Trends and Issues in Funeral Service

1
Trends and Issues in Funeral Service

• Susan Motley
• Executive Director
• VFDA

2
Issues for Funeral Service

• Profession? Industry? The language of funeral
  service
• Event coordination vs. caring for the emotional
  needs of the bereaved
• Role of sales and merchandise
• Life celebrations / traditional funerals
• Regulatory/Legislative
• Environmental
• Legal
• Tissue Issue

3
The Language of Funeral Service

• Advance Planning Specialists
• After Care Specialists
• Celebrants
• Deaths referred to in media as death events
• Pop culture 300mm people not watching Six Feet
  Under

4
Licensing Issues

• Funeral concierges
• Para funeral directors
• Is funeral service about the license?
• WHO statement on embalming as not necessary to
  prevent the spread of infectious disease issued
  during tsunami coverage
• Words mean something

5
Role of Funeral Directors In Mass Fatalities

• Katrina
• Funeral Directors as health care workers
• Not sending event planners to Gulf Coast
• Pandemic flu
• Words do have meaning

6
The Language of Funeral Service

• Industry/Death Care Industry
• Widgets
• Business
• Professional
• Words matter

7
Webster defines Industry

• A category used to describe a company's primary
  business activity, usually determined by the
  largest source of a company's revenues
• Lists business and industry as synonyms
• SIC (Standard Industry Classification) codes
  funeral homes have one
• SIC 7261  /  NAICS 812210Funeral Homes and
  Crematoriesunder the heading Service

8
SIC Profile

• The US funeral industry includes 15,000 companies
  that generate about 13 billion of annual revenue
  
• Casket sales 1. 4 billion
• from the operation of 16,000 funeral homes and
  7,000 crematoriums and cemeteries. 
• Large companies include Service Corporation
  International (SCI) Alderwoods and Stewart
  Enterprises.
• The industry remains highly fragmented, despite
  strong consolidation in the 1990s. The top 50
  companies hold only about 30 percent of the
  market.
•  Most companies operate a single funeral home,
  with annual revenue close to 1 million.

9
Words Matter

• Changing name from resident trainee to funeral
  service intern
• At the request of the state board, Delegate
  Alexander is submitting with support from
  association
• Should death be called an event?
• Personalization vs. sales
• Coal Miner funerals well, 11 funerals. One
  opted to not have a funeral service (CNN)

10
Five Myths of Funeral Service

• Or are they?

11
Opinion Makers

• Tom Lynch (Pope editorial NYT)
• Doug Manning
• Media
• You

12
Religion and Spirituality are Declining

• Myth?
• How many Americans see themselves as affiliated
  with a religion?
• 84
• What do we know about this?
• Do we know enough about the growth of
  Evangelicalism?
• Multi-cultural communities that are more
  traditional?

13
Share of US Population by Religious Affiliation
14
Evangelicals fastest growing segment of
Christianity

• Purpose Driven Life Rick Warran 23 million
  copies sold
• Secular vs. Spiritual debate (red states vs. blue
  states)
• How does this impact funeral service?

15
Cremation is Replacing the Funeral

• Myth 2?
• Cremation is not replacing the funeral, it is
  replacing earth burial
• Words mean something
• CANA figures does not track what is immediate
  disposition estimate only 3 to 5 of all
  cremations
• It has to reach 51 to have replaced the funeral

16
Cremation

• The vast majority of cremations have some form of
  ritual or ceremony
• In many cases, a funeral is held
• The rise of cremations in Virginia will not
  necessarily correspond to an equal number of
  declining funerals
• Virginia rate is 23 (CANA)
• No market research

17
Consumers Dont Want Funerals

• Myth 3?
• Even if we assume that the entire percentage of
  cremations in Virginia were immediate, than 77
  per cent of people still want funerals
• Wirthlin Study cremation OK for others but they
  did not want it for themselves
• Consumers want stability, spirituality, empathy
  and comfort
• Recent community events show that

18
What Do They Want?

• They want a traditional funeral
• They dont want a traditional funeral
• They want what they have seen done at other
  funerals
• They dont want what they have seen done at other
  funerals
• We dont know what they want!

19
Individualized Experience

• Mass marketing doesnt work
• Big box retailers dont work
• Vast sweeping generalized statements don't work
• Open and honest communication does work
• Gentle, professional, and compassionate guidance
• Possibly the most local business there is

20
Who do they turn to for this?

• Pastor
• Hospice worker
• Funeral Director

21
Consumers dont want to deal with funeral
directors

• Myth 4?
• Funeral Directors have consistently had an 85
  approval rating by the Gallop Poll
• Two thirds of those surveyed would pre-plan and
  pre-pay for a funeral with a funeral director
  given the choice
• 87.5 indicated it was important to use a
  licensed funeral director

22
85

• Good for repeat visitation
• But what about that 15?

23
Reasons to use a licensed funeral director?

• 47.2 respond that funeral directors are more
  reliable (than who?)
• 17 because confident everything will be taken
  care of
• 7.5 because less strain on family
• 7 because they think it is required by law

24
Aggressive pre-need marketing and sales will
increase your market share

• Myth number 5?
• How do you show it on your balance sheet?

25
Pre need, cont

• NFDA Futures Forum
• Funeral directors should not sell pre-need
• Only funeral directors should sell pre-need
• Funeral Consumers Alliance
• Service to families

26
Wirthlin Report Insights

• Who in America has pre-paid and for what items
• Words mean things
• Pre planning and pre paying not the same

27
What have they paid for?

• 14 services of a funeral director
• 13 casket
• 12 cremation

28
All audiences

• Traditional
• Young professionals
• Schools
• Muti-cultural chambers and business groups
• Reinforce the importance of the funeral in society

29
Why do we create myths?

• Lack of factual information
• Assuming you are your target audience
• Sell something
• Repeat what we hear
• Preserve traditions or create change
• Experts say

30
You are the experts

• Death will occur
• Consumers will call someone and will look to a
  professional to provide them with fair, honest,
  compassionate service that will exceed their
  expectations, especially if they have never
  planned a funeral
• What are they comparing it to?
• People do business with people they trust
• Considered purchase without the time or emotional
  will to comparison shop
• They want to deal with a funeral professional

31
What is the role of the association?

• Advocacy
• Support
• Resource