The Business of Death Is Evolving: What the Latest Research Reveals
If you are a member of the public, you may only think about funeral homes when someone you care about dies.
But funeral service is big business, and it’s in flux more than most industries – namely because its ownership base is getting older.
These owners have a few options as they approach retirement: They can sell their business (often to a competing independent funeral home or a consolidator, which includes a couple public companies as well as large firms funded by private equity) or they can pass on their business to a family member or key employee.
In some isolated cases, the real estate of a funeral home may be worth more than the actual business itself, which may mean winding down the business altogether and coming to terms with the prospects of your business being razed to make way for a housing development.
One of the specialists in helping funeral home owners navigate these transitions is Foresight, which has been tracking how consumer attitudes toward funeral and cemetery services are shifting via rigorous, data-driven research it has sponsored the past six years.
The annual findings from the research study are largely read by deathcare professionals, but it is an absolute treasure trove of information for anyone who may interface with the profession, including those planning their own arrangements, grief and bereavement specialists, or anyone who provides products and/or services to funeral homes or bereaved family members.
Over the past three years, Foresight has expanded the scope of its research to include not only perspectives from the general public but also from funeral and cemetery professionals themselves, which provides a great snapshot of where the deathcare profession stands on any number of topics.
When you drill down into the findings of the annual study, it is clear that in some cases, the industry is not only misaligned—it’s resistant to the very changes the market demands. Many firms operate without a long-term strategy to engage with a more diverse, less traditional consumer base.
The latest findings shed light on this growing divide. The report offers actionable intelligence on what today’s consumers are thinking, how their preferences are evolving, and where professionals may be missing the mark. It also outlines strategic steps funeral service providers can take to close the gap and build stronger, future-ready businesses – and it should be required reading for anyone in the end-of-life care market who may be interfacing with families who may soon be making funeral arrangements.
New topics explored in this year’s study include:
• What do funeral and cemetery customers WISH they could have done online while researching and-making their arrangements?
• Do consumers care WHERE they read online reviews?
• Exactly how are funeral homes and cemeteries making online pricing information available?
• Are funeral homes and cemeteries prompting their customers to leave reviews, and if so, how?
I think you’ll find the findings fascinating, whether you are navigating the preplanning process, coping with grief, supporting someone who has lost a loved one or running a business that caters to funeral homes, cemeteries or those who want to honor lost loved ones.