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Are Funeral Directors Saying Goodbye to Traditional Services?

Posted by Brandon Weaver | Fri, Feb 27, 2015 @ 07:00 AM

Jerry Seinfeld famously joked that people’s number one fear is public speaking, number two is death. “This means to the average person if you have to be at a funeral, you would rather be in the casket than doing the eulogy.”

All jokes aside, the U.S. funeral market is estimated at $20 billion and more people are passing away each day, a trend that is likely to increase as Baby Boomers age.

As this happens, their Generation X kids are likely the ones who will foot the bill for funeral services. This is no easy task for Gen X as they try to plan for retirement while accruing more debt than any other age cohort.

Enter such large retailers like Costco and Walmart that now sell caskets to attract the cost-conscious family looking for cost-saving alternatives to bury a loved one.  If that wasn’t enough of a challenge, the funeral industry is also in the midst of a huge transition to adapt to demand for alternative funerals and burial methods.

Costco Caskets

Rising Cremations

“By the end of 2015, the cremation rate in the U.S. is expected to surpass the burial rate for the first time ever.” And by 2020 and 2030 respectively, that gap is expected to widen even more.

Cremation Preferences

In addition to cost, some factors influencing this trend include environmental concerns, fewer religious prohibitions, and the increased desire for less ritualized funeral ceremonies. Plus, there are some people who are claustrophobic and don’t like the idea of being laid to rest in a box.

Others, like leukemia survivor Mallory McCormack, prefer cremations because “it’s more of not taking up space that could be used for something to enhance the earth for future generations … I want my memories and legacy to be things that live on, not bones.”

Or perhaps things that sit on a shelf or that grow in a garden, as myriad vendors now create mementos of the deceased ashes such as vinyl records, diamonds, even sprouting trees.

“Green Burials”

The Green Burial Council estimates that one-quarter of older Americans want a green burial. Green cremations are growing in popularity in small part because some families like the gentle nature of dissolving a body, as opposed to the violence that traditional fire cremations present.

Green cremations have significant environmental advantages, all of which appeal to a grieving family. The process is not new, as its origins date back to 1888, but only a handful of states have passed regulations for this alkaline-hydrolysis method.

As more and more states pass laws allowing a more eco-friendly method, traditional funerals may soon be a thing of the past.

Home Funerals

As Lee Webster told USA Today, “people are looking for more affordable, Earth-friendly and meaningful” ways to say goodbye to family members.

Cost is certainly a consideration when performing a home funeral. But more families opt for home services because it allows them to spend more time with the body.

Fear not, funeral director, because there is still plenty of demand for your services.

Home funerals may be growing in popularity, but “most people don’t have the knowledge base, or the equipment necessary, to handle a dead body.” After all, that is your specialty.

Dead Man Riding Motorcycles

With more and more families opting for alternative funeral services, how do you keep your doors open and revenue up?

Why not host a wedding or birthday party? Business development like that is not as far-fetched as you might think. Some funeral parlors are even starting to introduce costumes, themes, and performances into their services – even a magician.

The key point is that families across the U.S. are increasingly looking for new experiences – to remember and celebrate the deceased.

If the above factors are any indication, there’s only two things you can do to guarantee that your funeral home gets its share of that $20 billion market.

The first one: meet these changing demands and find new sources of revenue from your space.

Second one: take on that old adage that the only two things guaranteed in life are death and taxes. Boldly, add a third item to the list: guarantee your revenue - if you have the right payment service in place.

 

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Topics: Funeral Homes

Written by Brandon Weaver