October 6, 2021
Published by 
Foresight on October 6, 2021
Foresight on October 6, 20212021 Funeral and Cemetery Consumer Behavior Study Insights Summary DOWNLOAD NOW The future is NOW for the funeral and cemetery profession. The question is, are you planning to adapt and evolve your business or plan your succession? If you are staying in the profession, we encourage you to download our Insights Summary on the results of our 2021 Funeral & Cemetery Consumer Behavior Study. You will discover how to embrace and implement the new changes that are vital to your future business success.
September 30, 2021
Published by 
Dan Isard on September 30, 2021
Dan Isard on September 30, 2021In this industry spotlight, we want to highlight key insights on the relationship between interest rates and business values. As part of the holistic approach to protect our country and our country’s economy when the Covid-19 Pandemic struck, the Federal Reserve did its part by going into the market place and buying up bonds. They also signaled this will be a time when they will lock in interest rates, rather than having the market set rates on supply and demand. This was herculean! As affected as our economy was initially and continues to be from this problem, the economy has not faltered. Now, as we see the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, the Fed is alerting us that these self imposed restraints will be eased. The question is, how does this affect you? Since most privately owned […]
September 29, 2021
Published by 
Stephanie Ramsey on September 29, 2021
Stephanie Ramsey on September 29, 2021Scenario: Sally and Steve Mooney started Weacrematieu Cremation and Funeral Services 25 years ago. Located in the heart of a popular tourist area in the Southeastern United States, the local population continues to expand as jobs are readily available and the cost of living reasonable. Weacrematieu has experienced significant growth each year in the number of families it serves, which has created challenges for Sally and Steve in terms of hiring licensed qualified staff and creating attractive benefit programs to retain them. It has been difficult to find employees who see working at Weacrematieu as a “calling” rather than just a “paycheck.” To encourage employees to have long-term vision, some of the benefits require employees to be employed for extended periods prior to qualification, such as the retirement plan. Sally has created an employee handbook that provides a summary of […]
September 28, 2021
Published by Dan Isard on September 28, 2021
Dan Isard on September 28, 2021In last month’s issue, I explained what a business plan is and laid the groundwork for why you need to have one. This month, I want to take you deeper, so, instead of more theories, I asked two industry veterans to contribute their thoughts. The first is Steve Shaffer, CEO and president of Homesteaders Life Insurance Company. Shaffer didn’t start at the top of this company; he spent the past two decades in public accounting, joined a national acquirer as its CFO and then founded one of the top acquisition companies before leaving it to join the preneed world. I also spoke with Chris Cruger, managing partner at the company I founded, The Foresight Companies. He had a major background in finance and operations within the funeral business before joining Foresight. Today, he influences some of the most successful funeral […]
September 28, 2021
Published by Dan Isard on September 28, 2021
Dan Isard on September 28, 2021NFDA Consumer Awareness and Preferences Survey Commentary Complementary consumer surveys show three strong cultural trends for which you may need to adjust your business. Imagine you answer the phone and the voice says, “I have data compiled independently that will tell you what consumers are saying about funeral service and what they expect from a funeral provider.” You might cautiously ask, “Well, that’s all well and good, but how recent is this data?” The mysterious salesperson responds, “It is all from within the past year, tracking consumer changes since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic.” Not wanting to seem too easy a sell, your next question would probably be, “Well, how much is this data?” To which the shadowy huckster replies, “It’s about $250,000, payable in one easy payment.” At that moment, you have an involuntary muscle spasm and hang […]