2021 PRIORITIES, 2020 REFLECTIONS

1/6/2021

“2020 was like looking both ways to cross the street and getting hit by a plane.”

That is my favorite joke describing 2020. It’s funny because it’s true. The pandemic spread of COVID-19 came out of nowhere and changed everything and everyone. Our best intentions, planning and hard work could not have prepared us for the challenges of a triple pandemic – disease, social turmoil, and political unrest.

When faced with uncertainty and continuous change, I have been amazed by how quickly and well CANA members have adapted, particularly in responding to trends that were impacting funeral service before the pandemic and will continue to be important in the year to come.

Reflecting on 2020, it seems clear that death care workers returned to fundamentals to find solutions for dealing with such cataclysmic change. Now, as we start 2021, we can take a moment to set goals and priorities to meet the challenges to come. CANA cohosted a webinar in 2020 with DISRUPT Media during which we asked industry experts to comment on key trends. Some of those pearls of wisdom are included throughout this post.

rising cremation rates

Cremation rates have been rising steadily and predictably at an average of 1.5% nationally for the past decade. That predictability has now come to an end. All of the reasons people chose cremation before, remain true: price, convenience, possession, seeking new traditions. Those reasons plus more than 300,000 excess deaths in the United States alone have resulted in a jump in cremation numbers and rates.

“So we’re getting a taste of what that’s going to look like in our industry. And for the next 20 years, you’ve got this spike in crude death rate, then you also have an acute rise in cremation rate that’s going to take place during the same time. You also have a decrease in religiosity and the value of service… as an increase in Nones and a decrease in overall people who claim Christianity. So, how does that impact service and how does that impact your margin? If we’re not making sure that we build value and we build relationships and we build a service offering around a model that really speaks to the consumers’ needs and wants, then we’ll find ourselves not really being funeral service providers anymore, but being more like just disposition order takers. It’s going to be scary.” – Rahsaan Brown

As cremation rates have become the majority of dispositions, funeral homes and cemeteries have struggled to offer new, personalized services that demonstrate value to the cremation customer. Funeral professionals bemoan the DCRTF (direct cremation, return to family) phenomenon, but too often aren’t engaging with families to see what they would value or assistance or expertise that would be helpful. This trend has increased during the pandemic, not just because of consumer choice, but also because of safety concerns around gatherings.

“Most funeral homes just went through an increase in volume. Not necessarily profit, but in volume. Anytime you have an increase, what comes after? We could have some days that could be less than what you had expected. So now is the time, when you’re catching your breath, to train your staff, to redo your general price list, to get your overheads in line. Train, get prepared, because it’s an ongoing battle. There may be some days that are light and some days that are heavy, but the bottom line—it doesn’t stop. I think the well-prepared funeral homes are taking in all the things [we’ve learned] to be strong so that they can meet the future needs.” – Jeff Harbeson

The trends we watched pre-pandemic are more impactful than ever. What is the path forward? I encourage you to make 2021 the year to shore up your foundations to position your company for success.

technology

As recently as February 2020 (at the CANA Cremation Symposium) we were discussing incremental change to serve families. We had no way of knowing that days later the world would turn upside down. Seemingly overnight, funeral directors pivoted to offer livestreamed services, online and phone arrangements, and new strategies to manage staff and operations remotely. Many of these early activities were conducted with no more sophisticated equipment than smart phones. We have come a long way since then, or have we?

This is the year to upgrade your technology game. Everything from arrangements to funerals to continuing education will continue to be offered online. Invest in stable, fast internet and computers with web cameras sooner rather than later. Software advances can help with everything from case management to first calls and staff coordination. Grow your online offerings to meet the consumer where they are.

“We’ve got to continue to provide ways for the consumer to connect with funeral homes on their own terms and in their own way. That’s something that, as a profession, historically we’ve not been great at. There’s been one way for consumers to connect with funeral homes and cemeteries and cremation companies: we’ve relied on people just walking through the door as a way to grow market share and serve a consumer that now is more remote than ever. 80% of funeral home business is relationship-driven. From a marketing perspective, that relationship conversation has to be a focus of the marketing to continue to build those relationships and make that line of communication even more open.” – Ryan Thogmartin

Technology will remain the key to brand awareness and marketing success as well. But beware that you will sell what you market. If you are promoting low-cost, minimal service cremations online and via social media, that is what they’ll buy. Now is the time to use these platforms to educate your communities about the services you can (safely) offer with the help of technology and your facilities. Also, amplify local news on your social media channels. Facebook is the host for most local news and outlets and governments. Even in large cities, neighborhoods will have Facebook pages. We are spending more time online during the pandemic than ever before, and good news stands out. Let your feed be the bright spot as well as source for obituaries and practical tips.

You offer solutions to problems that death-averse consumers weren’t willing to discuss or plan for nine months ago. Preneed sales have increased during the pandemic, but have you effectively communicated your ability to help them discuss and make plans?

Your creativity and problem-solving are your best assets, and your communities need you now more than ever.

“We have said all along that a lot of those immediate disposition families that walk out of the door with their urn in their hand are doing so because they’ve seen our product and it sucks and they know it and they’re not going to pay for something that doesn’t speak to them. And so, as we adapt to the growing number of Nones—they are now the largest group; they are at 26%, above Catholics and Protestants. They’re not going to go away. They’re going to continue to grow. As we look at those families who, just like you, are looking for something different and unique, we have got to find those skills or those people… Part of our job right now is bringing people back. Those people who had to have a very minimal service because of lock down, inviting them to come back and inviting them to have a creative experience after the fact. Don’t sit and wait for the phone to ring. They’re not going to call and say, ‘Hey, I’m ready to have a funeral.’ You’re going to have to reach out to them and say, ‘Now, are you ready to have a chance to honor your mom that you didn’t get to do?’” – Glenda Stansbury

When my grandmother died in March and we had a livestreamed graveside and Zoom celebration of her life, we discussed gathering over the summer to have a family reunion in her honor. Needless to say that didn’t happen, and we aren’t going to gather this year or probably ever for that purpose. I gave the funeral home a 5-star review on Google, however they returned thousands of dollars of preneed funds earmarked for the funeral to the estate. How many families have you served in a similar situation? How many have come back to do that delayed service? Or did they simply make do?

Have we accelerated the trend toward cremation without services by funeral professionals? Only time will tell. Human beings are strange creatures – we crave what we can’t have – so it is quite possible that when funerals are permitted, there will be an increase. In the meantime, many CANA members have offered community-based memorial services. Some these are purely virtual, some are a hybrid of small in-person gathering with livecasting. I watched several in November and December and each acknowledged that we are grieving more than the loss of loved ones. That was a welcome and comforting message.

setting priorities

The stats on people accomplishing New Year’s resolutions is depressingly low, however goal setting is still valuable and really the best way to track success. We see gaps in service and opportunities for improvement during our busy times, precisely when there is no time to tackle a new project. So write your ideas down and keep track of them. A break will come and that is the perfect time to set your priorities for new projects or improved procedures.

Did you always mean to start an aftercare program? Get on it! Still not sure how to understand all of the financial data and business metrics? Set up a meeting with your accountant or take a class. Still not sure what social media can do for your business? Ask for help and try a campaign. Make relevant continuing education a priority for all of your staff and yourself. Set goals and measure progress toward them. Then celebrate your successes. This is the best way to focus on the important and not just the urgent.

“I truly believe that the message for all of us in the profession is that old song: ‘You don’t know what you got ‘til it’s gone.’ To me, that’s one of the most inspiring things and something I’m going to take forward... I think it’s important for us to look at it as we’re leading the consumer. You have to meet them where they are, but all of us as a profession need to look just a little far ahead of them so that we can be there when they get there. That’s something I think we missed with the ‘increase in preference for cremation as disposition.’ We did not look ahead enough and we didn’t pay attention to the trends so that when that consumer came in and said, ‘This is what I want,’ we were prepared to help them on their terms. So those are the takeaways that I took today and hopefully others can think about and use to improve their businesses.” – Dean Lambert

staffing

Conventional wisdom has long said that 50% of funeral directors leave the profession before their fifth anniversary. Emerging research coming this year from the American Board of Funeral Service Education (ABFSE) has disputed that number and findings show it’s lower, closer to 30%. Either way you look at it, funeral directors are struggling with long hours, low wages and difficult work. Your people are your most important asset, including yourself. You were likely busier than ever in 2020 with deaths predicted to be as much as 20% more than 2019. That is a lot of cases to handle with families to serve while you work within changing restrictions. What are you doing to promote resilience for your team? Is mental health, depression and burnout a topic of discussion?

“You talk about margin, you talk about impact, you know, we’re talking about a crude death rate and all this stuff from the external customer’s perspective. But what about the internal customer? Have you taken care of your staff and created protective policies to ensure their good health?... We’ve got to put those policies in place and make sure that our people are okay, because what is the financial impact to losing a funeral director because they got burned out? How does that impact margin? How does that impact your overall business to have to now go and recruit? It’s already pretty scarce, to find licensed professionals that are competent and that you can feel confident in. What happens when you lose someone because of COVID?
“The other flip side of it is, as business owners and funeral home owners, we have to also take care of ourselves. I look at all the owners and founders and CEOs and business professionals that are over the age of 55 that are having burnout issues and checking out. That’s another customer that we’ve got to spend some time focusing on. As we see more cases, we can make some adjustments to the value offering and we can stay profitable—but we have to be here. We have to survive and we have to make sure that our team, our staff, survives and thrives during this time to be able to implement those adaptations and evolutions to the model.” – Rahsaan Brown

Now, we’re facing a new calendar year, but this real-time, continuous risk management experiment that we are living has not gone away. Hopefully, we will soon have new tools to combat the disease, like easier access to PPE and vaccines, and also to support ourselves and each other.

We have learned to safely serve our communities through deadly viruses before, and COVID-19, too, will likely remain with us. PPE works, and – with continued engagement and creativity – we will find the tools to serve our communities and navigate 2021.

My thoughts are with you during the next phase of this continuing crisis. On behalf of the staff and leadership of the Cremation Association of North America, happy new year.

This post excerpted from the “What’s Ahead for Funeral Service” cover story in the January 2021 issue of American Funeral Director published by Kates-Boylston and comments from industry experts during the WTF?: What’s the Future of Funerals webinar on October 14, 2020. You can watch the complete recording of this webinar and many others on-demand on CANA’s website: goCANA.org/webinars. CANA Members, we featured the highlights from this webinar in Volume 56, Issue 4 of The Cremationist – you can read the full issue on our website with your member credentials. Not a member yet? See the other benefits of CANA Membership here.

Barbara Kemmis is Executive Director of the Cremation Association of North America where she promotes all things cremation through member programs, education and strategic partnerships. After more than 20 years of experience in association leadership, Barbara knows that bringing people together to advance common goals is not only fun, but the most effective strategy to get things done.

WEBINAR EXCERPTS FROM NOTABLE INDUSTRY EXPERTS:

Rahsaan Brown is CEO and owner of Blue Nebula Consulting, a nationally scaled organization that focuses on assisting funeral homes build their sales and marketing departments.

Jeff Harbeson, a.k.a. the Funeral Commander, is the Director of Cash Flow Solutions at C&J Financial, where his specialty is producing accounts receivables and increasing cash flow. He is a former funeral home owner.

Ryan Thogmartin of DISRUPT Media is CEO of ConnectingDirectors.com, Price My Funeral, and Death Care Jobs, as well as the Funeral Nation co-host, along with Jeff Harbeson.

Glenda Stansbury is the vice president of InsightBooks, a publisher of books on grief and aftercare. She is also a licensed funeral director and embalmer. She is the co-founder and the trainer for certified celebrant training.

Dean Lambert is the Marketing Communications Officer for Homesteaders Life Company and has been with them for a little over 22 years. He’s worked with funeral homes to help with marketing, communications, and promotions since 1991, so he’s approaching his 30th year with the profession.