Funeral Director Daily

“Big Funeral” and some thoughts on “Universal Death Care”

By Funeral Director Daily / October 8, 2021 /

The funeral profession has long had its critics.  Those of us in the profession have to understand that and know that from time to time we are going to be broadsided by those critics’ calls for change. Recently this article entitled “How ‘Big Funeral’ made the afterlife so expensive” was published in Wired.  It’s a…

Will pet cremation be the next “Big Thing” in the funeral home business?

By Funeral Director Daily / October 7, 2021 /

Every once in a while I come across a couple of items that are sometimes related and it makes me think about potential business aspects of the items when combined together.  That recently happened to me once again — late in September I received a marketing e-mail from the Cremation Association of North America (CANA)…

Death tech app Empathy raises $30 million in Series A funding

By Funeral Director Daily / October 6, 2021 /

A relatively new death tech app, Empathy, recently raised $30 million in Series A funding according to this article from Tech Crunch.  The product is designed to help bereaving families navigate the choppy waters  that result when a family member or someone close to them dies. “Empathy is a customer-centric company with compassion at our…

Park Lawn Corporation adds acquisition

By Funeral Director Daily / October 5, 2021 /

It was announced last Friday that Park Lawn Corporation had acquired the Malcolm, Deavitt & Binhammer Funeral Home Limited.  The one building standalone funeral home is located in Pembroke, Ontario. The funeral home, according to this press release from Park Lawn Corporation, “performs approximately 153 calls per year.” Here’s what J. Bradley Green, Chief Executive…

Acquisition vs. Retention. . . .where to concentrate?

By Funeral Director Daily / October 5, 2021 /

It’s an age old debate that is carried on even in MBA classes at major colleges.  . . . . .Where are your advertising dollars spent best — on Customer Acquisition or on Customer Retention?  A local issue in a concern outside of the death care industry had my friends and I debating it over…

Do we still “Do the Right Thing” simply to “Do the Right Thing”

By Funeral Director Daily / October 4, 2021 /

I’ve been around the death care business for a long time and I’m certain that I didn’t always make the correct decision in the many hundreds of decisions that I had to make every month.  However, I can tell you that I always wanted to “Do the Right Thing.”  And, the times when I realized…

Will Axar take StoneMor private?

By Funeral Director Daily / October 1, 2021 /

As you can see from this Yahoo Finance article, Axar Capital Management has sent StoneMor Inc. a letter expressing “an interest in pursuing discussions concerning strategic alternatives that may be beneficial to the Company and its various stakeholders.”  As you may know, and according to E-Trade, Axar Capital Management currently owns 88.6 million of the 118…

The story behind the anti-vaccination funeral home campaign hoax

By Funeral Director Daily / September 30, 2021 /

Last weekend people in Charlotte, North Carolina, had the opportunity to see a truck drive around the area with this message on the sides and rear, “Don’t get vaccinated: Wilmore Funeral Home“.  According to this article from CNet, the truck sparked a viral buzz. Turns out that there is no Wilmore Funeral Home and if…

Catching up with Alkaline Hydrolysis

By Funeral Director Daily / September 29, 2021 /

It’s just human nature that the newest thing gets the publicity.  On Super Bowl Monday every headline is about the Super Bowl game and the champions but by Friday of that week America is on to the next big thing. . . on the sports calendar that is sometimes the Daytona 500. Well, moving on…

Johnson Consulting: 5 Things you need to know about taxes right now

By Funeral Director Daily / September 28, 2021 /

In today’s Afternoon Edition we bring you some items of interest from our friends at Johnson Consulting Group, Clifton Larson Allen, and the National Funeral Directors Association. From Johnson Consulting it is things to know about taxes. . . From CLA it is how you can turn challenges into opportunities. . .and from our friends…