Articles

Intentional, transparent communication must be integrated into every step of your succession plan. Within the funeral profession – a field built on tradition, legacy and long-standing community ties –succession planning carries a particularly emotional and operational weight. The transition of leadership from one generation to the next is about ownership and financial continuity but also about the preservation of trust, culture and relationships cultivated over decades. At the heart of this delicate process lies a single powerful tool: communication. Communication is not just a helpful part of succession planning; it is the very foundation that determines whether a transition is smooth and successful or fraught with conflict, confusion and frustration. In a profession where trust is paramount, the way leaders communicate with their successors, staff, clients and community can make or break the legacy they worked so hard to build. […]

True Stories of the Everyday Funeral Business Owner Scenario: Meet Tony Morgan (age 54), owner of Morgan Funeral Home and Cremation Services. Tony’s business consists of a single location in the Midwestern United States, serving approximately 160 families annually. Tony began his business from scratch 25 years ago. Tony worked hard to make his dream of ownership come true. He raised the equity and qualified for a loan that allowed him to buy the real estate and build a reasonably sized funeral home that met the needs of the community that he decided to serve. It was a rural community that did not have a provider when he began his business. Over time, Tony expanded his location to provide additional space within the facility, parking, and cremation by purchasing the adjoining real estate. The growth he has experienced has been […]

Written by Welton Hong, Ring Ring Marketing Every year, I travel throughout the country to help funeral home owners make their phone ring and boost market share. Call me a nerd, but I love seeing business owners succeed, especially when it comes to assisting  family members in honoring lost loved ones or planning ahead. On Thursday, Sept. 11, I’ll be joining Chris Cruger, the CEO of The Foresight Companies, and other experts as a speaker at “Mastermind: Elevating Your Funeral Service Business to New Heights,” which is approved by Ohio for 5.5 hours of continuing education. The event will be at the Live! Casino & Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In this article, I’ll highlight some of the main items I’ll be highlighting at our Mastermind event. If you focus on these action items as you move toward 2026, you’ll be […]

New data spells out what consumers want from funeral service, but are practitioners listening? Every year, The Foresight Companies takes a hard look at how consumer attitudes and behaviors have evolved regarding funeral service. Unfailingly, we uncover both new insights and repeat challenges. Foresight’s 2025 Funeral and Cemetery Consumer Behavior Study is no different. The data is rich. The insights are clear. The message is urgent: The consumer is changing, but are funeral service practitioners? This year’s study gathered feedback from more than 5,000 consumers and nearly 500 funeral service professionals. This gives us a 90% degree of confidence in the information we gathered, straight from the mouths of consumers and funeral service professionals. The data tells a story of a profession somewhat stuck in neutral while the world around it continues to shift. Consumers are more digital, price-conscious and […]

I’ve always been fascinated by how much business success comes down to the things you can’t immediately see in a spreadsheet. Sure, numbers are important—revenue, profit margins, and market share all matter—but what separates a truly valuable funeral home from the rest often lies beyond those metrics. It’s the things you invest in today, the ones that don’t show up as line items, that can make all the difference when it’s time to transition your business. Here are some of the key areas operators should focus on to build not just a profitable funeral home, but one that stands out to potential buyers when it’s time to sell. Build a Strong Team and Foster the Right Culture Think about your team. Are they just employees, or are they the heart and soul of your funeral home? When we at Foresight […]