December 21, 2020
Published by 
Stephanie Ramsey on December 21, 2020
Stephanie Ramsey on December 21, 2020Scenario: Meyer-Landis Funeral & Cremation Service has been serving families in the northern United States since the late 1800s. Currently the business is owned by Brian and Jackie Landis. They pride themselves on excellent service to their families and train all their employees to adhere to their credo, “Our community and the families we serve are our first priority and deserve to be treated as we would treat a member of our own family.” As COVID-19 became a reality earlier this year, this motto became a talisman for Brian and Jackie as they have experienced a fair number of COVID cases. At the request of their more vulnerable employees, they have limited those individuals’ exposure by adjusting their schedules or responsibilities. In fact, one of their senior licensed funeral directors elected to retire, and they have not yet been able […]
December 21, 2020
Published by 
Dan Isard on December 21, 2020
Dan Isard on December 21, 2020 The Changing Landscape of the Deathcare Industry My first entry into the funeral business came through the pet business, at about age 5! One of my friends had a bird die, and we kids wanted to have a funeral. We used a shoe box as a casket. My mother had just dug a garden with rose bushes, so we placed the shoebox beneath one of the rose bushes. A few days later, a kid had a turtle die and we went at it again. We were enjoying ourselves while my mother could not figure out what or who was digging up her garden. Then Herby’s gerbil got sick. We got another shoe box and prepared to bury that gerbil. But when my mother came to investigate, the gerbil escaped; and I was never allowed in her garden again! The pet […]
December 21, 2020
Published by 
John McQueen on December 21, 2020
John McQueen on December 21, 2020The late Winston Churchill said it best when he said, “Fear is a reaction; Courage is a decision.” As we usher in a new year and what appears to be a new administration in power at the federal level, there is one certainty on the horizon…change! Some changes many hope to see include the eradication of the COVID-19 virus, elimination of masks and other restrictions, and the return of freedoms we all enjoy. Other changes bring worry and anxiety over the strong likelihood of increased income tax rates, including capital gain hikes, the effects of the rising minimum wage, and the potential for sweeping legislative changes that may negatively impact your business. Although we may not be able to alter the course of history moving forward, we do have the ability to choose whether to react with fear or to […]
December 21, 2020
Published by 
Doug Gober on December 21, 2020
Doug Gober on December 21, 2020We want to continue to provide you with insight and guidance on Pricing. For this month’s column, we spoke with Doug Gober again as he answers more popular pricing questions. Continue reading below as we provide information on competitor pricing and package pricing! Question: Should I match my competitors’ prices? Doug Gober: The critical element of pricing should be how you want to be seen in the marketplace. Because the market is so segmented, it is challenging for a funeral home to be all things to all people. It would be beneficial to define who you want to be in the marketplace rather than who and how your competitors are. This idea of determining your position is certainly more important than seeing what your competitors in the market are doing. In some cases, you may not be at the same […]
December 21, 2020
Published by Dan Isard on December 21, 2020
Dan Isard on December 21, 2020Life is what happens when you’re making other plans. In September 2019, my publisher shared with me his idea for 2020’s editorial theme: “20/20 Vision.” Thus, we meticulously laid out the focus of each month’s article and left my December column – the one you’re reading right now – to arrange all of the pieces and tie the previous 11 months together. Well, guess what? It can no longer be done! For the record, in 30 years of writing articles for The Director, I have never all-capped a sentence. Moreover, I’ve worked with my publisher for at least 25 years, but he did not take the novel coronavirus into consideration. The COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed more than 220,000 people and scarred the health of millions more, turned his plans and your business upside down! As a study my company […]