A Fresh Perspective for Funeral Directors.
In the past 20 years, due to the fast growth of the cremation rate, the funeral industry has found itself focused more on price competition and an overemphasis on the mere disposition of deceased bodies, ignoring the demand for remembrance.
The cremation rate is projected to turn 80% in 2045.
Funeral directors should focus on memorialization and emotional support for grieving families. Although they manage dead bodies, prepare them for funeral services, and require specific educational qualifications to operate within the mortuary business, it should focus on memorialization and emotional support for grieving families.
It’s essential to remember that our industry revolves around helping grieving families, searching for ways to keep precious memories alive to fill the void in the heart, and memorializing and tending to the emotional needs of grieving families should be the primary goal, not just death care.
However, as Baby Boomers enter the spotlight, the oldest turned 77 last year, marking their significant presence in the funeral market. Concepts like life celebration and crematithey’ve personalization have become industry buzzwords. These Boomers demand what they’ve always desired: a focus on life, love, and cherished memories. The outcry demands of remembrance in the new term of celebration of life should wake up the funeral industry to turn the price focus to memorial-centric.
Every culture around the globe has independently developed various funeral services, cemeteries, and memorials, indicating the universal humanity of remembrance and memorialization of loved ones.
In the United States, a traditional funeral service is essentially a memorial service, a cemetery is a memorial garden, and a tombstone is a granite memorial. Our core mission is to keep memories alive and help families navigate grieving. As professionals, we should recognize that the outcry of Life Celebration is a call to prioritize our expertise in memorialization—an avenue that can guide families through the five stages of grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance.
Change is an opportunity in disguise!
By embracing this new perspective, funeral professionals have opportunities to tap into seven revenue streams:
1. Laser Etched Photos On Tribute Memorials
Videos can capture a lifetime of memories. However, a laser-etched granite monument or Tribute Memorial with family photos, a life-size portrait, or a life photo montage presenting precious memories are permanently engraved in stone and will last forever. If you offer your customers any tribute video, you have created the perfect opportunity to provide a laser-etched memorial.
Usually, for tribute videos, families will go through years and years of photographs and cherished memories and select their favorite photos to share with loved ones. Those favorite photos can be laser engraved on black granite memorials, creating a high-resolution, high-satisfaction product your customers won’t be able to turn down.
Offering a variety of funeral supplies, in addition to tribute memorials, cremation jewelry, keepsakes, and memorial gifts, can all further enhance the services provided to families.
2. Laser Engraved Caskets
While not every family knows the service and may not request personalized caskets, offering laser engraving as a complimentary service can increase your profit by at least 15%, making it a great personalization service opportunity. By addressing consumers’ emotional needs and enhancing the perceived value of caskets, you can stand out among your competitors.
Laser engraving on a casket may incur a small fee at certain funeral homes (typically under $50 for those with laser machines). Additionally, each casket includes personalized engraving, resulting in exceptionally high customer satisfaction.
Many design options for personalizing a casket include the top, sides, handles, and interior. Knowing your family and their loved ones will help determine what kind of artwork they like.
Everybody is passionate about religion, music, sports, family, animals, or even skydiving—there is artwork to capture any interest. Learn more about laser-engraved caskets here.
3. Photo Cremation Urns
Laser Engraved Photo Urn
What if you could offer a laser-engraved personalized urn for every customer opting for cremation that reflected their life, memories, and all of the unique characteristics that made them who they were? AP Lazer allows you to add photos, text, and other artwork to the urns you are already stocking. Read more about laser-engraved personalized urns here.
Photos hold the power to rekindle countless memories. Funeral homes can add significant value by offering photo engraving on cremation urns. Combining artistic design, fonts, and meaningful quotes or poems can enhance the value of urns and provide a positive cash flow, free from the cost of goods. Incorporating personalized urns into your business plan can significantly improve your service offerings and profitability.
4. Personalized Keepsakes
Giving funeral attendees something to take away, such as a trinket or keepsake to keep your detested loved one in their hearts after the funeral, is becoming a popular trend. It’s also a nice gesture to say thanks for their support.
A laser engraving can add a personal touch, making a keepsake even more special. We like mini glass hearts, river rocks, and a wooden bottle opener. All of these can be laser engraved with an AP Laser.
Granite and slate tiles make great memorial keepsakes, as they can be placed in any home or garden setting.
With laser engraving and cutting technology, household items can become emotional treasures when engraved with love and memories. From tumblers to cutting boards, keychains to home furniture, these engraving personalized items provide comfort and love to grieving hearts.
Don’t forget that families also have long-term needs for memorial gifts for birthdays, anniversaries, and Holidays.
Offering personalized keepsakes can be a valuable addition to your funeral home business. It can comfort grieving families and enhance customer satisfaction.
5. Pet Memorials
The pet market is booming, with an almost three times increase in size since 2009. Funeral professionals can tap into end-of-life pet services and products, including laser-engraved pet urns, keepsakes, and memorials.
Pet parents are often devastated when a beloved friend passes and will do anything to ease the pain. Pet markers, which cost $89 to $499 each, can attract many new customers.
Expanding into the pet funeral business can open up new revenue streams and cater to the growing market of pet owners seeking memorial services for their beloved pets.
Learn more about the importance of pet memorializamanufacturers’rowing trend of pet memorials here.
6. Home Garden Memorials
As the manufacturers’ backlog of orders for granite memorials grows, some families turn to temporary grave markers and memorial plaques for cemetery placement. Others opt for home garden memorials, creating a comforting space for remembrance and healing.
Incorporating home garden memorials into your mortuary business can provide families with comforting spaces for remembrance and healing.
Granite Memorial Plaque Laser Etched by a “P Lazer CO2 Laser Et” hing “machine.
7. Diversify Into Life!
Diversifying into life-related services can be a transformative way to expand your funeral home business. By offering a range of services that celebrate life, you can create a more positive and uplifting experience for families. Here are some ideas to consider:
Life Celebration Events: Help families plan and host events that celebrate the life of their loved ones. Whether it’s a birthday party, anniversary, or milestone event, these celebrations can provide a meaningful way to honor and remember the deceased.
Memorial Gardens: Create a beautiful memorial garden on your funeral home property. This serene space can offer families a place to visit and reflect, providing comfort and a lasting tribute to their loved ones.
Grief Support Groups: Offer support groups for grieving families and individuals. These groups can provide a safe space for sharing experiences and receiving emotional support, helping families navigate their grief journey.
Pre-Planning Services: Assist families in planning and preparing for their funerals. By offering personalized funeral plans and arranging funeral services in advance, you can help ease the burden on families during a difficult time.
By diversifying into life-related services, your funeral home can become a hub for celebration and remembrance, enhancing your service offerings and creating a more holistic experience for families.
Consider adopting the “Celebration Director” or “Celebrant” title and expand your offerings beyond the traditional funeral realm. Starting a mortuary transportation business can be a lucrative addition, providing specialized services such as crime scene cleanup, embalming, and facilitating automobile transportation. Additionally, a significant opportunity exists to sell mortuary supplies, a profitable venture due to the consistent demand for funeral-related items. Differentiation can be achieved by offering unique and environmentally friendly products.
But with laser engraving capabilities, you can create a “one-stop love and memory engraving shop” that caters to many life events, from retirement parties and weddings to graduation and birth. Funeral directors are uniquely positioned to handle various celebratory events, drawing on their education, experience, and community connections. Collaborating with healthcare providers can further enhance your service offerings and ensure comprehensive care for grieving families.
Laser engraved mirror
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