It’s no secret that consumers’ increasing preference for cremation is impacting the traditional funeral home business model. Because cremation services generally produce lower revenue, many funeral home owners are expanding their product and service offerings. Others are discovering ways to serve the needs of new groups within their communities.

As reported in IBISWorld industry research and echoed in the NFDA’s 2023 Cremation & Burial Report, “It is predicted that funeral homes will continue to expand their array of extra services offered to families; increase their focus on niche markets to differentiate themselves; and draw attention to their value-added services, such as … serving groups with diverse cultural and religious preferences.”

Cultural differences play a significant role in funeral practices and the better we understand the religious and cultural diversity of our communities, the greater our opportunity to serve those groups. Ask yourself three questions:

1. What is the religious and cultural makeup of my community?
2. Am I proactively reaching out to diverse groups?  
3. What am I doing to better understand and accommodate unique funeral customs and rituals in my area?
   

In Orange County California, for example, our team at The Omega Society was contacted by a writer for Orange Network, the monthly magazine of the Orange County Japanese American Association. She was writing a story to inform and educate the local Japanese American community to the range of funeral, cremation and burial options available from the Society. Southern California has the largest Japanese American population in North America, and many adhere to the beliefs of the Shinto faith. She told us that in Shintoism, terminal illness, dying and death are considered “impure,” making frank discussions of death and dying very difficult and even taboo. The result is a population with insufficient knowledge of end-of-life care and local resources available to assist them when the need arises. Our Omega Society location leader met with this writer for a tour of our facility and a wide-ranging discussion that included cremation options, costs, the advantages of prepayment, and options for the disposition of cremated remains. The resulting article did a great deal to shed light on this important subject and positioned The Omega Society as a caring local partner with professionals ready to assist the Japanese American community with all their funeral service needs.

This is just one example of funeral professionals who are filling unmet community needs and finding new markets among diverse cultural and religious communities.

Located 20 miles southeast of downtown Portland, the city of Happy Valley is one of the most diverse communities in Oregon, including an Asian population of more than 22 percent. Our Sunnyside Funeral, Cremation and Memorial Gardens has worked with local Buddhist temples to serve this community for more than 60 years. Buddhists believe that the soul is reincarnated; death is not the end, so it is not to be dreaded. Most Buddhist societies cremate their dead to purify and free the soul, and aid in the attainment of enlightenment -- just as The Buddha himself was cremated.

“Although funeral services can vary by sect of Buddhism, all are beautiful, meaningful celebrations in which family members participate over a two-day period,” said Sunnyside General Manager Samantha Haxton. “Common elements include an invocation to the Buddha, offerings of food and flowers, readings from Buddhist scriptures and a procession of monks. The body of the deceased is transported to our crematory on the second day, where final chanting and praying proceed cremation. Some of our Buddhist families choose to permanently memorialize their loved ones by interring their cremated remains at their temple and many are placed at our Sunnyside Memorial Garden near a large statue of Buddha.”

The shift in ethnicities and increasingly diverse funeral traditions across the United States will only accelerate in the years ahead. As funeral professionals, it’s our job to learn about and appreciate the different cultures and religions present in our communities. We need to make ourselves seen in these communities and let families know we are available and ready to serve them in keeping with their unique customs and rituals surrounding death and mourning. Do your research, build relationships and provide support to all segments of your changing community. Differentiating your funeral home by understanding and accommodating all types of funerals will help you remain a trusted service leader for years to come.

What do consumers want? This is the $64,000 question everyone involved in the death care profession is trying to answer. You know your aftercare surveys are overwhelmingly positive. You track your online reviews and celebrate the positive ones, while addressing the negatives. You know your community and encourage engagement with local groups. Your reputation is your brand and you sleep well at night knowing the top-notch service you provide.

At the same time a vocal minority of volunteer funeral consumer advocates have been telling the FTC staff for years that funeral service is criminal and in need of close scrutiny. Despite record low complaints, the Funeral Rule remains in place and is likely to be revised.

Over the past three years, I have been the lead staff person working with the CANA board, members and other death care leaders to craft comments and responses to the FTC’s proposed revisions. On September 7, 2023, I was privileged to participate in the FTC Workshop: Shopping for Funeral Services. In addition to representing our profession to the regulators and consumers, the event provided a chance to listen to the arguments and requests set forth by consumer advocates and industry reformers. You can watch the recording yourself on the FTC’s website, but here are my key takeaways on how consumers view the funeral profession.

Opening and closing remarks from the FTC focused on how unique the funeral profession is and how important the Funeral Rule is to the FTC. Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter opened the workshop by describing how the Funeral Rule protects customers when they are grieving and vulnerable, and also promotes competition – two reasons the Rule is central to the mission of the FTC. The commissioner quoted NFDA average funeral costs pointing out that funeral expenses carry the third largest price tag after a home or car, but they are the only obligation everyone will universally experience.

From the title of the workshop, “Shopping for Funeral Services,” to the selection of panelists, the FTC staff focused on the transactional nature of death care. Consumer advocates are dedicated to lowering prices and educating consumers about the elements of funeral service that are necessary and those that are optional. The General Price List (GPL) is their primary tool used for these purposes.

Associate Director of the FTC’s Division of Marketing Practices Lois C. Greisman closed the workshop by thanking panelists and the hundreds of attendees who attended in-person and online. She hailed the workshop as a success because the day held lively conversations designed to dig into pressing concerns. There were many disagreements during the course of the discussions, but it was an important opportunity to reimagine the future.

​During the event, consumer groups advocated hard for posting the GPL on existing websites, particularly for businesses that complete sales online. They maintained that posting a PDF or adding content to a website would be marginally expensive to the business and would build trust. These are difficult arguments to refute.

Some consumer advocates admitted that the GPL is confusing and not ideally suited as a standalone planning document. They conceded that it is designed as a tool that is best used in conversation with a funeral director. However, the GPL is up for discussion. That means consumer advocates are empowered to suggest many additions and changes to GPL-required items (including third party crematory fees and other "hidden" fees) and disclosures (like the legality of home funerals, embalming disclosure to include federal and state law reference and then business capacity/policy).

The common ground between all workshop participants was an acknowledgement of the necessity for consumer education on selecting and planning funeral goods and services. Members of the profession tended to argue that the GPL was a tool used in consultation with a funeral director. The advocates argued for posting it online and then having the consumer approach funeral providers with informed questions or selections.

Throughout the day, there was a strong emphasis on how much the funeral profession and consumer preferences have changed over the past 40 years. It was repeatedly observed by reformer panelists that consumers want more control over and participation in funeral planning and activities.

Industry protests against mandatory price posting were countered with accusations of hiding and thievery. Obviously, it’s true that transparency builds trust and many CANA members who post their pricing cited that as a primary reason. However, simply posting the GPL alone will not address the issue because, as we know, shopping for funeral services is a unique and complex experience.

My takeaway is that consumer groups, like the Funeral Consumer Alliance and Consumer Federation of America, are focused on transparency and the ease of price comparisons. This can lead to the creation of comparison websites and concierge services—or even a Consumer Reports-style comparison survey or report.

Just as the profession prefers not to be required to post pricing, consumers resent being forced to use funeral providers who aren’t transparent.

The discussions about the logistics of posting pricing online, assuming it becomes required, centered on details. The consumer advocates on the panel debated format: HTML vs. PDF, mobile-friendly versions, and other accessibility questions. Should the FTC require a specific font, size, color, or document format? Or set general requirements that GPLs are “clear and conspicuous”? Should there be machine- and human-readable requirements? Consumer advocates were arguing for uniformity to assist their work in comparing GPLs, but failing to recognize that funeral providers are businesses who are actively pursuing calls. Technology will change, but market forces will ensure funeral providers meet consumer needs to earn their business.

We also discussed that the primary purpose of a funeral provider’s website is to post obituaries and service information. A secondary purpose is to facilitate online condolences and the third is to sell funeral goods and services. This information is based on research CANA conducted among members, and it was well received by the panelists. The research showed that, among CANA members who post pricing, fewer than 1% of website visitors clicked on the pricing information. Additionally, the use of apps or social media largely supports backlinks to the provider’s website and is, therefore, not a replacement for a website.

Advocates countered this argument by pointing to the fact that the death rate is about 1% of the population. While true, the death rate and clicks on pricing information have no direct connection. It is an interesting coincidence, I suppose.

Discussions around fees were largely non-controversial. There was agreement on the advantages of the ability to discount basic service fees and the difficulties of requiring listing of cash advance items, including third party crematory fees, on the GPL. Basic service fees fall within control of the funeral provider, but cash advance items do not.

There also seemed to be acknowledgement that “Direct Cremation” has become a package in the consumer’s mind. Cremation services have changed during the 40 years of the Funeral Rule, and one required item, Direct Cremation, does not meet the modern consumer’s needs. This is an exciting opportunity for our profession to influence the FTC on this topic.

Everyone acknowledged that the number of complaints received by the FTC was astonishingly low. Consumer advocates argued that the low number of complaints is irrelevant because most consumers don't know how or where to complain. This is a decidedly weak argument as consumers certainly know how to complain to state boards or to consumer groups—who should point them to the state boards and FTC.

I wish there had been more conversation about customer service versus actionable complaints. Wishing you knew more about options before making decisions is not an actionable complaint. Being told you had to embalm when you didn't could be actionable.

On the breaks and during meals, I took the opportunity to speak with consumer advocates to network and build some trust. I heard overwhelmingly that consumers want to trust funeral providers. Where we differ is how to achieve that. Listen to Caitlin Doughty,  Founder of the Order of the Good Death, make that point in the recent Ask a Mortician video. Her opinions aren’t necessarily the views of CANA, but it’s worth a watch.

The Workshop closed with a panel looking to the future. Despite some confusion on the part of one panelist about state regulatory issues versus the Funeral Rule, the comments were revealing. The same consumer preferences that are driving the cremation rate increase are fueling challenges to the Funeral Rule – participation, personalization, and possession.

Looking to the future, the focus was on new forms of disposition, which currently compose less than 1% of dispositions in the states in which they are offered. But interest in new dispositions such as alkaline hydrolysis and natural organic reduction are also driven by these preferences. Green or natural burial isn’t new at all, but rather was the standard practice until the embalming “fad” became popular over the past 150 years.

Throughout the Workshop, there was a strong emphasis on consumer choice and simplifying the GPL. Since the current GPL format and requirements relate to casketed, embalmed burial and cremation is merely an add-on, is it time to realign the GPL entirely to focus on memorialization first, then disposition and body preparation?

Everyone in the room with me that day acknowledged that the Funeral Rule was designed for a world that no longer exists. Burial and embalming are in decline. Consumer control and participation are increasing. It isn't always about price—and NOR and AH should not be grouped with cremation for that reason, as well as environmental reasons.

I was left with several outstanding questions:

• Where does/should consumer education ideally happen? Is the GPL enough? Online by a third party? In the arrangement room? All of the above? None of the above?
• How do we overcome death aversion to reach consumers?
• Are there opportunities to work with consumer advocates to promote our profession and bridge the disconnect?

The process continues. The true impact of these revisions will be revealed over coming years and decades. But these are big questions to grapple with and our future depends on it—so I urge you to stay involved. CANA certainly will be!

As of the start of this week, 711 comments have been submitted post-Workshop, mostly by consumers. To read their thoughts and to submit your own remarks by the October 10 deadline, visit https://www.regulations.gov/document/FTC-2023-0034-0001/comment.

According to oft-cited funeral industry statistics and confirmed by CANA’s research in 2022, at least one in five homes in America has a container with cremated human remains. In 2017, that included many households in the Albuquerque metro area. That’s why CANA Member Sunset Memorial Park, operated by French Funerals and Cremations, held its first-ever “Scatter Day” for people looking for a respectful way to inter the cremated remains of a loved one for free.

At the time, Chris Keller (Vice President of French Funerals-Cremations and Sunset Memorial Park from 2007 to 2021) said, “In a town like Albuquerque, you do the math: There’s 20 or 30,000 sets of cremated remains sitting in basements, in attics, on mantelpieces, under the bed, that are going to end up somewhere. And so many of them, we do know, end up in a landfill. And that breaks my heart.”

Keller said that as people who have kept cremated remains at home pass away themselves, “the caregiver or succeeding generations of family members who are cleaning out their home often find urns containing the remains, and are at a loss as to what to do with them.” Some, he said, “end up in garage sales or in a dumpster, and each year multiple urns are abandoned at Sunset Memorial Park by individuals who innately know they don’t belong in a landfill, but who also do not want them at home.”
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After Sunset Memorial’s inaugural scatter event in 2017, Keller reported he heard from funeral homes and cemeteries around the country—and even one in Australia—wanting to know how to stage their own similar events. “If everybody in the country starts doing this, then the conversation in the culture will change,” Keller said. “People will realize that it’s still a body, you still need to find a final resting place.”

CANA’s Cremation Memorialization research, conducted in 2022, focused on quantifying the number of human and pet cremated remains in US and Canadian households, specifically addressing what people plan to do with the ashes in their homes.

When we ask the general public who plan to be cremated what they want done with their ashes, roughly half respond, “Scatter me!” This has been validated over time with research conducted by other organizations. But do their ashes ultimately get scattered?

Our research doesn’t directly answer this question. However, given that 26% of US households and 19% of Canadian households have human ashes, it’s likely that they don’t all get scattered—or at least not right away.

The research study did provide important insights into consumer knowledge of permanent placement options.
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Among those who either have ashes in their home or who have been involved in cremation decisions for a loved one…

• Around a third say they are not at all or not very aware of the various permanent placement options available for a loved one’s ashes (30% US; 33% Canada).
• Over two thirds wish they knew more about the different permanent placement options for someone’s ashes (68% US; 68% Canada).
• Around half don’t know where to go to learn more about the different permanent placement options for someone’s ashes (53% US; 53% Canada).
• Only one-fifth consider scattering in a cemetery to be permanent placement (21% US; 20% Canada).
• Among those who have plans to relocate the ashes of a loved one currently in their home, around one-fifth plan to scatter the ashes in a cemetery (20% US; 18% Canada).

Bottom line: Satisfy consumer curiosity and promote your permanent placement options. Consider offering scattering and a variety of cremation products in your cemeteries!
Here’s what a few other CANA Members did:

Initially, my interest was piqued several years ago when I heard Chris Keller from Sunset Memorial Park in Albuquerque give a presentation at an ICCFA event describing their Scatter Day. “What a unique event,” I thought, and then filed it away as something that we should consider doing at Arlington when the time was right.

Flash forward to 2021, when we were continuing to witness, firsthand, a steeper climb in cremation. That’s when we decided to become active in encouraging our cremation consumers to consider final disposition and permanent memorialization at Arlington. Therefore, the time was right for a scatter day. However, we wanted a unique brand for our event and with the help of our advertising firm, we landed on “The Great Arlington Urn Return and Scatter Day.”

We understood from the very beginning that the ROI on this event was more than likely going to be nominal and simply accepted that fact. We also agreed from the beginning that we wanted to “put our best foot forward” and leverage the event as a “heritage developer” for the future. Consequently, our Urn Return & Scatter Day became an “all hands on deck” event with meticulous planning from intake of the cremated remains and verifying documentation to permit and authorize scattering, to providing convenient meeting areas to expedite the process, to enabling the surviving family members to participate in the actual scattering, and finally by providing celebrants to assist the family with their “goodbyes.”
As a result, there were numerous plaudits, ranging from “What a wonderful service you’re providing,” to “We’ve never been here before but it’s beautiful.” One consistent refrain was “We couldn’t afford anything more at the time.” That, of course, is one of the challenges that cremation poses to cemeteries and one of the reasons for Arlington to embrace events similar to Scatter Days in the first place.
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Daniel Applegate, President and CEO, has been with Arlington since 2001, initially serving as Vice President of Family Care until 2002 when the Board of Trustees appointed him as President. He currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer, trustee of the Arlington Cemetery Association’s Board, President of the Arlington Funeral Home, and Chairman of the Arlington Funeral Home Board of Directors. Applegate served as secretary/treasurer of the Ohio Cemetery Association for several terms and one term as president. He has served a term on the Ohio Cemetery Dispute Resolution Commission and is a member of the International Cemetery, Cremation & Funeral Association (ICCFA). He has earned the designation as a Certified Cremation Specialist through the Cremation Association of North America (CANA). He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Colerain Chamber of Commerce.

Scattering day is something other practitioners in our field were doing and we thought that was a great idea and something we wanted to try out in our community. The genesis and implementation of this program in our company is credited to our marketing and community outreach team.

Our organization’s vision is “Everyone will be remembered, honored and memorialized at the end of life,” so, to fulfill this vision with families who were going to scatter, we decided to offer this option in our cemeteries. If people were going to scatter, why not give them an option to do that in our cemetery? Cemeteries are designed for permanent memorialization. This way we are helping realize our company vision.

This is well received by our families. Everyone seems gracious and thankful that we do offer this option. I had one family tell me that they just did not know what to do with their aunt’s remains till they saw our event being promoted on social media. What I have found is that the families who come to these events had no idea that scattering in a cemetery was an option.

We are in discussion about plans for our fifth year of the annual scattering day event. I anticipate this to be ongoing in the foreseeable future. In general, when families use our funeral home they do a have a free scattering option that is included in their cremation. So, throughout the year, our families do have a free scattering option separate from this specific event.
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Sandra Walker, Chief Operating Officer – Fairmount Memorial Association, began her career in Funeral Service in 1999. She is a licensed Funeral Director in Washington/Idaho. She also has a license to sell preneed insurance. Sandra is past president of the Washington Cemetery Crematory Funeral Association and current board member for CANA. In July 2022, along with eight other women in the death care space, Sandra created the Death Care Collective. The Collective’s mission is to create a safe space for women in the profession to feel supported and empowered and to be seen and heard. Sandra’s love for cremation began in 2005 when her mother was the first in the family to be cremated. She is passionate about all things cremation.

While many things have changed in our profession over the past few years, there’s one thing that has not; deathcare consumers still want and need professional guidance in making appropriate end-of-life plans for their loved ones. That’s good news for funeral service professionals and just one of the findings of new consumer research I look forward to sharing next month at CANA’s 2023 Cremation Symposium.

The new primary research, conducted late last year on behalf of Foundation Partners Group, involved more than 1,000 online survey respondents and dozens of focus group discussions with consumers who have planned a funeral over the past five years. The results paint a clear picture of the evolving wants, needs and preferences that drive the deathcare choices of today’s families. Understanding these new consumers, and the similarities and differences between different segments, will be key to successfully managing funeral service businesses in the future.

From the thousands of data points collected, we isolated key insights that help us answer two key questions about the needs of modern deathcare consumers:

1. How do consumers interact with deathcare providers now and what do they want in the future?
2. How should we change our messaging, services, products and channels to meet consumers’ needs?

One important finding is that focusing on spending alone is too simplistic. While families may differ in income levels and intended spend, consumers do not select deathcare providers based on economic factors alone. Providers who focus on price, fail to take into consideration the key needs and motivators that drive consumer decision-making.

We found two key factors that are most important in determining the best service style and fit for contemporary consumers. There are unique attitudes and behaviors that drive the ideal deathcare experience for each segment.

The first is the level of support they desire during the planning process. Do they want to do all their planning in person or are they fine working with us via phone, web and email? Do they want to keep it simple or create an elaborate event guided by tradition and ritual?

The second is the level of personal involvement. Do they want a funeral director to hold their hands and walk with them every step of the process? Or are they confident in their ability to create experiences that honor their loved ones on their own?

Based on these varying desires for support and guidance, we divided consumers into three distinct segments and gave them descriptive labels that reflect their attitudes and behaviors. Understanding these different consumer mindsets and decision factors will help us to better understand the best ways to connect with them and support them in a way that builds trust.

During my session we will explore each of these groups in more detail and zero in on the core needs that are universal across all segments. And we’ll talk about the evolving role of technology in deathcare and how thoughtfully integrating technology can improve the consumer experience.

We’ll also share direct comments from consumers regarding things that would have made their experience better to create a roadmap to success in the future.

I look forward to seeing you in Las Vegas!

There’s been a revolt against hiring for cultural fit. Business Insider says it leads to a homogeneous workplace. The Harvard Business Review calls it a “misguided hiring strategy” and says to stop doing it. Forbes even published an obituary for the concept, saying it’s “fraught with bias.”

With all due respect, they’re wrong. Companies will always have a culture, and culture will always be set by the people you hire. If you’re not actively building a healthy one, you’re passively building a sick one. But the antidote for bad culture is to build good culture—not to pretend you’re building no culture at all. My worst hiring mistakes (and I’ve made doozies) have come when I’ve forgotten culture and hired for something else instead. Determining cultural compatibility is tough to do and tougher to do well—which is why only the best have mastered it.

A shibboleth might help.

The word “shibboleth” comes from an Old Testament story about the Ephraimites, who devised a test after they were infiltrated by an enemy tribe. Anyone who couldn’t say “shibboleth” with the local pronunciation exposed himself as an imposter. Today, the word is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a word or saying used by adherents of a party, sect, or belief and usually regarded by others as empty of real meaning.” A business who knows itself well will establish certain ideas and concepts that are central to its identity, but meaningless to the outside. Your best hires will be the people who recognize and share your excitement for those concepts.
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Here’s the really good news: establishing a shibboleth for your company will allow you to better focus your business, invigorate your team, and increase diversity. Here’s how:

The hard part—and the real importance—of a shibboleth isn’t finding someone who recognizes it, it’s picking one in the first place. To say exactly who fits your brand requires first understanding your brand. And most companies don’t. But that’s exactly why finding a concise articulation of your identity is such an important exercise: it requires the clarity that is essential for you to succeed.

Former IBM CMO Abby Kohnstamm put it this way: “The larger the company, the greater the importance there is to get to a clear, simple brand idea. Ours became a rallying point for the entire organization. It shapes the culture, it shapes business decisions, and it shapes behaviors.”

Think about that. A single litmus test against which a firm can evaluate everything. Every hire, every new product decision, every investment opportunity, aligned to a single idea. You know exactly what the most successful brands are about, because they’ve put in the sweat equity to figure it out for themselves. You can’t afford not to do the same.

It’s the second half of the definition of Shibboleth that’s really important: “usually regarded by others as empty of real meaning.” My firm, which specializes in advertising for stalled, stuck, and stale brands, has helped hundreds of companies find the essence of their identity. Usually, the identity we land on seems boring to outsiders—it hardly ever ends up in ad copy, and nobody outside the company ever knows about it. But that’s why it works: if you get it, you’re attracted to it. And if you don’t, you’ve already disqualified yourself.

The idea Kohnstamm (not to mention IBM’s 380,000 employees) was so excited about? “Solutions.” Not exactly a revolution. But solutions to business problems were what IBM’s customer wanted, and that’s what drives IBM. “Solutions” is a boring word to which IBM gave its own special insider meaning. So it became something that IBM employees could get excited about, because it provided a way of articulating what makes them special. And if solving problems isn’t your thing, you’re probably not what IBM is looking for.

Like a family in-joke, the whole point of a shibboleth is that the world doesn’t get it. It’s for you, so that when the going gets tough, your team can remind each other why they’re here.

The worst backlash against “culture fit” is from the people who assume it’s discriminatory. Patty McCord, former Chief Talent Officer from Netflix, argues that “culture fit” is shorthand for ‘people just like us.’ It’s a fair concern, and the practice can be abused that way. Weeding out anything feels a bit discriminatory, so it’s easy to assume that if we all have to agree on culture, then we’ll suffer from groupthink and bias.

But in fact, the opposite is true. Every hiring decision is inherently discriminatory. You’re picking one person out of thousands. If you have to discriminate, it’s better to discriminate on the right things. And mathematically, you’ll have the broadest talent pool if you discriminate on only one thing.
An organization that lacks a single point everyone can agree on isn’t diverse, it’s divided. On the other hand, the organization who can pinpoint the single concept that defines it has actually opened the door to the most diverse company (and thinking) possible, because it’s eliminated all other incidental or unintentional barriers. You can hire any age, race, background, or expertise, because none of those things are what define who you are.

In my own firm, we have a former realtor in our media department, an ex-political-consultant in accounts, and a psychology major in strategy. Our creative director will tell you that recent hires he’s made from outside the agency world have been a lot more successful than those he’s poached from other agencies. The reason those particular team members have panned out—even as seasoned agency pros have come and gone—is that we’re inspired and unified by a single idea. If we can all agree on that one thing, then we can bring diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and strengths to the table in its pursuit.
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To modern businesses, like the biblical Ephraimites, sifting out those who are not committed to your cause is a matter of life and death. It’s worth taking the extra time to make sure you’re doing it right. And when you do, you’ll stop wasting time on guesswork about whether a person, partner, or project is a fit—because you’ll know who you are.

How can you engage your employees' purpose to improve their performance and retain them? Eric Layer will share proven research and strategies from inside and outside the funeral business during his Keynote session — sponsored by National Guardian Life Insurance Co. (NGL) — at CANA’s Cremation Symposium this February 8-10 2023!
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Join Eric and others to share ideas on re-energizing passion and purpose in funeral service. This year, the event is focused on staffing efficiencies and retention with a host of experts to discuss. See what we have planned and register to attend: goCANA.org/ignite
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This post originally appeared in the McKee Wallwork Insights blog in April 2018, reprinted with permission.

A particularly important method for early cremationists to get their message out was by publishing what has since been referred to as propaganda. Cremation societies frequently published various booklets and pamphlets which featured reasoning for choosing cremation over burial, locations of the crematories in the US, opinions of notable persons who supported the movement, and photos of the “crematory vaults” and urn selections. A cremation society in France created propaganda that included photos of bodies in various states of decomposition after burial.

Many US crematories circulated this same literature, theirs showing the gruesome images along with photos of their beautiful crematories and columbaria on the facing page. Additionally, in the late 1800s, three societies published magazines for their members – The Urn (published by the U.S. Cremation Company in New York), Modern Crematist (by the Lancaster Cremation and Funeral Reform Association in Lancaster, Penn.), and The Columbarium (by the Philadelphia Cremation Society), all of which ceased publication by the end of the century.

Poets and modern thinkers of the day often added their notes of support as well. For instance, the poet Arlo Bates lent his support of cremation when he wrote:

Early on, cremationists and cemeteries who conducted cremations often struggled due to a lack of some sort of guidance and direction. There was no infrastructure or national organization to give this direction as there was in Europe where many of the crematories were operated by state and local municipalities.

Dr. Hugo Erichsen, a physician in Detroit, Michigan, and founder of the cremation society there, changed that when, in early 1913, he issued an invitation to all American cremation groups to join and form a society with a national scope. He was successful in bringing 14 delegates of the 50 or so crematories in operation together under one roof and the Cremation Association of America was born.

While Dr. Erichsen’s initial goal was burial reform, and for the first several years his focus was realized, the Cremation Association quickly developed into meetings of the businessmen who performed cremations in their communities – largely because the reform societies which built many of the early crematories in the country were taken over by them. The Association still thrives today and is unequivocally the source for cremation education, statistics, and information. The name was changed in 1975 to the Cremation Association of North America to reflect member involvement from crematories across the continent.

The modern Cremation movement in America sprang from a sanitary necessity; but over time the embalming process evolved into more common practice. This disinfection of the body, along with the advent of medicine into everyday life, the need for cremation as a means of purification after death dwindled. With sanitary concerns negated, the primary argument in favor of cremation was invalidated. New reasons to choose fire over earth needed to be enumerated, and with them, a new era in the history of cremation in America began.

Plenty of associations are concerned about greenwashing. But with PR spin and lack of transparency, it can be difficult to know what’s greenwashed and what’s just plain green. So if you want to fight it, take a cue from the playbook of an association built on an anti-greenwashing mission.

Since its inception in 2005, the Green Burial Council (GBC) has fought to bring greenwashing to light in the funeral industry. The association provides third-party oversight to ensure that natural burial options marketed as “green” are indeed environmentally friendly.

“When [founder] Joe Sehee became interested in this movement, he realized there weren’t really any standards or ways to know what truly was green,” said John Niedfeldt-Thomas, leader of GBC International’s (the 501(c)(3) arm of the organization) education and outreach efforts.
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GBC went on to form its own standards. Its force has been felt in several ways, with successes such as legislation permitting eco-safe disposal methods and a rise in education about the impact of traditional burial and cremation. Consider these insights from Niedfeldt-Thomas on what associations can do to fight greenwashing—and how they can avoid doing it themselves.

GBC has created a set of criteria as to what’s truly green in its industry and certifies organizations that meet those criteria. The organization arrived at these standards by consulting with experts on natural burials, looking at which methods, products, and materials lead to pollution and other land and water issues. GBC also took cues from trusted sources, such as green guides from the Federal Trade Commission.

If there are no environment-related certifications in your industry, you can start forming criteria by doing the same: consulting with experts in your field. You can also approach regulators directly and push for environmental standards to be implemented, as GBC did with the FTC. When creating criteria, try to be as holistic as possible.
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“In the case of green burial, the full picture of environmentally sound practices is what counts,” GBC states in its handbook. “For instance, a casket made of organic materials may be green, but transporting it over 3,000 miles to its destination using fossil fuels and child labor to construct it is not considered green.”

When determining which organizations and products are actually green, prioritize transparency. What claims are they making? Where’s the evidence that they’ve followed through? Are they certified? If so, using what standards? It might be a red flag if an organization provides no proof that it’s keeping its promises.

“Where greenwashing is most often manifested is vague words that are used by companies to talk about their processes or products,” Niedfeldt-Thomas said.

This goes for your organization as well: In your environmental efforts, avoid greenwashing by telling the public what you’re doing, your standards, and how you’re holding yourself accountable. Be as specific as possible.

Michael Hickey is a contributor to Associations Now.

Published by ASAE: The Center for Association Leadership, Associations Now is the premier media brand covering all aspects of association leadership and operations, from governance and membership to event strategy and workplace management. Associations Now is delivered in multiple award-winning channels and provides real-world stories, innovative thinking, and practical, how-to content to help you turn ideas into action.
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ASAE and the ASAE Research Foundation work together to bring the most comprehensive collection of resources, events, and services to association professionals. ASAE members lead and manage trade associations, individual membership societies, and voluntary organizations across the United States and around the world. The ASAE Research Foundation’s portfolio balances future-focused programs with research studies designed to help professionals improve their work and their organizations today.

Pop quiz: What do the following questions have in common from a digital marketing perspective?

• How does cremation work?
• How much does cremation cost?
• What are the steps for preplanning a funeral?

They're all great, keyword-rich subheading options for cremation and funeral care marketing blogs. They're also all things people might type into search engines.

But the answer we're looking for is that each of those questions shows up in a featured snippet such as "People also ask," "From the web," or "Other sites say" when someone searches Google for related keywords (such as "funeral cost").

Perhaps you've heard of featured snippets in general or "People also ask" questions, but you might be wondering: What are those other snippets? And why is Google always changing the layout of the search engine results pages?
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Let's take a deep dive into Google's new feature snippets testing and what it means for deathcare marketing.

Also called "answer boxes," featured snippets are short pieces of content Google takes directly from web pages to display in search engine results pages. For Google, the goal is to provide the searcher with as much relevant information on the search page as possible.
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For example, as of the writing of this piece, The Annuity Expert held the featured snippet for the search "how much does a funeral cost." Google displays the following text in the answer box, along with the URL and link to the page the content came from:

On the same search engine results page, Google presents a box with "People also ask" questions—queries it deems the searcher might also be interested in. For this search, some questions included "Is $10,000 enough for a funeral?" and "What is the cheapest funeral cost?"

For cremation services and other deathcare firms, these snippets and boxes provide another way to show up organically on the first page of Google search results. If Google thinks you provide the best, most relevant answer to a specific question, it scrapes your content to include on the page along with a link to your site.

You can show up in the answer boxes even if your page doesn't rank in the top 10 results for that keyword. Even better, you can show up in the top 10 and in an answer box, providing you more presence on the first page and an increased likelihood of winning the click.
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Having other ways to land on the first page of Google is great news for businesses that provide cremation services. Three-quarters of people never click past the first page of search engine results, so if you're not on page one, you're probably not getting seen or driving organic traffic.

Snippets and answer boxes are such good ideas, Google is trying out more of them. Throughout early 2022, the search engine has tested "From the web" and "Other sites say" features.

• From the web: This feature presents a box that gathers a handful of answers to a query from what Google deems are top pages. On average, the collection includes two to five results from the web, presenting 20-25 words of relevant content from each page and a link to click on. So far, when "From the web" answers show up, they replace the featured snippet.
• Other sites say: In other cases, Google keeps the featured snippet but appends an "Other sites say" section to it. This gathers three pages that also address the question or topic and presents a short content snippet (less than a sentence) along with links to the pages in question.

Both boxes provide searchers with more choices that Google has deemed highly relevant and potentially high-quality.

For cremation service businesses, these new tests are mostly good news. If Google moves to regularly providing more link options in answer boxes, that's more real estate on page one of the search results.
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Of course, if you already own a featured snippet, this change comes with a small bit of bad news: You'll have more immediate competition for the click. If Google rolls this change out over all pages and keywords—including those related to cremation—anyone driving traffic with featured snippets might experience a drop in traffic.

Many marketers and SEO firms make the mistake of focusing exclusively on Google properties like answer boxes. They tailor all their content to win the featured snippets, and when Google makes a change like this, a lot of their work must be rethought.

As a deathcare firm engaging in digital marketing, you should never load all your eggs in one basket. Is there value in asking relevant questions and answering them with short, concise paragraphs? Absolutely. Users love this, because it helps them scan content for exactly what they need (which is why the FAQ page remains a popular format). And if your answers win you an extra link on page one of Google results, even better!

But avoid writing content just to win answer boxes. Google's move to add more links to those properties dilutes the power of them, and you can diminish the quality of your content by focusing solely on these things.
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Instead, stick with tried-and-true content marketing best practices:

• Write relevant content. Think about the keyword and the intent of the searcher, then answer it with your content.
• Write high-quality content. Make sure your content is easy to read, includes good information, and is grammatically correct.
• Write useful content. Create content that is actionable or helpful for the reader. If you're targeting "cremation preplanning," write about the steps people should take and the benefits of funeral preplanning specific to cremation. Don't simply define cremation preplanning and leave it at that.

While you're creating great content, look for ways to organically include answers that Google might pick up for snippets. "Organically" means that the questions and answers flow naturally with the content you're creating as opposed to the content coming from a desire to write a featured snippet.

Putting high-quality content first—even above the latest Google change—supports long-term digital marketing success.

Below is a sneak peek at the keynote presentation for CANA’s 2022 Cremation Symposium, titled Storytelling for Funeral Service. If you haven’t secured your attendance, you can register here

​Storytelling as a marketing tactic has been buzzing around the industry for a couple of decades—especially since the Internet, and its ability to reach more people more often, became ubiquitous.
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But when asked to define storytelling, marketers often hem and haw. They hail it as the Next Big Thing in Business Development, but then fall back on cliches and misunderstandings. They mistake “branding” or “customer experience” for storytelling.

So let’s define our term right off the bat:

We could fill a book describing the benefits of brand storytelling. Among the chapter titles in that hypothetical book:“Storytelling is as Old as Homo Sapiens”

• “Storytelling Improves Memory”
• “Storytelling is How Kids Learn Things”
• “Storytelling Reveals the Things All People Share in Common”
• “Storytelling Boosts Oxytocin (the “Bonding Molecule”)”

All good reasons for your funeral business to spend time identifying and crafting great stories. But I want to briefly discuss an additional reason to tell your tell, which is brilliantly put by Will Storr, author of The Science of Storytelling:

Nearly all human behavior is driven by emotions. When we feel something, we respond—sometimes consciously, often not.

When a potential customer approaches your funeral home, they are in a heightened state of emotion. They’re either planning a funeral for a loved one (feeling grief) or pre-planning their own funeral (feeling nervous or sad).
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A great story can help them sort out—even if just to a small extent—the wild mix of feelings they’re dealing with. The alternative is far less effective. . .

The opposite of storytelling is “making claims.” This is what most businesses do:

• “We care about you.”
• “We will treat your loved one as if they were our own.”
• “We are 15% less expensive than our competitors.”
• “Our customers report having an excellent experience working with us.”
• “Last year, we helped more families in our state than any other funeral home.”

True or not, a “claim” is a mostly ineffective way of attracting attention and converting that connection into business. Why? Because when the human brain encounters a factual claim, our rational, conscious brains switch on in order for us to determine whether we believe the claim. Even if we believe the claim, we have moved out of our emotional selves and into our logical selves.
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Put more simply: If you want to persuade someone to do something, such as hire you to conduct a funeral, you want them feeling, not thinking.

In 2000, a global study suggested that the average human attention span is 12 seconds—i.e., we devote 12 seconds of conscious focus on a new piece of data until our minds move on to the next thing.
In 2013, another study reported that our attention spans had plummeted to eight seconds.

Twelve to eight seconds in just over a decade—what could account for that? You know, of course: the explosion of Internet technology, computers in our pockets, Instagram, lightning-fast broadband connections—all of it. Never in the history of our species have we had so little time to try and communicate so much.

But there’s good news. While you have very little time to connect with strangers, you have:

• More ways to find customers than ever before
• Technology and social media platforms galore on which to tell your business’ story
• Analytics to help you target your messages with hyper-specificity
• Designers who can make the ordinary beautiful and the beautiful unforgettable
• The Internet

Every time you set out to promote your funeral home, keep this refrain on repeat in your mind: I have eight seconds. I have eight seconds. I have eight seconds.

Once you have their interest, it’s time to tell your story. Here are some cornerstones of brand storytelling. We’ll discuss some of these in more detail at the CANA Symposium, but here’s an advance look.

1. Acknowledge the Customer’s Context: Create stories for every conceivable context, starting with the two most obvious ones we discussed earlier.
2. You Are Not the Hero: Your company is not the hero. The hero is your customers. When you craft stories, especially online, put your families front and center.
3. Find Your Adjective: Don’t just jump to something obvious, such as “compassionate,” and be done with it. Dig deeper.
4. Emphasize the Stakes: For a funeral home, the stakes often boil down to this question: What will happen if a person hires a different funeral home?
5. Invest in Storytelling: You don’t have to break the bank to tell good stories online. But you might need to spend more than you are right now. Invest in top-quality content now, reap the benefits for several turns of the calendar.

Hope to see you in Las Vegas in February! For more marketing, branding, content and storytelling tips, check out the Mighty Citizen Blog.

Andrew shares the stage with presentations from experts across the profession:

• Angelique Simpson of Matthews Aurora will talk about Creating a Culture of Trust at your business.
• Rolf Gutknecht, co-founder of LAads, will show you The Most Important Part of Cremation Marketing: The Message. A panel of practitioners sharing their results will follow.
• Lacy Robinson will help you with Embracing the DIY Consumer.
• Chris Cruger, CEO of The Foresight Companies, talks Business Ethics: How Ethical Behavior Plays a Vital Role in Funeral Service and Consumer Satisfaction.
• and CANA’s own Barbara Kemmis and Jennifer Werthman help you with Retaining and Engaging Employees Through Story.

Your funeral business has many stories to tell. How do you find them and tell them so that they set you apart and grow your business?  Join Adrew Buck and CANA for the 2022 Cremation Symposium February 9-11 at The LINQ Hotel + Experience in Las Vegas. Visit goCANA.org/CANAconnect to see what else we have planned for the event and register to join other innovative thinkers from across the profession. Session sponsored by Batesville

It feels awkward to begin emerging from pandemic isolation and start attending in-person meetings and events. After 15 months of virtual meetings and phone calls, it’s a good time to review networking tips for interacting with people in the flesh. While the core best practices for networking remain the same, our collective COVID-19 caution alters some actions we rarely thought about before.

I am fully vaccinated and eager to be around other people. But I’ll admit I’m a little rusty. At a recent board meeting, outdoors, I offered elbow bumps instead of handshakes, which felt weird at first. Then I realized that others appreciated it. However, as one who’s been a natural networker since kindergarten, I’m finding that it takes forethought and self-control to avoid automatically lapsing into life-long patterns that today don’t feel safe enough for me.

For example, although I’ve decided I’m not ready for a bare-hand-to-bare-hand handshake yet, I was caught off guard and my muscle memory took over at a recent event when a respected elder extended his right hand to me. I automatically shook hands and then was obsessed with not touching anything until I could wash my hands. I was anxious even though I’m 99 percent sure this gentleman is fully vaccinated. My mind kept nagging me, “Had he also exchanged handshakes with others who aren’t vaccinated?”

I know I am not alone. Rockabilly singer and guitarist Deke Dickerson recently released a song called “The Year that Got Away.” The song’s line, “I’ll never take a hug for granted again but it’s still so strange to shake your hand,” resonates with me as in-person meetings and events start returning to my calendar. While the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over, many states and cities are easing restrictions and returning to almost the way things were before 2020. Beyond trying to figure out whether a handshake or hug is appropriate and safe, we may need to refresh our networking skills. This means reviewing networking basics as well as considering new COVID-era sensitivities and sensibilities.

I offer the following networking tips.

SET GOALS. Determine why you plan to attend a business event. Are you there primarily to learn from a speaker or do you want to meet others? In either case, decide ahead of time how many new people you plan to meet and why. Research the hosting organization, expected attendees and the location. Understand the venue and evaluate any COVID-19 measures in place and how those stack up against your readiness to venture out.

LOOK GOOD. Dress appropriately for the occasion. Remember that you represent not only yourself, but the organization you represent. It may seem harder to gauge what to wear now, after more than a year of work-from-home casual attire. Compare notes on how to dress post-pandemic with trusted colleagues who are known for exhibiting professionalism. Smart networking attire always includes a sufficient supply of business cards in an easily accessible pocket.

BE FRIENDLY. After avoiding contact with others for more than a year, you may be out of practice in initiating conversations with strangers. As much as ever, it’s important to project confidence and a willingness to talk with others. Smile, make eye contact and strike up conversations. In-person eye contact will feel different than all those Zoom meeting screen stares. Greet others with open-ended, friendly questions that can lead to conversation. Plan some conversation-starter questions ahead of time.

LISTEN. Be genuinely interested in what the other person is saying and interact appropriately. For those of us who have craved being around other people, the tendency may be to talk too much. Listen more and talk less. Maintain proper body space distancing, which today may be farther away from others than it was pre-COVID. Successful networkers often report that when they ask questions, listen and show interest in others, they are remembered as being interesting themselves.

RECAP YOUR CONVERSATION. If you’ve met someone whom you’d like to contact again, make your parting words a specific reminder of the issue or point you have in common, followed by a promise of your next steps. Exchange contact information.

HANDSHAKE OR ALTERNATIVE? Decide ahead of time whether you feel comfortable shaking hands with others. If you’re not, have your handshake alternative ready. With a family member, practice initiating an elbow bump, fist bump, nod, or small bow so it will come naturally. Be prepared to react gracefully to puzzled reactions. Conversely, if you would like to shake hands with others, anticipate some people declining, and be ready to react gracefully to that situation, too.

WASH YOUR HANDS. Before, during and after the pandemic, this is always a sound practice. I’ve always been a bit of a germaphobe, so for decades my habit has been to wash my hands or use hand sanitizer regularly during networking adventures: After the Uber, taxi or public transit ride and before the event. Between the networking reception and the subsequent breakfast, lunch or dinner. Upon returning to the office. I recommend this practice. It aligns with COVID-19 safety measures, and it can help prevent spreading colds. It also protects others.

FOLLOW UP. Keep promises you made to others while networking. Send the document or link you promised, make the email introduction you offered to make, set a date for that meeting or for the proverbial “lunch sometime.”
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ENJOY. Networking can be fun, as well as beneficial to your work. Perhaps these networking tips will help you.