the entirety of
the mausoleum construction
process from development to
build. With its Eternal Guar-
antee, Forever Legacy war-
rants its private mausole-
ums unconditionally and in
perpetuity. For more infor-
NEW YORK,NY—
FuneralDecisions.
com
announced that their new Consum-
er Response Manager,
FuneralDecision-
sCRM,
system has officially come out of
beta. The system, designed specifically for
funeral homes and cemeteries of any size,
helps maximize sales from any lead source.
Michael Regina
, CEO of FuneralDe-
cisions.com says “There are similar prod-
ucts currently on the market, however none
match the ease-of-use and overall feature set
that we offer. One of the biggest barriers to
companies using a lead management system
is the learning curve associated with it; ours
can be used within ten minutes.”
FuneralDecisionsCRM includes many
features and benefits that other lead man-
agement systems do not offer, including
bank-level security, full email marketing ca-
pabilities, website integration, a complete set
of professionally written response letters and
the ability to track leads from any source – in-
cluding from third party preneed marketing
companies. Although many funeral homes
and cemeteries do actively market their pr-
eneed services, very few are able to accurately
track leads and sales to see exactly where their
marketing dollars are best spent.
The system can also automatically keep in
contact with a “cold lead” so that preneed
counselors are free to follow up with warm-
er leads and help assist other families. “Lead
incubation has been around
in other industries for quite
some time, but is basical-
ly unheard of in the funeral
world. However, considering
it can increase conversion
rates by up to 25%, it is
something that all compa-
nies should look into” adds
Mr. Regina.
FuneralDecisions.com has
been helping funeral homes
and cemeteries help more
families since 2008. For
more information regard-
ing their new Consumer Re-
sponse Manager, please visit
S
END
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S
Y
OUR
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EWS
!
PO Box 5159, Youngstown, OH 44514
Fax (800)321-9040
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