Business

The continuing growth of Women’s Leadership opportunities in Death Care

By Funeral Director Daily / April 8, 2026 /

  Back in 1990 or 1991 I was invited to an event hosted by the late Tom Johnson for funeral profession leaders.  With rare exception, I have continued to attend the annual event for the past 35 years and much of what I was able to learn about the greater Death Care world came from…

Who’s writing the reviews?

By Funeral Director Daily / April 7, 2026 /

  Who’s writing the reviews?  That’s one question that businesses, including funeral homes and cemeteries, don’t want potential consumers asking.  I recently read an article in Funeral Service Times “that indicate(s) 89% of people refer to product or service reviews before making purchases.”   If true, that is an incredibly high proportion of shoppers and…

“Perceived Value” is now the strongest driver of Death Care customer satisfaction

By Funeral Director Daily / April 6, 2026 /

    Last week Johnson Consulting Group (JCG) released their annual “Sales and Customer Service Trends” report for 2026.  The report is compiled by customer surveys that over the past five years and have included 654,327 sales and survey records in that time period.   Here are some key takeaways from this year’s findings according…

Blessed. . . . and Grateful

By Funeral Director Daily / April 3, 2026 /

    I love Easter.  Even outside of the religious realm I can remember as a child that when mom started decorating the house for Easter — Spring, and nice weather, soon returned to us in Minnesota.   Those times reminded me that it would not be long and the cold, wet weather would be…

We’ve truly “Turned the Corner”

By Funeral Director Daily / March 30, 2026 /

  There is no doubt that when one thinks of the idea of an embalmer around the time of the Civil War (1860’s in the U.S.) or one known as an “undertaker” in the same time period that the profession has changed greatly.  And, the business of what a funeral director does or what a…

Man’s Best Friend and their “grief” and “grit”

By Funeral Director Daily / March 26, 2026 /

  Today’s edition of Funeral Director Daily will be a little different and I hope you enjoy it.  It’s not about the business of Death Care, although, you might find reason to believe that “Therapy Dogs”, that are now making their way into the business of the funeral home, have merit after reading today’s edition.…

It’s the political season, watch your messaging

By Funeral Director Daily / March 24, 2026 /

  You would have to be living under a rock in the United States if you did not notice the large, and seemingly growing gap, between the political parties at this time.  I’m guessing that at no time in my life have I seen such a large chasm between the beliefs of the Democratic Party…

SCI: Strategy changed in early 2000’s to target 8-12% Earnings Growth

By Funeral Director Daily / March 20, 2026 /

    Service Corporation International (SCI) recently participated at the J.P. Morgan Industrials Conference and were represened there by Senior Vice-President and Treasurer Aaron Foley.  Seeking Alpha provided a transcript of Foley’s comments and answers to questions that you can access here.   In those comments and questions one gets an idea of how SCI…

Funeral Directors: Same compassion, new methods

By Funeral Director Daily / March 19, 2026 /

  Compassion has always been present in the role of “Funeral Director”.  This recent article on the Mortuary Science program at the University of Minnesota quotes Director Michael LuBrant as saying, “It’s such a unique field and it isn’t something a lot of people think of. . .”  But LuBrant also says that the characteristics…

Can we learn from Disney?

By Funeral Director Daily / March 18, 2026 /

  In February the Walt Disney Company (Disney) reported their earnings for the First Quarter of their Fiscal Year of 2026.  In that report they announced that “The experiences unit, which includes Disney’s parks, cruises and consumer products, carried the December quarter, generating $10 billion in revenue and 72% of the company’s quarterly operating profit…