November 23, 2020
Published by 
Chris Cruger on November 23, 2020
Chris Cruger on November 23, 2020One of the greatest mistakes that funeral home and cemetery owners and management make when putting together a strategic plan is confusing it with other types of planning. A strategic plan is a tool that provides a framework to accomplish a mission with efficiency and impact. If it is to be effective and useful, it must clearly define the goals, the action steps, and the resources to accomplish them. Typically, the Strategic Plan covers a timeframe of three to five years but must be constantly monitored and adjusted into clear annual operating plans. No matter what you call it, the key is that you have a plan. What is an operations plan? In short, it lays out who, what, when and how of your daily operations for the next year. It is meant to define how human, financial, and physical […]
November 23, 2020
Published by 
Dan Isard on November 23, 2020
Dan Isard on November 23, 2020In this industry spotlight, we bring you key insights into low-cost funeral providers. In my 40 years in funeral service I have seen a rise in the quantity and legitimacy of low-cost funeral providers. In the 1980’s if someone was “donating their body to science or their university” they were often thought of as a nutjob. Those people that chose to use the services of Neptune Society or other low cost regional or national providers of the time were scoffed at by their friends. Family fights would often break-out when the kids found out the parents made their choice to be cremated. In the early consumer studies known as The Wirthlin Report, consumers chose a funeral home based upon price less than 5% of the time. However, since the 1980’s the rise in value seeking consumers has turned mainstream. Why? […]
November 23, 2020
Published by 
John McQueen on November 23, 2020
John McQueen on November 23, 2020Hopefully, it is not your own client base at a discounted price. One of the biggest trends in funeral service for the past 20 years or so has been the creation of “discounted” funeral operations. Some of these operations have been created as start-ups by entrepreneurs looking to find their place in funeral service. Many have been started by existing “traditional” brands that either recognized a need in their market, or often, felt pressure from other low-cost operations that were eroding their customer base. Yet, the most dangerous of the group are those that jumped onto the bandwagon of opening low-cost funerals because they heard a presentation at a convention or knew a colleague who did so and therefore felt they needed to do so. Low-Cost operations play a significant role in the world of funeral service nowadays, but entering […]
November 23, 2020
Published by 
Gabriel Ngo on November 23, 2020
Gabriel Ngo on November 23, 2020“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” – A.A. Milne, The Complete Tales of Winnie-the-Pooh I wanted to begin with this Winnie-the-Pooh quote as the theme of this writing. However, I will tie this quote back into everything at the end. In our recently published 2020 Foresight Funeral & Cemetery Consumer Behavior Study, it reveals several key ways in which the pandemic has changed funeral and cemetery services in the minds and attitudes of the consumer in the United States—with most of these changes now universally recognized as permanent for a profession that simply has not changed significantly over the last century. Some key consumer behavioral changes are directly related to pricing transparency online and include the following: 75% of consumers state that they want access to pricing online. 52% of consumers state that […]
November 23, 2020
Published by John McQueen on November 23, 2020
John McQueen on November 23, 2020Develop a firm plan of action that increases financial stamina and improves customer experience. Preparation requires planning. We plan for all sorts of events that may never impact us: fire, theft, accident, natural disaster. We plan for the birth of a child, birthdays, graduations and weddings. We even plan for the inevitable – our demise! So, if we plan for so many other things, how come so many of us do not plan for the success of our business? Is it too time consuming? Perhaps. Are we simply complacent? Probably. Is it even necessary? Most definitely! Defining one’s strategy, identifying needs, allocating resources, setting priorities to reach certain benchmarks and instituting control mechanisms to identify potential pitfalls are all part of the strategic planning process. There should be short- and long-term plans in place for your business – for its […]