The multimedia project I am proposing is a Web site for Deisler Funeral Home, a locally owned and operated funeral home in Saginaw Township. My first objective is to design, develop, deliver and maintain an effective presence on the Internet that clearly relays the message of Deisler Funeral Home: To serve others as our own while providing a meaningful service of life and to maintain our leadership role through excellence of service, associates and facility by actively pursuing compassionate, flexible initiatives.
Additionally, I will strive to provide open and clear communication between the funeral home staff and the families who use the funeral home as well as prospective customers who come in or might visit the Web site.
I have visited many funeral home Web sites, and, after talking with several owners and directors, IÕve realized the Internet is still very new to funeral homes. The biggest reason for this, in my opinion, is because the funeral process is so quick. In most cases there is a day or two of visitation, if any, and then there is a funeral. From the time of death until burial, cremation or whatever else is done with the body, thereÕs an average of just three days.
This poses a challenge to me as a Web site designer. I will attempt to open that window of three days to an infinite one.
There are several goals I intend to meet in creating this Web site. One is to educate consumers about the services and merchandise Deisler Funeral Home has to offer. From the obvious funeral ceremony to the lesser-known services, which might include pre-arrangement of a funeral and grief support follow-up, the site would try to answer the most common, and not-so-common questions that arise in the funeral industry. How do I pre-fund my funeral? What is the benefit to having a memorial service or visitation? How do I explain death to my son or daughter?
Another purpose of the site would be to give those who cannot attend a funeral service an opportunity to leave a message of condolence with the family of the deceased. Whether a family member or friend is out of town or is unable to physically travel to the funeral service, they would still be able to send a letter of sympathy to the family.
From a business standpoint, one goal would be to get leads for potential pre-arrangements.
I am interested in the topic of funeral service and the process of death and dying for many reasons. I spent a lot of time studying death and dying while completing my undergraduate work at Central Michigan University. While at Central, I minored in psychology and spend a lot of time studying the grieving process.
I also took two classes dedicated solely to death and dying. One concentrated on the tradition of death in the United States and the other focused on how others around the world view the dying process, from the beginning stages to the grief that follows. This is where IÕve decided to center most of my recent research. IÕve also been able to ask fellow CM students how their culture(s) observe death, which has helped in my research.
Another reason for this project is my wife, who happens to be a funeral director. She works at Deisler Funeral Home and will assist with some of my work.
But the biggest motivation for me in building this site is that I have yet to see a funeral home Web site I truly like. I want to assemble something new and intriguing which other funeral homes will want to implement. At the same time, I want to make planning for the end of someoneÕs life less scary.
I would like to attract visitors of all backgrounds to my site, whether they plan on using Deisler Funeral HomeÕs services or not. But there are people I would target more than others. I would first focus on younger generations who might be considering whether to pre-fund their funeral, or who are simply looking at the daily obituaries, and opt not to use a newspaper for finding them. This group has grown up with technology and is generally more computer literate, making them a key audience to reach.
Another group to target would be baby boomers. Boomers are a fast-growing population on the Internet. Baby-boomer shoppers are known as the non-traditional consumers of the funeral industry. This age group is commonly known to shop for the best value before deciding on which product or service to purchase. Also, baby boomers arenÕt always loyal to a particular product. This means they might not use the same funeral home their parents or grandparents used. Plus, they are more likely to be thinking of funeral service for their parents, who might be nearing the end of their lives.
Resources
I plan on receiving a lot of help for this project. So far, I have done and will continue to do a majority of the research for the site and will be the one who creates most of it. This will include graphics, photographs, animation, Web design and copywriting. However, to put it online, I will need assistance in creating a database for obituaries. For this, IÕve been talking with the staff in IT at SVSU. When the site is online, I plan to have a system where a funeral home employee updates it with obituary information.
Other resources will mostly be people. The staff of Deisler Funeral Home, including the owner, directors and part-time help, will be the main source of information for the project. I plan on dedicating a large section of the site to pre-need, so I will work closely with a specialist in that area.
Others, who will be or have been contacted, are directors and owners from other funeral homes (not necessarily in the Tri-City area), clergy, professors and experts on death and dying. Area businesses might have Web sites that could be used to determine what works well, what doesnÕt fit on a site and what could be presented in a better way.
Other people to contact include employees of monument companies, casket and cremation container manufacturers and vault companies. The goal would be to work with each of these businesses in order to best display their product in the space allowed on a Web site. Another option for some might be to add a link from the Deisler Funeral Home site to their homepage. There are also local flower shops and hotels, which would have to consent to be listed on the Deisler site.
Other resources would be funeral home publications, such as magazines and books. The Michigan Funeral DirectorÕs Association (MFDA) and the National Funeral DirectorÕs Association (NFDA) each publish magazines and Web sites with information that might be pertinent.
There will also be a need for people to test the site and to determine its usability.