Posts

Pricing is relative, but one low-cost provider can beat us all up

By Funeral Director Daily / October 2, 2023 /

  Inflation has set in. . . I recently had to install a new air conditioning condenser to our existing HVAC combination unit.  An air conditioning condensor, like a funeral or cremation expense, is something you don’t buy everyday. . . . in fact, maybe less than once a decade.   And, when I called…

The Trust Factor

By Funeral Director Daily / September 29, 2023 /

  Over my years as a funeral director the confidentiality that I kept for my client families was always paramount in my mind.  Being a funeral director in a small community just led itself to the fact that “people would ask me questions”.  Those questions included things like “How did he die?” or in cases…

Meeting Katrina Spade

By Funeral Director Daily / September 28, 2023 /

    English poet Oscar Wilde is thought by some as first using the phrase that “Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery”.  In today’s world of economics and commerce one might also believe that “Somebody starting a business similar to what you have started” would also be a very well-known form of flattery…

Podcast: Talking funeral plans with Avalon Funeral Plans

By Funeral Director Daily / September 27, 2023 /

  Prior to the July 2022 regulations put into place by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in Great Britain there was little in the form of regulation for Preneed funeral plans in that country.  Preneed can be done a little differently than in the USA in Great Britain, but there is much to be learned…

Advertising to bring results

By Funeral Director Daily / September 27, 2023 /

  If you want to grow your business — whether through at-need or pre-need — there are some basics you need to understand about the consumer mind.  You also need to understand how to reach those consumers. . . . Today’s column will touch on both of those aspects and hopefully point out some strategies…

The Hispanic population and Death Care

By Funeral Director Daily / September 26, 2023 /

    I recently saw an e-mail alert from the American Heart Association with an odd title.  The title of this particular e-mail information item was “Caregiving a concern as U.S. Hispanic people age faster than other populations”.   I eventually realized that the headline did not mean that Hispanic people “get older faster” but…

Seeking Alpha on SCI: “Negative scenario could be favorable for this industry consolidator”

By Funeral Director Daily / September 25, 2023 /

    This morning’s edition of Funeral Director Daily looked at the situation that death care companies could be in if inflation and the high interest environment we are in stay with us for some time.  Interestingly enough, Seeking Alpha author Gustavo Larraga Tapia published an article last week where he opined that death care…

Looking Forward: Will interest rates and inflation continue to affect your operation?

By Funeral Director Daily / September 25, 2023 /

    We know where we have been as interest rates and inflation have moved upwards in the last two years. . . but, do we know where we are headed with those items and how their future directions will affect our businesses going forward?   I found some information that may be helpful to…

Will “young people” bring back the funeral

By Funeral Director Daily / September 22, 2023 /

  Funerals, cremations, memorial services, and other Death Care purchases by the consumer are not done in a vacuum.  Consumers make all kinds of decisions on purchases with all kinds of products and services and sometimes those decisions change over time as to the overall philosophy of the purchase.   It’s no secret that in…

More from the floor. . . . Supplier news from the NFDA Convention

By Funeral Director Daily / September 21, 2023 /

  My favorite time annually at the National Funeral Directors Convention (NFDA) is when I get to roam the Expo Hall among all of Death Care’s suppliers and just visit.  Sometimes it is about new and exciting products and sometimes it is just catching up with an old friend. . . . . and sometimes…