Within the last week Funeral Director Daily has published articles that all fall within the realm of “Death Care looking to cater to the consumer“.   We’ve published articles on new storefront success stories (Death Done Differently) and on two acquisitions in the greater Death Care space, which in my opinion are quests for those companies to meet the “new consumer” on their terms and win them over.

The first acquisition was funeral and cemetery operating company Foundation Partners Group (FPG) purchasing the end-of-life (EOL) help source Cake.  Again, in my opinion, that acquisition will help FPG find new customers early in their search for EOL answers and potentially turn them into preneed and, eventually, at-need customers.

The second acquisition that we wrote about was that of Batesville acquiring the Death Care software case management company Halcyon.  In my opinion that will give clients of Batesville who choose to align with Halcyon the ability, among other abilities, to interface with client and potential client families with online operations for everything from preneed to arrangement information to payment sources.  Again, it is a way to meet the consumer where they are in how they want death care choices managed.

I was reminded of how the consumer is different, and changes, in different life period stages when I shopped at my local Verizon store for a new Android cell phone last week.  I had a very good sales representative who wanted to make sure that I was pleased with the phone that I selected.  However, he might have been a little “overzealous” when trying to have me purchase extra features. . . . I actually had to tell him, “What I use my phone for may be a little different than how you use your phone.”

I told him that at my retirement age that I don’t live on my phone and use it for calls, texting, sporadically surfing the web, and taking a few pictures, along with the occaisional use for an Uber ride.  We agreed that at his young age he “lived on his phone for everything from television watching to listening to music to banking“.  In essence, we both had use for our phones, but in much different ways.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

It made me think of funeral services and memorialization.  We are used to change to keep up with the times such as the last 40 years as we have moved to cremation from earth burial.  I think most funeral homes have survived that challenge but I also think that funeral service, cremation, and memorialization is in for more changes. . . . such as we wrote about in “Death Done Differently”.

I also think that there is a lot at stake. . . . some high-fixed cost traditional funeral homes may see their cost structure out-of-whack in, what may be, a new consumer spending less, or at least differently, on death care services.  That consumer will need death care services just like I needed cell phone services, but the services that they need may be very different than what is needed today.  Between Samsung and Verizon they were able to provide the services that I need while also being able to provide the added services my young sales representative needs in our phone use  —  being able to do both will keep them profitable.

So, that is the question, “Will your funeral home be able to profitably provide the services that the “new consumer” will someday be asking for?”

Being from Minnesota hockey country it reminded me of National Hockey League (NHL) all-time leading goal scorer Wayne Gretzky and his quote about how he gets in position to score so many goals.  Gretzky argued that he had a knack for anticipation that others didn’t when he said, “I skate to where the puck is going, not where it has been”.

I think that is extremely important to keep in mind as you move forward. . . “Can you see where funeral service is going, not where it has been?”  The companies that can get that correct will be the companies that are profitable in the future.

More news from the world of Death Care:

• What is Aquamation, and is it legal in North Carolina?  The Assembly (NC)
• Funeral directors gather for annual event at Turning Stone.  Daily Sentinel (NY)
• Embalmers find beauty in “Restorative Art” of providing fitting farewells and comfort amid death.  ABC News (Australia)

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