Business

Government Regulator: Funeral directors must make prices clearer

By Funeral Director Daily / June 22, 2021 /

In the summer of 2020, Great Britain’s Competition and Market Authority (CMA) investigated the death care business sector and one statement that was made was this, “some funeral directors were providing unacceptable low levels of care of the deceased”.  Couple that with the fact that, according to SunLife’s latest cost of dying report, funeral costs…

The TikTok mortician

By Funeral Director Daily / June 18, 2021 /

One of the things you realize as you get older is that there is a whole new generation of Americans working in your profession and molding that profession in a way that you would have never thought of.  Some of that “molding” you may see as good for the profession and some of it you…

“Green” going big

By Funeral Director Daily / June 15, 2021 /

Market forces eventually move ideas and products that become staples of our way of life.  However, in almost all cases, private investment is needed to spur the product or service into general practice among the American public.  Take the Tesla automobile, for instance.  Founder Elon Musk didn’t just take the idea of an electric automobile,…

Johnson Consulting to host “Data Driven Decision” webinar

By Funeral Director Daily / June 11, 2021 /

There is an old song released in April 1981 and sung by Barbara Mandrel entitled, “I was Country when Country wasn’t cool”.  I have to admit that when I entered my freshman year of college at Texas Christian University in September of 1976  I started hearing music that resonated with me. . . .Waylon Jennings,…

Time for that 2nd location?

By Funeral Director Daily / June 9, 2021 /

Many funeral directors who own funeral homes operate a one roof funeral home.  There’s nothing wrong with that — I operated a one roof funeral home for 20 years and, contrary to many people’s beliefs, there was always much to do and profits to be made.  But, like me, many of those one roof funeral…

College research shows distinction between preneed and at need funeral purchases

By Funeral Director Daily / June 7, 2021 /

An article entitled “Relational Spending in Funerals:  Caring for others loved and lost” appeared in the March edition of the Journal of Consumer Psychology.  The research for the article was done by assistant marketing Professor Sarah Whitley of the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business. In this article about the study you can read…

Funeral directors make a difference

By Funeral Director Daily / June 4, 2021 /

Sometimes at Funeral Director Daily we get too wrapped up in mergers and acquisitions, in financial news, and in things like new products to the profession.  Those things are all interesting and are necessary to know if we want to make the services that we offer to the public profitable for us. But, it is…

Can two death care trends solve a problem??

By Funeral Director Daily / June 1, 2021 /

Over the years that I have done the research for the articles that appear in Funeral Director Daily, among others, I have noticed two trends that are definitely growing in the death care world.  One of those trends is that of Green or Natural burials.  Virtually every day when I look for articles that will…

InvoCare talks of strategy reset

By Funeral Director Daily / May 28, 2021 /

My own historical family businesses are a perfect example of the evolution of a business to fit the consumer and stay relevant.  Back in 1872 my great-grandfather arrived in the New World with a skill as a cabinet maker.  He set up shop and when people died family members approached him about building a coffin…

When grandma dies, how do we get the word out?

By Funeral Director Daily / May 27, 2021 /

I served as a funeral director in a small town and when somebody died, the news got out.  There can be a difference between a death notice and an obituary or an obituary can serve as both.  In America we have closed over 2,000 newspapers since the year 2000 and many communities no longer have…