I read this recent article from Yahoo Finance where the COO of Salesforce, Bret Taylor, states that if he was starting a company in today’s world he would first start with the company’s “Digital Headquarters” rather than an operational physical headquarters.  That statement alone shows the “mega shift” in business, workforce, and consumer acquisition thought over a period of less than five years.

Taylor states in the article, “Consumer goods companies are going direct-to-consumer, supply chains are going digital and every company is developing direct, trusted, digital relationships with their customers and it’s creating this unparalleled demand for digital technologies.” 

I don’t disagree with Taylor, but for a guy like me who used one Turner Porti-Boy his entire 30 plus year career the change seems awful fast.  However, I have realized that the digital world is here and funeral home management needs to understand that both from a perspective of  equipping your funeral home employees with the proper technology to a customer acquisition perspective with new media.  It may soon come to pass that the manicured lawn and brick building of your funeral home or your excellent staff cannot draw consumer clientele if your consumer digital technology is lacking.

I’ve always been one to foster relationships with people. . . going to Kiwanis Club, church suppers, and school events did that and helped build my reputation in the community.  However, those things don’t happen as much anymore. . . and if they do, they just don’t draw the numbers that they once did.  People are more and more building relationships with companies via direct internet information.

The Covid-19 pandemic has shortened the time period that our consumers have taken to morph from “in-person” to “digital” in many consumer categories and the death care business is one of those that is already coming out of the cocoon and into the digital world.  My question is “Are we ready?”.

I have a feeling that that our consumers won’t be as patient in “going digital” in funeral home selection and services as they were in the 1-2% annual growth of the cremation trend.  Funeral homes need to continue to have nice facilities and excellent staff, but they have to also have their digital world  in tandem with those other traditional features or they may be seeing their clientele, and employees, choosing another provider.

More news from the world of Death Care:

• Covid-19 has killed thousands in Idaho.  Funeral homes are struggling to store bodies.  Idaho Statesman (ID)
• Forrest Hills Cemetery flooding.  Video story and print article.  WJHG NBC News – Panama Beach (FL)
• Cemetery maintenance at issue in Albany.  Video story and print article.  WNYT NBC News – Albany (NY)

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