Cremation Trends and Staff Retention: A CANA-Inspired Approach (Part 1)

Do you feel like cremation came out of nowhere? Meaning: has consumers’ preference for cremation has taken you by surprise? Or that the cremation rate in your business has grown unexpectedly?

The truth is that, in the US, cremation has ranged between 1 to 2% growth each year over the past 50 years. In Canada, after a period of accelerated growth, cremation rates are slowing to below 1% ̶   which may be the US pattern in a decade.

And yet we hear that cremation came out of nowhere: not just from members, but also reporters. They are looking for causes of cremation growth like economic recessions or the pandemic – big disruptors to the status quo. But when you look at the entire timeline of cremation, you see that it took nearly a century for the national rate to hit 5% and then less than 50 years to exceed 50%. 

However, just because CANA research shows that the growth rate is constant, the population is not. During the first 100 years of cremation’s history, from 1876 to 1976, there were 3 million cremations total. During the last 50 years, since 1977, there were 33 million cremations in the United States as of 2024. Within many of our lifetimes and careers that population growth means that cremation has increased quickly and, yes, almost seemed to come out of nowhere.

Time for a Mindset Shift

This means that attitudes about cremation – consumers’ preference for it, profitability for your business and services to offer – need to be adjusted at this point in your career. Case in point: when CANA says cremation, we mean the legal form of disposition and not “direct cremation” and all of the biases that go along with that construct.

If you have ever said or heard someone say, “I don’t believe in cremation” or “I hate cremation,” then you have succumbed to the bias that has developed in our profession against cremation, reducing it to misguided preference, decreased profitability, and no service. We challenge you to consider your reaction.

Trend 1 – Reasons to Cremate

Over and over, CANA’s research confirms that cremation is the new tradition and personal preference for a majority of the US and Canada. In a 2022 consumer survey, price was the second reason cremation was chosen, but that’s as much about value and being a savvy spender.

For the consumer, the cremation experience is often more about focusing on the life lived than the body and related merchandise. Consumers’ opening question may be price to determine if you are the provider they can trust, or it may be the one differentiator they have to determine what makes one cremation provider different from another. But, as an experienced funeral professional, you know they have more questions beyond that one and a story to tell about their person and their memory. Do you give them a chance to do that?

CANA has been one of the few “cremation positive” voices in the profession, considering cremation to be preparation for memorialization and one of many forms of disposition. But too often funeral professionals’ assumptions about cremation often come through the questions asked, the ones that go unasked, and the language they use about cremation.

So, ask yourself this question: “When experiencing first contact with a consumer, what’s the first question I ask?” After offering condolences, do you get contact information, demographics of the deceased, or determine burial or cremation?

If you answered yes to any or all of the choices above, those choices do make good business sense. Their response tells you your next business action: refrigeration or embalming? Which veterans benefits or discounts may be applicable? With whom do I follow-up?

What if the first question assumed service? Assumed a celebration of life? That the family wants the body at the service? What if the last question you asked was about disposition?

What impression would that give families?

Change Your Assumptions

If funeral professionals are going to make assumptions, they should assume service. Assume that the person making cremation arrangements loved their person. Assume that their questions are more than about price, and that they’re willing to craft a personal experience. Assume that cremation is the new tradition in their family – and you have been selected to help them.

Trend 2 – Preference for Service

There are myths, biases, assumptions on both sides of the arrangement table. The best solution to overcome them is curiosity: ask questions and listen to the answers. Then, answer their questions with openness and honesty.

While preparing for focus group research in 2019, CANA made some wrong assumptions. We tasked the research company to gather two groups of focus group participants. We defined them as the

1. Direct Cremation Group – chose cremation and did nothing, and
2. Cremation with Service Group
   

The research company soon called us back to alert us to a problem: They had no difficulty finding families who had held a service, but they couldn’t find a single person who chose cremation then did nothing.

You see the mistake we made, right? We forgot to specify that they “did nothing with their provider.” So, even if you assume service, you can’t assume they’ll choose your firm – they’re doing it themselves.

By assuming that every cremation family will do something for their person, your job becomes persuading them to choose you.

Meeting a Family Where They Are

Too often, “Burial or Cremation?” becomes “Funeral vs. Cremation” on both sides of the arrangement table. Instead, research shows again and again that language matters. So, consider swapping it to “funeral or celebration of life,” expanding the timeframe from the traditional three days to all of the options that cremation offers, including the locations in your community that would host a gathering.

By now we have described the disconnect and challenged you to question your assumptions. Are you ready to meet cremation families where they are?

If you are training employees on demographic information or disposition before all else, are you implying that these are the most important pieces of the arrangement? If you are compensating employees on commission and merchandise sales, are they starting off the conversation about service to drive sales arrangements? How can you set an expectation that families can talk about their new traditions or be creative in their service planning?

Now that you have a better sense of consumer expectation, are you and your employees and colleagues equipped to meet them?

Check back for part 2 of this post where we focus on how you can rise to meet these trends with some of our own!

Want a hint about what's to come in part 2?  CANA's Certified Cremation Specialist training targets power skills – communication, problem-solving, emotional intelligence, and adaptability – to raise the level of care, service, and compassion for every family. How? See for yourself!

Don't miss your chance to become a CANA-Certified Cremation Specialist in 2025! Registration closes July 1, but coursework is online and on-demand to earn your certification on your schedule.

Level Up Your Power Skills

Barbara Kemmis is Executive Director of the Cremation Association of North America where she promotes all things cremation through member programs, education and strategic partnerships. After more than 25 years of experience in association leadership, Barbara knows that bringing people together to advance common goals is not only fun, but the most effective strategy to get things done.

Brie Bingham joined the CANA staff in 2015 as Membership Coordinator with little experience in associations of funeral service. Now, she is a proud Certified Funeral Celebrant, CANA Certified Crematory Operator, and continues to grow her knowledge of the profession and her role in CANA. Brie coordinates CANA's blog, The Cremation Logs, manages member benefits, and that things keep working behind the scenes so CANA Members can stay focused on their business and their communities.