Hal Stevens  

 In recent exchange of emails I had said that the future of the Funeral Service industry was based adopting and embracing many of the products and services that now seem ancillary. This was in response to a group email from a member who said that she was a Funeral Planner whose company thought her position was like being a low level Wedding Planner. Here is my reply:
You’re asking questions that require me to be a combo of Nostradamus & Edgar Casey. My crystal isn’t doing much good in the stock market these days; nevertheless, I’ll try and climb out on the limb.
 
It’s a fact that people’s attitudes towards burial and cremation are changing in a way that doesn’t bode well for the Funeral Industry unless some rethinking and changes take place.
 
I can remember that it was only about 10-15 years ago that the coffee industry was in trouble with sinking prices and sinking sales. It was standard thought at that time that anyone under 20 didn’t drink coffee and instead preferred soft drinks. It was presumed that the coffee business was dying and that the existing younger generation would be confirmed Coke/Pepsi/Dr. Pepper, etc. drinkers. Then came the rethinking and repositioning of the coffee industry thanks to Starbucks, and others, into a neuvo-cool drink. The “new” coffee culture centered around quality and product knowledge as espoused by the barristas (employees who were really taught about the products they were selling as a tool to up -sell), the value of the experience of having the coffee made fresh and to high standards and with a customer choice of mix/match ingredients, and an association of brand (Starbucks) with status.
 
The Funeral Service industry would be wise to study this as a basis toward developing new services and products with a view towards product positioning and marketing. And, studying this from the perspective of profiting when the economy is good and protecting it’s franchise when the economy turns bad (a situation the coffee industry - especially Starbucks is now faced with).
 
People are now following two main trends: cremation and green funerals/burials. Cremation is seen as a cheap alternative to traditional burial that is also easier to deal with. Green Funerals/Burials is seen as the socially responsible thing to do, as well, as being a more friendly way to visit the deceased. rather than fighting or finding fault with these trends we should recognize their positive aspects and sell into and around them.
 
One obvious thing is that traditional burials with a cemetery plot and monument costs more so it is being priced out for many people. So, why not make a modified traditional burial into a high quality experience with status attached to it. Make it something that is specifically targeted toward high net worth individuals. Make the experience into a party in honor of the deceased. Get the wedding party planners involved and make it a sign of status and connections to be invited to a funeral celebration. Make it an honor to sit at a dais and get to give a short eulogy; maybe one of a few short eulogies that are given in honor of the deceased; make it like a celebrity roast only more tactful. Have appropriate decorations and food. Make it a first class celebration with video and even a dj or songs played by a band that reflect the favorite songs of the deceased. Publish the written eulogies and a play list of the songs; add the names of invited guests to the playbill like handout. Add a light show to the gravesite ceremony. Have artisans make custom designed caskets or have existing casket manufacturers send the casket to a special quick retro-fit company to do this. Have cemeteries market special sections of their cemeteries to grand reserve clients only. Make it a situation like getting a loan or applying for country club membership to be able to buy a plot in some cemeteries or even certain sections of cemeteries. Do this as a first class highly restricted situation and you will create status and value and the middle class who aspires to be rich (which is almost everyone) will beat down your doors to do something that increases its status because they did something like the rich guys did. It’s keeping up with the Jones’s in a way that hasn’t been fully exploited.
 
Next, there are many services that are available by ancillary funeral service providers that funeral homes and cemeteries don’t market correctly. Many of these don’t need to be brought in house but rather sold on a commission basis as value added services. Live password protected video streaming of the funeral service/cremation (and/or burial), a “boardroom” quality extra large painting of the deceased for remembrance, assistance with setting up an online memorial (either on an existing site or on a new domain owned by the family/survivors), digital slide show of the entire funeral service (marketed like a wedding album only digital), guaranteed remembrance bouquet placed on the gravesite every anniversary of birth/death/anniversary/holidays, etc. and options to have different size, quality, themed and priced floral arrangements, have a local clothes designer available to do a quick manufacture of a special designer labeled memorial outfit for the ladies and or men, arrange for special memorial tours to be presented at the cemetery with playbill like brochures and an opportunity for businesses owned by survivors of the deceased to advertise their services in these (as well as other local businesses), for cemeteries have the ability to sell the naming rights for street signs in the cemetery named after someone who is buried in the cemetery (can be naming rights for 1 year to get additional yearly income or a large dollar donation for multiple years, etc., etc. These are all ancillary things that a funeral home or cemetery can do to generate value to their customers and generate additional income. They are all ancillary to the basic employee functions at a traditional funeral home or cemetery but will expand the products and services beyond the currently deteriorating sales and profits of this industry.
 
Anyone else have ideas? Let us know. They may seem crazy or too far fetched (especially for a rather unimaginative and slow to change industry) but go for it anyway and post them here as comments. In recent exchange of emails I had said that the future of the Funeral Service industry was based adopting and embracing many of the products and services that now seem ancillary. This was in response to a group email from a member who said that she was a Funeral Planner whose company thought her position was like being a low level Wedding Planner. Here is my reply:
You’re asking questions that require me to be a combo of Nostradamus & Edgar Casey. My crystal isn’t doing much good in the stock market these days; nevertheless, I’ll try and climb out on the limb.
 
It’s a fact that people’s attitudes towards burial and cremation are changing in a way that doesn’t bode well for the Funeral Industry unless some rethinking and changes take place.
 
I can remember that it was only about 10-15 years ago that the coffee industry was in trouble with sinking prices and sinking sales. It was standard thought at that time that anyone under 20 didn’t drink coffee and instead preferred soft drinks. It was presumed that the coffee business was dying and that the existing younger generation would be confirmed Coke/Pepsi/Dr. Pepper, etc. drinkers. Then came the rethinking and repositioning of the coffee industry thanks to Starbucks, and others, into a neuvo-cool drink. The “new” coffee culture centered around quality and product knowledge as espoused by the barristas (employees who were really taught about the products they were selling as a tool to up -sell), the value of the experience of having the coffee made fresh and to high standards and with a customer choice of mix/match ingredients, and an association of brand (Starbucks) with status.
 
The Funeral Service industry would be wise to study this as a basis toward developing new services and products with a view towards product positioning and marketing. And, studying this from the perspective of profiting when the economy is good and protecting it’s franchise when the economy turns bad (a situation the coffee industry - especially Starbucks is now faced with).
 
People are now following two main trends: cremation and green funerals/burials. Cremation is seen as a cheap alternative to traditional burial that is also easier to deal with. Green Funerals/Burials is seen as the socially responsible thing to do, as well, as being a more friendly way to visit the deceased. rather than fighting or finding fault with these trends we should recognize their positive aspects and sell into and around them.
 
One obvious thing is that traditional burials with a cemetery plot and monument costs more so it is being priced out for many people. So, why not make a modified traditional burial into a high quality experience with status attached to it. Make it something that is specifically targeted toward high net worth individuals. Make the experience into a party in honor of the deceased. Get the wedding party planners involved and make it a sign of status and connections to be invited to a funeral celebration. Make it an honor to sit at a dais and get to give a short eulogy; maybe one of a few short eulogies that are given in honor of the deceased; make it like a celebrity roast only more tactful. Have appropriate decorations and food. Make it a first class celebration with video and even a dj or songs played by a band that reflect the favorite songs of the deceased. Publish the written eulogies and a play list of the songs; add the names of invited guests to the playbill like handout. Add a light show to the gravesite ceremony. Have artisans make custom designed caskets or have existing casket manufacturers send the casket to a special quick retro-fit company to do this. Have cemeteries market special sections of their cemeteries to grand reserve clients only. Make it a situation like getting a loan or applying for country club membership to be able to buy a plot in some cemeteries or even certain sections of cemeteries. Do this as a first class highly restricted situation and you will create status and value and the middle class who aspires to be rich (which is almost everyone) will beat down your doors to do something that increases its status because they did something like the rich guys did. It’s keeping up with the Jones’s in a way that hasn’t been fully exploited.
 
Next, there are many services that are available by ancillary funeral service providers that funeral homes and cemeteries don’t market correctly. Many of these don’t need to be brought in house but rather sold on a commission basis as value added services. Live password protected video streaming of the funeral service/cremation (and/or burial), a “boardroom” quality extra large painting of the deceased for remembrance, assistance with setting up an online memorial (either on an existing site or on a new domain owned by the family/survivors), digital slide show of the entire funeral service (marketed like a wedding album only digital), guaranteed remembrance bouquet placed on the gravesite every anniversary of birth/death/anniversary/holidays, etc. and options to have different size, quality, themed and priced floral arrangements, have a local clothes designer available to do a quick manufacture of a special designer labeled memorial outfit for the ladies and or men, arrange for special memorial tours to be presented at the cemetery with playbill like brochures and an opportunity for businesses owned by survivors of the deceased to advertise their services in these (as well as other local businesses), for cemeteries have the ability to sell the naming rights for street signs in the cemetery named after someone who is buried in the cemetery (can be naming rights for 1 year to get additional yearly income or a large dollar donation for multiple years, etc., etc. These are all ancillary things that a funeral home or cemetery can do to generate value to their customers and generate additional income. They are all ancillary to the basic employee functions at a traditional funeral home or cemetery but will expand the products and services beyond the currently deteriorating sales and profits of this industry.
 
Anyone else have ideas? Let us know. They may seem crazy or too far fetched (especially for a rather unimaginative and slow to change industry) but go for it anyway and post them here as comments.