Yesterday I mentioned that for small funeral homes more than 75 miles from a major metropolitan area it would be wise to be bold in pricing of cremation services.  I mentioned that if you are that far away from a large metropolitan area families in your service area will feel comfortable using your firm – even at a premium price – and you are far enough to not lose many calls to a low-cost provider in the metro area.

I also told you that while researching airline flights for a winter getaway I was struck that one airline, Delta, had four different categories for the same end result.  The result being flying me round trip, at a certain point in time, from Minneapolis to Honolulu.  They had four different general categories ranging from about $700 to about $2400 for the same end result.  Everything from Basic Economy, where I could not even pick my seat until the day of the trip, to Main Cabin, to Delta Comfort (pre-boarding, more leg room, dedicated overhead bin, and complimentary food and adult beverages), to full born First Class.  What struck me is that different people were willing to pay different prices – up to over three times the difference – for the same end result — getting back and forth from Honolulu.  They had different packages and Delta knows that different consumers would prefer different comfort levels.

So – what is so different with that and the destination of a direct cremation service?  In the end, you are providing the final disposition of a person for a consumer client.  Would not different consumers pay different prices for different comfort levels of service?  Too many times we list a direct cremation price consisting of cremation, cardboard container, and cardboard urn and leave it at that.  Maybe we should give that direct cremation consumer some more packages and see if we can hit home with a “comfort level” for them that it more profitable for us.  Here’s some ideas:

• Selection 1 – As we mention cremation, cremation container, and cardboard urn.  This should be priced high enough to allow for a profitable margin for your operation.
• Selection 2 – How about go with something like this.  Cremation, cremation container, a selected urn (from a grouping of about 8 that are about the same price as the urn is included in the package price), some cremation jewelry, memory glass, or small personal urns should also be included in the package price.  The idea of offering a piece or two of cremation jewelry , memory glass, or personal urns in the package can not only add more margin but is really put there to spur “add-ons” of those types of things for all members of the family and in doing so, increase your margins.  For instance you offer two pieces of cremation jewelry in the package and there are four children in the family.  More often than not you will sell two more pieces of cremation jewelry.
• Selection 3 –  Can be all things in Selection 2 as well as a visitation without the body present.  This type of offering can lead to increased margins and sales of such things as memorial folders and hospitality items such as hospitality room rental, food, and beverages.  You can also offer a better selection of urns, as the urn will be displayed at the visitation, for an up-charge should the family so desire.
• Selection 4 – Finally, the “First Class” of the Direct Cremation where you offer all of the above and take charge of conducting a memorial service for the family at your chapel or other location.  With this type of “Concierge Service” you take charge from the removal thru the memorial service and take everything off the family’s plate.  Margins should be quite high in this type of case.

You should be able to explain these levels with the charges on your web-site and have flyers that you can give to families when making removals.  When they say they want a “Direct Cremation” – you can say, “Okay, great — this card lists some of the services we provide with direct cremation.  Talk it over with your family and when you come in to make the arrangements we can visit more about it.”  The more people in the family that discuss the options, now that they know them, will generally lead to finding one member of the consumer family who will want more than basic services.

If you are not offering packages for “Direct Cremation” I would suggest getting started.  Just like with airline flights, I’m guessing that the destination for direct cremation is different for each consumer family and there is a way to increase margins with them.

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