iMessage for funeral homes

There is a real case for messaging here, and it is worth stating carefully. Families arranging a funeral are making dozens of decisions in a few days, usually while distributed across households and time zones, and often while unable to face a phone call. A thread lets them answer when they can.

What the channel is genuinely good for

• Confirming arrangements in writing — times, cars, flowers, who is doing what. Grieving people do not retain verbal detail, and asking again is exhausting.
• Coordinating a family group so the same information reaches everyone and one person is not left relaying it.
• Sharing documents — the order of service to proof, directions to the crematorium, parking.
• Answering small questions that feel too minor to phone about but cause real anxiety.

export const arrangements = {
  // Plain, warm, no branding flourish, no marketing signature.
  confirmed: (c: Ctx) =>
    `${c.home}: confirming ${c.deceased}'s service — ${c.dayDate} ` +
    `at ${c.time}, ${c.venue}. Cars will collect from ${c.address} ` +
    `at ${c.collectionTime}. Anything at all, message or call ${c.phone}.`,
 
  proof: (c: Ctx) =>
    `${c.home}: the order of service is ready to check — ${c.link}. ` +
    `Take your time. Let us know of any changes by ${c.deadline}.`,
 
  afterwards: (c: Ctx) =>
    `${c.home}: thinking of you all today. ` +
    `${c.director} is on ${c.phone} if you need anything at all.`,
};

Tone

Two rules cover almost everything. Use the person's name. And never use a template that sounds like a template — no emoji, no exclamation marks, no 'Hi there', no cheerful sign-off, no company tagline appended automatically.

Write the message you would want to receive about your own mother. Then remove anything in it that exists to serve the business rather than the family.

Afterwards

Aftercare — grief support information, memorial details, the ashes conversation — is legitimate and often welcome. It should be human, sent by a named person, and easy to stop. A single line inviting the family to say if they would rather not hear from you is both kind and, in practice, rarely taken up.

What it should never be is a marketing cadence. Pre-need advertising to a family who just used your services is the fastest way to undo genuinely good work.