What some people term “Death with Dignity” is a growing movement that I confess to know little about. However, the acronym MAID, which stands for “Medical Assistance in Dying” and is part of the Death with Dignity movement is becoming better known and accepted. Legal in Canada since 2016 the Medical Assistance in Dying Movement has grown from about 1,000 instances in 2016 to about 7,600 instances in 2020. And, the Death with Dignity movement in also moving forward in […]
Via e-mail marketing the other day I received an invitation from our friends at the Cremation Association of North America (CANA) to take in a free webinar partially titled, “Families prefer experience over extravagance“. The topic hit home with me and I think points out a very important detail about what the consumer public is willing to spend money on. . . . and why that may have an effect on how we offer our death care services to them. […]
Family-owned Quinn Hearse and Limousine, headquartered in Northern Ireland recently received funding from the United Kingdom’s Innovate UK Fund, Invest Northern Ireland, and others to develop the “Coffin Pod”. According to this article, “The Coffin Pod is a sealed glass pod which will allow funeral directors to transport coffins safely, and allow families to have open coffin wakes while observing social distancing measures.” Here’s what Patrick Quinn, a Director of the company said in the article, “Innovation and new product […]
The City of Sheffield is located north of London and not too far from both Manchester and Nottingham in Great Britain. Sheffield’s City Cemetery was built in 1836 in response to the overcrowding and poor conditions in Sheffield’s churches. Today, 87,000 souls rest eternally in the cemetery, but you can also spend a night there. Cemeteries, in the age of cremation, are having trouble raising revenue and there have been all kinds of options including movie nights, historical tours, and […]
Every once in a while I come across a couple of items that are sometimes related and it makes me think about potential business aspects of the items when combined together. That recently happened to me once again — late in September I received a marketing e-mail from the Cremation Association of North America (CANA) regarding “Pets and Cremation”. And, just on Tuesday, Funeral Director Daily did an article on “Customer Acquisition vs. Customer Retention.” It made me wonder. . […]
A relatively new death tech app, Empathy, recently raised $30 million in Series A funding according to this article from Tech Crunch. The product is designed to help bereaving families navigate the choppy waters that result when a family member or someone close to them dies. “Empathy is a customer-centric company with compassion at our core. We aim not only to help families who are dealing with loss but also to act as a catalyst for change in the industry […]
Last weekend people in Charlotte, North Carolina, had the opportunity to see a truck drive around the area with this message on the sides and rear, “Don’t get vaccinated: Wilmore Funeral Home“. According to this article from CNet, the truck sparked a viral buzz. Turns out that there is no Wilmore Funeral Home and if you hit the advertised web-site, www.wilmorefuneralhome.com, here’s where you would land. It’s actually a web-site promoting getting a Covid-19 vaccination. . . . the exact […]
It’s just human nature that the newest thing gets the publicity. On Super Bowl Monday every headline is about the Super Bowl game and the champions but by Friday of that week America is on to the next big thing. . . on the sports calendar that is sometimes the Daytona 500. Well, moving on to the next big thing happens in funeral service too. I was reminded of that this past week when I read this very interesting article […]
According to this article from U.S. News & World Report, the process of natural organic reduction or what is commonly referred by many consumers as “human composting” is now available in the state of Colorado. Legalized by the state over a year ago with a September 7, 2021, legal start date, at least one death care facility, The Natural Funeral in Lafayette, Colorado is open for natural organic reduction business. Co-owner of The Natural Funeral, Seth Viddal, is quoted in […]
I recently read this article where Bank of America has profiled 14 future “moonshot” technologies that they believe could offer vast wealth to those who are lucky enough to invest in them. In reading that article, I realized that, to a certain extent we have, maybe not moonshot technologies, but at least planetary technologies in the death care business finding funding almost every day. In essence, there is a lot of interest in the “new technology” of Death Care. Bank […]
