Funeral Director Daily

Back to School

By Funeral Director Daily / August 29, 2019 /

Today I will be enjoying one of my favorite days of the year. . . .  Convocation Day at the University of Minnesota.  It is the day we welcome the new students to the University of Minnesota and as one of the 12 people appointed by the State Legislature to serve on the governing board…

Foundation Partners adds another Colorado location

By Funeral Director Daily / August 28, 2019 /

The state of Colorado has been a hotbed of funeral home and crematory acquisitions in the last couple of years.  Many of  the larger players in the death care space, Service Corporation International, Park Lawn Corporation, and Foundation Partners Group, have all made acquisitions in the state during that time frame. It was announced on…

The staffing issue

By Funeral Director Daily / August 28, 2019 /

A couple of things came to my attention last week that made me again think about the staffing issue facing funeral homes across the country.  While I am no longer on the front lines in looking for licensed staff, I do hear from my colleagues that hiring and retaining professional funeral home licensed staff is…

Is this the next “thing” for your funeral home?

By Funeral Director Daily / August 27, 2019 /

In 2011 Davina Bambrick was forced to euthanize her 14-year old dog, Bennie.  She now says that the worst of that situation was when “Bennie was abruptly whisked away” after being euthanized.  She commented recently, “It was kind of an unusual process, that lacked a lot of care or empathy at the time.  We weren’t…

July numbers show Funeral Director Daily keeps increasing readership, viewership

By Funeral Director Daily / August 26, 2019 /

We want to continue to thank our loyal readers for making Funeral Director Daily what we believe is the fastest growing informational format for the death care industry read today.  Our readership increased for the 3rd consecutive month — and for July 2019 from June 2019 we saw an increase of 6.8% of daily views. …

Marketing: Top of Mind Awareness

By Funeral Director Daily / August 26, 2019 /

Over the years I learned a lot about marketing.  When sales reps for different advertising mediums came into our business to either sell or re-new our programs I always looked at them as extensions of our business and not sales people.  I figured that if I could learn from them I could use that knowledge…

Contrasting Forces: Landmark Preservation vs. Redevelopment

By Funeral Director Daily / August 23, 2019 /

What to do with a funeral home that has “become outdated and closed due to a drop in demand?”  That is the question that seems to have an answer from most of us and, in particular, the owner in this case Service Corporation International (SCI).  I’m guessing that most of us would put the building…

The “High End” memorial spectrum

By Funeral Director Daily / August 23, 2019 /

When you enter the business world you have the option of who you want to entice as a customer of your business.  Think of the dining out category of businesses and you can easily see the different business models that owners use in trying to make a profit.  There is the McDonald’s or Taco Bell…

Moving potential clients up the ladder

By Funeral Director Daily / August 22, 2019 /

We’ve all been targets of other businesses.  Have you ever received a printed piece of mail for something?  As you surf the internet are certain ads continuing to come up on the pages you go to?  If that has happened to you. . then you have been targeted. I first really noticed the targeting concept…

SCI properties in the news

By Funeral Director Daily / August 21, 2019 /

For the 30+ years that I operated our family owned funeral home I had to deal with a maximum of about 17 employees or teammates at work at any given time.  You got to know all of them real well and as the manager of a small firm you really understood what was happening under…