Thought Leadership

Properly pricing services and presenting families with all of their options are the keys to operating profitably. Cremation as a disposition process is increasingly embraced by consumers of nearly all religious, economic and regional groups, and the reasons for choosing this option are nearly as diverse as the individuals themselves. While it’s true that some perceive cremation as more economical, others simply have an aversion to ground burial or entombment in a mausoleum. Some see cremation as the greenest option available and believe it’s the most responsible ecological choice. Unfortunately, there are far too many funeral home owners/managers who focus on the economics of cremation as the sole contributing factor of consumer decision making. This preconceived notion then tends to affect the style of arrangement process for families choosing cremation, as well as the pricing of cremation options on the […]

I think we can all agree that from shifting consumer preferences to declining revenue per call, the funeral profession is facing challenges. Shifting consumer preferences are largely driven by the decline of religious folk and the increase of the “nones” (people that claim no religious affiliation). The culprit responsible for the decline in revenue is funeral home owners and managers’ inability to price services properly, not the “rise in cremation” we are so quick to blame. Funeral homes that serve exclusively along racial, religious or cultural lines have all the before mentioned challenges, plus some different challenges. Often, in large populated areas, we see funeral homes exclusively serving narrow segments of the community. For example, Jewish, African-American, Irish Catholic, Italian Catholic, Hispanic, Asian, and Orthodox Greek funeral homes serve narrow vertical markets. As you can see, even though some of […]