Imagine you’re at CANA’s 105th Convention in Washington, D.C., listening to a session you’ve been looking forward to for months. The presenter is known for their excellent communication skills. How do you picture this scene?
If we think about the three types of communication – verbal, nonverbal and written – then:

1. Verbal communication. When communicating verbally, you use your words and tone of voice to share information with others. If the speaker is a great verbal communicator, you might hear them clearly pronouncing their words, telling a straightforward story and emphasizing key points.
2. Nonverbal communication. Nonverbal messages include your body language, facial expressions, physical appearance and actions. If they are a skilled nonverbal communicator, you might see them dressed sharply, standing tall on the stage and pairing facial expressions and gestures with words.
3. Written communication. Written messages are text-based and communicate meaning when read. If they are a great written communicator, you might see their points clearly summarized in their presentation or read a concise and persuasive email recap in your inbox.

Just like this presenter, you can become a more skilled communicator by using verbal, nonverbal and written communication effectively.

So what are some key considerations when you’re working to improve your communication? Let’s look at the same types of communication again:

VERBAL

“HithankyouforcallingABCFuneralHomemynameisJames”

Their first response to that greeting might be along the lines of, “…um?” – not an engaging start.

When the ringing phone has interrupted something we’re doing, it can take a moment to shift gears. But you shouldn’t let your communications suffer for it. Pause and take a deep breath to ready yourself for the call. Adopt a warm tone and speak slowly and confidently to tell them you’re present and engaged. Your tone should match your message and make your first impression the right one. Not to brag, but I’ve often been confused for a pre-recorded message when I answer the phone. Sure, it means people often start pressing buttons in my ear, but I know they’re convinced of my professionalism!

NONVERBAL
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Even if you’re not paying attention, your actions will communicate meaning. Be aware of your gestures, facial expressions, clothing and body language. Pair these nonverbal cues with your words to make your message and meaning clear.
And even when you’re not actively communicating, your body can give the impression of attentiveness, interest and confidence. Try sitting up straight and keeping your body language open by uncrossing your arms and legs.
Still need to be convinced? Get a little help from Friends:

WRITTEN

​“Thnak you for meeting w/me today. I look foward to serving you famly.” 
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Even if you had a productive meeting with the client-family, you could ruin your credibility if you sent a follow-up riddled with errors. Always re-read before sending, keep communications brief but clear, and have a plan before you start writing so you remember everything that needs to be included.

Without thinking about it, funeral professionals might use jargon and euphemisms to be accurate and convey dignity and professionalism. Unfortunately, families often use different words, and this can lead to misunderstandings. When using verbal and written communication, take time to think about your phrasing and always use language the family is comfortable with.
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The difference between ashes and cremated remains is the most common example in cremation. While we use cremated remains to distinguish between chimney ash and the bone fragments following cremation – plus the emotional distinction between wood and a loved one – a family is less aware of what to expect.  Not to mention operational terms like first call and casket can require additional clarification and sensitivity to what clients know about funeral service. We don’t need to correct their language or word choice. We should mirror their language and, as appropriate, respectfully share the professional term to describe what they can expect.

By using these three types of communication more effectively, you can become a more skilled communicator. Here’s a helpful checklist of questions to ask yourself:

• Verbal: Am I speaking slowly and confidently? Am I staying on topic? Does my tone of voice match my message?
• Nonverbal: Does my body language and appearance match my message? Am I pairing my nonverbal cues with spoken words? Are my gestures open and friendly?
• Written: Did I plan out my writing? Is my message clear and concise? Did I proofread my work for correct grammar, spelling and punctuation?

The best part about practicing your communication is that you don’t have to wait until you’re at the arrangement table. You can see how approaching the check-out counter with an open expression and eye-contact changes the interaction at the register. You can cut back on your *darn autocorrect messages by taking that extra second to re-read before sending. Effective communication makes a difference throughout your life!

Ask any funeral director and he or she will tell you the same story plays out at their reception desk a few times each year. A middle-aged resident walks in holding a shopping bag and says, “My uncle just passed away and he had no children. I was cleaning out his house and found these urns on a shelf in his closet. I don’t want them in my house. What can I do with them?”

CANA’s 2022 Cremation Memorialization Research supports this. Nearly one in four U.S. households have human cremated remains in their homes. That’s 21.9 million families with parents, grandparents and extended family members who have not been memorialized in any permanent way. While around a quarter of these families have plans to relocate ashes outside their homes, many others have avoided conversations with loved ones about plans for their cremated remains and feel unprepared to make a decision. In addition, while the CANA study reveals that two in three respondents wish they knew more about permanent placement options, about half of these folks don’t know where to go to learn more.

To my mind, this CANA study says just one thing – there’s a tremendous opportunity for deathcare professionals to move cremation families from indecision to memorialization and permanent placement. Our Foundation Partners Group cemetery team has been working with our local funeral home and cemetery partners to reframe the discussion around permanent memorialization and the results are nothing short of amazing. Over the past five years, we have doubled the number of interments of cremated remains in our 22 cemeteries.
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How did we do it? It’s all about educating families, staying abreast of the latest products and trends, and thoughtful cemetery design. We’ll be sharing those strategies and tips next month at CANA’s 105th Cremation Innovation Convention. Please join me, our West Area Sales Manager Bryan Mueller and Dan Cassin, account executive for Merendino Cemetery Care from 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. on Friday, August 11 for our session, “Built to Last: How to Breathe New Life into Cemeteries.”

We encourage our teams to use every opportunity to discuss permanent memorialization. From our Foundation Partners cemetery pros, here are 10 tips to increase permanent memorialization awareness – and it’s just a preview of the useful information you’ll take away from our session:

1. Give cremation permanent memorialization information a prominent place on your website, in your arrangement space and in social media posts.
   
   
2. Design short videos, slideshows or animations showing various options for cremation memorialization and play them on a loop in your arrangement rooms and lobby.
   
   
3. Send regular emails to families you serve with relevant information, including grief resources, preplanning advice and options for permanent memorialization.
   
   
4. Discuss the negative aspects of keeping ashes at home, including possible damage, loss and chain of custody issues.
   
   
5. Reach out to cremation families multiple times following cremation to let them know it’s never too late to select a final resting place.
   
   
6. If your funeral home has a cemetery, have a cemetery advisor present to provide information and tours when families make immediate, imminent or preneed funeral arrangements.
   
   
7. Host special events year-round, including holiday commemorations and historic tours that give community members opportunities to visit the location and appreciate available options in a non-sales environment.
   
   
8. Reach out to veterans’ groups. Although honorably discharged veterans are entitled to placement in national veteran’s cemeteries, many have limited cremation options. Veterans placed in private cemeteries may be eligible to receive partial reimbursement for burial costs.
   
   
9. Actively seek testimonials from cremation families who selected permanent memorialization.
   
   
10. Look to partner with a cemetery design or memorial company to increase the number and quality of cremation memorialization options you can offer families.

Increasing permanent memorialization sales to cremation families is within reach of every independent funeral home and cemetery manager. We look forward to seeing you in Washington, D.C. and to sharing more useful information.

Whether it’s on the phone with a price shopper, around the arrangement table with a grieving family, or in the breakroom with a colleague, empathy is at the root of successful communication.

Communicating with empathy requires that we listen before we speak, acknowledge what we’ve heard, and validate the other person’s emotions to let them know they’re not alone. Empathy opens the door to conversations built on respect, truth and collaboration. And when we cultivate these characteristics, we can improve team collaboration and cohesion, create higher levels of trust with our customers, and more effectively resolve conflicts. Doesn’t that sound like a powerful force for effective communication?

Communicating with empathy starts when we slow down. Taking time to listen and withhold judgment allows us to give our focus on the other person.

Here are four key pieces of the empathetic listening process:

1. PRACTICE ACTIVE LISTENING.
“Have you ever wondered why we have two eyes, two ears and only one mouth?” This old chestnut is such a universal concept, we can’t even attribute it to one person. The answer, of course, is because we need to listen and observe twice as much as we speak. Unlike hearing, which is automatic, listening takes work. This isn’t just the time spent waiting before you can speak – this is the time to show respect. By focusing on understanding, paying close attention and showing the speaker you’re engaged, you can strengthen your listening skills and become a better communicator.

2. ACKNOWLEDGE AND PARAPHRASE WHAT YOU’VE HEARD.
Let the person know you’ve heard them. For the benefit of others in the conversation as well as yourself, test your understanding by summarizing what you’ve heard. Paraphrasing shows that you care enough to check your understanding – plus you can double-check that it was really Uncle Frank’s ex’s sister’s granddaughter who spilled the punch at the wedding (and not his granddaughter – whoops!). Then, ask relevant questions that show you’re paying attention and you want to learn more.

3. VALIDATE THE OTHER PERSON.
In every conversation, but especially on the phone, it’s important to reassure the speaker that you’re there. Without interrupting, give brief and positive prompts like “Uh-huh” and “Mm-hmm” so they know you’re with them. Then, when it is time for you to speak, first acknowledge what they said by validating their feelings. We know grief is as unique as the life lived, and the feelings associated with this conversation will be unique, too. The speaker is sharing their truth, and this is your time to honor it. Whatever they’re feeling, let them know it’s normal and they’re not alone.

4. OFFER SUPPORT.
Support can come in many forms. You’re already well on your way by listening and validating their experience. Sometimes someone may want your advice or assistance, but you can never assume. It’s tempting to try to fix the problem, but sometimes a person just wants to feel heard. They want to feel less alone.

Have you ever chatted with automated tech support and gotten generic responses that don’t address your actual issue? It’s infuriating not to feel heard by a human! As a professional who has seen hundreds of memorial services, it may feel natural to jump in immediately and offer to support them with that experience—but this is their moment, not yours. Give them time to detail their situation and make sure you understand it. Rather than offering ideas right away, let the person know that you’re listening and that you’re ready to answer questions. This sets up the spirit of collaboration and personalization that your experience can bring. By offering support rather than giving it un-asked, you’re telling the other person that not only do you understand, but you also care.

Empathy means stepping into someone else’s shoes—but what happens when the shoe doesn’t fit? An empathy roadblock is anything that gets in the way of our understanding. These barriers can form when we’re too absorbed in our own lives to carry through with the process outlined above, or when we simply can’t relate to another person. If our experiences are too different, or if we have polarized views on a topic or situation, it’s difficult to express empathy. We let our judgments, outlooks and egos get in the way of our understanding. 

Whether or not they’re intentional, these barriers cause us to shut others out. And, as a result, others may close themselves off to us. When we give in to empathy roadblocks, we obstruct our ability to both understand and be understood. We block our ability to communicate effectively.

When communicating with others and facing these blocks, ask yourself: 

• Are there any distractions getting in the way of my understanding?
• Am I jumping to conclusions?
• Am I more focused on debating rather than understanding?
• Do I need to overcome any biases about this person?

Communicating with empathy takes practice, and it won’t happen overnight. Fortunately, you don’t have to wait until you’re sitting at the arrangement table! Skills like active listening work just as well on the phone with your family as they do with a price shopper. Validating is just as important at the dinner table when you’re rehashing the day as it is at the arrangement table. Paraphrasing can iron out the details at the mechanic and at the chapel. And CANA is here to offer support, you just have to ask!

#ActYourWage, Do Your Job, Working at Work, Morale Adjusted Productivity. These are all different expressions for the same concept – Quiet Quitting. If you haven’t heard the phrase taking over social media in the last few months, rest assured that your employees have. And that they are talking about it. But what is it? Is it a real thing? And how should you respond?

According to this NPR article, the phrase originated from a TikTok user’s seventeen-second video where he explains that quiet quitting happens when you’re “not outright quitting your job, but you’re quitting the idea of going above and beyond.” You still get your work done, but you’re rejecting the hustle culture mentality that your life has to be your work. He emphasizes that “your worth as a person is not defined by your labor.”

In other words, quiet quitting has nothing to do with quitting. It’s more a philosophy for doing the minimum work necessary to keep a job. Those who identify as quiet quitters reject the idea that life should revolve around work, and they resist the expectation of giving it their all or going beyond the job description. They believe in setting boundaries and completing the tasks assigned to them within the time they are paid to do them. No more working off-the-clock and checking messages every time the phone dings. They argue it is a way to safeguard their mental health, prevent burnout, and prioritize family and friends.

Critics say that it’s passive aggressive behavior, won’t accomplish what workers really want and puts more burden on their co-workers. Hamilton Nolan, writing in The Guardian, notes that workers in past generations felt this same sense of “collective malaise,” but rather than coasting at work they channeled their frustrations into creating unions. They didn’t quit and they weren’t quiet. They loudly fixed what they knew was wrong.
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According to Gallup’s 2022 Employee Engagement Survey, the proportion of workers engaged with their job remains at 32%, but the proportion of actively disengaged workers increased to 18%. These are the “loud quitters” who have most of their needs unmet and spread their displeasure and are also the most vocal in their own TikTok posts. The share of those in the middle, who are just not engaged at all, is 50%. They meet Gallup’s definition of people who do the bare minimum and are psychologically detached from their jobs. It is important to note that the increase in dissatisfaction is primarily among remote millennial and Gen Z workers. But these generations are becoming disengaged for the same reasons as anyone else, which we’ll cover shortly.

If Gallup’s data doesn’t show a significant change in how workers feel about their jobs over the last few years, then is quiet quitting even real? Many suggest that it’s just a new name for an old behavior and it is a normal feature of the American workplace. It’s actually less about an employee’s willingness to work harder and more creatively and more about the manager’s ability to communicate effectively and with empathy, build rapport, establish reasonable expectations, and provide the workflow efficiencies needed for everyone to do their jobs well.

We’re also likely talking about quiet quitting more than it’s actually happening. A recent Axios poll of younger workers found that only 15% were doing the minimum at work, despite a lot of them admitting that it sounded “appealing.”

Maybe those who coined the term and evangelize the idea of quiet quitting are realizing what those of us with more years in the workforce eventually learned – sometimes a job is just a job and doesn’t have a deeper meaning. And to get fired, you have to be bad at your job, not just coasting along. With employers constantly saying they can’t find enough workers, there is unprecedented job security for employees right now, reducing the incentive to work harder. Companies can’t afford to fire employees, and there are plenty of jobs open if someone does get fired.
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The reality is that whether we call it quiet quitting or burnout or something else, the behavior isn’t new. And low employee engagement is a symptom of poor management.

Managers need to learn to have conversations with their employees and get to know them as individuals – understand their life situations, strengths and goals. Then they need to have an honest conversation with each employee about the expectations of the job, using a job description as the guide.

No job description? Then that is the first thing that needs to be addressed. A job description is the most effective tool you have to clearly articulate  expectations to an employee. In addition to the knowledge and skills they’ll need to be successful, it should list the primary and secondary responsibilities of a person in this position, the number of hours they are expected to work each week and whether and how often that includes nights and weekends.

Second, managers need to create accountability for their entire team as well as all the individuals that make up that team. If you have an environment where some are held accountable and others get away without meeting expectations, disengagement will be common. Employees also need to see how their work contributes to the team’s goals and the organization’s larger purpose. Your culture should be one where every employee is engaged and feels they belong.

Finally, support the quiet quitters who define it as setting healthy boundaries and reclaiming their personal lives. Those employees who grind around the clock with limited time for self-care lose the ability to be their best selves, impacting the success of the organization. These are the workers who burn out and burnout can look a lot like quiet quitting. It appears as disengagement and often comes from expending too much effort for too little reward.

You support them by having a conversation and coming to agreement on whether the assigned work can be completed to the expected standards during the time they are being paid to work. If it can’t be, what resources are available to them to increase efficiency and prevent them from having to work overtime? Work-life balance is a key expectation now and it is not reasonable to rely on employees constantly going above and beyond the job description. If you want more, then explicitly convey that and expect to compensate the employee accordingly.

Your employees are your number one asset, and the funeral profession sees up to 30% of graduates leaving the profession after five years. Reasons cited for this include long hours, low pay and poor company culture. But these reasons are in a manager’s control. The answer to quiet quitting is out-loud conversations about your company’s culture, expectations, and goals. Employees will voluntarily go above and beyond when they feel valued, and that is how we retain and engage employees.

Disasters happen, often without warning, and businesses must be prepared to deal with them. A natural or manmade catastrophe could threaten your employees or customers and shut down or interrupt your operations for an indeterminate period of time. While no one wants to think about a catastrophic event impacting their workplace, planning for various disasters is the best way to be prepared to respond if they do happen.

A fire is the most common type of emergency for which employers must prepare. The emergency action plan must detail how employees will be alerted to a fire or other emergency so that they can evacuate or take other actions. In addition to alarms, which should have both a sound and visual element, companies could use an emergency communications system such as a public address system or portable radio unit to provide additional information. Employees must also be trained in how to report emergencies, both to other employees and to fire, medical, and rescue services.

Employees should be educated about the threats and hazards that could occur in your workplace, and they need to be trained in their individual roles and responsibilities in an emergency. Training should be repeated at least annually, and new employees should be brought up to speed in the procedures soon after hire. If there are changes to the workplace that impact your plan – for instance, a redesign of the layout or the introduction of new hazardous materials – the plan should be altered, and employees retrained accordingly.

Most people find it difficult to think clearly and logically in a crisis.  A well-considered plan to guide their actions can go a long way in keeping them safe.

I haven’t worked in a library since 2005, but I still call myself a librarian—even after serving as CANA’s Executive Director for ten years. That’s because librarians do much more than fine you for that overdue book and shush noisy patrons. As the American Library Association puts it, “In their work, librarians research, instruct, and connect people to technology... Librarians work with people of all ages, connecting them to information, learning and the community.” 

As CANA’s Executive Director (and behind-the-scenes librarian), I conduct research and library tasks nearly every workday, because cremation professionals are curious people who are eager to learn and make data-driven decisions. In fact, CANA’s commitment to research – which then helps businesses and our profession advance – is one of my favorites among the CANA projects and benefits we provide. I know CANA members rely on our association to publish timely and practical content, and we will continue to do so, but I also encourage you discover the many ways your local public library can help you, too.

When was the last time you visited your public library? Story time for your child or grandchild? To visit a book sale? Use the restroom? Maybe never? I admit that it’s been a while since I’ve been to a library (pandemic notwithstanding), but I use my library online to borrow e-books and magazines and to access databases for personal and CANA use.

Public libraries offer a wide range of services to the business community, from meeting space to direct mailing lists, free technology and training classes. The Urban Libraries Council estimates that in 2021, a pandemic year during which many libraries offered limited or virtual services, the actual value of library services to entrepreneurs and small business owners ranged from $815,000 for Greensboro Public Library in North Carolina to $1.38 million in Spokane, Washington. That cost includes what the library provides for free that people would have to pay to own or use, like the makerspace (e.g., 3D printers and digital design equipment) and training programs—or even just a computer with internet access.
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Libraries can be a treasure trove of business resources for you and your employees. So, here’s this librarian’s quick look at making the most of these free resources for your business.

This is an important first step to take advantage of a library’s many resources, even though several drop-in programs (and the restroom) can be accessed just by walking in the door. You can always get a library card by visiting your library, and often you can start the process online. Sometimes libraries offer library cards to businesses, so if you live in a different community than your business, you can expand the resources you can access. ​

​ACCESS

Saw a link to an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal or Harvard Business Review on LinkedIn but ran into a pay wall? Your library might have a subscription. Log in to the library website and access thousands of magazine and journal databases.

You can find a whole range of other publications, too. Go to the library’s website and locate Research Databases, then explore the Business category and see what’s trending for businesses today.

INFORMATION

EDUCATION

GUIDANCE

MENTORS

MEETING SPACES

GRIEF RESOURCES

GENEALOGY RESOURCES

RELIABLE WIFI

​BOOKS

A few dollars of your tax payments go to fund public libraries, so why not make the most of it? Also, did you know that federal funding of public libraries is distributed based on library card holders? Simply getting your library card supports funding for your library and your community.

When the US economic crisis of 2008, forced individuals and families to become more budget-conscious. As a result, people got resourceful and creativity flourished, especially when it came to memorializing loved ones. In some cases, this meant the funeral director was cut out of the equation entirely or left on the outside looking in.
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I don't think it has to be that way. You can reposition your role and partner with these DIY people, these family members that want to work behind the scenes and bring additional value to their life tribute event.

I want you to think about the family members that you've sat across from who are the DIY consumer. I want you to think about yourself and your friends and family who have the DIY bug and think about the feeling when you complete a DIY project. It is that sense of satisfaction. It is happiness that you feel. The new Man Cave is the She Shed! It's where the DIY consumer gets the solitude, the focus, and the space to complete these projects. These projects that are an instant mood enhancer for them. And that's how these family members feel. This isn't just something that they do on a whim.

And the most famous DIY-ers? Martha Stewart has been around for decades. Chip and Joanna Gaines started with one home decor store and now they have their own television network. Ben and Erin Napier and the Property Brothers are part of the HGTV Family. Brit Morin is known as the digital Martha Stewart, and Tommy Walsh is one of the most well-known international DIY personalities.

And now, because of YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, we've seen the explosion of DIY bloggers all over the world. Some bloggers have their own sites or they use social media sites to reach out to potential DIY-ers. And it is their eagerness to provide video tutorials – step-by-step guides – to invite and encourage people to be a part of the DIY world. It is evident that the DIY world is expanding and here to stay.

Data shows that 50% of DIY consumers are female and 52% are between the ages of 24 and 44 – a mix of Gen X and Millennials. We know that DIY projects are directly tied to life changing events: a graduation, an engagement, getting married, having a baby, buying a home, and, we can add, the death of a family member. Every time there's a milestone or something big happening in their family, they have an event. They bring people together. They honor old family traditions. They start their new traditions, and it's not just about their immediate family, but they bring in their extended family and they also reach out to their large social circle of friends to be a part of those special moments.
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And, because of that, a life tribute event will most likely be the topic of conversation among many of the attendees. It will be the word-of-mouth marketing that funeral homes want! But—guess what? That funeral director will fade into the background and simply be seen as the person who provided the place and took care of the disposition.

Here are three ways to partner with those individuals to help you and your entire team avoid getting left out of the conversation when a DIY consumer appears in that arrangement conference.

SPEAK TO YOUR CREDIBILITY
The words “licensed funeral director” carried a lot of weight for many, many years. Then, we needed to say “licensed funeral director and cremation specialist.” Now we need to add a third line of credibility, and that is your “creative” credibility. That DIY consumer needs to hear, in the very beginning of that arrangement conference, that you are creative, that you're willing to explore ideas, and that you have resources to execute their vision.

BE THE IDEA GENERATOR
What I hear most from funeral directors is that they don't have the extra budget or the extra time to do the “wow” factor for a family. I understand that, so think of yourself as an idea generator instead. It builds your credibility. It says: We are creative. We want to help you. For example, "it was interesting to hear about your sister's involvement with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. I was thinking of a few different ways we could honor that part of her life."

KEEP RESOURCES HANDY
Have websites, magazines, and books available for your funeral directors to enable them as idea generators. Know the websites that consumers are going to directly. These are three from my extensive list of websites:
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beau-coup.com is a wedding and baby shower website (I forewarn you), but they have every possible keepsake, covering all different hobbies and interests, and can be personalized with shipping options to ensure items arrive in time for a tribute.

stylemepretty.com collects wedding ideas from all over the world to find out what brides are doing, what the trends are, and what resources that they're utilizing. If I was looking for tropical - Hindu - Jewish funeral ideas, I could go to Style Me Pretty to get some inspiration. And that's what you're going to find: a combination of cultures, hobbies and interests that bring it all together. And it's not just pictures: it is the resources and the vendors, too.

pinterest.com is ideal for free consumer research. Hop on and type in the search box “my funeral” or “mom's funeral” or “dad's funeral” and look at all the Pinterest boards that have those names. And these are just the public-facing samples! These are the ideas that people are collecting, that they're thinking about, so when the time comes, they go to their Pinterest board and see what they've collected over the past couple of years for a loved one or for themselves.

"When families participate, they remember. When they remember, they grieve. And when they grieve, they love." Remembering Well, by Sarah York
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That's the impact that you can have on these family members who want to have those DIY moments with other family members behind the scenes before that tribute takes place.

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

​Regardless of your role in the industry, it is important to understand the current laws and regulations that govern your work. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the implementation of many new laws and regulations which may impact your business. Put aside the necessary time to review the federal, state, and local laws and regulations which affect your daily operations.
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While right to control final disposition and cremation authorization issues continue to dominate legal complaints against people and businesses in this industry, there have been many new developments in the area of labor and employment, employee safety, and non-discrimination laws which may impact your business. If you have difficulty finding the statutes and regulations governing you and your business, try searching the web sites for your state association or licensing board – they often have links available. Federal OSHA and EEOC web sites, and their state counterparts, also provide significant information and updates.

Employment issues are a prevalent headache across all industries and business models. Address common concerns in your employee handbook, so that everyone is on notice of the standards to which they will be held accountable, including:

• Implement clear, unambiguous policies on work hours, time off, sick leave, and vacation time.
• Be mindful that there have been changes in the law and agency guidance on dress codes and make the necessary changes.
• Have appropriate sexual harassment policies in place.
• Communicate your expectations regarding social media use and restrictions on employee posts on business matters.
• Make sure employees are aware that social media is not for airing workplace grievances or complaints.

Make sure your insurance agent or broker understands your business. Make time for these critical discussions. Do not assume that your insurance agent or broker “just knows” because he or she has worked with you in the past. Too often there are gaps in coverage discovered when you need insurance assistance or defense to a legal claim, when it is too late to put the protections you need in place.

Many gaps in coverage result from your agent or broker not understanding your daily work and operations sufficiently to make sure that what you actually do is covered. Just because you have “professional liability” insurance, you have no guarantee that all of your professional services are covered. Proactive insurance strategies will serve you best.

Take some time to think about the education and assistance which will benefit you and your business most in the upcoming year. Then, search for continuing education opportunities that will assist in meeting your goals. There are in person and online resources available to address almost any concern as an industry professional or business owner. Some jurisdictions even allow you to get your crematory operator certification online.
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While this might be challenging as we all face the realities of a continuing pandemic, it is important to find those educational opportunities that will provide the insight and knowledge you need for success now and in the future.

Getting your new year off to a good start can jumpstart accomplishing your business’s New Year’s resolutions. Best wishes for your success in 2022!
CANA Members: Your association is here to help! If you ever need these resources or anything else offered by CANA, reach out.

More than 90 percent of online experiences for consumers start with a search engine. Whether these consumers tap on their phone to query Siri or type a key phrase into Google's browser bar, the result is the same for your deathcare firm.

If you're not drawing a clear line between search engine results pages and your own website or offers, you're missing out on revenue opportunities.

This is one reason content is king—and has been for years. But it's no longer enough for content to don a crown and hold court over your marketing strategy.

The king has lots of competition for search engine optimization, and if neighboring kingdoms (aka your competitors, if you're still humoring this extended metaphor) are generating better quality content, your SEO performance could suffer.

And by "suffer," I mean your pages won't show up at the top of the search results—or potentially at all. Which means you have less of a chance of connecting with people who might be interested in cremation and related services now or in the future.
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What's a king to do about this conundrum? Luckily, Google itself publishes a battle plan that helps you create high-quality content that's more likely to perform in Search Engine Results Pages or SERPs. It's called the Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines.

Google publishes these guidelines for its human search quality evaluators. Actual humans (yes, that's rare these days) review pages to determine whether they meet the needs of a potential search in a high-quality manner. The higher a page is rated by evaluators, the higher it might potentially rank in search results.
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Evaluator scores aren't the only thing used to rank a page—Google algorithms are complex, after all. But the evaluator guidelines do provide important clues into exactly what Google considers important when it comes to content

The guidelines comprise roughly 170 pages of small text, which is obviously a lot of information to get through. But you don't have to read everything in the evaluator guidelines to understand how to create great cremation services content. Consider this quick formula for high-quality content from Google:

PAGES MUST HAVE A PURPOSE

High-quality content serves the purpose of the page. If your page doesn't have a purpose (which might be to inform, entertain, or assist readers), the content can't be high quality.

Or as Google puts it, pages "created with no attempt to help users, or pages that potentially spread hate, cause harm, or misinform or deceive users, should receive the lowest [quality] rating."

REMEMBER THE E-A-T ACRONYM

​When pages do have a positive purpose, Google rates the quality of their content according to "E-A-T." The acronym stands for expertise, authority, and trustworthiness.
Per Google, E-A-T content…

Google likes the word satisfy. It appears in the evaluator guidelines more than 130 times in various forms. A high-quality page satisfies the needs of the searcher and the promise you made in meta descriptions and headings.

If you promise a complete guide to preplanning, your content should certainly be more than 500 words and cover all the questions someone has about that topic.

If your link is a buy link for an urn, the page should include everything a person needs to make a final purchasing decision. The shopping cart process and customer service options should also satisfactorily meet the needs of your cremation clientele.

Ultimately, Google's SERPs have one job, and that's to match searchers with pages that best meet their needs. By creating high-quality content that follows the above formula, you increase the chances that Google thinks your page is a good bet for the relevant keyword searches.

In turn, that increases your chances at winning the click, driving more traffic, making more sales, and proactively competing with the other kingdoms in your niche.