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Market Research
November 22, 2021
Published by 
Dan Isard on November 22, 2021
Dan Isard on November 22, 2021Estimating case count during/after a pandemic. Creating and implementing a strategic plan starts with estimating your revenue. While calculating revenue involves a simple formula, estimating it during a pandemic is very difficult. More on that later in the article. So, as I said, revenue involves a simple formula, R = C x $, in which revenue equals calls multiplied by $ or average dollars/call. For example, if you expect to serve 100 families annually and your average dollars/call is $6,000, then your revenue will be $600,000. Now, during normal, non-pandemic times, you would need to make two basic assumptions to calculate your revenue: Normal Assumption 1: Upon how many calls should I build my budget? Most people use a three-year average, while others look for trends up or down and make a pro forma estimate based on those trends. I […]
September 21, 2020
Published by Dan Isard on September 21, 2020
Dan Isard on September 21, 2020Before I comment on the top slides in the survey I think every funeral director should be focused on, allow me to say that I love the fact that this survey is intentionally trying to be more inclusive. One key point I must assert first is brought about by these changes in survey demographics. The 2020 survey takes into consideration people of wider race and age than ever before. It’s weighting younger this year, with 62.1% of respondents between ages 40 and 54 (compared to 36.1% in 2019 and 23.7% in 2018). The survey is also weighting more diverse. A higher percentage of respondents identified themselves as Hispanic (15.5%, compared to 11.1% in 2019), and fewer identified themselves as white (52.4%, compared to 57.9% in 2019). I also believe that leading to a shift in perceived results is the higher […]
February 10, 2020
Published by Dan Isard on February 10, 2020
Dan Isard on February 10, 2020A funeral home is as much about serving families as it is service to the dead. How aftercare and outreach programs can bring you the best results. I have seen many efforts put forth in this profession to influence patronage within a market. Nothing is perfect; there is no magic bullet to marketing. It’s when you try hard not to market and instead adopt a true sense of altruism that you get the best results. That’s what aftercare and outreach do. First, let me establish a universal definition: Aftercare and outreach are the efforts a funeral home makes to help surviving family and community members adjust to the loss of a loved one. While this is a fairly broad definition, different people need different tools to help them continue without that person in their lives. Various programs deal with all […]
May 29, 2019
Published by Dan Isard on May 29, 2019
Dan Isard on May 29, 2019It’s a must-do in today’s world, but it also must be done right so it becomes an asset to your business. The use of social media by funeral homes isn’t a matter of choice anymore, it’s a necessity. Digital media has radically changed our lives: – how we communicate, shop, work and get our news. In the not-too-distant past, funeral homes with websites were a big deal. Social media was just emerging but was not widely adopted by most funeral providers. Fast-forward to today: In most industries, not having an updated website and avoiding social media is considered unusual. In fact, most funeral firms use both mediums to some extent. Yet social media is still widely underutilized in the funeral profession and is, to some degree, misunderstood. This is especially true when considering the effective deployment of this medium for […]
March 20, 2019
Published by Dan Isard on March 20, 2019
Dan Isard on March 20, 2019To market your message for the future, capitalize on the tools and techniques of communication that exist today. As we prepare to reinvent your business with foresight (ahem, it’s just a common word, folks) and vision for 2020, there is nothing more critical than marketing. Because you cannot assume families will simply come to your funeral home, you must address the methods and design of marketing today – not in anticipation for the turn of the 21st century and not stuck in the 20th century. The key elements of marketing have changed. Everything you thought was marketing 20 years ago has been eviscerated, blown up or has died. The one thing that has not changed is your message. Advertising and marketing attempt to transmit your message to those seeking that message. I contend that the message of funeral directors over […]