Business

Death care and the (near term) changes coming

By Funeral Director Daily / August 12, 2019 /

We all know that over the long-term, such as the past 40 years between 1980 and now, change has occurred in the death care industry mainly by the advent of the almost universal acceptance of cremation.  Most funeral homes have been able to weather that storm by offering services for both types of choices in…

This funeral home doesn’t want your business. . . .yet

By Funeral Director Daily / July 29, 2019 /

Last week Funeral Director Daily published an article on “Out of the box” marketing.  In a nutshell we told traditional funeral homes not to be scared about advertising your services in a less than conventional way. While we didn’t have anything to do with it, we happened to notice on our local media in the…

Ohio funeral home to close after 120 years

By Funeral Director Daily / July 26, 2019 /

The Warren (Ohio) Tribune Chronicle reports today that the McFarland-Barbee Funeral Home in that city will close its doors for good on Saturday after over 120 years in business. According to the article, which you can read here, owner and director Mark Barbee said on Thursday, “After sitting down with my wife, our accountant, and…

Cemeteries, Crematories, and their issues

By Funeral Director Daily / July 26, 2019 /

Just about every day when we peruse articles to opine on we can find articles that pertain to cemeteries and crematories and the problems they seem to cause to just everyday people.  You might argue that some of these issues are pretty petty and could be easily fixed, however, to the consumers they bother they…

Out of the Box marketing

By Funeral Director Daily / July 25, 2019 /

I think even those of us who grew up in the world before smart phones and the internet understand that funeral homes can gain in their marketing efforts by being actively involved in the social media world.  However, common sense dictates that marketing dollars should be spread around. . .even to the point of doing…

Is pet death care the new cremation?

By Funeral Director Daily / July 19, 2019 /

A couple of things happened on Thursday (yesterday) that put the idea for this article in my mind.  First of all, I was involved in a brain-storming session that centered partly on how to reduce tuition costs for college students.  And then, later in the afternoon I was watching the business channel, CNBC, as I…

50 year funeral director. . . “Stopping ain’t an option”

By Funeral Director Daily / July 18, 2019 /

Part of researching what is happening in the death care industry is the fun of just finding out what is out there in the world.  And, I’ve found that some of those who work in the profession are just the nicest people around.  Part of the game is to make a living doing what you…

From Scandinavia to here

By Funeral Director Daily / July 16, 2019 /

Excuse me for doing a little reminiscing today, but today (July 16) would be my father’s 101st birthday.  I lost my father to a sudden heart attack – while he was servicing a funeral – on Easter weekend 1977, 42 years ago, when I was a teenager.  Life has certainly moved forward since then, but…

Funeral homes and real estate

By Funeral Director Daily / July 12, 2019 /

Today we bring you two articles about funeral homes and real estate that have been in the news lately.  We have written many times about zoning issues for funeral homes, crematories, and cemeteries, but today one of the articles actually tells of a funeral home that residents do not want to see demolished and the…

Coroner cases and small towns

By Funeral Director Daily / July 11, 2019 /

We’ve all seen it on television — the urban death scene where the coroner pulls up with his staff in the coroner van ready to remove the body from the scene to the morgue.  Of course, metropolitan areas have professionally paid coroners, deputy coroners, and staff available to make these removals.  I read this recent…