September 24, 2026
Published by 
Foresight on September 24, 2026
Foresight on September 24, 2026Written by Jen Graziano, Esq/LOF The 19th century British Prime Minister, William Ewart Gladstone, most eloquently captured the symbiosis of life and death through his famous words, ”Show me the manner in which a nation or a community cares for its dead, and I will measure with mathematical exactness the tender sympathies of its people, their respect for the laws of the land and their loyalty to high ideals.” These words echo in the minds, or at least they should, of every proprietor of a funeral establishment. Truth be told, they are memorialized in a bronze plaque outside one of mine. These words remind us that life and death are but reflective mirrors. They are separated by a thin veil, a most fragile thread. Our human reactions to death often follow suit to our values in life. Those who truly […]
September 24, 2026
Published by 
Welton Hong on September 24, 2026
Welton Hong on September 24, 2026Written By Welton Hong, founder and CEO of Ring Ring Marketing When someone needs a cemetery, they rarely conduct casual research. They’re often planning ahead, looking for a permanent place for themselves or a family member. Or they may be dealing with an immediate need and trying to find a cemetery quickly. In either case, Google has become one of the most important places where that decision begins. For cemetery operators, that raises a critical business question: How does Google decide which cemeteries appear in its Maps results? This question was the subject of a recent webinar I held for cemetery professionals, and the answer has become considerably more complicated than it was a few years ago. Local search used to be relatively easy to separate from organic search. The map results were one thing, and the traditional organic results […]
September 24, 2026
Published by 
Axel Jean-Francois on September 24, 2026
Axel Jean-Francois on September 24, 2026Funeral service is still one of the most economically durable businesses in America. Dealmaking around funeral service is a different story. I get some version of the same question in nearly every conversation I have with an owner thinking about an exit: Is now still a good time to sell? The honest answer starts with separating two things people usually treat as one. The business is fine. The transaction market around it has gotten harder. Confusing those two facts is how owners get blindsided halfway through a process, when a lender they were counting on steps back, financing takes longer than expected, or the assumptions behind a buyer’s offer change because the cost of capital changed. That’s the market we’re dealing with in 2026. Recession-Resistant Doesn’t Mean Perfectly Predictable Funeral service has earned its reputation as one of the most […]
September 24, 2026
Published by 
Nicole Vullo on September 24, 2026
Nicole Vullo on September 24, 2026Marketing has a way of making you feel like you’re always behind. New platforms, new algorithms, new acronyms (SEO, CTAs, KPIs) thrown around in meetings as if everyone already knows what they mean. If you’ve ever nodded along in a marketing conversation while quietly wondering what half the terms actually mean, this one’s for you. I recently wrote about why marketing needs a bigger seat at the strategic-planning table in 2027. This piece is the companion to that: a plain-English glossary of the marketing terms that matter most in our profession, paired with what each one actually looks like inside a funeral home or cemetery. Start Here: Strategy vs. Tactics Before any of the vocabulary below is useful, this distinction has to be clear. Strategy is the why and the where-to that the business goal marketing is meant to support. […]
September 24, 2026
Published by 
Chris Cruger on September 24, 2026
Chris Cruger on September 24, 2026Visibility also can look like a commitment to continually assessing and improving your business. When was the last time you stepped back and truly evaluated your business? Not your month-end reports. Not last year’s call volume. Not your website. Your actual business. When I ask funeral home owners this simple question, it often catches them off guard. Most owners spend their days immersed in immediate demands. They are busy arranging services, managing employees, responding to unexpected challenges, overseeing operations and making countless decisions that move the business forward. The challenge: While they’re busy running the business, the business itself continues to evolve, as do their competitors, their employees, their community, the families they serve and the expectations placed on their organization. The question isn’t whether change is happening but whether they’re paying attention to it. In July’s issue of The […]