We have talked about it here before — how the American death care business is changing.  It all has to do with the changing culture of the American populous.  Not much has changed in what is accepted in America at the time of death — for the past forty years we have accepted burial, funerals, cremations, memorial services and the like.   It is just how this next generation of Americans plans to memorialize and celebrate their lives in different proportions that is changing.

For instance, cremation was accepted when I started working in 1980.  However, in the time that has passed since, my community has moved from a 2% cremation disposition rate to one approaching 60% at this time.  I recently read an article in the Albany, New York Times Union which literally shocked me in how revenues have been moved from traditional burials at the cemeteries in the area to cremation services.

For instance, the Vale Cemetery in Schenectady, New York is listed as a cemetery where there are currently 33,000 burials.  Today, however, they are performing about 50 burials per year and about 1000 cremations.  The article states, that according to the most recent documents available (2014), Vale Cemetery received $38,000 in total revenue for burials and $460,000 in total revenues for cremations.  “The crematory is what keeps us going,” said Bernie McEvoy, a Vale board member quoted in the article.

The article also lists several things that funeral homes and cemeteries are doing somewhat non-traditional in order to seize market share:

• Several have opened Green or Natural burial spaces within their cemetery
• Catering to the non-religious as only about 39% in the area deem religious services necessary.
• Working thru the digital era maze.  As more people go on-line for death care items knowing how to maneuver  around costly newspaper obituaries and online funeral planning services is becoming a necessity for funeral homes and cemeteries.
• Offering grief counseling online
• Renting chapels for non-traditional uses such as painting classes or weddings.

Funeral Director Daily take:  I’ve always been a proponent of providing what the consumer needs and wants.  I go back to such simple things as offering pre-need funeral planning in the early 1980’s.  It might seem simple today, but we even had to deal with financial laws that didn’t allow for funeral funds to be put into insurance plans back in those days.  It was a big change in the 1980’s.

Another big decision in the realm of what a funeral home’s purpose was – was the idea of providing grief services as a continuing service to clients.  I remember in the early 1990’s when we were the first area funeral home to hire a Director of Aftercare.  Many people thought we were almost being sacrilegious   and stepping on the provincial area of a priest or minister.  At the end of the day, the clergy appreciated our efforts as long as we worked together with them.

My point is, yes — there is a lot happening in the death care industry.  However, change is what makes business go around.  Don’t be afraid of it – move with it.  Even better, history has proved that those who are on the forefront, and right, will prosper greatly.  Think of Henry Ford — when all the concentration was on breeding stronger horses and building better buggies — he had a totally different idea that made the latter virtually obsolete.  Funeral service is a tradition in America that will not change overnight — it will take some time — but, make sure that you are really watching, and don’t have your head in the sand to what is going on with consumer preferences so that you can make the best moves possible for your business.