Tag: funeral home consultant

Expert Opinion: The Need to Be Nimble

Written by Alan Creedy on April 30, 2012. Posted in The Creedy Commentary, Practitioner Forum: Insights and Ideas. 3 Comments on Expert Opinion: The Need to Be Nimble

Earlier this year Rick Baldwin used a comment by famed hockey player, Wayne Gretzky, in his post: “How To Be Exceptional In The New Normal”. Here Bruce Buchanan, CEO of The Buchanan Group adds his perspective to Rick’s.

As funeral professionals we are torn by two forces when we take on a client. One, we are asked to care for the body. In some cases, make it look realistic for grieving purposes. And two, we are asked to create a celebration of a life lived. These are clearly two different skill sets. And because they are so different we have a public that is sometimes confused by the “one size fits all” nature of the funeral home business model. Oh, did I forget to mention the religious component?

I assume you used the Wayne Gretsky quote because it illustrated his willingness to take risks. I would add another reason why he and other world-class athletes and businesses are successful. Nimble. The ability to change when conditions call for it. In the business world IBM is a good example of being nimble. It transformed itself from a maker of computer hardware into a consulting business. Isn’t the funeral business simply transitioning from a ritual based into an individualized service model?

This nimbleness applies to every aspect of our business. There was a popular phrase used a lot over the past decade – WOW. If we WOW our clients we will know what we did right. To do this we need to start with a blank slate with every family we serve.

I believe that funeral businesses will start to diversify to meet the expectations of the distinct consumer groups that exist. The “lowest-cost” consumer will look for cremation and burial packages through businesses that embrace them. Yes, existing strong brands in a community will have their loyal following, though that number will deteriorate. The opportunity is the other 80% of the market that will seek a funeral experience that matches the value they see in it. The current challenge is to capture the aspects of the funeral service that is currently going to other providers, like caterers.

So, in the spirit of a current beer commercial –“stay nimble my friend.”

Bruce Buchanan is CEO of The Buchanan Group Indianapolis, In.

The Real Victims of Our Cowardice

Written by Alan Creedy on April 23, 2012. Posted in The Creedy Commentary. 14 Comments on The Real Victims of Our Cowardice

In the past few weeks I have used strong negative language:

Cowardice…Fight… Neglect

Please understand: this is not an emotional reaction on my part. Instead, it is an intentional effort to call you out. And it is this “intentionality” that I encourage you to undertake as well. It is time we, as a profession, called out our “NaySayers” and detractors, our “doom and gloomers.”

Have I made you angry? I cannot say I am sorry. You should be angry. At least I have created some emotion and out of that emotion may come some resolve and out of that resolve may come some action.

This past two weeks have taught me the difference between sadness and discouragement.

Thankfully, I am not discouraged. But I am sad. Very sad. And sadness has an effect…an enervating effect.

I am feeling your pain.

That pain comes from having the answers to your client’s questions but facing an increasing number of people who are less and less interested in answers. I have that same pain. In most instances, I know what needs to be done to turn a business around. A bold statement? Really? In most instances, you know what needs to be done to best help a family. Likewise, my experience and training enable me to know what needs to be done to solve most business problems. In my case, if it is a parallel, our profession seems fixated on a direction that, for more than 30 years, has produced only more of the same…decline. I have learned that tact and diplomacy can work; but not often. So, I have chosen a tactic that I think you should adopt as well: Boldness. After all, most of you have lost so much ground that you can only gain.

My sadness comes from the awareness that I can’t win them all. My optimism, though, comes from my unwillingness to give up. My willingness to fight for what I believe. From the cold, stark fact that I know that if I give in (even just a little bit) the battle is lost. More important, though, is the experience that the more I am willing to take a stand the more I win…some.

winston_churchill — Never, Never, Never...Give Up

When someone attacks your profession you should be willing to stand up and defend it. Whether you chose to be a DeathCare Professional or you inherited it, you are in it. So, make the best of it. Misery and embarrassment are pathetic alternatives.

How To TurboCharge Your Marketing

There is a principle in marketing…a turbocharger, if you will.

“When a product / service is becoming a commodity You can differentiate yourself by letting people know what you stand for”

Unfortunately, most DeathCare providers are too timid to take bold stands. Bold enough, at least, to differentiate themselves in the market place. Instead, they create sanitized vision and mission statements for hanging in lobbies that are quickly forgotten and largely ignored. In fact, most vision and mission statements are so sanitized they are commodities themselves.

Steve McKee in his video interview on Narrowing Your Focus says we should never say we are better. Instead we should say we are…different.

I challenge my clients and their staffs to do some real soul searching and develop a “Statement of Beliefs”. Yes, I can hear you now: “Could we see a sample?” No! A Statement of Beliefs has to be individual, real and personal to your firm. You can’t borrow someone else’s and just “stamp” it on your door. There has to be total buy in. It is built through a process. But here are a few of the questions I use to stimulate the process:

Do you really believe the quality of casket defines the value of the funeral?
Do you really believe that increasing the average sale price of caskets is going to save your business?
Do you really believe every 95 year old alzheimer patient who has lived in a nursing home for 3 years needs a full visitation, funeral, procession and graveside service?
Do you really believe that the family and friends of a 62 year old “pillar of the community” popular local businessman and former mayor are going to be well served by a direct cremation?

Here, also, is my personal Statement of Beliefs:

I believe every life has value
I believe every life deserves to be commemorated in a meaningful way
I believe those whose lives have been touched in positive ways both want and need a physical way to be comforted and / or to comfort
I believe that most people still perceive the dead body of those they love as a sacred object deserving of reverent care whether or not they are religious people
I believe that the best and most natural way to comfort one another is physically, in person, with touch and voice
I believe that some people need a permanent place to memorialize
I believe DeathCare makes a valuable contribution to society by providing a formal, socially recognized physically present means for comfort, affirmation and encouragement, in whatever form they choose, coincident with the time of a death.
I believe most DeathCare providers are good people who are capable of learning the basics of good business and management practices

I have put a lot of time and thought into these recent articles. It is not my purpose to persuade you or to give you false hope.

But it is my hope that some of you will decide to become intentional and bold in your own efforts.

That some of you will begin to take a public stand for your profession.

That some of you will think deeply about what it is we contribute to those we serve and why our society will be worse off if it abandons what we offer.

Then, in your own words…for god’s sake…express yourself. Be proud of what you do and the contribution you make to your community. Let others see that pride. Let the chips fall where they may. The results will probably surprise you.

The next time you are out socially and someone blows you off by saying, “Oh, I’m just going to be cremated and have my ashes scattered.” Are you willing to say, “Ya know, I realize that’s become popular but I’m not good with that any more and I would like to tell you why.” Then tell your stories (I know you have them). Make it non economic. Speak to the heart not the head. You may not win them over but you never had them in the first place. So how you can you lose something you never had. Yes, you do run the risk of alienating someone. But something I have learned in 40 years of adult life: There are, in fact, people who don’t like “Truth Tellers”. and, you know what? They just happen to be the people you don’t want to know anyway. Then, when you have become comfortable with that experience begin challenging the direct disposition customers in the arrangement conference. Remember challenge is different than confront.

Because The Real Victims of Our Cowardice (borne out of our neurotic desire to be liked by people that probably don’t like us any way) are the people we have pledged to help.

One Last Time:

Your livelihood is at stake!! What do you want?? Do you want me to tell you it’s someone else’s fault? Or do you want to get in there and fight for yourself and those you love?

“lift up the hands that hang down and the feeble knees; make straight paths for your feet…”

Hebrews 12:12-13a

“The noble man makes noble plans, and by noble deeds he stands”

Isaiah 32:8

Expert Opinion: Game Changers

Written by Alan Creedy on April 17, 2012. Posted in The Creedy Commentary. 4 Comments on Expert Opinion: Game Changers

Game-changers are those events that intervene in our lives, on athletic fields, and in our businesses that forever change everything.

In our personal lives we identify marriages, deaths, and moving to a new city as the easiest examples of game-changers. In baseball, a homerun changes everything. In business, innovation is the most thought-of example. Look at Sony [and digital photography] or Apple [and their iPads and iPhones]. And speaking of digital photography, that innovation was certainly a game-changer for Kodak, too.

Sometimes, however, an unmet wish that customers have about the current status quo will change the game. This is especially true in fundamental businesses like ours. Starbucks changed the way coffee is served, even though coffee has been served the same way for years. SouthWest changed the airline industry, even though airplanes and airports are the same. Since the 1920s, every house in America has had a bathtub because Sears sold cleanliness.

And what about funeral homes and cemeteries, where we are accustomed to things staying the same for generations, or when they do change, having the changes carried on the backs of snails? Are we, too, being slapped with some express game-changers?

Reflecting on this point, I believe as an industry [lumping together funeral providers and sepulcher suppliers] we are in the mid-innings of a game-changer right now. Here’s my evidence:

Over-capacity: Look around. Most funeral homes could easily perform twice as many funerals as they do now. The hearse runs two hours per week. Cemeteries still measure their undeveloped lands in acres [that are mostly a big non-producing asset], when those vacant corners near the front gate are the most valuable of all. And all those anchors add layers of unavoidable cost.
Mature consolidation: The big funeral guys already own most of the major brands in the country’s metro and growth areas, and don’t have any good prospects to buy more. Yesterday’s flagships are struggling with margins, their historic names long ago milked of their original brand values, and most of those formerly esteemed community stalwarts are now losing market share. The new ones they can acquire, scattered here and there, are generally small and don’t add much value.
Profitability challenges: I sold my shares in Stewart Enterprises for $6.10 per share in 2001. Friday, those same shares traded at $6.26 [more than 10 years later!]. And STEI is not suffering alone. The other publicly traded funeral companies have found it difficult to grow their share prices. I speculate that their trading prices have stagnated due to narrow capacity to cut their costs, to increase retail prices, or to acquire large and agile operators.
Limited opportunity for personnel: Industry owners must find fresh ways to align shareholder and employee welfares. Corporate directors cannot expect employees to work against their own best interests. Board rooms must engage local management and pay them to build shareholder value, and then pay them a bonus when it materializes. A message similar to that sent by the ‘Arab Spring’ will need to be heard in the big chairs.
Most industry participants haven’t noticed: Interestingly, all over the country, business owners are acting as if nothing has changed. Their commercial models are the same ones employed by their grandfathers. At the same time, the memorial preferences of their customers bear little resemblance to those of their grandfathers’ customers.
New eyes are looking for opportunities, building on the back of the old and failing model: As over-capacity lingers, consolidators struggle with shareholder value, margins compress, employees struggle with employer loyalty, and board rooms ignore marketplace realities, new eyes are seeing opportunity. Be on the lookout for emerging industry names that you’ve never heard of before – ones that don’t carry the old baggage.

Yep, this writer thinks we are seeing the acknowledgment of a number of powerful game-changers that are likely to create unparalleled opportunity during the next ten years, as the innovative replaces the obsolete.

Let me know your thoughts on changing the game in our town. Write to me at rbaldwin@urgelborugie.com.

Sincerely yours,

The Secret Sauce: How We Might Resurrect DeathCare

Written by Alan Creedy on April 9, 2012. Posted in The Creedy Commentary. 18 Comments on The Secret Sauce: How We Might Resurrect DeathCare

Is it possible that in some markets people no longer care?

In this series on Funeral Apologetics I have pointed out that our real problem is cowardice and have endeavored to share some techniques that might help the profession fight for itself. Several very thoughtful individuals (whom I also admire) have suggested that, in their market at least, people simply don’t care anymore. In their opinion, the best that can be hoped for is to do more volume on a shrinking sales average. But, I would ask: “Is it that people don’t care? Or, is it that people don’t care the way we think they should care?”

I need to make clear that my optimism on this subject springs not from rose-colored glasses.

Are we becoming irrelevant? Possibly
Are our margins shrinking? Yes
Are we losing ground with every passing day? Yes
Do we know what we need to do? No
Is there a single solution? No
Is there any solution? I believe so, if we fight for it.

But this is not to dismiss the reality that the struggles and challenges faced on a daily basis by our profession, which confronts an increasingly disengaged customer, are both real and acute. I am not suggesting that impacting this trend will be easy or quick. It took us 30 years of neglect to get here. Why should we expect overnight success? That is specifically why I continue to use a “Fight” metaphor. Because being passive is not working! And doing nothing is cowardice.

What we believe and why we believe it is critical to our hope and foundational to our solution. If we believe that people see us as irrelevant without exploring what lies behind that phenomenon then it ultimately becomes reality. If we believe no one cares then…ultimately…no one will care. Not because they aren’t wired to care but because they never knew why they should do some of those irrelevant things that…oddly…happen so spontaneously in tragic public and celebrity deaths.

So, as painful as it is, it is up to us to care and to care very deeply. And for us to care we must believe.

UNLESS someone like you

cares a whole awful lot,

nothing is going to get better.

It’s not.

Dr. Seuss

Cognitive Dissonance

We all struggle with cognitive dissonance. But I seem to have an overdeveloped awareness of this human reaction. Cognitive dissonance occurs when something happens in your experience that doesn’t fit your belief system or the facts as you know them. What I believe and Why I believe it are tied directly to this Cognitive Dissonance.

First, A Parallel Example

More than ten years ago I began sharing the very distinct parallels between the “Megachurch” Phenomenon and trends in DeathCare. I have often recommended that practitioners study local megachurches to better understand funeral trends. The supposed “innovations” of video tributes, unconventional music and participatory services all have their genesis or at least their early signals in the “Megachurch” movement.

But here is the parallel that speaks to the issue of the decline of funeral service: In mainline denominational churches, even today, across North America pastors and deacons are convinced that there is a decline in spirituality in America. After all, you read about it all the time. They struggle to fill the pews. They compromise their standards to keep members and entice new members. All to no real avail. They conclude: “People just aren’t religious anymore.”

YET...and here is the cognitive dissonance…non denominational megachurches are exploding and growing to congregational sizes unimaginable 30 years ago. More important, these new churches place GREATER demands and expectations on members than mainline denominations would ever dare. People are excited to attend, they bring friends, they attend bible studies and compulsory home fellowships. The message on Sunday is often stronger and more convicting.

What gives?

Some 40 years ago a young man by the name of Bill Hybels, struggling with the decline in church membership, did not say: “People aren’t religious any more.” Instead, he began to study those who were not attending. He found that they were looking for greater meaning, purpose and commitment…not less.

Now, the danger in drawing your attention to this parallel is the temptation to look at the cosmetics of this phenomenon and decide it’s about buildings or programs. Those of you who are faith driven will at least know that the Holy Spirit had a significant leadership role. But, I don’t have the time to go into the real drivers of the megachurch movement nor is this the place anyway.

Cognitive Dissonance in DeathCare

People point to the growth of the Celebrant movement in DeathCare as proof of the decline in religion. Yet every celebrant I have spoken with tells me the majority of families ask for scripture and hymns even for someone who has never been to church. Cognitive Dissonance.

When a celebrity like Princess Dianna, Michael Jackson, Elvis and Whitney Houston dies the spontaneous outpouring of emotion and the need to gather as a community takes on surreal proportions. The need to permanently memorialize is deeply felt by people who don’t have the remotest personal connection to the family or the deceased. Cognitive Dissonance.

When tragic deaths occur like the Virginia Tech Massacre or a high school driving accident, kids and their parents…the whole community… spontaneously pour out of their homes to comfort each other and total strangers with a touch a word…tears. Cognitive Dissonance.

So, if people no longer care, if religion is dying why do these things happen?

My belief is that god has wired us to need to gather, to physically comfort and touch when we are stressed. This is the NORMAL response. Whatever need is satisfied by gathering…affirmation, love, comfort…it is only satisfied physically in the community of others. There is also comfort in having a sense of what we can do and / or should do that restores some order out of the chaos. And when there is a loss, we feel that loss needs permanent memorialization. These are not “Madison Avenue” inventions. They are human needs. Real needs…Real values. Today, If they go unmet, in most cases, the outcome is no longer traumatic. But if they are met the outcome is much, much better.

THAT, Ladies and Gentlemen, is what we do!!

THAT is the contribution we make to society!!

So, how do we become a megachurch? Well, I hope you don’t try. Too many mainline churches have sent missions to study megachurches only to return with the building plans and programs while completely missing the drivers. We have to ask and then answer our own questions and that is what “Fighting For Yourself” is about. If no one cares anymore, why do people need to gather, call, visit? If religion is declining why do families ask Celebrants to incorporate scripture and hymns? etc. etc.

We have accepted as truth something that isn’t true: “People don’t care any more.” Think of it this way: If we walk into a room and flick on the light switch and the lights don’t come on we assume that something is broken…the lightbulb, the breaker, the switch. We do not assume that the nature of electricity has changed and it no longer lights a light bulb. DeathCare meets a need in human beings. It corresponds with basic…fundamental…human values.

I don’t think that people no longer care. I am not willing to accept that as a universal premise. Instead, I think they have become disconnected from their need and from their values. They are confused…and we are confused…about how to meet those needs and values and the options they have for expression. Imagine, for a moment what it would feel like if your spouse of 50 years died and no one acknowledged it. I think it might make you bitter.

Marketing Strategist, Steve McKee, Says: “Whenever there is confusion in the marketplace it means there is a misunderstanding.” In my experience, whenever there is confusion in the marketplace there are plenty of people willing to jump in and straighten it out. As far as I can see most of the people jumping in right now are not focusing on real human values. They are opportunists. They are only focusing on the economics. Probably because that’s easy. But it’s also temporary.

It’s your livelihood. Are you willing to fight for it?

Our challenge is not to convince People but to reconnect them.

Our task is not to lower our expectations but to raise theirs.

The MegaChurch Success: A hint

Megachurches are often thought to have been “Built and people just came.” I know something about this movement. You are not going to find a successful megachurch that wasn’t built with a heavy emphasis on prayer, personal sacrifice and hard work. and so it will be for us. But the real secret-sauce is their ability to connect people with Purpose and Values. There is a direct parallel in DeathCare. But I will let you, dear reader, stew on that…at least for a while.

The Problem is Not Cremation

Funeral Apologetics 101: Stop Clinging To Your Despair

Funeral Apologetics 101A: 8 Principles of Successful Optimism

Disenthrall Yourself of Your Dogma

Don’t Confuse Me With Your Facts

Don’t Confuse Me With Your Facts

Written by Alan Creedy on April 3, 2012. Posted in The Creedy Commentary. 2 Comments on Don’t Confuse Me With Your Facts

Apologists must be aware of 4 generally accepted fallacies:

Consumers think in a well-reasoned rational way

In fact, emotions are closely interwoven with the reasoning process. Most often they are dominant.

Consumers can readily explain their behavior and thinking

95% of our thinking is unconscious. Our rational mind serves mainly to make sense of behavior AFTER it is executed

Consumer’s memories accurately represent their experiences

In fact, consumers memories represent what they think about their experiences not the experiences themselves

Consumers think in words

We think in terms of images. If I say the word “dog” you do not call to mind a biological description of a dog. Instead, you bring to mind a picture of a dog. And your dog is likely to be different from my dog

We Make Choices With Our Emotions…

We Explain Those Choices With Our Intellect

So we THINK consumers make choices and decisions with their rational faculties when, instead, they make them with their hearts. We think (and, frankly, they think) they draw an imaginary “pro” and “con” chart and make the best decision based on The Facts. When, in fact, they are rationalizing a choice already made in the subconscious.

Our emotions, by definition, are unconscious. So, our challenge, as an Apologist, is to speak to those emotions. So, never argue the facts, the evidence or try to be rational. The doorway to this soul is stories. And, if you have been in practice for long, you have lots of stories.

Your objective is not to persuade but to challenge their thinking. My friend, Bob Speaks, insists on sharing all options with every customer. I think this is why he is effective. His professionalism dictates that he enable people to make informed choices by understanding all their options. Epiphanies are not uncommon and you know this because you experience the same thing when people say to you: “We didn’t know we could do that.”

The arrangement conference is not the best place for these conversations because it is typically emotionally charged and barriers tend to be up. But, that is the hand we are dealt. This is where the risk comes in. But, let’s assume you are working with a family that is resistant and closed. What have you really got to lose? Most likely they don’t like you any way. The damage is done so how is “damage control” going to help? Why not stand up for yourself and share what you believe?

On the other hand industry veterans often recognize resistance as a challenge they need to rise to.

VIPS:

Valuable, Important, Permission, Story

My friend, William Bonacorda, shared a concept with me I have found works in awkward situations. In a situation where two parties might disagree and there is resistance and tension I have learned to remind myself of these 4 steps.

Valuable: Acknowledge that their perspective is valuable and, in fact they are valuable. “You know, a lot of people feel that way and even though I am in the profession I can relate. I appreciate your sharing your viewpoint.” Is a good opener.

Important: Acknowledge that the topic is important, not only to you and them but to their family and friends. “Even though more and more people are choosing alternative services it is important that we work through the issues and understand WHY we make the choices we make. Since we only get to make these choices once, it is important that we at least become aware of the options available to us.”

Permission: Ask permission to share. Most will say yes, but if they say no, then that’s it. “Would it be ok if I shared why I chose this profession? I get a lot of personal gratification from helping families and I feel that if I could share that people might understand me better.” You have personalized the issue in this case. You have also made yourself vulnerable which many people will interpret as trustworthiness. Which, hopefully, you are.”

Story: This is where I put them in the picture by telling stories; and you have hundreds. “I chose this profession because I think it makes a very significant contribution to society. When a death occurs people, including friends and coworkers, are often stressed. They don’t know what to do. They anticipate it will be expensive… and it can. But it doesn’t have to be. They worry about losing emotional control.

My job is to bring order out of this chaos and restore a sense of dignity. It saddens me that people are choosing to avoid it all, not because it is my livelihood but because we are wired to need human interaction in times like these. And I get to see families and friends every year that have to suffer the consequences of poor choices. In times of stress people need the comfort of others. Both physically and emotionally. We need to be touched and we need to touch others. Let me give you an example, [fill in your own story].”

It is not my intent to create a script. But I have found this process effective. I know many of my readers have found effective techniques or approaches and it would be appreciated if you felt like sharing.

The Problem is Not Cremation

Funeral Apologetics 101: Stop Clinging To Your Despair

Funeral Apologetics 101A: 8 Principles of Successful Optimism

Disenthrall Yourself of Your Dogma