Market Research

Most do not know the history of cremation. If we don’t understand the history, we are ill-equipped to deal with the results of the past. While the roots of cremation go back more than 5,000 years, we began the modern age of cremation in the 1870s. Before the modern world of cremation, bodies were cremated in outdoor pyres or within outdoor cremation pits. Cremation became “modern” in the 1870s, when an Italian professor named Ludovico Brunetti invented the first commercial cremation chamber. Brunetti demonstrated his cremation “furnace” at the Vienna Exposition in 1873. An improved commercial retort was demonstrated at the World’s Fair in 1876 in Philadelphia. Cremation had been a part of the culture of many eastern religions as well as other Christian religions that were starting anew in the 1600s. In Great Britain, the modern cremation movement was […]

Let’s face it funeral friends: Technology in the funeral profession is here to stay. It’s not a fad that people simply use to play games or catch up with each other. It has become woven into the fabric of our lives, both professionally and privately. In preparing to write this article, I considered different facets of a funeral, cremation and burial, and where technology has created a better experience for families while boosting the productivity of funeral directors. Before a call ever takes place, a funeral home must promote itself in such a manner that prompts a consumer to make contact regarding an impending death or a death that has occurred. In days gone by, marketing for funeral homes was simple. We are in a relationship business, so visibility in operative communities was a must, and frankly, is still an […]

When you take a long-term view, green burial is not new. It’s just the way burial used to be. But that was a long time ago, and some cemetery professionals and families need to be educated about what it means today and what it offers. Cemetery Impossible What exactly is green burial and why should a cemetery consider offering it?   Dear Cemetery Impossible, I hear a lot of people talking about green or natural burial.  Frankly, I don’t get it.  Can you explain it so that a country undertaker can understand why I should consider it?             Country Undertaker   Dear Country Undertaker, Green or natural burial is not new. From a religious perspective, this is the burial requirement of Jews and Moslems. Biblically, it is established as “dust to dust.” This is what all burial was, regardless of […]

The fine line between donations and advertising.   Dear Dan, I am embarrassed to write this letter and will be even more embarrassed if you publish it. Now I know why you have fake names at the end of each letter. I am a 120-call business in a small town, and my competitor, who is the same size, is two blocks away. Neither of us are making much of a living, but we continue to fight for each call like our fathers and grandfathers did. Every week, I get at least five requests from churches, local organizations, religious groups and schools for “advertising.” These are nominal and generally amount to between $25 and $200. Little League wants new T-shirts, the high school yearbook wants ads, the senior center needs donations, etc. While each request is not a lot, last year, […]

My objective for this article is to challenge readers to consider refreshing stale practices developed over the last few years. In addition, I challenge you to take a new view of what has become “passé” (for my fellow preppy rednecks, that means the same old thing) in many funeral home and cemetery operations. Offering keepsakes and personalization has become a staple in our business, but in some cases, the way we’re going about it is making us lazy and failing the families we serve. I wonder whether keepsakes and personalized products have the same value to the families you serve as they do to you. From a historical perspective, keepsakes to remember the dead have been around a long time. Just for reference, the Webster’s Dictionary definition of keepsake: “(noun) something given or kept as a memento.” It is interesting […]