I read this article in yesterday’s Yahoo Finance Morning Briefing and it reminded me of the lengthy  “staying power” of family funeral homes in their localities.  The article topic is that of how in only 15 years 90% of the companies that were the 10 most dominant in the world (according to market capitalization) are now not in that category.

The article points out how things change.  In 2009 four of the largest, most dominant companies in the world were from China.  Today, 2024, only one company in the Top 10 is a non-USA company and that is Aramco from Saudi Arabia.  Nine of the 10 companies are different. . . .the only company to stay in the Top 10 for those 15 years is Microsoft.

While the article is great in itself, as I usually do, I looked for a tie-in with Death Care.  And, what I surmise from that look is how unusual Death Care companies, especially family funeral homes and their longevity are in the world of an ever-changing business world.  While not necessarily large by market value, most local funeral homes have a very high “Top of Mind Awareness (TOMA)” rankings in the local community. . . possibly an awareness that has remained very high for decades or even a century.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

I’m aware of our local newspaper doing a TOMA survey about 15 years ago.  In that survey they called consumers and asked what the first thing that came to mind to them was when asked a certain word question.  The newspaper people revealed the survey to me and when consumers were given the word “Funeral”, 94% responded by saying “Anderson Funeral Home”.  That was the highest percentage of any word in the entire survey and boded well for our business’ community support.

But, will that historical funeral home awareness change with time, consumer preferences, changing tradition, and ownership in the years and decades to come?  My answer to that is “Yes”.  For the last century and a half funeral service, with the addition of cremation has been pretty stable in how they served consumers. . . . . However, I think how existing funeral homes handle the internet shopper, the growing forms of disposition such as Natural Organic Reduction, Green Funerals, and Alkaline Hydrolysis will play a role in, potentially, changing the awareness and valuations of the Death Care providers in the local communities as we move forward.

It may also change the rankings of the Death Care supplier world. . . . .Casket companies and vault companies were probably the most valued of all the suppliers over the past 100 years. . . . .I can see insurance, technology, memorial products, and other suppliers gaining steam while some of the mainstay suppliers may lose awareness or value simply because their products are not “in demand” as much as they once were.

In any regard, reading yesterday’s article and seeing the list above reminded me that “standing still” is probably not a good strategy for funeral homes or suppliers.  Somebody once told me, “You’re either growing or you are declining”.  That saying is also probably a good reminder for you, because I don’t think the status quo will keep you in your position over the next quarter century.  So, if you don’t want to decline, then look for strategies that will grow your business.

More news from the world of Death Care:

• Mourners “heartbroken” over flooded graves.  BBC (Great Britain)
• Swan Point Cemetery:  A place for life and death.  ecoRI news (Rhode Island)
• “It’s disgusting”:  Nearly $1 billion judgement against Return to Nature Funeral Home a hollow victory.  The Gazette (CO)

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