Author's note: This is the second in a series of reviews of recently published business and marketing books. I am not rating each book as good or bad; rather, I am offering an overview of the book's topic and then pulling out one lesson or principle to discuss more in-depth.

The New Rules of Marketing & PR (Second Edition) by David Meerman Scott turns everything I learned in my college PR classes on its head. Twenty-some-odd years ago, we focused on controlled, one-way corporate communications. With today's 24-hour news cycle and the prevalence of social media, that model no longer exists.

In many ways, we no longer own our companies' messages. We certainly no longer control them. Control has been transferred to the media (including both traditional media and new outlets such as blogs and Twitter feeds) and to the consumer. The result? Today's marketing and public relations is all about performance, about giving the customer a positive experience that they can blog, tweet or post on their Facebook page.

The Buyer Persona

One area Scott discusses that has particular relevance to cemeteries and funeral homes is the importance of creating and addressing different "buyer personas" through your online marketing.

Is your Web site a one-size-fits-all brochure? Most are, but according to Scott, this is a missed opportunity. You have different target audiences, and your Web site should make it easy for each of those audiences to find the information they need.

You have both preneed prospects and at-need families visiting your site. You have older customers researching options for themselves and younger people trying to help their parents or grandparents. You have customers who want full-body burial and those who want cremation. You have genealogists, people whose loved ones are buried at your cemetery, mortuary students conducting research, local media and so forth. Each of these groups, these personas, are looking for different information. Or in some cases, they may be looking for much the same information but they need to be provided it in a different way, with different language and a different focus. These groups also research their interests in different ways; for example, they search online using different key words.

The key to making sure each of these personas finds you and has a positive experience with you is to tailor different portions of your website (and your extended web presence) based on each of their needs, desires and tendencies. As with all new marketing, it is not about you, it is about your customer.

ICCFA 2011 Wide World of Sales Conference

Call for Presentations (Deadline: June 4)

The ICCFA Sales & Marketing Committee is preparing for the 2011 Wide World of Sales Conference, January 12-14 at Bally’s Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, and we invite you to share your expertise with your colleagues.

The Wide World of Sales is the largest sales and marketing conference in the cemetery, cremation and funeral service profession. 

We are seeking the very best, most relevant and most thought-provoking sales and marketing programs, tools and techniques being used today. We want presentations with concrete, how-to information, with an emphasis on the "how" rather than the "why." If you have expertise to share, this is your opportunity to give back to the profession. The committee invites you to submit a session proposal, to include: 

• your contact information
• a detailed description of your "how to" topic, including the specific tools, techniques and/or initiatives the attendee will be able to put to use immediately
• the primary target for your presentation (managers, counselors or both; cemeteries, funeral homes or both)
• a list of handouts you will provide for our attendee on-site binder supplementing your presentation (at least two handouts are required)
• a brief bio regarding your background and qualifications, including any previous speaking experience

The format for this conference calls for numerous brief (20- or 30-minute) sessions, so please narrow your topic to one or two key points that you can fully develop and communicate within that time period. Please submit your proposal by June 4, 2010, via fax to 703.391.8416.

Thank you for your willingness to share your time and talents!

If you're in Indianapolis, you don't have to go to a funeral home or cemetery to check out cremation options—just go to the mall.

This summer, Flanner & Buchanan Funeral Centers & Crematory started renting information kiosks from Simon Malls at their Castleton and Greenwood malls. The company wanted a creative way to showcase the numerous service and product options available to people who choose cremation.

The kiosks are unstaffed and brochures with reply cards were not added until the middle of August. Even so, as of the beginning of September, company Vice President Bruce Buchanan said 15-20 phone calls, three preneed sales and four cemetery placements for cremated remains had resulted from the kiosk campaign.

The company had no problem getting the mall's management to approve the idea, Buchanan said. When approached by Flanner and Buchanan staff, mall management ''had that initial reaction that anyone would have of 'this is an unusual topic,'" he said, but they quickly agreed that cremation is a topic many people are interested in, it's an important topic and there aren't a lot of places people can go for information.

In the end, Buchanan said, "instead of us having to sell the idea, they came right back to us and said it was a great idea. They really embraced it."

Flanner & Buchanan operates both funeral homes and cemeteries, so why a display focusing on cremation? "Cremation is the fastest growing service choice in the country," Buchanan said. The company installed the first crematory in the state in the early 1900s and has been a leader in cremation services ever since. ''This is just an extension of something we already provide, and have for generations."

He hopes the kiosk will spark discussions among family members "about what they want for themselves when they die," Buchanan said.

Including Service and Memorialization Options
In planning what to place in the limited space available, Flanner & Buchanan wanted to "get across some sense of the value of a service—which is hard to do in a display like that, because it's a concept," Buchanan said. "We didn't want this to be overly product-oriented, but that's kind of the outcome, because the products help make up the kiosk."

Even so, in addition to the urns and other vessels for holding cremated remains, including a clock, jewelry and wooden boxes, there are photos to help get across the point that cremation is not an alternative to a funeral or other service.

"We have pictures of a memorial service," Buchanan said, "and we show cremation gardens, some of the beautiful places in our cemeteries.

"What we're finding is that people need permission to do some of the things they would like to do but are afraid to bring up because they're afraid they're going into a very traditional environment with a set way of doing things. We want them to know what some of their options are.

"It's so hard to get information out, and there's so much misinformation about cremation. And there's a whole romantic myth that's built up around scattering.

"I try to tell people that one of the values of a cemetery is it provides tangible proof that someone in your past or someone you loved actually lived."

A computer that shows people the company's Family Legacies life tributes is also part of the kiosk. Using the touch-screen technology, people can look up their loved ones' profiles or simply see how the system works to record and preserve the life story of the deceased.

"We've had four individuals call us to make a placement of previously cremated remains in one of our cemeteries, which we think is spectacular," Buchanan said.

The LifeGem option is also included in the display, and a sale is pending as a result, Buchanan said.

The local media had just begun to take notice of the kiosk, Buchanan said at the beginning of September. "I would be surprised if we don't get more coverage."

Though they were concerned that the display would create more questions than answers, they decided not to staff the kiosks. An informational kiosk is less expensive than a selling kiosk, for one thing. For another, "often when you have someone standing there, it repels people," Buchanan said. "We wanted to let people walk up and look things over."

The kiosks are rented on a monthly basis from Simon Malls. Renting any kind of kiosk becomes very expensive as the holiday selling season heats up, so at that point Flanner & Buchanan will pull out and assess the feedback they've received. ''Then we'll start up again, probably in January or February," Buchanan said, possibly making some changes in the display at that time.

Does your funeral home have fans? Does your cemetery have boosters?
To build a brand with a loyal following, you must figure out whom you want to serve, what those people want and how you will meet their needs.

Think about a product you truly love. It doesn't matter what the product is, it just has to be a brand to which you are completely committed. When a product meets your needs and expectations perfectly, even trying out a competing product serves to strengthen your loyalty to the one you love.

There are "products people love" in all sorts of categories: clothing, golf clubs, automobiles, churches, foods, sports teams, restaurants…... the list goes on and on. It even includes funeral homes and cemeteries.

What is it about a product that creates absolute customer commitment? The company that creates the product understands its consumers and has reached them with its message. Of course, at the same time the company has found its customers, it has alienated others. Some people love their
product. Another group of people is just as certain the product is not for them—they may even resent the people who choose it.

Choose Your Customer
Some products and services can survive without an identity, but cemeteries, funeral homes and cremation services are more successful when consumers have a good understanding and appreciation of what the business stands for.

When developing a successful brand strategy, identifying the consumer being targeted is critical, because the emotion that consumer develops for the brand, the passion the customer feels for the product, is the foundation of brand loyalty.

Any product or brand that elicits customer passion is, by definition, not for everyone, and this can be difficult to accept. Funeral home and cemetery owners, like all business people, want to serve everyone, and they want everyone to buy their best product.

There's nothing unusual about wanting that; but in a world where consumers have a broad spectrum of options and every consumer is demanding, capturing 100 percent of the market is not a realistic goal. In fact, attempting to be everything to everybody will simply result in a product lacking identity and therefore attracting no customer loyalty.

But it is realistic to capture all or most of the business from those prospects for whom your product was created.

Most communities have a funeral home that is clearly seen as the quality leader. In the typical case, this firm will have the highest prices and the largest volume. The owners of other funeral homes in the community try to understand what makes the leader so successful, why people are willing to pay more to use that firm versus theirs.

They study the suits the funeral directors wear; they copy the firm's advertising. If the leader has a holiday grief seminar, several other funeral homes in town will do the same. If the leader builds a crematory, others will do so.

In simple terms, they try to compete by following or complimenting the leader. Funeral businesses have been doing this forever with no success. In fact, this strategy will never be successful.

Consumers willing to pay more to use the quality leader have good reasons for preferring that firm. Why would they shift their patronage to a funeral home that is trying to be “just as good?” When competing with the leader, there is only one proven strategy: contrast—not compliment.

Don't Follow the Leader
—Go Your Own Way
Regardless of the product or service, any time there has been a successful challenger to an industry leader it has been through a strategy of contrast, of being diametrically opposite the leader in some clear and discernable way.

Pepsi used its "taste challenge" commercials to convince consumers that their product had a better taste, but that strategy did not win market share. What worked was positioning their product as preferred by young people, with Coke perceived as their parents' (and grandparents') drink.

Many airlines have tried to compete on the basis of being a better version of United, Delta or American Airlines; all of them have failed. Southwest Airlines built its success by positioning themselves as completely different. Instead of suits, their people wear Dockers and golf shirts. Instead of exuding an air of formal professionalism, their crews tell jokes, even when doing the safety presentations.

Most chicken in grocery stores is priced as a commodity. Tyson supports its higher price strategy by selling chicken based on the company owner's persona and product quality.

Apple successfully competes in a marketplace dominated by the far larger IBM platform computers by capturing the graphic arts segment of the market and expanding its base from there.

The entire auto industry is based on niche marketing—every single vehicle and each brand name is designed to differentiate itself in some way from every other vehicle. The apparel industry is a complex myriad of competing brand names. Within each major category are brands attempting to appeal to a specific demographic group.

The first step in implementing a segmentation strategy is to identify the characteristics of the targeted group. Whom do we want to serve and what is important to them; not in terms of funeral service but in terms of their self-esteem?

All funeral homes conduct funerals; talking about funerals will not differentiate one funeral home from another. In some situations, facilities, personalization, cremation services, preneed or other special services can differentiate one firm from another, but in many communities even these factors are too similar among the competitors.

There are times when the only real difference between competing funeral homes is their promotional message. Is your advertising reaching someone, or are you just buying time or space?

Targeting Seniors
Seniors look for surrogate families to replace the family they have lost over time. Many funeral directors tell stories of seniors calling the funeral home to advise them that they have not had as many listings in the obituaries as some of the other firms in town, and to offer advice on how to market their services.

These people obviously identity with that funeral home at a high level. They have attended funerals there, have come to know the staff and have a sense of identification with the firm.

The need for a sense of belonging is a basic human need. According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, the only ones more basic are sustenance (food, water, air) and security or safety. Though the desire for "self-actualization" is often referred to in analyses of why people do what they do. that need is much higher on Maslow's hierarchy and does not become a factor unless the person has already satisfied the need for belonging.

For many funeral homes, giving seniors a sense of identification with their firm is their primary challenge. When staff members build a local identity with seniors, they are facilitating a sense of "belonging" with the funeral home. The second most common reason volunteered for preferring a particular funeral home is knowing someone on the staff.

Targeting Affluent Baby Boomers
Funeral homes have the greatest difficulty connecting with the affluent and well-educated consumer. Affluent consumers are simply not interested in what funeral homes have to offer. To change this indifference, you must effectively communicate with them, and that starts with understanding what's important to them.

Foremost. they want people to know they are successful. Second, they want to receive special treatment. Meeting with an unprepared, unimpressive arranger will not encourage them to spend more. On the other hand, meeting with one of the owners of the firm, who is well versed and knowledgeable about cremation options and services, can convert this family from choosing minimal services to personalized memorials and higher quality merchandise.

Often the affluent consumer takes the form of a baby boomer representing his or her parents. If the key in brand development is creating an image consumers can identify with, or better put, letting the customer "own" the brand, what can we do to let the baby boomer "own" your brand? We'd begin by building the brand around what we know about baby boomers:

1. Baby boomers respond very well to packaging, not just packages of services and products, but actual packaging. They respond to the way the product is presented. Notice how restaurant menus have evolved from being simply informative to being graphic and artistic.  Check into even a mid-priced hotel and you are given a key packaged with a portfolio containing hotel information. Buy a new car and the documentation comes in a leather portfolio. Baby boomers love packaging.

Examine how your firm presents cremation choices. Do you use an arrangement presentation or do you expect your arranger to verbally describe all of the options available with cremation? Just having a presentation tool will greatly influence the final sale.

2. Baby boomers watch television. More than any other identifying characteristic, baby boomers are addicted to television for entertainment and information, just as the members of the WWII generation are avid newspaper readers, people from the Depression era listened to the radio and today's younger generations identify with the computer and the Internet.

Baby boomers do not read the newspaper, and certainly not the obituary page. If 80 percent of your advertising budget is going to newspapers and direct mail, it's time to rethink your advertising.

3. Baby boomers reject anything valued by their parents. Their parents want to do "what is right" and "the same thing everyone else does." Baby boomers want to do what is right for them, and above all, they don't want what everyone else does.

4. Baby boomers reject aging and identify with new. Though many baby boomers love old architecture, they want it updated and fresh. A funeral home in an old building can capture baby boomers, but not with old furnishings, in small, dimly lit rooms. Do away with the drapes, open the windows and polish the hardwood floors.

5. Baby boomers are price- and value-conscious. They are the sandwich generation, caught between the expense of educating their children and caring for their parents. They are cash-strapped, they shop for discounts and they only spend money when they derive benefits they value. Simply giving them a "deal" on a better quality casket, an extra night of visitation or a newer hearse won't build brand loyalty.

Wal-Mart television advertisements communicate effectively with baby boomer women by showing prices physically dropping on their television advertisements. In contrast to nearly every other form of price advertising, the Wal-Mart ads don't specify on what products the customer will save money. The objective of their ads is to build an image of offering lower prices, in general.

What image does your funeral home communicate to baby boomers? Do you tell them your firm is affordable, is responsive to their wishes and offers services they want?

*****

No one will ever predict that the "best days" in death care are ahead of us. They are definitely behind us and will never return in the same form as in the past. As a result, not every funeral home and certainly not every cemetery will survive the coming shake-out. Instead, the best marketed firms, those that understand their market and successfully sell into it, will do well as others disappear.

If you don't have a clear picture of your challenges, opportunities and goals, you may want to work late tonight getting it into focus.

Do you think of private family mausoleums primarily as architectural adornments gracing historical cemeteries or cemeteries dedicated to the rich and famous? Are they something your counselors don't even mention unless a family asks? You may be shortchanging your families—and your cemetery.

Perceiving them to be only for a highly exclusive audience, many cemeteries have avoided marketing private estates like they market community mausoleums or memorials. When people tell me that private estates are too risky to market because there is not enough of a critical mass to support their private estates marketing efforts, I ask them one question: "How can you assume that the private estates market doesn't justify an active marketing program when most families have never been informed or educated about private estates?"

I respond with the same question when people point out that the biggest trend in memorialization today is cremation and toward less formal and expensive forms of memorialization. That may be true, but cremation is one segment of the market. A substantial niche market for private estates remains largely untapped.

A large number of people in the private estates market, which generally encompasses households with incomes of $75,000 or more, are also seeking to memorialize their legacies and families through private estates, but most of them have not been aggressively marketed to.

Most Americans don't know what "private estate" means. They probably do know what a family or private mausoleum is, but they don't know that there are hundreds of different private estate designs available to suit the preferences of middle- to higher income families and high net worth families.

Understandably, many cemeteries are averse to spending the time and resources required to market private estates. After all, the most cost-effective private estate is significantly higher in price than an average bronze or granite memorial. Two-crypt pre-assembled mausoleums start from $20,000. A larger personalized private estate with classically designed columns, pediments, porticos and landscaped walkways with benches and statuary can cost more than $250,000.

Unlike community mausoleums, in which crypt and niche spaces often have been sold on a preneed basis by the time the mausoleums are completed, or bronze or monumental memorials that can be sold to families in one or two sittings, private estates require a much longer lead time to be appreciated and sold to families. Even so, this market is recording robust growth compared to other memorialization sectors.

Cemeteries that have strategically incorporated private estates into their overall marketing efforts have prospered. Each of the following key success factors are employed by the following cemeteries, which stand out as examples of cemeteries successfully marketing private estates.

Keys to Marketing Private Estates
Know your turf. When the Lohman family acquired Daytona Memorial Park & Funeral Home in Daytona, Florida, Lowell Lohman did not expect that one of the key features of the park would be a special private estates garden. Many people, in fact, doubted the memorial park would be anything like it is today. The state forced out the previous owners of the property, which was plagued by vandalism, dilapidated buildings, weed-infested lawns and garbage issues.
 
Daytona Memorial Park now is a model cemetery with manicured lawns, freshly paved roads and beautiful fountains. But what makes the memorial park stand out is that it is the only one in the county with a private estates garden.

Volusia County has a population of half a million people, half of whom are over 45 years old, including many retirees. Though the county has a 48 percent cremation rate, Lohman knew that there would be a natural demand for private estates because many people interested in private estates memorialization "had nowhere to go to except to the largest cemeteries that did not distinguish private estates in gardens."

Publicize your commitment. Lohman had a spot in mind for a beautiful private estate garden. A heavily wooded 5-acre area was cleared, a lake basin carved and filled with water, and 14 lots separated by hedges and all facing the lake were created. The Lohmans poured an estimated $150,000 into developing Legacy Lake, which took months of planning and half a year of construction to complete.

There was no doubt that the development of the whole property enhanced the community, and the Lohmans took care to publicize their efforts. They relayed details to the media and to members of the community. This resulted in word-of-mouth publicity and news coverage about the property. The buzz encouraged more people to visit Daytona Memorial Park, including Legacy Lake.

Market distinction and exclusivity.  Legacy Lake was designed as an exclusive sanctuary for private reflection, promoting serenity and peace of mind. "We wanted to create something unique, a landscaped 'Garden of Eden' that would be appreciated by people seeking a specialized form of memorialization," said Lohman.

Private estate gardens and market-segmented memorialization sections are marketed in the same manner as real estate in upper-end neighborhoods. Mike Shipley, sales manager of Arlington Memorial Park in Atlanta, Georgia, says exclusive areas for private estates at Arlington were developed according to tour income categories: silver, gold, platinum and diamond. Just as high-end homes are positioned next to lakes, the diamond area features private estates on a lake or a large pond; platinum is located near water; and gold and silver are farther away from the water.

"A person seeking a higher-end private estate will not feel comfortable if the plot will be located in an indistinct area located next to memorials or markers," said Shipley. Since land and private estates are segmented and marketed in different categories, they are also sold separately.

Market to all levels. While segmenting your market and catering to different groups' needs are paramount in any marketing effort, all people visiting your cemetery should be exposed to private estates. "Don't think private estates are only for the obviously well-to-do," Shipley said, "because you don't know if they're rich or not and people don't know what their needs are. We never assume anything about a family or a person, especially in regard to their financial, religious or ethnic backgrounds. We treat everybody the same."

Shipley and his counselors are trained to introduce all aspects of memorialization, including private estates. They start at the top and talk to families about private estates, followed by community mausoleums and traditional and non-traditional burial and interment options. "We start with higher value and stop at the value that meets the individual's needs," Shipley said.

Rick Halkuff, regional sales manager for the Alderwoods Group and responsible for the Jewish market in southern Florida, practices the same top-down sales/marketing approach. "It's very important that the counselor isn't afraid to present something that may cost more than a $1 million to a family,” he said "We work to let people naturally gravitate to private estates or other options where their comfort level is the highest."

By taking the time to educate families in this manner, instead of trying to “sell” them, Shipley said, the cemetery has found that some families opt for a private estate after having memorialized a loved one with a traditional memorial or in a community mausoleum. "One family member did not like the community mausoleum that her husband was in and ended up purchasing a two-crypt private estate."

Make it clear cremation is embraced. Although most private estates are identified with traditional above-ground entombment, the growing preference for cremation has necessitated marketing cremation private estates. Instead of containing crypts, cremation estates are columbariums containing cremation niches.

Except for exposed units without vestibules, columbarium private estates appear to be no different than private estates. They may have walk-in vestibules or can be larger, classically designed structures.

Another favored approach is to flank the front walkways of non-cremation private estates with benches with cremation cores so that members opting for cremation may be interred in the benches next to family members entombed in private estates.

Promote private estates as the family's final gathering place. Private estates are also marketed as the final gathering place of families. Few Americans live in communities where they are born. Most families are dispersed across the country. Rarely are they buried in a family plot and memorialized in the same fashion or in the same cemetery.

A family estate can double as a family plot, bringing family members who have lived apart for most of their adult lives finally together; Maximizing use of space, private estates can be built with as many as 24 crypts and 100 niches, an environmentally attractive factor.

Give Tours. One of the most effective marketing tools for private estates is the cemetery tour. Over 700 burials occur at Shipley's Arlington Memorial Park. Each burial is an opportunity for counselors to show family members around the whole property.

''Tours have to be conducted continuously," Shipley said. "Counselors have to be on their toes to ensure that all families are taken care of, and no person must be left unattended or taken for granted."

Shipley recalled that he was able to sell a family an eight-burial gated estate after one tour. "My role really was that of a guide pointing out various features of private estates, including designs, colors and needs for the family."

Showcase private estates. Featuring a sample private estate is another way to call attention to them when families are touring your cemetery. The Lohmans have a vestibule mausoleum made of sunset red granite with sandblasted columns and two benches flanking its front walkway. Instead of a generic family name, the Lohmans had the words, "Your Name" carved on the pediment to reinforce the marketing message for visiting families passing by.

Train and prepare counselors. The counselor must be able to identify the most important needs of a family in relation to private estates. This requires training and preparation.

Bruce McGowen, sales manager for Catholic Cemeteries of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota, says his counselors are trained to ask families questions and to listen to the answers. What size are their families? Where are their families? What are their professions? And so on.

"Counselors must be trained to develop profiles of families so they can provide more value-added information about private estates," McGowen said.

Shipley agrees. ''Preparation to provide families with information on a preneed or at need basis, or during tours, or when responding to telephone queries, is absolutely critical," he said. ''Preparation and training are the most important factors underscoring performance." Shipley himself trains his counselors for tours and giving private estates presentations to families.

Tap advocates for word-of-mouth awareness. A day after the Lohmans purchased Daytona Memorial Park, a well known realtor in the community, Edwin W. Peck, telephoned Lohman to request a private estates prearrangement. He not only sought a coveted spot for himself and his family, he wanted it to be in a private estates garden memorializing outstanding members of the community.

Peck's vision has snowballed. He has led the drive to invite others to be memorialized in Daytona Memorial Park's Legacy Lake. Respected members of the community receive letters penned by Peck on Lohman Family Properties letterhead summarizing key reasons why they should be memorialized in Legacy Lake. Moreover, word-of mouth awareness has also spread, thanks to Peck praising private estates memorialization in business meetings, luncheons and other social gatherings. Peck even leads tours through Legacy Lake for targeted community members.

Include private estates in all marketing vehicles. Cemeteries that successfully market private estates include private estates in all of their marketing tactics and programs. Cemeteries marketing private estates should:

• Feature private estates information in brochures. Mail distributions should be targeted with key brand messages (such as promoting private estates as the most distinct means to memorialize family members' achievements and legacies) or product messages ("We're introducing our new line of private estates designed to fit all your special needs").
• Package information kits about private estates for display in consultation rooms and news and trade media distribution.
• Position posters in consultation and seminar rooms.
• Develop videos that can be shown to families in consultation rooms.
• File clippings of news articles about your cemetery and private estates and place them in consultation and reception rooms.
• Place a design book featuring professionally shot photographs of private estates in consultation room".
• Feature private estates information and designs on your Web site.
• Organize seminars about private estates and preneed at least four times a year.

Explore and exhaust all avenues to see what works best for your cemetery. Marketing avenues that work best for you should be explored and pursued. Halkuff of the Alderwoods Group networks with public attorneys to seek out families that may be interested in private estates. He also acquires lists of people who have purchased high income automobiles.

If you don't already have a web site, develop one. The Web is a major information source for people researching products and services. No longer can it be ignored as a marketing tool in the memorialization industry.

Cemeteries incorporating the Web for their private estates marketing strategy often feature private estates information on the top of their sites' products page. You should, too. A good example is how The Catholic Cemeteries Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis features such information on its site, www.catholic-cemeteries.org/products.htm.

It is important to regularly update your Web site. With a content management tool, you can update your site anytime to feature fresh information and promotions, including seminars or special tours you may want to promote on the home page or in the "what's new" section.

Additional information that will benefit families should also be featured. This can include a section explaining various stages of the grieving process and offering an emergency planning guide outlining various steps that need to be taken following the death of a loved one.

Your site could include highlights about new memorial sections being added to your cemetery or a cause-related drive you are organizing for the community, such as a campaign to support cancer research or a veterans memorial.

The objective is to turn your Web site into an information tool that people can use for their memorialization needs. The key goal in marketing private estates is to further educate people so that families will explore what you are providing.

Who made up the rule that funeral services will be at 10 a.m. or 2 p.m. weekdays?
For whom is that convenient, other than the funeral home and cemetery staff?
With some planning and willing employees, you can offer families services seven days a week, including evenings, without overtime charges or a staff mutiny.

One night as I was on my way to buy medicine for my daughter, who had a fever of 102 degrees, I thought to myself. "Boy, kids always seem to get sick at night. It's a good thing this place is open at 11 p.m."

As I continued driving, I started thinking about something my boss, Bob Gordon Sr., CCFE, and I had talked about after an ICFA meeting in Las Vegas. At the meeting, Ernie Heffner of Heffner Funeral Homes & Crematory in Pennsylvania had described a program he called the Twilight Service.

If a pharmacy can be open at night for the convenience of families, why can't a funeral home do the same? Sure, we're available when needed to handle a first call, but why don't we make it easy for families to schedule services in the evening or on weekends instead of during the work week, during regular work hours?

As we thought about how we could offer families this service without charging for overtime, we decided it was mainly a scheduling problem. We further realized that our employees would have to buy into the idea for it to be possible. Our office staff would be affected, since we would be keeping the office open on weekends. And when families wanted to follow an evening funeral service with a committal service in our cemetery, the grounds department would also be affected.

Flex Time and Three-Day Weekends
We began by creating three teams, each of which included a funeral director as unit manager, two family service counselors, one or two office staff members and one or two grounds crew members.

We then set up three different weekly schedules, which each team would rotate through.

• Schedule 1: Work Sunday and Monday; off Tuesday and Wednesday; work Thursday through Saturday.

• Schedule 2: Work Sunday through Thursday; off Friday and Saturday.

• Schedule 3: Off Sunday; work Monday through Wednesday, off Thursday; work Friday and Saturday.
As you can see, between weeks 2 and 3 the team members get a three-day weekend. This "bonus" every third week provides some payback or incentive for employees to go along with the system.

This is not to say that everyone immediately embraced the concept. There were the usual threats of mutiny that any change of this type tends to generate, but in the end most people realized it would provide a real service to the community. We also provided employees who went along with the program a bonus for each twilight service held.

A few people chose not to participate, and that was OK; our staff is large enough to provide enough people to handle the special shifts without 100 percent buy-in. We eventually worked out all the bugs and created a Twilight Service program that offers services and interments seven days a week, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., with no overtime charge to families.

Because of the 12-hour coverage, employee commitment to the program was essential, since it meant they were working a flexible schedule designed for the convenience of families. If staff has an interment scheduled for 7 p.m., they'll be coming to work at 11 a.m. instead of 8 a.m. so that they can stay late without overtime cost to be passed on to the family.

In addition to having the personnel in place, we needed to get our cemetery ready for services that might take place after dark through the addition of the following pieces of equipment:
•    generator,
•    halogen lights,
•    backhoe with lights and
•    tractor and trailer with lights.

Telling the Community
Once we were ready to offer twilight services, the next step was to let the community know. We created brochures which we placed on our arrangement tables and we placed television and newspaper advertisements.

We started marketing the new Twilight Service on a Monday. On Tuesday, I sat down with a family to make at-need arrangements. The widow, daughter and son-in-law of the deceased were there together. As we discussed the time for the service, the son-in-law said that Saturday would be fine, but that he was going through a year-end review at work and would not be able to leave his job until 4 p.m., so he would not be able to make it.

His wife and mother-in-law began to agree that he would simply have to miss the service when I spoke up to explain our new evening service option. They couldn't believe their ears, but happily agreed to schedule the service at 7 p.m. Saturday at no extra charge.

Saturday evening, the deceased's grandson closed his eulogy with a prayer and then raised his head just in time to see the sun setting behind the mountains that provide a scenic backdrop to our facilities. "Though my family and Eternal Hills planned this service for this evening," he said, "it is quite obvious that God has ordained it."

Since that first successful service, Eternal Hills has held many more Twilight Services. We are the only funeral home and cemetery in our area willing to accommodate families in this way, and the community seems to appreciate it. Seeing how families respond to our willingness to provide this service gives our employees a boost worth at least as much as the bonuses we give them.

From the brochure Eternal Hills uses to explain and promote its Twilight Service (the information is also posted on Eternal Hills' Web site):

-    Introducing the new Twilight Service. At last, funeral services when everyone can attend ... at no extra cost!
-    A Twilight Service is any service scheduled between the hours of 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. and conducted at our facilities. It may be selected with either burial or cremation arrangements.
-    Evening visitations and services make a real difference! Many employers only allow leave from work to attend services for the closest of family without the loss of wages. The Twilight Service allows everyone to attend and celebrate the life of that special person without financial penalty or disruption of work.
-    Are only certain services available for Twilight Services? No. All of our 20 value-priced packages or any of our services are available for the Twilight Service seven days a week without additional charges.
-    We encourage you to share your thoughts and ideas with us so that we can arrange a meaningful service. We pay close attention to details.

Is cremation an afterthought at your funeral home? Will your business still be viable—not to mention profitable—no matter what the cremation rate is in 2010, 2015 and beyond?
The time to reconfigure your business model and how you market to cremation families is now, not when your "traditional" business has all but disappeared.

Although today I continue to operate a business my parents founded nearly 50 years ago, the business my Mom and Dad ran and the business I operate are hardly the same. One of the more significant of the many ways they differ is that today nearly 50 percent of the folks prearranging their services choose a different form of disposition, different items of service and different merchandise—if any—from what was delivered by my parents beginning in the 1950s and continuing well into the 1980s (in Pennsylvania).

Picture in your mind for a moment the funeral of President John F. Kennedy.  Now, picture the funeral of his son, JFK Jr. Those two pictures speak volumes about changing consumer attitudes and preferences with regard to funeral service.

This change in consumer preferences, the fragmentation of services selected, the reduction in merchandise purchased and increased competition have created great financial challenges for the funeral profession.

It's Time To Bury The Old Financial Model
Since the advent of "direct cremation," most of us funeral directors have based our financial model on a system that increasingly burdens the consumers who choose a traditional funeral with covering the funeral home's overhead, while treating the direct cremation financial transaction as an "add on." This model does not work, and its failure is ever more accentuated as the cremation rate rises.

Over a period of many years, our funeral service forefathers brilliantly created a system that supported the outcome of the arrangement. They introduced items of service such as embalming, the rental of funeral home facilities, coaches and limousines. They introduced various types and models of caskets and burial vaults. They developed a system that supported the outcome of the arrangement when a consumer came to them to "bury Dad."

Today, we have in place in many markets a not-so-brilliant system in which the outcome supports the arrangement. You've seen the ads: "Cremation—$595."

Personally, I cannot comprehend that anyone's primary consideration in making final arrangements for a loved is the lowest possible price, but research tells us that about 27 percent of cremation consumers make a buying decision based on price. The problem is that as an industry, we've educated the other 73 percent of cremation consumers on how to make a purchasing decision based on what that 27 percent wants.

We have made cremation a commodity. In many instances, the outcome (low price) supports the arrangement. So what's the difference in the eye of the consumer between the cremation services you offer and those offered by your competitors? The price!

By and large, a significant problem in the funeral service profession today is that this model does not support our true overhead. The answer to the problem lies in creating a model suited to today's market conditions that supports the outcome of the arrangement just as the one our forefathers created in the past. That answer lies in the system we choose to put in place for the 73 percent of cremation consumers for whom the primary purchasing decision is something other than price.

To be specific, to support "Full Price" we need to differentiate ourselves from our competition in order to give consumers a reason to call us and pay full price.

One example: having a private, consumer-friendly crematory on site, a facility with a non-threatening and non-sterile appearance operated by certified crematory operators and open for inspection at any time.

At our funeral home, we spotlight value (as opposed to price) in our ads, such as:
•    "Your Loved One Never Leaves Our Care."
•    "Where will my Loved One be Cremated?"
•    "Funeral Directors at Bean are Crematory Operators Certified by the Cremation Association of North America."
•    "There's No Doubt with Bean, our Trained Professional Funeral Directors Handle Everything."
•    "Only Bean has a Private On Site Crematory, Available for your Inspection at any Time."

In light of the events at Noble, Georgia, these messages address issues important to consumers. My friend and colleague Ernie Heffner has run an ad with the direct and thought-provoking theme: "Whose Ashes are in the Urn?"

When meeting with a family to make cremation arrangements, we conduct ourselves in the same manner as when we meet with a family who has chosen a traditional funeral. By that I mean that we make no assumptions as to their wishes.

I hope that, at a minimum, everyone in this profession today insists on an identification viewing prior to the irreversible process of cremation. This is an ethical and a legal necessity, given the litigious nature of our society.

One of the most important questions we ask a family when making cremation arrangements is if they would bring in clothing for the identification viewing. This immediately communicates a high level of respect and signals the fact that we are providing a dignified level of care for their loved one.

We need to focus on the fact that the family has just suffered the loss of a loved one. As Trust 100 President Alan Creedy says, we need to remember Mom, remember Dad.

Many families at first will say they don't want a viewing. However, we have found that after the cremation arrangements have been thoroughly explained, the date and time for the identification viewing have been set and the clothing has been gathered by the family for the viewing, many people will arrive for the ill viewing accompanied by several other family members—sometimes as many as 20 or 30—and sometimes with their minister for a short prayer service.

In fact, this occurs so regularly that we have factored this overhead into our overall pricing strategy. It is a "win-win" situation in that consumers are more satisfied and the funeral home receives a fee proportionate to the level of service provided. The outcome supports the system simply by focusing on people, not on price.

Another means of creating value is package pricing, or compressed pricing, in which you create several packages and include them in your General Price List. As an example, we have a package called "Direct Cremation with Memorial Service Including Ceremonial (Rental) Casket For Private Family Viewing with Committal Service,” which includes the following:

•    basic services of funeral director and staff and overhead,
•    transfer of remains to funeral home within 20-mile radius,
•    preparation of remains for private family viewing,
•    staff and use of facilities for private family viewing,
•    staff and use of private crematory for cremation,
•    up to three days' use of refrigeration facilities,
•    use of ceremonial casket for private family viewing,
•    staff for memorial service,
•    staff for visitation up to two hours prior to memorial service,
•    funeral coach,
•    urn ark,
•    limousine (local),
•    flower/service vehicle (local),
•    committal or other disposition service,
•    acknowledgement cards (25),
•    guest register,
•    personalized memorial tributes & prayer cards, and
•    temporary grave marker
The package includes most of the services and merchandise found in a traditional funeral service, and we price it accordingly, including a proportionate share of our true overhead. We have found that families are more than willing to pay the necessary charges because they perceive value in the many services covered by the package, even though historically the arrangement may have been thought of as "just a direct cremation."

Over the past couple of years, we have seen the introduction of memorial tributes that incorporate several photographs of the deceased along with service information, poetry and scripture or thoughts written by loved ones. These tributes can be tied into a seemingly endless array of themes, from which the family can select, such as the ocean, civil or military service, hobbies or nature.

These types of memorial tributes can be pricey and time-consuming to produce, but we have found them to be invaluable to consumer satisfaction, so we incorporate them into most of the package selections we offer.

Why are the memorial tributes so important? They give family and friends a keepsake of photographs they will treasure all their lives. Recently I met a gentleman in a social setting who could not thank me enough for the memorial tribute we had provided at the service for his best friend.
 
He told me he framed the tribute and keeps it on his desk, where he can glance at the photographs and remember his friend every day.

This type of product can differentiate your funeral home from your competitors. It can communicate that your funeral home is special and offers something valuable that, because of the cost and effort involved, few of your competitors offer.

When factored into your overall pricing strategy, these tributes will infinitely impress the people who attend services at your location, will offer something of tremendous value to the families that you serve and will differentiate your funeral home and promote your brand.

Be Brand A, Not Brand X
What do I mean by promoting your brand? A brand is a promise to fulfill a consumer's expectation of a certain level of integrity, quality and consistency. A premium brand is a recognized product for which consumers are willing to pay a premium based on their higher expectations.

We see brand recognition in everything from facial tissues to ketchup to automobiles. Recently I've noticed that hospitals and homebuilders are focusing on promoting their brands in their marketplaces by differentiating their services from those of their competitors.

Rather than focusing on the price of an arrangement, those of us in funeral service would be well advised to focus on differentiating ourselves with special products and a higher level of service—and promoting the same at every opportunity. By doing this, we are developing a special brand in our marketplace, one that leads families to expect a premium level of quality, integrity and consistency, a level that our companies deliver.

What are some specific concepts you can use to develop a brand? We develop our brand by delivering on our promise to deliver that premium level of integrity, quality and consistency. We do it by reinvesting in our facilities and in our staff, by offering special products (such as those memorial tributes) and by having a private on-site crematory that communicates a special level of care. We do it by offering a level of care and consideration that our competitors do not offer, by personalizing services with photographs and mementos that hold special meaning to those attending services.

We develop our brand by focusing on people, not on price.

You also need to communicate that brand, that level of integrity and quality of service, in all of your advertising. Develop a unique logo and brand your signage, your Web site, your newspaper and television advertising, your newspaper death notices, the memorial tribute folders and memorial folders you offer—everything you can think of.

It may seem adverse to our ingrained funeral service logic to take this contrarian approach by offering more for more. But simply by remembering "Mom," remembering "Dad," by focusing on people rather than on price, you will ensure your client family's satisfaction and your financial success as you adapt to the changing funeral service environment.

Talking to groups about funeral service, whether at your facility or at the meetings of community and civic organizations, generates a following and builds relationships, yet few funeral service practitioners make full use of its benefits. One of the profession's best speakers offers a how-to guide for starting—or polishing—your public speaking career.

As funeral service practitioners, we are selling a valuable service, but we should realize that nothing positive happens until a relationship is established. We all strive to build, in our work, a large community network of relationships, old and new. Like any business, we need to constantly find new and innovative ways to generate positive public relations. This goes beyond a simple advertisement, a leaf through the phone book or a referral, all of which could result in contacts. To succeed, human relationships must be established and nurtured with great care.

In the community presentation, we have discovered an invaluable tool that helps build relationships and, at the same time, is cost effective. It provides an information exchange for people and a place where they can ask questions that they would not otherwise have the chance to ask. The group setting is less threatening, and lets people confront topics related to funerals and death in an atmosphere of mutual support. Those who automatically plan ahead in life immediately recognize the community presentation as a not-to-be-missed educational opportunity. They will plan to attend without fail!

This article will provide you with:
• the how-tos of the community presentations,
• tips on developing the talent of public speaking and
• help in understanding the positive impact a presentation can have on our business.

As you read more about this powerful marketing idea, I hope you will decide to embrace it—to put it in Latin terms, carpe diem—seize the day!

The Power of Presentation
The community presentation can be an extremely valuable part of your cemetery or funeral home's overall outreach plan. While selling is described as a marketing task, marketing is a long-range plan with strategies. A long-range strategy for funeral practitioners is to generate a following and build relationships.

More than any other medium, a well-planned community presentation will bring you into direct contact with the people in your community who are receptive to you—they either have invited you as their guest speaker or been invited by you and chosen to attend. All of these are people with questions about your profession, people who, in many ways, want to establish some kind of relationship with you.

Few businesses fully make use of the potential of the community presentation. Perhaps they don't understand its value, or they don't know what to do or don't think they have the personnel or the time to implement it. Up until now, they, and perhaps you, have overlooked a truly effective strategy.

Will Rogers defined speaking as "organized verbal communication that gives a person greater personal power." As with anything else you become good at, public speaking takes practice. It's up to you to view it as an opportunity—it will take extra commitment, especially if you've never done it before and never imagined you would. Rogers would convince you that the personal power you gain is well worth the effort. Can you lose anything by trying?

As you explore the ideas put forth in this article, you will see that speaking before a group is a skill that can be mastered. If you feel ill at first, realize that you are not alone—public speaking is regarded as the No. 1 fear. But there are many, many people who have overcome this fear.

Think about this: If you had the choice of making 50 cold calls or giving a brief talk to a group of 50 people, which would you prefer?

Talking About Death
In reality, funeral directors handle the dead and take care of the living. Perhaps the most sensitive part of your presentation will be explaining to the group how you perceive and deal with death and grief. You may want to start off your presentation with a brief, professional video on the subject to help your audience relax.

Tell the truth about funeral service. People can see the truth behind emotions, whether it's fright, anger, happiness or sadness. Therefore, it is important to be truthful when addressing a group. People tend to listen more when truth is being communicated and the message hits its mark. As a speaker, you will learn to rely on, and fully use, the truth force! By tapping into it, you will find the strength you need to overcome your fears and begin to feel the personal power.

Tell the truth about funeral service, and people will listen.

Communication Tips
You may feel that you're able to prepare your presentation on your own without assistance, but don't be afraid to seek help. The library has excellent guides on writing speeches. If time permits, you might even sign up for a university class on how to make an effective presentation. Often, the classroom experience will offer a chance for a personal videotape and critique. Also, consider the Dale Carnegie course or Toastmasters group (available in many communities) for additional training and support.

Here are some valuable tips on presentations:
•    Thoroughly know your subject. Research, read and double check your facts so that you feel confident.
•    Outline your speech in writing.
•    Memorize the points to be made in the order you want them to unfold. Memorize certain phrases that paint a word-picture, but never recite a speech from memory. Communicate with your audience as if you were having a one-on-one conversation.
•    Tape yourself both in practice and at the actual presentation.
•    Watch your vocal tone. Change that monotone!
•    Expect to have butterflies. They're normal! If you are feeling nervous, concentrate on the message. You're eager to tell people all about your topic. You can't wait to ask for questions!
•    Prior to preparing your talk, don't be shy about asking for constructive ideas from any people you know who are already dynamic speakers. People love to give advice!
•    Familiarize yourself with the facility, where you'll speak and its management a few days before your program. Check the room to know where things are. Make sure you can operate the basic equipment—-test the lights, the sound system (microphone, video cassette recorder and monitor), and locate exit doors and restrooms.
•    Arrive at the location early on the day of the presentation.
•    As the group arrives, mingle with them and introduce yourself in a friendly manner. (The more friends you make before the presentation, the more people you'll have rooting for you during it!)
•    If you decide to use audio-visual aids during your presentation, remember that a person's attention span is about 6 minutes. Stories need to be told in short vignettes or cameos since there is usually only time for two or three points to be made in this short time.
•    Videotapes, audiotapes, slides or films should be quick and to the point. You may have time to show only a portion of your audio-visual.
•    Plant one or more questions in the audience beforehand. People are generally happy to oblige and that one question will help get the audience going.
•    Provide the program chairman with a glossy photo of yourself and a short biography beforehand for publicity purposes. A separate written introduction will also help the chairman. It should be double-spaced and, if possible, ask that it be read exactly as it is written. This will set up your opening remarks.

Types of Community Presentations
There are two types of presentations, the type where you are invited to speak to a group and all of the basic arrangements are made for you; and the type that you initiate yourself, which may occur at your funeral home or another facility.

A general rule about host organizations: Realize that professional organizations or service clubs are notorious for giving you 20 minutes to talk, particularly at lunch time, and then starting late. People may leave to get back to work on time. For this reason, gauge your speech to end in 15 minutes in order to have time for a few questions and answers. Likewise, when you know you have a long time to speak, wind up the presentation 10 minutes early to allow for questions.

If you are hosting the presentation yourself, you must handle a number of important logistical details to ensure success.

•    First, work with your staff to set a convenient date that does not conflict with any other major event in your business or in the community. Also, select an alternate date in case a funeral home or cemetery need arises.
•    Establish the length of time for the presentation (1 to 1.5 hours) and decide where you will hold it. A tour of the cemetery or funeral home is an option, if you are holding the presentation there.
•    Allow plenty of time for questions and answers following your talk.
•    Assemble a guest list. In preparing it, determine how many people usually attend such meetings, based on similar presentations you've given or attended. Perhaps you'll decide to limit it to the families you already know or to reach out by promoting it to the entire community as a free public event. This will increase the turnout and enhance your company's visibility. As part of the guest list for a larger, community-wide presentation, you will want to include prominent business leaders.
•    Prepare and mail invitations. Compose a professional, dignified invitation on stationery, using your funeral home's logo.
•    Create a promotional news release. A news release gives the who, what, when, where and why of a subject. Take the time to prepare it carefully so that the basic information about your event is crystal clear to the reader. Send the news release to selected media, especially to the newspaper that covers your neighborhood, as well as to interested groups. This is the basic promotional tool you'll need.
•    Give your facility a thorough inspection. If you're planning to hold your presentation at your cemetery office or funeral home, take the extra time to make sure it shines, as you would prepare for a party in your own home. This pertains to any size group you are expecting. Although your facility should always be meticulous, now is the time to scrutinize it completely.

Arrange for any special cleaning required of carpeting, draperies or upholstered furniture. Replace bad light bulbs; make obvious repairs-touch up the paint if it needs it! You want your facility to look its best, and it's the attention to minute details that will payoff.

You may have to temporarily rearrange or even remove furniture.

Examine your outdoor parking situation.

Do you need to rent additional parking spaces?

Make sure your funeral home's cars are washed, waxed and polished. Also, examine the building exterior, landscaping and lighting. Take action to make improvements where needed.

•    Arrange for refreshments. An appetizing food table heightens the social aspect of the event and promotes relaxation. (Be sure your state allows the serving of food in a funeral home/cemetery.) Consider light refreshments such as soft drinks, coffee, tea, cookies or small pastries. You may want to recruit a friend or family member to assist with the preparation and serving.
•    Order flowers. Fresh flowers will add beauty and a pleasing fragrance to the atmosphere. They can be attractively placed on your registration or food table, or in your arrangements office or chapel/visitation area.

Assembling Information Packets for Your Audience
People love to take handouts and written materials home with them after a presentation. Professional folders can be purchased that will keep all of the information in one place. Items to include are:
•    a funeral home or cemetery brochure (which often contains the history of the home and a list of services);
•    a calendar of any future seminars or support groups; and
•    articles or additional pamphlets on topics such as retirement, preplanning, the value of the funeral, embalming and memorialization.
•    A newsletter kit is also popular. This specifically includes a two-sided quarterly newsletter, retirement information, "Did You Know?" sheets, financial information and light subject matter, such as a recipe.

Prior to your presentation, find out how many packets you'll need. These will generate excellent public relations for your funeral home.

Evaluating the Presentation
Most community groups and professional organizations recognize the value of obtaining written evaluations from attendees at the end of a meeting. Check with the program chair to find out if the group you are speaking to handles its own evaluations or if it would be possible for you to distribute a short questionnaire. (See Sample Questions For an Evaluation Form below)

Sample Questions
For an Evaluation Form

    Was the speaker informative?
    What did you expect to hear?
    What did you learn? (Describe one point)
    What was the most interesting? (Describe)
    Did you feel comfortable throughout the talk?
    Did the video add to the presentation?
    How could we improve future presentations?
    Was the information helpful?
    Can we supply you with more information?

Likewise, you should do this if you are in charge of arrangements. Evaluation is an important step in the process that can help you improve future presentations.

The form should look professional and appear on funeral home or cemetery stationery. Make enough copies for all attending and distribute them at the end of the event. Encourage all attendees to complete the form before they go home. Reiterate its importance and ask them to deposit them in a box near the exit.
 
Leave space for additional suggestions and comments at the bottom of the sheet. Ask people for their names and addresses that can then be added to the mailing list. Some will prefer to remain anonymous, which is fine, too. Perhaps the arranger will even provide you with a group directory of names and addresses, and mark off those in attendance. This specific information will help you with your thank-you note process, another vital follow-up activity.

Arranging Future Speaking Engagements
At the time when you first meet the program chairman and fees are mentioned, your best reply is that you do not charge, but that you do request a testimonial letter if the group is happy with your presentation. This will help you secure future speaking opportunities.

As you conclude your presentation, offer to speak to the group at another meeting and ask them to recommend you to others. This will continue your chain of awareness building in the community. You can also extend your speaking offer in the thank-you note.

Conclusion
After you have given one or more talks, the power of this marketing strategy will become more obvious: Remember: If people, buy what you are saying, they will buy what you are selling!

I know of many funeral service practitioners giving two or three programs a week who report a dramatic increase in qualified leads and actual closings on pre-arrangements. They are convinced that the community presentation has a definite advantage over advertising or direct mail since it opens the door for lasting relationships.

Most importantly, the community presentation allows people to get to know you, up close and personal. When they se that you are a real live human being with your own fears and vulnerabilities, a lot of the mystique about death and dying begins to evaporate. A free-flowing exchange of information is an extremely healthy and meaningful experience for the public and profession as a whole.

Seminars provide families valuable information about the benefits of preplanning and prefunding in a non-threatening, non-intrusive manner. In the process, they also deliver pre-qualified leads while building your firm's brand.

From advertising and publicity to direct mail and e-marketing, funeral and cemetery firms have numerous strategic options for increasing preneed—as well as future at-need—leads. There is one strategy that stands head and shoulders above the rest in terms of its total value to your organization, yet it is often overlooked by even the most marketing-savvy firms.

Seminars—when implemented correctly—will help your firm build brand awareness, build personal relationships in the community, educate customers and prospects and deliver valuable, pre-qualified leads. In short, seminars can help your firm meet both short- and long-term marketing and sales objectives.

However, establishing a successful seminar program requires that you carefully plan every aspect, from setting the foundation through program implementation and post-implementation. Doing so will ensure that program objectives are met-and often exceeded.

Seminars offer a full spectrum of benefits
The main objective for most funeral and cemetery firms when hosting a seminar is to gain quality leads in the short-term and increase sales over the long-term. This is a very reasonable and achievable goal.

For example, a funeral home conducting two seminars per month, each attracting an average of 15 participants, and achieving a modest 20 percent conversion rate, creates the potential to attract more than 70 new policies per year. At an average policy value of $5,000, such a seminar program would generate more than $350,000 in new policies per year.

Note that while a 20 percent conversion rate might seem exceptionally high compared to the rate produced by other preneed lead-generation strategies such as direct mail and advertising, seminar audiences are pre-qualified, because they have taken the initiative to attend the program.

But beyond leads and sales, an effective seminar program will deliver benefits that support your firm's long-term at-need program.

"I have been hosting seminars for five years and have learned firsthand that seminars not only generate qualified leads, but also help generate awareness for funeral firms," said Cindy Miller, an independent preneed consultant who uses Assurant Preneed's Wiser Way/Full Circle seminar program. "It allows firms to demonstrate their interest in the communities' welfare, and provides educational resources for families."

When hosting a seminar, you provide valuable information to your community at no charge and with no strings attached. This enables you to build relationships in the community while also building your firm's brand.

Even though a majority of attendees won't immediately buy a preneed policy, seminars give you the opportunity to meet prospective families you otherwise might not have met. This opens the door for future communication, and possible preneed and at-need referrals and at-need calls. It also helps you build your prospect database.

Another benefit of hosting a seminar is that it gives you the opportunity to obtain the attendees' permission to call families. Ask attendees to fill out and sign a contact card that complies with FTC Do Not Call regulations and gives your company the OK to call them at a later date.

Finally, seminars help set your firm apart from your competition. Even if competitive firms are hosting seminars of their own, you can enhance your program to differentiate yourself and establish a unique brand.

A seven-step action plan
A seminar program is a lead-generation technique that should be approached strategically. In order to reap the full potential benefits of a seminar program, consider the following proven steps when developing your action plan.
 
1. Develop a six-month to one-year seminar plan. It is imperative to approach the program with a strategy that will become part of your firm's preneed marketing plan. Your plan should outline the target audience, goals, strategies and tactics, and should include a detailed timeline and budget.

Based on your firm's marketing plan, determine who your target audience is for the seminars. This could include men and women 55 and older, local media, churches, civic groups, senior centers, etc. Consider adding people such as lawyers and accountants who have direct contact with the families you are trying to reach.

When developing goals, make sure they are measurable. For example, do not just plan to "increase sales." Your goal might be to increase preneed leads by a specific percentage and policy sales by a specific dollar amount. This will help you focus strategies and measure success at various times during the implementation process.

2. Select a seminar location. "The most effective location to host a seminar depends on your target audience and community," said Miller. "For example, if a funeral home's director is actively involved in the community, families will not hesitate to attend a seminar at a funeral home. This is a great way to show the community the facilities. On the other hand, if the funeral director is not well known in the community, then an active senior center might generate more leads and better attendance."
You can also consider a community college, coffee shop, recreation center or library. On the other hand, certain locations, such as nursing homes and assisted living centers, are not highly recommended. Although these seniors are often independent, a family member or close friend typically is handling their financial decisions.

It is also beneficial to research existing speaking opportunities in your community. For example, many communities host an annual senior fair. Contact the organizations and inquire about hosting a seminar as part of their program. Make sure to communicate the educational value of your seminar and explain that you are not trying to sell anything.

3. Select the seminar topic. Consider allowing your location to influence your seminar topic. For example, if you are hosting the seminar at an active senior center and its members are primarily men, consider a seminar on veteran's benefits. If you are inviting the general public to attend, consider a caregiver's resource seminar. Additional topic ideas include preplanning or asset protection.

Be creative when selecting topics. For example, host a seminar that focuses on building legacy through photos and memorabilia. This is a very timely topic, especially with the increasing popularity of video tributes.

4. Determine the format. The seminar format can be educational or workshop oriented. The educational format is designed to provide an overview of preplanning and prefunding to the audience and requires little or no active audience participation. The workshop format introduces the audience to preplanning and preneed by having attendees begin the preplanning process during the course of the seminar.

You can design your seminar as a workshop format by developing a worksheet that provides participants with the most common funeral and cremation products/services (casket, vault, burial costs, cemetery property, cremation, etc.) they are likely to purchase and the costs associated with each product. Make sure to offer low, medium and high-end options for each product. For example, offer a steel, wood and bronze casket pricing.

You can incorporate the worksheet into the seminar by giving the attendees time to begin selecting the funeral goods and services they would like and then calculate the costs. This process serves two purposes. It educates attendees about the price of funerals and provides a cost estimate for their desired funeral service.

"Prior to using Assurant's seminar program, I was strictly presenting the information on preplanning and preneed to the audience," said Miller.

"The seminar I am currently using is designed as a workshop, and actually puts the participants to work planning their funeral and generating costs associated with the type of funeral they would like to have. Not only does this help generate discussions among the participants, but the workshop format makes me more comfortable because 100 percent of the attention is not focused on me."

5. Develop marketing materials. Marketing materials are essential for your seminar program. Remember, every brochure or handout you develop communicates something about your firm.

If your presentation is stellar, people will talk about it and it will help generate referrals. On the other hand, a poor quality presentation will reflect poorly on you.

6. Provide refreshments. Evaluate your target audiences and plan refreshments accordingly, from cookies and coffee for morning events to wine and cheese for early evening seminars.

Be creative by choosing fun finger foods and selecting refreshments that coordinate with the seminar topic, such as American flag cookies for a veteran's benefit seminar.

"Attendees mayor may not expect refreshments at a seminar," said Miller. "Those who do not are pleasantly surprised, and those who do are not disappointed."

7. Develop methods for maintaining the audience's interest. Place all the completed contact cards in a bowl or box and hold a prize drawing at the seminar's conclusion. This technique not only influences people to fill out the cards, it also encourages everyone to stay until the end of the seminar.

Gift certificates to local grocery stores, gas stations, or local retailers (Target, Blockbuster, Kohls, Home Depot, etc.) make good prizes.

Another way to maintain audience interest is to remain conversational throughout your presentation. Encourage participants to share personal stories and ask and answer questions.

Follow-up is imperative
A successful seminar requires a successful lead management program. After the seminar, place follow-up calls to each attendee who completed a lead card. This is the most important step, because the potential success of the seminar decreases with each day you do not call the attendees.

"I wait one day after the seminar and then I make all of my follow-up calls," said Miller. ''Timely and persistent follow-up is the key to converting leads to sales."

Evaluate and modify your seminar program
Take time to assess each seminar and your results. If attendance was low, re-evaluate your marketing strategies and tactics and possibly the location. If you distributed a survey, evaluate the responses. This allows your firm to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the seminar and revise it accordingly.

Every step of hosting a seminar is important and can help increase brand identity, leads and sales for your firm. Once you have developed a program that works for your market, the time it takes to implement a seminar will decrease, and it will become an ongoing lead-generation strategy in your firm's marketing plan.

Being a sales manager means developing your sales skills to a new level, as well as becoming a leader and developer of people.

Going some online research recently for an upcoming speech, I discovered this amazing statistic: When you run a search through Google, it scans over 4 billion pages of information on the Internet in about 0.2 seconds. If a human looked at the same number of pages and only spent one minute per page, it would take 5,707 years to accomplish the same task.

That is incredible. It is any wonder people's expectations are going up every day? Companies and consumers are raising the bar every day. Companies expect more from their staff because their customers are expecting more from them. And everyone wants everything quickly.

But how can a sales manager operate more quickly? Is there technology that can scan faces and tell the sales manager whether those people will succeed or fail in sales? How can a sales manager meet the challenge of keeping people motivated, focused, positive and productive?

Sales never get better—people do!
Many managers focus on trying to improve their sales. That is not possible. Sales are created. How does something that doesn't exist until it is created get better before it even exists?

Sound confusing? The premise is simple: Sales never get better—people do. When we improve our salespeople's attitudes, skills, habits and competencies, then, and only then, will their sales improve.

The obvious next question is, ''How do our people get better?" The answer: Our people never get better until we, their managers, do. It's managers' ability to lead, direct, coach, teach and motivate that allows their staffs to improve.

Organizations never grow faster than their leaders. Therefore, as a sales manager, you must continue to discover new concepts and skill sets which you can in turn transfer to your staff, helping them improve on an ongoing basis.

One way a manager can get better faster is by understanding certain basic principles, the fundamentals of how something works. Once you discover a principle, understand how it can serve you and internalize it into your own thinking, you then can act—perhaps faster than ever before.

It is only when we get better and have a clearer understanding of what we do and how we do it that we can make our people better. And it's only when our people get better in attitude and skills that our sales improve.

Principles don't change; only technique and application do
For thousands of years, people wanted to fly, but one attempt after another failed. Then on a cool December day in 1903, at 10:35 in the morning, the principle of manned night was discovered. With their historic 12-second flight of only 36.6 meters, the Wright brothers knew they had broken the code, discovered the principles.

Over time, those principles became better understood; the people designing aircraft internalized the concepts and continued to act on what had been discovered. Here is an amazing example of how internalizing a principal works: It took man 6,000 years to discover the principle of a controlled flight. It then took us only 68 years to learn to fly 238,857 miles to the moon.

Principles don't change, only technique and application do. To accomplish more in a shorter period of time requires us to discover, understand, internalize and act on the fundamental principles of sales management success.

What are the principles that can help a sales manager be more effective every day? Many readers will find that they are already familiar with these principles, or at least some of them, but most of us forget, and we can't internalize what we forget.

As a professional, you must dedicate yourself to discovering principles that will allow you to do your job better, help make your people better and, as a result, increase your sales.

There are three basic premises on which the career of a successful sales manager is founded:
• Having the ability to hire, develop and keep the right people.
• Acknowledging that being a sales manager can be one's life work—a true profession.
• Understanding that a sales manager is rewarded on the basis of performance.

People
The sales manager's role revolves around people—finding them, training them, developing them and creating an environment where they are willing to give their all and want to stay.

Successful sales managers are always looking for the principles that will allow them to attract, hire, train, develop and keep the right people in their sales organization. Following are three principles and the power they possess to help you get better at focusing on the people aspects of sales management success.

Principle: Only hire people with the proper ID.
Power: In his book "Good to Great," Jim Collins dispels the myth that "people" are our greatest business assets. The right people are, he says. Finding the right people is essential to any organization's growth and well-being.

Saying you should look for people with the "proper ID" is shorthand to help you remember to look for the right personal elements as well as the required professional acumen.

The "I" reminds us to look for people who have integrity, intelligence and initiative. The "D" reminds us to look for people with desire, determination and discipline.

The ID concept reminds us that integrity and discipline are required for sales success.

Remember: "Without the first quality, a person can cause great damage to your organization; without the last quality, a person will never do much of anything for your organization."

Principle: Confused people don't act
Power: People need a clear vision of what to do, how to do it and when it needs to be done. If the sales manager doesn't make the requirements of the task clear, as well as how they are to be executed, people won't act. Having a clear objective of what needs to be done, how it should be done and the timeframe for getting it accomplished is essential for both the salesperson and the sales manager.

Give your salespeople a clear and specific track to run on:

• Make sure they know what to do: "It is your role as a salesperson to find new prospects."

• Make sure they know how to do it: "Here are five possible ways of locating new prospects."

• Make sure they know when to do it: "Every day you need to spend a minimum of two hours focusing on getting new prospects."

Establishing expectations clearly also gives the sales manager the standards by which to manage.

Remember: Where there is no vision, the salespeople fail to thrive.

Principle: You train people initially; you develop people perpetually.
Power: When people come into a sales organization, they are initially trained on the products and services the company offers. They are trained on the pricing, financing options, the delivery systems and all the information needed to sell for this particular organization and/or in a certain profession.

They are also trained in the basics of the sales process, though if they have previous sales experience, they may receive less in the way of actual sales skills training.

In any case, eventually that type of training ends, with the exception of minor updates, such as training on new pricing or administrative procedures. And, it is unfortunate but true that in many cases, once trained, salespeople are never developed. You need to remind salespeople of fundamental sales skills to reinforce those skills, and you need to teach and coach them in advanced sales skills.

Effective managers know that once people are trained on the basics of the business, they should forever be developing their skills. Continuous improvement is critical for the future development of a sales staff. You must not only remind salespeople about the fundamentals of the sales process because it's easy to get off track, but also make sure they are learning new skills at higher levels that will help them grow as sales professionals.

Remember: Initial training has an end, but the ongoing development of a person never does.

Professionalism
When sales managers commit to selling as their life's work, they start looking at things differently. They come to realize the more professional they become, the better quality people they can attract and keep.

Once the commitment is made to become the consummate professional, the sales manager finds the power to achieve the discipline necessary to reach new levels of success.

Following are three principles and the power they possess to help you get better at focusing on the professional aspects of sales management success.

Principle: Demonstrate the behavior you expect.
Power: Leaders of the organization set the tone for everything. They are, like it or not, the model. It is so important for sales managers to realize that every behavior they demonstrate sends a message, a message of what is acceptable and what is not.

Sales managers who follow this principle are always early for any meeting. They always address things that are not in alignment with the company's values at the appropriate time and in the correct manner. They walk with a sense of mission and talk with strength of purpose. They understand that their every behavior, action and word is creating the model of "how things should be done around here."

Remember: Your organization will be a reflection of your behavior.

Principle: Do what you say and only say what you can do.
Power: One of the most important things sales managers need from the members of their sales team is trust. Trust must be earned through the things you say and do. When people trust their leaders they will follow them, and when they don't, they will instead always question them.

Professional sales managers understand that the greatest quality they can possess is that of integrity. You establish your integrity over time by being a person who does what you say you will.

Too often, sales managers will answer a question or grant a request without taking enough time to think the situation through. When it later turns out they gave the wrong answer or they can't follow through, their integrity is damaged. When building a career, it is important to do the things you say, but to also be careful what you say.

Remember: We are judged by others by what we say and what we do.

Principle: Use your influence, not your authority, to get things done.
Power: Sales managers who use their authority or position to get things done have a difficult road to travel. Managing this way never brings out the best your people have to give. It's a management style that doesn't breed loyalty, only contempt.

Sales managers who use the ability to influence others in a positive way get more done—and get it done better. When people are doing things because they want to, they put more of themselves into the task and take pride in owning the job.

Influencing others requires building relationships. It requires effective communication and trust from those who follow you. The sales manager who masters the art of influence establishes a committed group of people willing to do whatever it takes to reach the department's goals and objectives.

Remember: The ability to influence far outweighs the authority to demand.

Performance
A sales manager is in a paid-for-performance profession. However, the sales manager can't produce all the sales volume an organization requires. After all, if one person can produce all the sales needed, there's no need for a sales manager.

Sales managers must produce results through the efforts of other people. Their ability to manage and lead their organization successfully not by doing themselves but by getting things done through other people is critical.

Following are three principles and the power they possess to help you get better at focusing on the performance aspects of sales management success.

Principle: You can't be a manager and not lead.
Power: Managers must not only be effective sales managers, they also must be inspiring leaders. Leaders think strategically; managers implement tactically. Leaders set the goals; managers reach the goals. Leaders foster teamwork; managers mobilize the team.

Understanding this principle allows managers to have a clear understanding that there are times when they are managing—getting things done—but they are also always leading.
 
Being clear on the leadership role of being a sales manager is critical to the long term success of the organization. Inspiring leaders are masters at creating and communicating a clear vision of where the organization is going and how they intend to get there.

An effective leader is good at driving change, at getting people to commit to the overall goals and vision of the company while getting everyone in the organization working together.

Remember: You may not be managing at any giving moment, but you are leading every second.

Principle: Sales managers are always selling.

Power: When people move from the role of salesperson to sales manager, regardless of whether or not they are selling managers, they never stop selling. As a matter of fact, they start selling at a new level, and selling new things.

For example, ask any salesperson the biggest sale they've ever made, and they can tell you off the top of their head. If you ask a sales manager that question, his or her answer should be a name: Susan, George, Barbara or Bill. It should be the name of someone they have sold on entering the profession, or joining their company, who subsequently became a star performer, selling hundreds of thousands or perhaps millions of dollars in products and services.

Selling people on themselves, on reaching higher goals, on the importance of making that second effort—these are just few of the sales a sales manager has to make. Successful sales managers realize they are selling some idea, concept or attitude to someone every day.

Remember: The day a sales manager stops selling is the day he or she stops succeeding.

Principle: You may not always be hiring, but you should always be recruiting.
Power: Most sales managers hire during a time of crisis. They hire when they need someone now. Too often, they therefore make hasty decisions that are not in the best interest of either their company or the person they hire.

Often sales managers recruit when sales are not going well, which may mean morale is down, as well. A new person coming into such a negative situation may soon leave, believing the opportunity is not what they were led to believe it would be.

This is why sales managers should always be recruiting, whether or not they are hiring at that particular moment. They should always be talking about the opportunity their profession offers. They should always be educating their marketplace about the fact that they are always looking for top sales talent.

Since you never know when a top-producing person may leave your organization, and because you never know when the best sales talent in your market may be looking for a change, you should always be recruiting.

Remember: Every week you don't recruit, the next month you may settle for a lesser degree of performance.

People, professionalism, performance
Building an effective, professional, ethical and productive sales organization is the result of years of commitment, effort and determination.

A successful sales organization is made up of people who see selling as their profession of choice and understand that performance is an everyday responsibility.

A successful sales manager is one who can attract the right people, help them become professionals and achieve consistent performance. To do this, sales managers must operate on a set of principles that provides them with a clear vision of what is possible.

Sales management success requires a lifelong search to discover the principles that will transform them and in turn allow them to transform their people, who will then transform our business.

This requires discovering the right people and then helping them understand that selling can be a true profession, helping them internalize your organization's purpose and influencing them to act.

Remember: If you practice the principles, you will possess the power.

PRENEED SALES SUCCESS: PART 3 OF 3

"Marketing is absolutely every bit of contact your business has with any segment of the public."
-Jay Conrad Levinson, author of the Guerrilla Marketing series

When we discuss the subject of marketing, we tend to focus on the advertising component, which is only one part of the overall marketing environment.

Marketing encompasses everything from the way your receptionist answers the phone to the cleanliness of your facility and the sales ability of your counselors and funeral directors. It also includes the price you charge for products and services, your location and its convenience, as well as your public and community relations efforts.

There are two worlds of business. The world outside your door is based on customer perceptions and that is where advertising comes into play. The world inside your door is based on the customer experience; it is the place where you must deliver on all the bold promises you've made. How well do you deliver on those promises?

The four Ps of Marketing
Let's take a textbook look at the four Ps of marketing.

Product is the obvious tangible, physical articles available for sale such as caskets, urns and monuments, to name a few. But a product can also be a service and therefore includes the intangible aspects of your offerings, such as the way a family is treated, grief counseling and guidance in the decision making process.

Your product should include three key components:
•    improved functionality;
•    convenience; and
•    unique benefits.

Price is simply the amount of money or other consideration exchanged for the product. Price is also a quantifiable way of measuring the value that customers place on your product. Being the least expensive won't get you anywhere if the prospect does not have the confidence to buy from you. Many times low price actually scares the buyer.

Place is the location of your company or, for those who do not have a storefront, the distribution channel you use to get your product to the consumer.

Although we have limited control over our physical location, we can use innovative marketing strategies to take our story into the community we serve and increase our profile there. You must also establish a trading area and focus your marketing efforts in that zone.

Promotional activities cover a broad spectrum, from advertising to public relations to personal selling.

Advertising takes place in two phases, the planning and development stage and then the creation and placement of the advertising messages themselves. Advertising is a way of mass selling. If you do it well, it brings in prospects and then salespeople use their skills to turn those prospects into buyers. Sales promotions are short-term strategies to give customers incentives to buy.

Public and community relations are crucial to your success
Public relations and advertising are different. In their book "The Fall of Advertising & The Rise of PR," Al Ries and Laura Ries maintain that a business should be built on PR and maintained through advertising.

If you want your company to grow and prosper, you must make sure your company has a community relations program. At Mount Royal Commemorative Services, we have successfully run a community relations program that has helped us tell our story to more than 2,000 consumers this past year.

Our Seminar Series consists of presentations made by a panel of three experts in their respective fields:

1.    A notary who discusses the merits of a notarial will vs. a holographic will, or a will written in the presence of witnesses.
2.    An estate planner who highlights the tax implications of estate settling and how to best provide for your family's financial welfare after your death.
3.    One of our prearrangement counselors, who extols the merits of preplanning, which include taking a difficult burden off your family; making sure you get the funeral, disposition and memorialization you want; and saving money.

The goal: Making the sale
Personal selling is an integral part of the marketing process; this is when all of your marketing efforts are consummated in a sale. At Mount Royal, we use a program called "Integrity Selling."

Integrity Selling is a philosophy that views the sales process as filling needs, satisfying wants or solving problems. It is a strategy for selling that outlines a step-by-step process for doing it. And, it is an ethics or value-driven system that guides a salesperson's activities.

There are six key steps in the process, as follows:
1.    Approach: Establish rapport with your prospects and put them at ease.
2.    Interview: Listen and gather information about the prospects' wants and needs.
3.    Demonstrate: Present a way to address the wants, needs or problems the prospects have told you about.
4.    Validate: Give the prospects information or an experience that will let them know they can have confidence in what you say.
5.    Negotiate: Work through the problems that keep prospects from buying.
6.    Close: And finally, when prospects are ready to buy. ask them to do it.

Funeral homes that want to offer families an exceptional place for a post-service reception don't have to build or remodel their facility to do it.
Brown-Wynne Funeral Home in Cary, North Carolina, found a way to offer families a choice of facilities near the funeral home.

It's a time for family, tears, love, and laughter. A time for in-laws, grandchildren, siblings and neighbors. A time for lots of decorations, hugs, good food and drink. A time for music and singing. The holidays? No, a funeral reception.

For Jeremy Smith, it was the sight of the lovely grand piano at the Matthews House that made up his mind. "My wife majored in music," he said. "Music was always important in our family."

Smith lost his wife to a sudden, unexpected death. When he walked into the Matthews House, an events facility in Cary, North Carolina, he knew it would be the perfect place for his wife's funeral reception as soon as he saw the piano.

The lazy piano and vocal strains of George Gershwin's "Summertime" entertained Smith's guests and the livin' did seem easy that afternoon inside the stately, columned southern mansion nestled among giant oaks, walnut trees and flower gardens.

Earlier that day, the funeral service was held at Brown-Wynne Funeral Homes & Cremation Services, where a clergyman spoke, but no one else. The fact that no one else addressed the gathering bothered Smith in a subtle way, but as soon as people arrived at the Matthews House reception, the mood changed.

"In the more relaxed setting at the Matthews House, people opened up and shared their experiences and memories about my wife," Smith said. Of the 200 people who came to the funeral service, about 50 attended the reception.

The pianist, the best friend of the Smiths' 19 year old daughter, played the whole time. Smith's daughter and her voice teacher both sang a variety of pieces. "It was my daughter's special way of honoring her mother," Smith said.

Reacting to a trend
Brown-Wynne Funeral Home partnered with the Matthews House as part of its plan to offer the more personalized and meaningful services demanded by baby boomers. Brown-Wynne was among the first funeral homes in the area to extend its services to include arranging for a reception in a homelike environment, tailored to fit the requirements and wishes of its customers.

After attending the funeral service at the Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, family members can attend a reception pre-arranged for them by the Matthews House, complete with music and catering if they choose.

"When a death occurs, remaining family members need a place that allows them to honor a loved one without worrying about the details of a reception," said Nina Davis, vice president and general manager of the Matthews House.

Jim Baron, market manager for the Dignity Memorial Network, of which Brown-Wynne is a member, said that the new arrangements are a logical extension of service. "I see this as moving forward in the profession," Baron said. "Some funeral directors are set in their ways, but you have to be able to adapt to the changing times. You need to continue to make sure there is value in what you offer.

Baron said that while many people may have thought about holding a funeral reception at an events facility, Brown-Wynne acted on the idea and made it commercially available, whether it's called a memorial service, a life celebration or simply a private family gathering.

The Brown-Wynne Funeral Home is known for offering a complete range of quality services while honoring many faiths and customs. It expanded to Cary in 1969, and in 1991, became part of the Dignity Memorial Network.

Brown-Wynne's partnership with the Matthews House is less than a year old, but is already successful. The funeral home has a similar partnership with the Long View Center, a classic, nondenominational tabernacle originally built in 1856, which accommodates as many as 450 guests or as few as 25.

The three facilities are about two miles apart in Cary, the seventh largest city in North Carolina, named the "hottest town" in the East by Money Magazine. One of the fastest growing cities in the United States, Cary is a bedroom community of the Research Triangle Park, which includes more than 100 research and development facilities employing over 38,500 Triangle area residents.

In the past 15 years, Cary's population has climbed from less than 10,000 to more than 90,000. Brown-Wynne advertises to this growing population by handing out brochures and running advertisements in the local newspapers that describe the new arrangements with both the Matthews House and Long View Center.

According to Brown-Wynne General Manager Ron Maness, the Triangle area has been attracting retirees and baby boomers who eventually bring in their parents as well. The preferences of this population group are distinctive, he said. The cremation rate, for example, is higher in Cary than in the rest of the state.

One of the key trends affecting cremation is the weakening of ties to tradition. Funeral homes must be creative and flexible to meet the demands of baby boomers as they begin to bury their parents, their spouses and their friends in the coming decades.

How is the rising cremation rate changing the way you deal with your funeral home's customers and the community?

Funeral service professionals may not be able to change the rising cremation rate, but ignoring it won't make it go away. From California to New York and everywhere in between, funeral homes are experiencing increases in their cremation numbers and changing how they do business accordingly.

"We're definitely seeing a lot more cremations," said Rick Williams, president of Williams Funeral Home in Milledgeville, Georgia. "I can remember back in the '60s when my dad first opened the funeral home, we would have one or two cremations a year. Very, very few. And now it's certainly grown quite a bit.

"We're trying to be responsive to the public's requests by providing the services they want and finding unique ways to help them memorialize their loved ones."

Williams is not alone; more and more funeral directors are changing their approach to cremation, perceiving it less as the enemy and more as an opportunity to provide new levels of service to their families.

They are learning that cremation does not have to mean a minimal service—or no service at all. There are a number of ways funeral directors can ensure that more cremations do not lead to disappearing profits.

Providing even more cremation options can help bring in more business and help your firm gain a competitive edge over others in the area. The important thing is to keep families informed of their options. People can only purchase a product or service if they know it is available.

To better assist their families, many funeral homes are creating entire selection rooms devoted to cremation, expanding their selection of cremation products and building their own crematories.

ICFM talked to eight funeral service professionals across the country about how they are responding to cremation.

SUSAN BRING, president of Bring Funeral Home Inc., Tucson, Arizona, and STANLEY STOBIERSKI, owner and president of Heritage Memory Mortuary, Prescott, Arizona, are no strangers to cremation. With a statewide cremation rate close to 65 percent, neither feels threatened by the high numbers.

''I think that one of the big mistakes people make with cremation is just talking about it like it is negative," Bring said. ''Too many people approach it from the standpoint that it is in lieu of burial, but it doesn't have to be. The important thing is to keep families informed of their options."

Bring does that by getting involved in her community with a program she calls "Necessary Conversations." She and her staff visit local organizations such as hospices, churches, schools, mobile home parks and businesses. They explain the options available and encourage people to make their wishes known to their families.

Stobierski owns several funeral homes in Arizona and is in the process of building a crematory which should be completed early in 2006. He agrees with the philosophy that cremation should not limit choices.

"Our feeling is that cremation has to be taken just as earth burial or entombment would be, and it's a matter of us creating different types of funerals with cremation." 

To better assist cremation families and make them aware of all their options, Stobierski and his staff have created a cremation room with cremation caskets and other products, including a larger selection of urns and keepsakes.

NATHAN BITNER, president of Hetrick Funeral Home Inc., Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is another strong believer in the importance of keeping families informed and making quality service the first priority.

"There have been times when the family didn't want a memorial service, but still wanted a two hour time when people could come and express their sympathies and condolences to the families," Bitner said. ''We try to accommodate all requests."

Making more services available to cremation families and being receptive to their specific needs has helped Hetrick Funeral Home maintain a very low direct cremation rate. In recent years, Hetrick has expanded its selection room to include a wider selection of cremation caskets and urns and keepsake items such as necklaces, bracelets and fingerprint jewelry.

Families who come to Moloney's Lake Funeral Home in Lake Ronkonkoma, New York, are attracted to the beautiful setting of the funeral home as well as the many options that are available to them.

F. DANIEL MOLONEY JR., owner and funeral director, works hard to bring in more cremation families, in spite of some unique challenges created by New York state law, which prohibits funeral directors from owning their own crematories. Because Moloney owned a crematory before the law went into effect, Moloney's Lake Funeral Home is one of only a handful of firms in New York that have one, yet he is not permitted to advertise this fact.

Instead, his ads emphasize other qualities that would appeal to cremation families, such as the Mother Teresa Tribute Center, a stand-alone building on the grounds of one of their funeral homes that can hold up to 100 people. This tribute center, where food and drink can be served, can be used for committal services, group meetings and more, but its primary function is to offer families a more comfortable setting to say goodbye to their loved ones.

All five of the Moloney funeral homes have memorialization centers with a variety of products, including urns, jewelry, candles, religious items and cremation casket units, set up in such a way as to make families feel less intimidated.

These efforts seem to be paying off. "Our direct cremation rate has actually gone down over the past five years, though the cremation rate has gone up," Moloney said. "So we think that the things we're doing are putting us in the right direction and attracting those families that are looking for innovative ways to memorialize."

Williams Funeral Home in Milledgeville, Georgia, is the first and only funeral home in its county to have a crematory. RICK WILLIAMS, president, saw the need for one just over three years ago. In addition to handling their own cremations, they perform cremations for other local funeral homes.

Williams also stresses the need to educate families about all of their options. By spending time talking to families about cremation, he has found that more people are opting for embalming, viewing in a rental casket and funeral services in the chapel followed by cremation the next day.
"As things keep evolving and society keeps changing, people want to know their options," Williams said. 'The more options that are out there for them, the more they can take advantage of them."

In the past, Williams said, it was rare to see older people choosing cremation, but that is not so much the case today. Cremation is growing among people of all generations. ''I guess people are looking for the simplicity and the ecology," he said. ''People get warm and fuzzy feelings for different reasons. We're definitely seeing a lot more cremations."

When MARC BURR, a fifth-generation funeral director and president of Burr Funeral Home and Cremation in Chardon, Ohio, started offering LifeGem more than two years ago, the concept of turning cremated remains into diamonds was a new, exotic option. His own mother left the room in disgust in the middle of Burt's local television interview about the new service.

Since then, the concept has caught on and Burr has sold four LifeGems in the past two years, each costing as much as $10,000.  One family in particular stands out in his memory because he can still recall the smiles on their faces the day they picked up the diamond. To them it was a perfect and permanent remembrance of their loved one.

“There are many other folks who probably wouldn't think it is appropriate, but isn't that what we're here for?" Burr said. "To help every family do what has meaning to them, not to their neighbors."
The first cremation at Burr Funeral Home was in 1912, and they have continued ever since. Geauga County, where Burr Funeral Home is located, has always been one of the highest per capita income counties in Ohio, and they are used to dealing with cremation-oriented consumers.

Burr's philosophy is to embrace change and be open to new ideas. "If a family wants to do something, and it's legal, we're going to make it happen."

In one of the more unusual services Burr remembers, the deceased's cremated remains were divided into four separate urns, each of which was given to one of the man's four siblings. They brought the urns up to the altar at a Catholic Mass, where the priest accepted them.

''You want to talk about a change," Burr said, "talk about the changes going on in the church. Specifically the Catholic Church where, in the past, the body had to be present and cremation was considered a negative, and now the priest is allowing four individual containers to be brought up front during the Mass."

Under the leadership of operations manager BRADLEY BISHOP, Allnut Funeral Homes in Fort Collins, Colorado, differentiates itself from surrounding funeral homes by incorporating innovative technology and personalization in all of its services and merchandise.

One of the products offered at Allnut Funeral Homes is software which allows families to scan photographs to their computer and personalize a scrapbook of the person's life. They also offer people the option of purchasing a package that includes video presentations, flowers, personalized folders and use of reception facilities.

Cremation families can choose from a variety of products, including jewelry, urns, sandstone benches and pillar stones, which can be personalized and placed in gardens. ''With regards to personalization, we've even transformed one of our casket selection rooms into what we call a 'celebrate life room.' We decided to take the 22 caskets out and make the space more suitable for every family, not just burial families, so that they can see all the options available," Bishop explained.

''Personalization makes the service so much better." Bishop said he always tries to honor the families' requests no matter how odd they may seem to others. He recalls one family with an apparent sense of humor who asked for tin cans to be placed at the back of a funeral coach with a sign saying "Just Buried," instead of "Just Married." He obliged, of course.

To RAY VISOTSKI, CFSP, owner and manager of George Funeral Homes in Charleston, South Carolina, quality service means doing things right the first time and focusing more on what you can do for people rather than what you can sell them.

Visotski said he does not believe in investing in a huge inventory of merchandise. Instead, he instills in his staff the importance of paying attention to details and being perceptive to the needs of families.

"We started a long time ago readjusting our prices to reflect the value of our licenses, our background and our experiences, as opposed to just trying to sell lots of stuff to make up for our profit. We don't have a big emphasis on merchandise here. Never had, and probably never will. There are so many things you can be doing for people. They need to perceive value in what you charge."

Visotski believes it is this philosophy that has helped his company increase its market share from 35 to 52 percent in the past six years.

One combination of service and merchandise they have added to increase value to families is memorial videos and DVDs. Because they are included in the basic services package, they are produced at no extra charge and have proven to be a great success.

In addition to owning two funeral homes, Visotski also owns the South Carolina Cremation & Memorial Society, a direct disposition service which rents space, staff and use of the crematory from George Funeral Home. Because of the society's low fixed expenses, it is able to offer simple cremation at discounted prices.

Since much of the society's business is done via phone, fax and e-mail, it is not uncommon for Visotski and his staff never to meet the families with whom they deal Visotski advertises the society's services by placing ads in newspapers around the state, excluding his own market, and also informs people of this option through his work with hospice programs.

PRENEED SALES SUCCESS: PART 2 0F 3

The best definition of marketing is that it consists of absolutely every bit of contact your business has with any segment of the public, a circle that begins with your ideas for generating revenue with the goal of amassing a large number of repeat and referral customers.

In part 1 we covered one of the key elements of your marketing efforts, that is, advertising as it relates to media selection and the tracking of results.

In Part 2, we will be covering the critical topic of the content of your advertising, and in part 3, we will begin to delve into other marketing issues such as price, public relations and the customer experience.

A company can advertise in many different ways, including price and item; branding or top-of-mind awareness; and direct response. At Mount Royal Commemorative Services we have made a commitment to a concept called educational marketing.

Our ads, primarily on the radio (as explained in Part 1), have three main components.

First, the "hook." The initial seven seconds is critical if you want to grab the listeners' attention, so our ads start with a question such as: "Did you know that one out of every two Canadians chooses cremation over traditional burial?" or "Did you know that 71 percent of consumers preplan their funeral arrangements when making a will?"

Second, more information. We provide more details on the topic introduced by the question, and relate that information to the benefits offered by Mount Royal.

Third, the call to action. Even though our ads take an educational approach, advertising without a call to action is wasted. Unless you're General Motors or McDonald's, the concept of branding is difficult to achieve when you are working with a limited budget. Advertising involves getting your name out, and branding is simply attaching something to your name.

What call to action do we use? It's simple: ''Call today for your free information kit with no obligation." You need to repeat the phone number at least twice in the ad, and then your company name and slogan.
For example: "Call today for your free information kit with no obligation ... 279- PLAN ... that's 279-7526. Mount Royal Commemorative Services ... tradition ... trust ... tribute."

Bad response rate? It's probably your fault.
Most advertising isn't working like it should, and in most cases the blame lies entirely with the advertiser. Most advertisers insist on repetitiously cramming the name of their company, the name of their product, their business hours and their street address into every ad they buy.

Such ads do a great job of answering the "who, where, what and when" but fail to answer the all-important question "why?" Bad advertising is about the advertiser; good advertising is about the customer.

Alvin Eicoff created the direct-response television industry. A contrarian, his philosophies shocked the advertising community, but his success could not be denied. Eicoff sold product. Lots of product. The phrase "or your money back" is his. Those ubiquitous 800 numbers came into being in part because of Eicoff.

Eicoff was elected to the Direct Marketing Hall of Fame and was cited by Advertising Age as one of the 50 most influential advertising people in television history. His three-part approach for creative advertising was simple:

1.    State the problem.
2.    Explain the solution.
3.    Demonstrate how your product or service best provides the solution.

Another method of approaching ad content:

•    Focus on the prospect.
•    Emphasize your USP (unique selling proposition)....
•    Repeat, repeat, repeat.
•    Add testimonials.
•    Provide a guarantee.
•    Offer a premium.
•    Set a deadline.
•    Tell them what to do.

The educational approach works
Over the last five years, our educational marketing approach has paid great dividends. We have amassed a database of approximately 5,000 prospects, people who have contacted us to request our free information kit.

Some of these prospects have prearranged with us; the others are part of our CRM (customer relationship management) program, which enables us to make many "touch points," including our newsletters and phone calls.

The content of the information kit sent out is very important. Make sure it is filled with relevant information that will pique their interest so you will be able to schedule a follow-up meeting. Our counselors contact all those who receive an information kit within 10 days and try to set up an appointment.

The bottom line is that even a million dollar ad campaign encompassing television, radio, print and billboards will fail without the right message. Stay away from price, clichés and generic death care approaches.

People want more information about our profession, so provide it to them and watch your business grow.

Next: Part 3 will discuss marketing of which advertising is just one component.

PRENEED SALES SUCCESS: PART 1 OF 3

"Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half."—attributed to John Wanamaker (1838-1922)

One of the biggest challenges we face as funeral and cemetery marketers is the ability to figure out what part of our advertising mix is working and, conversely, what part is not. Unless your advertising budget is all placed with one specific medium, this is not an easy task.

The main reason marketers have traditionally used newspapers as their main advertising vehicle is the tangibility factor. Consumers may enter your funeral home or cemetery with a copy of the ad in their hand, giving you the opportunity to see that print works. But is it cost-efficient and does it deliver more than a less tangible medium such as broadcast, i.e., television and radio?

Direct mail is traditionally the most tangible of all advertising vehicles, but without a solid offer, your response rate can hover at less than 1 percent.

So how do we best track our advertising efforts? By making specific offers in each ad that are unique to the particular medium or by incorporating different phone numbers in each medium used.

How does a funeral home or cemetery make an offer? It doesn't have to be a traditional offer such as a discount. If you are marketing preneed, consumers will not make a spontaneous decision based on seeing or hearing an ad.

A simple two-step marketing process would be a "call to action" offering a free information kit with no obligation. Because 87 percent of those who ask for literature expect to eventually purchase, the odds are in your favor.

Select the right media and track results
At Mount Royal Commemorative Services in Montreal, Quebec, we use radio as our primary medium of choice. Why radio? Because of COMQUEST research conducted on the average daily share of time spent with media. The findings are listed in the chart on this page.

With consumers spending 23 hours a week watching television, 21 hours listening to the radio and only 2.9 hours reading the newspaper, broadcast media is the obvious choice. However, advertisers are still spending 55 percent of their dollars on "eye" media and 45 percent on "ear" media.

The radio advertising that we do is tracked scientifically through the use of five different phone numbers on five different radio stations.

Consumers call in to request an information kit, which one of our preneed counselors sends. The names of the people calling in are added to our database and the counselors follow up within 10 days to make sure the kits have been received and to set up appointments. Once an appointment is made, the closing ratio is well over 50 percent.

The advantage of this approach is that we know what stations are working in terms of cost efficiency and which are not.

Radio also provides us with the ability to target a specific customer demographic such as adults 55 years and older, something more difficult to do with other media.

Some AM stations with plenty of inventory may consider working out a PI (per inquiry) arrangement that pays the station a designated amount whenever the phone rings—a win-win relationship for both parties.

The only other advertising vehicle we use is direct mail, which takes the form of newsletters. We use our newsletters to talk to new prospects as well as to stay in touch with the people in the database we have compiled over the years.

Stand out in a crowded field
Consumers today are inundated with advertising messages to the point the average North American is exposed to 3,000 of them on a daily basis.

With a satellite dish, consumers have access to upwards of 500 TV channels and over the last 15 years, the three major broadcast networks have seen their share of primetime TV viewing plunge from 70 percent to 36 percent.

Only 42 percent of readers recall noting a full-page ad in the newspaper, and it would take 18 days of reading at 18 hours a day to read a typical Sunday edition of The New York Times.

Therefore, the third component of an effective marketing campaign, following selecting the right media and tracking results, is being creative.

Because our budgets are limited, every ad we run should include a unique selling proposition, something our cemetery or funeral home offers that no one else does.

How many times have you heard or seen a cemetery or funeral ad that sounds identical to all the others? Rise above the clutter by offering added value, taking the time to educate consumers, and asking them to do something. Marketing is only effective if it delivers results.    

Next: Part 2 will talk specifically about a creative approach called educational marketing.

Adapted from a presentation at the 2005 ICFA Annual Convention

We all know the importance of media relations in our profession, but we don't all know how to handle it. No matter what the size of your business, some simple tools and techniques can allow you to effectively tell your story and deal proactively with the media.

Those of us in the deathcare profession can no longer afford to have the marketplace tell our story for us. It is our responsibility to become evangelists for funeral homes and cemeteries by working on a program of press releases and greater media contact.

Media relations, a subset of public relations, is what is involved in your efforts to build and maintain a relationship with the media in your community. Building the relationship is the first step, but maintaining it is just as important if you want your efforts to have a lasting effect.

"Media" is usually associated with television and newspapers but also extends to other areas, including the Internet, magazines and radio. There are 30 million Web sites out there today, 17,000 specialized magazines, 10,000 radio stations and 35,000 interviews being conducted daily in America.

What does this mean for the funeral and cemetery profession? It gives us endless opportunities to connect with the public and get our stories known.

Over half of Americans get their news from television, which has increased its news time slots to give viewers more options. Hard news (usually negative) is the story: who, what, when and where. Feature news (usually positive) is the how or why.

Feature news is now growing rapidly as reporters are faced with more time to fill. Both newspapers and television stations often try to localize stories, focusing on a person or business in their readership or viewing area. Make yourself known to your local reporters by suggesting ideas for feature stories and alerting them to hard news stories of which they may not be aware.

Developing a press kit and press release
The first step in dealing proactively with the media is to create an effective media relations program. The basic media materials that should go in your press kit are a company background sheet, fax sheet, business cards, a company brochure and a letter of introduction.

When preparing a press release:
• Keep it brief (no more than a page long) and factual. If the media think there is a story, they will give you a call and come out with their photographer and reporter.

• Be objective. Your press release should be about something important to the media and the public.

• Avoid speaking in lingo. When talking about opening and closing fees, explain what those fees cover. Instead of saying GPL, talk about the general price list. Keep your release in consumer language.

• Create a compelling headline. Think of a catchy and unique headline that will grab the reporter's attention right from the start.

• Use an inverted pyramid. Cram as much as you can at the top of your press release, especially the important information. Often as a reporter or editor is putting a story or segment together, time is short and the last paragraphs are cut. Have a point, and get to it quickly.

• Keep information local. Cater the release and cover letter to your particular community and the publication or station to which you're sending it.

• Send in the press release early. If you wait until the last minute, they may not have enough time to put a segment together or to meet deadlines.

Topics for a press release
Be creative; this list is just a beginning:
•    New programs or services at your business
•    Expansions or additions that have been added to your facility
•    People you have hired or promoted recently
•    Open houses
•    Grief counseling or pre-planning

If you are trying to pitch a story beyond a simple press release, you may be pitching a feature story. Be sure to present the content of the story in the cover letter, explaining why it is important and should be given consideration. Also list materials that you have available such as charts, graphs and photos. Try to make it as easy for the news staff as possible by offering an interview or a tour.

Our profession deals with human and personal lives, so make it a human interest story. Do not give a PR line; rather, let the story do that for you by talking in the media's terms.

Dealing with negative stories
When faced with a negative situation, think creatively to find the positive. One example of this is a funeral director who called up a local radio station after the story about caskets being sold at Costco first surfaced. He took what could have been a negative story about people buying caskets at Costco and put a more positive slant on it by talking about personalization, which is still a buzz word for consumers.

In a radio interview he said that people are generally happy with the current casket selection process. "Directly marketing caskets does not seem to be successful," he said. ''Those places go out of business quickly. People don't go to Costco to buy caskets. How much personalization is available in a catalogue for Costco? A salesperson cannot offer the time or the resources needed to personalize the experience."

As you move forward in building your relationship with the media, remember to be accessible so that reporters know they can reach you. Once you establish a relationship, it can develop into an ongoing stream of publicity opportunities.

When making the first call, offer to stop by to say hello, and drop off the media kit at that time. Once you make a promise to give a reporter access to someone or something, deliver on that promise. If you tell them you will give them an interview or a tour of your grounds, do it.

Preparing for an interview
Finally, here are some tools and techniques for effective news interviews:
•    Be prepared. Do your homework.  Know what kinds of questions this reporter typically asks and prepare responses ahead of time.
•    Be honest. In the age of the Internet, reporters quickly find out if you are lying.
•    Be helpful. Go out of your way to provide information that will help reporters do a story. They are always looking for other sources and other angles, so always have another funeral director in your area ready to be interviewed. You may also suggest they contact a trade association such as the ICFA.
•    Avoid saying "no comment," because it is perceived as an admission of guilt.
•    Avoid yes or no answers to awkward questions. If you are asked a tough question, especially one that is phrased awkwardly, rephrase the question back to the reporter instead of saying just "yes" or "no."
•    Remember the videographer. The person with the camera in his or her hand is just as important as the person holding the microphone or pen. The person who really is going to make you look good is the one behind the camera, so if you offer the reporter a soft drink or coffee, do the same for the videographer.

Dealing proactively with the media is beneficial to you, your business and the profession as a whole. The more we strive to get our message out there, the better the public perception will be of our profession.

Never forget, it's a small world, getting smaller every day, so take nothing for granted. Take every opportunity to tell your own story, so that the marketplace doesn't tell it for you.

Adapted from a presentation at the 2005 ICFA Annual Convention

A conflict has arisen between the deathcare profession and the consumer.
It is a battle between tradition and change, with one side tied to "the way we've always done it" and the other consistently rejecting it.
You need to understand the dramatic changes that have taken place and what they mean for funeral and cemetery services. Your livelihood is at stake.

Society has gone through drastic changes over recent years, affecting the way businesses run and consumers buy. The type of change of which I speak is not a gradual change; it is the dramatic change that occurs in a business and stretches that business like a rubber band to the point where it can never go back to the way it was. At that point, that business, society or institution has been changed forever.

Stretching the rubber band creates a new way of thinking, or what we call a generic strategic breakthrough. Two conditions must exit simultaneously for this type of change to occur.

First, there has to be a change in the way something is done or in the product that is used to do it. Secondly, there must be a change in the environment. For an innovation to be accepted into the marketplace, the market has to be ready for it.

An example that illustrates this phenomenon is the creation of food supermarkets in the 1920s and '30s. During the Great Depression two men noticed an old warehouse in New Jersey selling wholesale products. They took this idea back to Columbus, Ohio, where they started the first supermarket in the United States, called "The Big Bear."

This store still exists today as an affiliate of IGA. The store got its name after a bear that was trained to walk down the aisles of the store taking cans off shelves and placing them in a shopping basket. The idea was that if a bear can do it, anyone can.

For the time period, the creation of Big Bear was a generic strategic breakthrough because once the idea of a supermarket was born; businesses were never the same again. For the supermarket innovation to be successful, there were two external conditions that had to exist: refrigeration and automobiles. Before the 1920s, the idea of a supermarket might have existed in someone’s head, but the environment did not allow it to flourish.

Before refrigeration, people did not have the means to store perishable food, nor effective transportation to bring it home from the store. After the 1920s the icebox allowed every family to have refrigeration, and private vehicles eliminated the need for delivery trucks. Without refrigeration and private vehicles, the idea would never have succeeded.

Today, the traditional supermarket is under siege. People are now rejecting the old supermarket in favor of stores such as Wal-Mart where everything is under one roof.
Innovation and changing consumer expectations are the elements that drive change. The purpose of a business is to create a satisfied customer, so it is the company's responsibility to adapt to the trends and ideas of the marketplace. If a business ignores these trends, it cannot survive.

How consumers buy today
The first step to adapting your business to the evolving market is to understand who your consumers are and how they buy. Wal-Mart has become the largest corporation that ever existed in the world, each year bringing in hundreds of billions of dollars in sales.

The principal motivating factor that brings people to Wal-Mart is not its service (or lack of) or even its price, it is convenience. The people who choose to shop at Wal-Mart do not expect front door service, nor do they want it. They come because they can find everything they need in one store.

More and more, the consumer preference is leaning toward self-serve businesses. Consumers no longer want to be bothered while they shop. They like to know that someone is there if they have questions, but they do not need someone following them around the store asking if they can help. In fact, women's universal response to the question, "Can I help you?" is "No thanks, I'm just looking."

People have adapted to the "I'm just looking" mentality, because stores are now set up to make it easy for consumers to find what they are looking for on their own.

What do food chains such as McDonalds, Subway, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell have in common? They offer consistent and predictable service. People like walking into stores and making their own decisions.

Fast food restaurants have evolved from single brands into multi-brands, which I refer to as "KenTaco Hut." This is where you have Kentucky Fried Chicken, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and Exxon gas under one roof. These complexes have spread all across the country, strategically placed right off of freeway exits. KenTaco Huts are good for the gas stations because they get some of the people who normally pay at the pump back into their stores.

Fast food restaurants are constantly adapting their menus to meet the changing demands of consumers and the latest diet trends. Subway, which used to talk about fat, has evolved its entire menu to focus on carbohydrates. Hardee's offers a burger without a bun.

McDonald's has created a happy meal for adults including a salad, a bottle of water, and a pedometer so that after you eat your salad and drink your water you can walk and measure how far you have gone.

Has the price list for your cemetery or funeral home evolved in the same way that these food businesses have?

Funeral service stuck in the past
Our offers just have not changed much. What would your offer be today if you knew that everyone walking through your door was going to spend $20,000? Although they are not spending that much now, maybe they would if we let them.

This has nothing to do with money. If you are ready to sell your products, people will be ready to buy, but you need to have these products and services available. We have to be better prepared to allow our consumer to say yes to something bigger and better.

Our profession is stuck back in 1962. It is the only profession that has not evolved
to meet the changing needs of the consumer. The same consumers who have been brought up on Wal-Mart, Home Depot and McDonald's are the consumers who walk into our funeral homes or cemetery offices.

We take those people and immediately assume it is a good idea to teach them a new way to shop. We make them sit silently across the table from us and listen as we tell them how and what they should buy.

People do not buy like this anywhere else in the world except possibly a timeshare sale. Do you like being compared to that? Research has consistently shown that people are not happy with the funeral selection process. The response to you is positive, but the response to our process is embarrassing.

The most difficult paradox for us to understand as a profession is that people like not being waited on. We grew up with the notion that personal service meant personal attention and lots of it.

Now the definition of personal service is changing to a point where, ironically, one-on-one service across a table is actually considered impersonal. People prefer to be let loose and look on their own.

So how can we help our businesses to evolve and better meet the needs of consumers? First of all, we need industrial strength training of employees.

We are the only profession I have ever seen that will allow people to work for us who we know are screwing up. They may be nice people, but they do not belong face-to-face with your customers.

Too often we have the attitude, "Well, he's never wrecked a hearse, and he's worked here 27 years, so he's got to be a nice guy." You have to remember that he is the one in the selection room with your families.
No other business does that. Other businesses go to great lengths to make sure their employees understand the company strategy. Their employees also know that if they mess up, they can lose their job.

What about cemeteries?
Some of us cemeterians still have books of rules as if we are in such high demand that we can make all our future neighbors accede to our requirements. If they don't, we will not even let them through the gates. I am not sure that any of our cemeteries are in a strong enough position to be so demanding.

Even if your cemetery is the only one in town, if your demands get too far out of line, families can just turn away. What are they turning away to? Cremation. Our entire profession can literally go up in smoke.

People thinking about cremation generally do not think about cemeteries. A cemetery's value proposition is the one most challenged by cremation because it is the least recognized.

Our mobile society itself is putting your cemetery offer under siege. An example is a woman who wishes she had kept her parents' urn with her because she lives in Florida and they are in a niche in Pennsylvania.
 
Our challenge as a profession is to find out who we are and what we are about. Are people venerating the memory or are they venerating the remains?

The only way to find out what people really want is to set up interviews conducted by an independent source (someone other than you) and ask them for their thoughts. Afterward, you need to follow up on their responses and make the necessary changes.

To change our image, we must change what we do
There are not a lot of positive things being said about our profession, and it is not going away until we change our system. We can no longer afford to be just "not bad" to offset the negativity about us in the marketplace.

In 1963, Jessica Mitford wrote a book called "The American Way of Death" which impacted us all and led to the implementation of the 1984 FTC rule. Between 50,000 and 100,000 copies of her book were sold.

Today, over 15 million people each week watch the television show "Six Feet Under," and like it or not, these viewers are comparing the selling process in the show with your process.

We also are compared to others in our profession. We are judged and convicted by the sins of others, by the least among us. The responsibility for change is not on the people screwing it up, it is on you. It is on those of us who know better and are passionate enough about the business to want to make a difference.
We need to start innovating and leading by example. Bring people with you to meetings or show them relevant articles. Take any opportunity to be a leader and go to those people in your neighborhood to share what you have learned. Without you, they may never hear it.

Think of the most memorable funeral you directed or were a part of and identify the elements that made it so memorable. Figure out a way to make your funerals memorable on a daily basis, because ultimately that is what will drive people to you.

If we don't do it, someone outside of our profession is going to do it for us.

This is your consumer and your business to win or lose, and I believe that we all have the power necessary to make this business last far into the future.

East Lawn Memorial Parks & Mortuaries has hit on a way to make people look forward to hearing from them.
This "soft sell" approach has brought them community goodwill and a steady stream of people who pick up the phone and call East Lawn.

In the spring of 2000, I was working a preneed booth at a senior exposition held in a hotel in Sacramento, where East Lawn Memorial Parks & Mortuaries is located.

One of the exposition's major sponsors was a local radio station, KCTC, which maintains a format that appeals to the senior market. Dubbed "Your Memories Station," KCTC has a growing audience of senior listeners—our primary target market.

During the exposition I met Tom Pate, an advertising executive for KCTC. While he and I were talking, I shared with him the challenges inherent in marketing cemetery and funeral products and services.

I had been looking for a new marketing vehicle that would be innovative while maintaining the requisite subtlety and dignity. Tom said he'd give some thought to a delivery mechanism that would meet our needs.

Shortly after our initial visit, Tom called me with a program concept and a spokesperson, Jerry Healey. Jerry is a well known voice in the local senior community. He's actively involved in everything from doing ads to hosting senior events and excursions.

Tom and Jerry were getting ready to start a daily radio program called "Feel Good Moments." The concept was simple: Jerry would read a short inspirational story, poem or quotation.  Sometimes the piece would be funny, sometimes poignant. Sometimes it would relate to current events and conditions. Often it would recall ''the good ole days." In all cases, the message is a positive one.

East Lawn became sponsor of this three-minute feature that runs every weekday at 9:30 a.m. Our name is mentioned both before and after the "Feel Good Moments" broadcast. In addition, the station runs promos for the program throughout the day which also mention East Lawn's sponsorship.

An important part of the program is the fact that listeners are invited to call either the station or East Lawn if they want a transcript of a particular "Feel Good Moments" broadcast. Requests that go directly to the station are referred to us.

These transcript requests give East Lawn a chance to contact people directly. We either mail the transcripts, which are provided on East Lawn letterhead, or deliver them in person. We also enclose material about East Lawn, preplanning and other information.

The transcripts invariably end up displayed on the refrigerator or some other prominent spot in people's homes, a constant reminder that East Lawn is responsible for this positive message.

Since the broadcasts began in July 2000, we have received anywhere from five to 15 requests a week for a "Feel Good Moments" transcript. Listeners have been very appreciative of the program and rightly perceived that East Lawn has made these day-brighteners possible.

When we exhibit at senior fairs and in other venues, we promote Jerry and the ''Feel Good Moments" via posters.

After nearly five years on the air, this marketing campaign continues to evoke community interest. The station's listeners reach a large geographic area—as do our funeral homes and cemeteries—and the program has grown in popularity.

The program has become an established favorite for many seniors and I have enjoyed talking to listeners, providing them with broadcast transcripts and sharing with them a little bit about our mortuaries and memorial parks.

One of many 'feel good moments' shared with the public

A transcript of one "feel good moment" sponsored by East Lawn Memorial Park:

A three-word philosophy
I have a friend who lives by a three-word philosophy: "Seize the moment." A wise woman! Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule or are too rigid to depart from their routine.

I got to thinking one day about all those women on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back. From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible.

How many women out there will eat at home because their husband didn't suggest going out to dinner until after something had been thawed? Does the word ''refrigeration'' mean nothing to you?

I can't count the number of times I called my sister and said, "How about going to lunch?" She would gasp and stammer, ''I can't. My hair is dirty, I had a late breakfast, it looks like rain." And, my personal favorite, "It's Monday." She died a few years ago.... We never did have lunch together.

We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves, but life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter and the list of promises gets longer.
One morning we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of "I'm going to," "I plan on" and "Someday, when things settle down a bit."

I love ice cream. It's just that I might as well apply it directly to my hips with a spatula and eliminate the digesting process. However, the other day I stopped the car and bought a triple decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy.

How can you influence people who choose cremation not to automatically link it with scattering or keeping an urn on the mantle piece? The cemeteries in one Catholic diocese worked with its local association and suppliers on a creative advertising campaign to remind people of the importance of cemeteries.

The Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis has six cemeteries, one of which is 150 years old and has over 100,000 interments. So we have a long tradition of taking care of Catholic families at their time of need.

After several years of having almost the same number of burials each year, in 2003 there was a noticeable drop in interments despite the fact that the death rate remained virtually the same.

Over that same period of time, the cremation rate in The Catholic Cemeteries went from 18 percent to 21 percent, and the overall cremation rate in the Twin Cities market went from 22 percent to 30 percent. As we all know, these are numbers that will continue to go up.

My assistant Judy Fletcher and I did some research by monitoring the obituary pages. We found that 43 percent of the obituaries listed no cemetery for an interment. This of course raised a red flag. Those people are either keeping an urn on the mantel or scattering the remains.

The idea and the funding
We wondered: How could we educate the increasingly cremation-minded public about the continuing importance of cemeteries, regardless of the method of disposition?

I proposed to John Cherek, director of The Catholic Cemeteries, that we present an advertising plan to the Twin Cities Cemetery Association, a local association with a number of participating cemeteries.

The ad campaign would be designed to stress the importance of using a cemetery. In other words, to create a demand for our product. Of course we advertise to get sales, but we didn't expect this particular program to generate sales immediately. Our goal was to do something about the fact that the death rate has not gone down, but the burial rate has.

In February 2004, with our TV representative and a radio representative, I made a presentation to the Twin Cities Cemetery Association.

I told them that our real competitors were not each other but the ideas that caused people to take urns home or to scatter remains who knows where.

Association members approved the campaign almost unanimously. The next question was where would the money come from to pay for the campaign. We decided the cemeteries would do it.

When you're dealing with a group, there will always be some people who don't go along with an idea. Some cemeteries did not participate financially, in effect getting a free ride, since the ads try to sell the idea of cemeteries rather than a particular cemetery.

We made presentations to suppliers, who we felt also had a vested interest in our success. Most of them embraced the idea and agreed to participate financially in the project.

Action!
I then wrote several possible commercials and presented them to the Twin Cities Cemetery Association members. They selected the ad, which would feature a young mother and her 12-year old daughter, called "Where's Grandpa now?"

Our local television station, WCCO-TV, produced the commercial at no cost to us in consideration of the amount we spend on running ads every year. The child, an aspiring actress, performed for free in order to build up her resume.

We decided that our first campaign involving radio and television commercials would air the week after Memorial Day at a cost of $22,000.

The first year would be the most difficult financially, as none of the cemeteries or vendors had budgeted advertising dollars for this type of awareness campaign.

The association plans to continue running the ad campaigns. We have several 30-second television and 60-second radio ad scripts prepared.

An effective preneed program takes work.
You need to generate leads in a variety of ways and give your salespeople the incentive to succeed.

In part one we focused on the first two components of a successful preneed program: program planning, monitoring and alignment and counselor recruiting, hiring and training. These components must be established prior to implementing the last two components: lead-generation and lead-management programs and incentive and recognition programs.

Component #3:
Lead generation and management
One hallmark of a successful preneed system is a diverse lead-generation program. If one or two lead-generation sources are successful, by all means continue to implement those tactics, but consider broadening your marketing mix. If your firm is successful now, imagine the potential for added success if you implement additional lead-generation tactics.

A successful preneed program should include the following four lead-generation sources to increase leads, build brand in the community and increase market share:
1.    direct mail
2.    seminars
3.    referrals
4.    family follow-up

Direct Mail. Direct mail is an effective way to promote your preneed program and funeral home and/or cemetery brand to target audiences in your market. While the industry standard response rate for direct mail is 1 percent, a well-researched and executed campaign can garner response rates up to 10 percent.

When selecting a direct mail campaign from your preneed provider or another source, consider the following to increase the response rate:
• Does the mailing include a business reply card?
• Is the call to action clear in the direct mail piece?
• Is there an incentive for consumers to respond?
• Is the funeral home and/or cemetery contact information easy to locate?
• Is the font large enough for seniors to read?
• Does the piece appeal to the diverse age group in your target market?
• Do the photos include pictures of active seniors?
• Is the piece—both the design and marketing copy-appealing?

Seminars. Seminars are planned community presentations designed to communicate the value and benefit of advanced planning. Seminar topics may include social security, estate taxes, veterans' benefits and legal issues in addition to preplanning and prefunding.

Although presenting the benefits of preneed at your local church or Kiwanis meeting can be successful, your firm can achieve more qualified leads by hosting a seminar because your audience has essentially prequalified itself as viable leads.

Seminars are an effective way to:
• increase the number of leads by sharing the preneed story with a large audience;
• promote your company's brand in a professional and caring manner;
• provide a valuable community service by educating the public on preneed and possibly other important life planning issues; and
• increase your firm's market share cost effectively.

Referrals. Referrals from satisfied customers are often your best leads because they are free and provide immediate contact opportunities. Successful firms use referrals as an ongoing means of generating highly qualified prospects.

When requesting referrals, counselors should simply ask a satisfied customer if any friends, family or business associates could also benefit from this service. This will provide a constant inventory of warm leads. As an incentive, you may also choose to reward referrals with discounts and/or promotional gifts.

Family follow-up. Contacting the family of the deceased within a week of the funeral or burial is one of the most effective ways to secure future business and create additional preneed business. Your company will benefit from family follow-up for a couple of reasons.

First, it ensures that the family was satisfied with the services. If the service did not meet the needs of the family, then it provides you with an opportunity to correct the situation.

Second, you create goodwill for your firm by expanding the family's care beyond the initial service.

Third, you establish the opportunity to secure future at-need business with the family and possibly referrals. The family's positive experience will ensure they consider your funeral home or cemetery when the need arises, and might provide referrals to their family, friends and business associates.

It is essential that the funeral home director or whoever is handling arrangements at the cemetery set the stage for preneed at the conclusion of the at-need arrangement. He or she can introduce the preneed counselor who will be conducting the follow-up, or explain to the family the counselor will be calling them shortly and provide the family with the counselor's business card.

Managing your leads is just as important—if not more important—as generating them. Software programs and training should be available through your preneed provider to help counselors manage and track sales, collect marketing information and follow up with prospects.

Component #4:
Counselor incentive and recognition
Recognition is an important part of any preneed program. Rewarding counselors and managers with incentive trips and programs can boost confidence, morale and loyalty to the funeral home or cemetery. An employee who is recognized and appreciated is more inclined to continue to be successful.

Your preneed provider should be able to help you design incentive and recognition programs for your firm as well as sponsor its own program, whether it's an incentive trip to an attractive, high value destination or a newsletter that acknowledges top performers and provides insight for superior results.

In conclusion, it is important to remember that implementing and developing a successful preneed program is challenging, but every funeral home can achieve success. It requires the consistent application of the basics: program planning, monitoring and alignment; counselor recruiting, hiring and training; lead generation and management programs; and incentive and recognition programs.

An informal open house provides an excellent opportunity to reach out
to the community. By implementing a thoughtful program, you build credibility for your funeral home, cemetery or crematorium; educate the public; and, at the same time, help allay people's concerns about death and dying.

An open house can be held in conjunction with an opening, renovation or milestone celebration of your business or one of its principals. As a community relations tool, this special event "welcomes everyone" and raises public awareness of your funeral home, cemetery or crematorium.

Since this may be many of your guests' first experience with death education, it's important that the open house be handled in a sensitive way. Ideally, the clergy in your community should be invited to participate. They can be reassuring to guests as well as informative. All staff members should fully participate.

An open house can follow many formats. It might combine speaker(s) with an audiovisual presentation and/or a tour with information packets available for general distribution.

Whatever the specific details, planning should begin 10 weeks in advance. Use the planning timeline below as a guideline.

Week #1
Decide on the best weekend. Choose a convenient weekend that will ensure maximum participation. Avoid holiday weekends and focus on a two-day open house, held on both Saturday and Sunday, to generate the most impact. Keep the hours the same on both days, for example 1-5 p.m. or noon-6 p.m. Also pick an alternate weekend date, in case a need related to your business arises.

Consider scheduling special activities each day, such as a program and tour, and advertise these. Perhaps one of the days could be for the general public, and the other day for a specific audience.

Week #2
Determine the guest list. The sky's the limit in preparing the potential guest list, drawn from families and friends, clergy, healthcare professionals, local media, community leaders and members of services affiliated with your funeral home, cemetery or crematorium. (See the checklist below for more ideas.) In addition, your ads and flyers will attract the public, if designed carefully.

If your open house is being held to show off a new or renovated addition, consider inviting the contractors and architects.

As for prominent members of the community, handwrite their invitations personally on your business stationery. These may include political, civic and business professionals.

Remember to keep a comprehensive list with the names and addresses of all invited guests. This is particularly important for follow-up after the event.

Developing a guest list
Think about these groups of people to invite:
•    Veterans of Foreign Wars; the American Legion; the Royal Canadian Legion and auxiliaries of each of these groups
•    Ancillary military organizations
•    Friends/family you've served
•    Clergy, church staffs
•    Mayor and city council
•    Health care professionals including physicians, psychologists, social workers, nurses, hospital and retirement/long-term care administrators and staffs, medical examiner/coroner
•    Local principals of schools and their faculties, especially history teachers
•    Newspaper editors, reporters, obituary staff
•    Florists, printers, funeral home suppliers, cemetery boards, cemetery sextons, cemeterians
•    Other funeral directors, death educators
•    Bankers and accountants

Plan a tour of your facility or cemetery. How you plan the flow of traffic can make or break the success of your tour.

First, analyze your facility from the inside out. Indoors, you may have to temporarily rearrange or even remove furniture to create a streamlined path through your building.

Examine the outdoor parking situation. Do you need to rent additional parking spaces? Make sure your company cars are washed. waxed and polished.

Give your funeral home, cemetery office or crematorium that extra shine. As you would do to prepare for a party in your own home, take the extra time to make your place of business shine. You should always be meticulous about keeping it clean, but now is the time to undertake a thorough inspection.

Arrange for any special cleaning required of carpeting, draperies or upholstered furniture. Replace bad light bulbs, dust, make obvious repairs—touch up the paint if need be. You want your facilities to look their best, and it's the attention to small details that will payoff in the end.

Also make sure the exterior of your building is in tiptop condition. Pay attention to landscaping, lighting and condition of the building. If your open house involves dedicating a new building or area that has been recently completed. make sure the contractor has cleaned up. Also, remember to ensure accessibility for the handicapped.

Week #3
Assess expectations. Learn more about your guests and what they expect. Will this be the first time most of them are exposed to death education? Do your best to tailor the elements of the open house to the group's needs and interests.

Order invitations and thank-you notes. Your stationery reflects your professional image. Your printed invitations should be just right, so it's important to work with a printer you can trust. Select your invitations, such as panel cards. with thoughtful attention to paper quality and color. If you have a logo. consider using it. The wording on the invitation should be brief. Make sure you include:
•    the name and address of your funeral home, cemetery or crematorium,
•    the event,
•    date,
•    time and
•    any RSVP information.
(See the sample invitation below.)

Address the envelopes by hand with an attractive script. Simple, dignified thank you notes can match the invitation as to format and typeface, paper and color. Send one to each open house guest. (See the sample thank-you letter below.)

Develop visual aids and handouts. A professional slide or videotape presentation during your open house is a creative way to convey information. This visual medium is a diversion for the audience and can lend an interesting perspective, but it takes careful advance preparation. The presenter must thoroughly familiarize him/herself with the script, slides or video. It is also important to set aside ample time for questions immediately following the presentation.

People love to take handouts and reprints home for later reference, so prepare information packets to give out. Professional folders can hold a funeral home, cemetery or crematorium brochure (which often includes the history and services), a calendar of any future seminars or support groups, plus additional pamphlets on topics such as retirement, preplanning, the value of a funeral and memorialization, embalming and other topics.

SAMPLE THANK-YOU NOTE

On behalf of the staff of the Vanderbilt Funeral Home, Cemetery & Crematorium thank you for attending our recent Open House. Your participation helped make the event a success.

Please call on us at any time if we can help answer questions you may have.

Sincerely,
(Signature)
Rick Vanderbilt Vanderbilt Funeral Home, Cemetery & Crematorium

SAMPLE OPEN HOUSE INVITATION

The staff of the Vanderbilt Funeral Home,
Cemetery & Crematorium
requests the pleasure of your company

at its Open House

commemorating the home's Tenth Anniversary
April 23-24, 2005, noon - 6 p.m.
Vanderbilt Funeral Home, Cemetery & Crematorium
146 Oak Street, Feathersville

Guest Speaker; Janet Storm
"The Value of the Funeral & Memorialization" 2 p.m. each day
RSVP (513) 721-9879

Week #4
Schedule the first staff meeting. Take this opportunity to discuss the details of the open house openly with your staff. Talk to them about the reasons for the event and what you hope to achieve. Make them aware of their individual value as part of the team. (See the proposed staff assignment chart below.)

 
Emphasize these points with your staff:
• Dress, conduct and language used during the open house should be the same as for a funeral or any visit by the public.
• Introductions are important, so meet as many guests as possible. (Staff should wear nametags.)
• Discuss the possible questions guests may ask. Practice clear, short answers.
• Talk about the role of funeral service representatives. Decide which casket, vault and embalming fluid sales reps to include on the guest list they can provide support and answer specialized questions.

Week #5
Invite the clergy. The clergy will add a lot to your open house, so invite them as far in advance as possible. You may want some members of the clergy to participate as speakers or activity leaders. Let those who agree know that they will be asked to attend one organizational meeting about a month before the event.

Arrange security. It is important to provide for adequate security. Hiring off-duty police or security guards will relieve you of extra worry. They are skilled in directing traffic, giving directions and offering assistance to elderly or handicapped guests as they arrive.

Instruct them to come an hour before the open house starts and continue on duty until one hour after it ends.
Spread the word through well planned ads. Working closely with the media to promote your event is vital to getting the word out about your open house. Consider the media the link that joins your message with your targeted audience.

First, you must clarify your targeted audience and then clarify your message by writing it down. Keeping your budget in mind, choose the appropriate medium; in this case, print advertising in your local newspaper.

Newspaper advertising: Newspapers are a good choice because they can quickly influence large markets on a daily or weekly basis. In addition. they offer special-interest sections that help focus your message, and a variety of ad sizes and formats to accommodate budgets.

Request the media kit from your local newspaper. It will describe ad sizes, rates, deadlines and other information. Select the local newspaper(s) with the greatest readership of men and women aged 55 or older. Your newspaper advertising representative will know the latest demographic figures. Establish and maintain a good relationship with this representative.

When writing the ad, make sure it includes the time, date, funeral home, cemetery or crematorium address and phone number. Emphasize the words "open house" to catch the readers' attention. List licensed personnel, if applicable. Mention and briefly describe your speaker, if you are having one, along with his/her topic. As with your invitations, try to keep the message simple and direct.

If you are celebrating a new or renovated facility, include "before" and "after" photos to highlight your progress. Some papers will take the new photo for you. and may also take photos the day of the event.

I recommend a "camera ready" ad, which means that artwork and written copy can be printed as submitted. If you can't find a freelance writer/designer to undertake this project, your newspaper will handle it for an additional charge. Run the ad within the metro/local news section or on the obituary page.

If the budget permits, run the ad for three consecutive weeks before the open house and on the day of the event. If this is too expensive, place the ad one week before and on the day of the open house.

Announcements, fliers and news releases:
• Make copies of your ad in the form of fliers, and ask community service groups to distribute them at meetings or insert them in their newsletters.
• Ask the participating clergy and others to announce the event to their congregations and at meetings. Also ask them to post the flier, if possible, and place an ad in local church bulletins.
• Send the flier to local retirement communities for posting.
• Prepare a professional news release for the local media. (See sample press release below.)  Limit the information to the key facts, answering the six basic journalistic questions: who, what, when, where, why and how. Be sure to list a contact person with day and evening phone numbers. If the open house is celebrating a new or renovated building, enclose a black-and-white photo.

Mail your release to editors at least two weeks in advance. Cover all daily and suburban papers and special interest papers for older adults.

SAMPLE PRESS RELEASE
Double-space your news release for greater legibility.

Vanderbilt Funeral Home, Cemetery & Crematorium
46 Oak Street
Feathersville, OH 45205

NEWS RELEASE

April 4, 2005

Contact: Ralph Bonham 829-0695
After 5 p.m., 829-1078

For Immediate Release

VANDERBILT FUNERAL HOME, CEMETERY & CREMATORIUM SPONSORS FREE OPEN HOUSE TO COMMEMORATE TENTH ANNIVERSARY

Feathersville, OH — In honor of its upcoming 10th Anniversary at the end of this month, the Vanderbilt Funeral Home, Cemetery & Crematorium will present a free open house and program, noon-6 p.m., April 23-24, at its location at 146 Oak Street.

"With this open house, we want to acknowledge and thank the members of the community for their support and loyalty over the last decade," says Rick Vanderbilt, President of Vanderbilt Funeral Home, Cemetery & Crematorium. "As we begin the next ten years, we continue to explore new ways to provide service, education and support."

During the open house weekend, Vanderbilt Funeral Home staff members will conduct escorted tours of the funeral home, cemetery and crematorium and answer questions about the funeral and cemetery profession. A speaker will talk on "The Value of the Funeral"/"The Value of Memorialization" at 2 p.m. each day.

Vanderbilt Funeral Home, Cemetery & Crematorium originally opened its doors at 256 Locust Street in Newtonsville, OH, moving to its present location on Oak Street ten years ago. President Rick Vanderbilt is a licensed funeral director and experienced grief counselor.

#####

Week #6
Hold an organizational meeting. Meeting with the participating clergy one month in advance of the open house is an excellent idea. They will want to learn the details of the event firsthand and have a chance to ask questions. Review the guest list and agenda, the roles they are expected to take and the roles of the funeral home, cemetery or crematorium staff. Distribute information packets with promotional fliers for them to take back to their houses of worship.

Mail invitations and track responses. Now is the time to actually mail invitations. As responses come in, keep a running guest count. Familiarize every staff member with the invitation list, particularly the prominent figures, as they respond.

Order premiums. To add to your guests' satisfaction, offer small favors as tokens of goodwill. Imprint them with the name, address, phone number and logo of your funeral home, cemetery or crematorium. Make sure you order enough to cover the number of expected guests.

Premium ideas include: calendars, magnets for refrigerators, pens or pencils, pencil cups, drink holders, mugs, key chains, appointment books or golf balls and tees.

Week #7
Schedule a second staff meeting. At this follow-up meeting, remind your staff of the importance of guest relations. Emphasize that they should welcome each guest warmly, shaking hands and directing them to activities and refreshments. Tell them to be on the lookout for anyone with serious questions. Again, role-play the kinds of questions that may arise. Advise them of the guest questionnaire (see sample questions below), and designate a staff member to be in charge of distribution and collection.

Possible questions for your evaluation form
Some simple yes/no questions:
•    Was the open house informative?
•    Were all your questions answered?
•    Did you feel comfortable throughout the tour?
•    Did the video add to the presentation?
•    Do you feel more likely to call the funeral home, cemetery or crematorium staff in the future if you have questions?

Prepare a guest questionnaire. Written evaluations from the guests can provide invaluable information to improve special events in the future. The forms must be short and to-the-point. Print enough for everyone on your professional stationery.

Include ample space for comments and suggestions. Some people won't mind providing their names and addresses, which can later be added to your mailing list. Others will prefer to remain anonymous. This information can also help you mail thank-you notes promptly.

Also this week:
• Remember to touch base with the clergy by phone at this time. to see if they have any questions.
• Run your ad for the first time.

Week #8
Select a door prize. A drawing for a door prize can increase your guests' interest and enjoyment. A color TV, purchased from a local merchant, is recommended. This will really get people talking.

Make sure you print up entry forms to include the guest's name, address and phone number. This information can be added to your mailing list later.

Plan refreshments. If your state allows food to be served in a funeral home, cemetery or crematorium, you might consider light refreshments such as soft drinks, coffee, tea, cookies or small pastries.

Mail news releases. Mail the releases at this time to specific editors at the selected newspapers, to church and civic groups' newsletters and to people you know will post them. Make sure all the media receive them, including public service and assignment editors at radio and television stations.

Also this week:
Make sure the premiums have arrived. If they have not, immediately check with your supplier.
• Run your ad for the second time.

Week # 9
Meet with your staff a final time. Discuss any last minute changes and review the guest list. Let them know you will be asking them to critique the open house.

Also, remind them to tell guests that they can leave the tour portion of the event, should they feel apprehensive, and rejoin it later if they wish.

Order flowers. Fresh flowers always add beauty and elegance to the atmosphere. Consider arrangements for the registration table, arrangement office, chapel/visitation area or refreshment table.

Set up a registration table. The day before the open house, set up a small registration table at the entrance, with a book for guests' names, addresses and phone numbers. Assign a staff person to oversee the "sign-in" process.

Also this week: Your ad should run again.

Week #10: The day of the open house
Run a large ad in the daily newspaper. This will catch the eye of people looking for something to do at the spur of the moment, and remind others that "today's the day."

Cultivate a positive attitude. The day you've worked so hard for has finally arrived. Make a duplicate guest list so you and others in charge can refer to it during the event, and keep the agenda of the day's activities handy. It's your job to supervise everything and see that all is on track. Most of all, attend to your guests' needs.

Week # 10: Follow-up
Assess evaluations. It is important to take the time to review these carefully. Meet with your staff to invite their candid remarks about the open house; how they viewed the planning process and the actual day. Don't overlook this valuable opportunity.

Send thank-you notes. Take the time to write a thank-you note to each guest and helpful friend attending and working at the event. This is a thoughtful action that will add to the positive image you've already generated.

Also remember to thank your own staff members in writing.

Initiate a direct mail campaign. To piggyback off the success of your open house, consider developing and sending out a direct mail piece.

You may already have a comprehensive brochure about your funeral home, cemetery or crematorium that's ready to go. You might also consider sending a two-page newsletter that promotes a future seminar or provides other useful information.

Promote future speaking engagements. At an appropriate interval, or in the thank-you note, let it be known that you're available to speak to community groups.

Ask your guests to recommend you to others if they like. This is one way to continue your awareness-building program.

How do you serve the ethnic markets in your community?
Perhaps with culture-specific merchandise in your selection room, bilingual staff members and special events tied to their cultural heritages.
Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey has gone a step further—a big step.
The company opened a new funeral home, under a different name, aimed at the growing Hispanic community in Waco, Texas.

The typical funeral home doesn't hold a grand opening fiesta. But then Funeraria Brazos isn't your typical funeral home, at least not in North America.

In November 2003, Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey, a family-owned funeral home in Waco since 1925, transformed one of its two locations into Funeraria Brazos, which advertises servicio con un abrazo de familia a familia (service with an embrace from family to family).

Vidal De Leon, who came to work at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey in 2001 as a preneed counselor and has since graduated from the Dallas Institute of Funeral Service, manages Funeraria Brazos. He had previously worked at Wolfe Florist Inc. for 31 years.

The idea for a separate funeral home specializing in serving Hispanic families came through De Leon's talks with Darrell Simpson, WHB vice president. There are Hispanic funeral homes in other cities, including Dallas and Austin, but not in Waco, where the 2000 census recorded a population of 114,000, of which 24 percent is Hispanic—a much smaller market than Dallas (1.2 million, 36 percent Hispanic) or Austin (657,000, 31 percent Hispanic).

With WHB President Hatch Bailey's approval, the planning for Waco's first Hispanic funeral home began in 2003. According to De Leon, the process of transforming the existing funeral home into Funeraria Brazos was relatively easy. Though the downtown location was the company's first, opened in 1925, in recent years only 20 percent of WHB's families had chosen to use that facility.

The building's Spanish architecture was perfectly suited for use as a Hispanic funeral home. However, a new interior design was needed.
"We now have more of a Hispanic, Southwest flavor to our decor," De Leon said. "We make use of bold colors. One of the most talked-about accessories is a pottery-type figurine of people carrying a cross."

"We incorporate candles for certain services," De Leon said as he discussed the interior design. "This is a constant process with us, because we want this funeral home to have energy while still being a place of comfort. We are very proud to show people our funeral home while giving them information about our services."

After six months of work, Funeraria Brazos, Waco's first and only Hispanic funeral home, was ready to open its doors to the Hispanic community. Staffing needs were met through both a transfer of existing staff and new hiring.

The grand opening fiesta took place on November 2, 2003, El Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, a traditional Hispanic holiday honoring loved ones who have passed on from this life to the next. More than 400 people attended the opening, and every media outlet in Waco covered the event.

Service families expect
Funeraria Brazos is dedicated to accommodating Hispanic funeral customs in order to help the family through the grieving process. Hispanic families typically expect more time for viewing and visitation. Children are frequently brought to the funeral home. Hispanic families also stay much later into the night during the viewing than is typical in Anglo culture.

"We have extended hours," De Leon said. "We have organized all-night wakes, and we have been here Saturdays and Sundays." Funeraria Brazos is more than willing to meet each family's needs as it works to achieve success "one funeral at a time," he said.

The staff has not assumed that people automatically will flock to the funeral home. Funeraria Brazos has implemented an aggressive marketing strategy, including television spots, direct mail, brochures, sponsorships, radio spots and speaking engagements.

The marketing campaign began in April 2004 with a postcard mailing to nearly 2,500 Waco households. The postcard featured De Leon and graphically illustrated the funeral home's competitive prices.

The marketing has continued ever since:
• The funeral home hosted a successful breakfast for area Hospice employees and staff to tour the facility. The question and answer portion of the event lasted nearly two hours.

• De Leon has spoken about funeral service and the importance of preplanning to numerous organizations, including the Cen-Tex Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and local church groups.

• Television and radio spots have been produced in English and Spanish and aired on both English and Spanish-language stations.

• Funeraria Brazos has sponsored events in the Waco area such as the Cen-Tex Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet and Cinco de Mayo celebrations. At Waco's Cinco de Mayo event last year, De Leon passed out information and discussed Funeraria Brazos.

• In honor of its first anniversary, the funeral home distributed a full-size, Spanish themed 2005 calendar featuring reminders of dozens of local Hispanic events.

Community ties
A Waco native and a well-respected member of the Hispanic community, De Leon
was a perfect person to lead Funeraria Brazos. During his 31 years at the florist shop, he served part of the time as personnel director. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus, a former Big Brothers and Big Sisters board member and a former member of the McLennan Community College Board of Trustees.

In addition, Funeraria Brazos has a five-member advisory team to help tap into the community the funeral home serves. According to De Leon, the five member advisory team, which meets regularly "to assist Funeraria Brazos in assuring that the needs of the Hispanic community are met," has helped shape the funeral home's vision. It was the advisory team's idea to create and distribute the calendar.

Team members are:
• Rose Flores, a Waco native with the local chapter of the American Heart Association and a volunteer for the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

• George Gobea, a retired community leader who worked with the model city program and was a member of the Equal Opportunity Advancement Corp. and now runs an antique shop.

• Carlos Pesina Jr., City Council member and owner of Hair Designs.

• Ruben M. Santos, former Waco mayor and former Hispanic Chamber of Commerce president. A former Baylor University employee, he is now at the Brazos Higher Education Service Corp.

• JoAnn Benavidez Wright, a Waco native who serves on the board of Avancé Waco, a program that teaches young mothers parenting skills, and a member of the League of United Latin American Citizens.

The press release announcing Funeraria Brazos' marketing campaign last spring included comments from Pesina on the benefits of preneed funeral planning. "The prearrangements that I have made for my father have taken away most of the concerns I will face at the time of his death," Pesina said. "I have just finished paying on the five year finance plan, and now the price of my father's funeral is locked into 1998 prices. Prearrangement of funerals is a good thing that more Hispanics need to be aware of. I applaud Funeraria Brazos and Vidal De Leon for bringing this service to our Spanish speaking community."

Clearly, that sort of endorsement from a community leader helps. "I am very fortunate to have such a wonderful team of folks who understand and want to play such an important role," De Leon said.

After a year of operation, "The excitement and passion are still very much with us," De Leon said. "We're providing the best funeral service to every family that walks through our door."

According to De Leon, Funeraria Brazos will continue to grow and meet the needs of Waco's growing Hispanic community. Hispanics are the largest minority group and fastest growing ethnicity in Texas.

"The market is going to grow, not get smaller," De Leon said. "Those businesses that will be playing catch-up in five years will not be able to."

Could your sales message be designed to appeal to fewer than one-third of your potential customers? The answer is yes, if you think your typical potential customer is a man.
 
Futurist Faith Popcorn calls it "the dominant economic force in the country." There are 190 million of them in the United States.

They have $4.4 trillion in buying power. They purchase 81 percent of all products and services, and they influence most of the rest of purchases. They are responsible for 85 percent of the checks written. Forty-seven percent of them are stockholders. Forty percent of households with assets of more than $600,000 are headed by them.

And, they make 67 percent of funeral arrangements. Who are they? Women. Clearly, to be effective, your funeral home or cemetery's sales and marketing efforts need to consider how and why women make purchasing decisions.

How women buy
There are five basic factors to keep in mind when selling to women:

1. Women create relationships. Before women want to learn about your products and services, they want to get to know you. Don't just start talking—listen first. Women need to feel comfortable with you before they buy. Women want to create an authentic, personable interaction with you.

2. Women want a pleasurable experience. They are looking for an organization they can connect to and with whom they can have a pleasurable experience. The next time you walk into Nordstrom's, notice the person playing the beautiful piano; notice the coffee cart and warm wood everywhere. Women want a shopping experience to be pleasurable.

3. Women often buy from the periphery. Starbucks is a perfect example of how to take advantage of this. Notice how their stores have CDs on the counter. The coffee company knows women like music but won't usually take the time to go to a music store to buy it.

4. Women care about your company's reputation and motivation. They will pay up to 20 percent more for a product if they feel that you and your business are trying to make the world or the community a better place.

5. Women want you to help them simplify their lives. Most women are doing the work of four people. They are (or were) a wife, a mother, perhaps a grandmother and often a business person as well. No wonder so many women are stressed out! Make it easy to do business with you.

Women can see right through a standard sales pitch. In general, they respond to a Dale Carnegie rule that says, "People want to know how much you care before they care about how much you know." In selling preneed or at-need products and services, it is paramount that you listen to their story as you would with a good friend. I am recommending that you sincerely make a new friend, not just a customer.

The average man, on the other hand, doesn't want to talk about his feelings. Men in general don't talk about their feelings—especially not to a salesperson. Men just want to take care of business. Most women want to feel like they have a relationship, while most men want efficiency.

Getting it right
Sweat the details. Pay close attention to the entire experience your customer has with your firm. Work at making her experience, which often occurs at a very difficult time, as comfortable as possible. Is your parking lot free of potholes, ice or oil stains? Are your windows clean? Is the front door clean? Do you offer to carry the urn or her husband's personal items to her car? Is the bathroom cleaned regularly? Believe it or not, I've visited many funeral homes where the bathrooms are downright dirty.

Offer her a beverage and present it in a clean glass or beautiful tea cup with a saucer on a silver tray. Men may be fine with Styrofoam, but women will appreciate the china. These are the types of everyday details that are important to women.

Sell to their peripheral vision. Information about all of your products and services should be readily available. You may want to consider installing a literature rack near the ladies' room.

Do you sell acknowledgement cards? What about books on grieving? By offering these peripheral products, you also make your customers' lives easier. Why should they go to amazon.com or Borders to buy a book on grieving when you are the expert? Why not offer a line of tasteful acknowledgement cards so they don't have to go out and buy them somewhere else?

Get outside the funeral home and meet people where they work, play and volunteer. Be more than just "bricks and mortar." Sponsor "lunch break" talks on preplanning the funeral either for your potential customers or their parents at some of the larger companies in your area. Sponsor a walk to raise money for breast cancer research. Consider partnering with local gyms, spas and family practices to offer grief counseling and end-of-life planning. This also lets them know you care about the community.

Offer convenience and guidance. Women want convenience and a simpler life. Why do you think pre-washed lettuce in a bag has become such a popular product? It's certainly not because it's cheaper—women will pay more for convenience.

Women also want to do things well and make a difference in the lives of those they care about. Your job is to offer help and guidance so that making decisions about end-of-life matters is as simple and uncomplicated as possible.
If you help a woman through an at-need or preneed process and she comes out feeling as though she made the right decisions, if you help a woman through the arrangements for a loved one's funeral and you make the terrible experience easier for her, she'll sing your praise the rest of your life.

Do you sit down with your customers and go over a timeline of the funeral and describe the options that can be included? Do you offer a selection of songs that can be downloaded from the Internet and played at the service? Do you offer meaningful options such as dove releases? Have you partnered with people who might have boat, air or land scattering services? Most important, have you offered to coordinate all the details for them?

Find your own voice. This is not solely about catering to women; it's also about finding what you are passionate about. If it's planning life celebrations, then make that your area of expertise. If you identify what motivates you and what your focus is, women will be attracted to your business, and you will have a better chance of appearing on their radar.

Keep those loyal customers
How do you keep these customers once you get them? How's your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system? Set up a system to remember them with a birthday card every year. Send a condolence note on the anniversary of their loved one's death. Send a box of chocolates on Valentine's Day with a handwritten note. Send a Thanksgiving card. (Everyone sends Christmas cards—try something different.) Try to make her day, but be consistent and be sincere. Women can smell a fake from a mile away.

Does all this sound like a lot of trouble? Remember, women make up two-thirds of your market. And when you gain a happy female customer, there are a couple of bonuses:

• Because women are more inclined to long-term relationships, enhanced loyalty means every sales and marketing dollar invested in female customer acquisition results in a higher retention rate.

• Because word-of-mouth is more prevalent among women, they are more likely to refer others to businesses that impress them favorably—in essence, free marketing of the most powerful kind.

In summary, the next time you work with a female customer; take the time to get to know who she is. Think about her shopping experience with you and whether you are making the experience as pleasurable as possible. Get involved in the community so she knows you are trying to make the world a better place.

Most important, make the whole process of dealing with you and your funeral home or cemetery simple and easy. If you can make it effortless for her, you've truly done a great job.

Companies that overlook the magnitude of women's rapidly growing buying clout will find themselves fast losing ground to competitors who recognize the new force in an old phrase: the power of the purse.

In a previous series of articles (ICFM July, August-September and October 2005), I talked about marketing from the perspective of media choices, creative content, tracking results and other components outside of the advertising mix. But how does it all get started?

The first key to success is the creation of a marketing plan. Why a marketing plan? What will it do for you?

First, it will enable you to focus on your corporate objectives and the strategies necessary to achieve them.

Second, when it's time to bring others into the marketing activities, their roles and functions will be clearly defined.

Third, a marketing plan is good for controlling expenses and offering a rationale for specific expenditures.

So, how do we create a marketing plan without the benefit of marketing professionals? By following a simple seven-step formula.

1. Spell out how you benefit your customers.
The only products or services that succeed are those that offer a benefit to consumers that is greater than their cost. It is essential that we focus on the benefit to our families rather than the features of our products and services.

In other words, the features of a funeral prearrangement might include a casket, a memorial service with music or a reception for family and friends, but the benefits are the celebration of a loved one's life or peace of mind for the family.

Remember the ads for Michelin tires with the baby inside the tire? The feature was the tire quality, but the benefit was the safety and protection of your child.

Your marketing plan, or the way you tell your story to consumers, must convey the essential benefits derived from working with your cemetery or funeral home.

2. Determine your position in the marketplace. What business are you in? It's important to clearly define your position in the marketplace. Are you in the funeral or cemetery business? Or are you Montreal's cremation leader since 1901? Are you the only garden cemetery in your community that offers perpetual care? Are you a low-cost cremation provider with no frills attached? Be specific.
 
Once you have completed this exercise, you can develop your unique selling proposition, your sword in the stone. That message must be the central focus of all your marketing efforts, from both a media perspective and the internal culture. Every employee should be able to explain to any prospect your point of differentiation.

3. Position yourself for your desired target market. Whom is your product or service for? One of the key principles of marketing is that you can't be all things to all people. So how do you establish whom to target? First, use a database to create a profile of your current customer. Are your customers coming from a specific geographic area, are they in a specific socioeconomic group, are they over 55 years of age?

Second, study market research conducted by firms such as Pollara, and see how your current customer profile compares with industry averages.

Finally, decide whether you are satisfied with the type of customers you are dealing with. If not, how do you reposition your company in order to take advantage of the desired demographic?

Positioning involves creating a perception of your company with potential customers. Your marketing efforts are designed to influence customer perceptions. To make positioning one of your success factors, you must learn what's important to your clients, study your competition until you find a competitive advantage and then exploit that strength. To put it in very simple terms: Find a hole and fill it.

The perfect example is 7UP's entrance many years ago in the soda battleground, where the company positioned its product as the "uncola."

4. Devise an advertising strategy. Your advertising strategy takes the first three components and combines them into a plan of attack. A simple summation:
-    Your product or service?
-    Your target market?
-    Your competition?
-    Your product/service benefit?
-    How is your product/service different?
-    If the consumer gets one idea from your external marketing, what is it?
-    What action should be taken?

5. Come up with a budget. The first step in creating a marketing budget is determining what percentage of sales you’ll be able to devote to marketing. A good rule of thumb is anywhere from five to 10 percent. Whatever the standard in your market, plan to invest a little more if you want to attain the position of market leader.

6. Select the right tools. Once you have determined your budget, you must select the tools or media you will use to deliver your message. One rule of thumb is to make sure you don't spread your advertising dollars too thinly. In other words, it makes more sense to use one radio station combined with direct mail than to try and buy three radio stations and two newspapers.

Frequency is critical in achieving advertising success. Television is an excellent medium, but unless you have a substantial budget. it is difficult to buy enough frequency.

Radio is my preferred choice because it offers targetability, affordability and frequency. I don't recommend newspapers because consumers just don't spend enough time reading them, the price is high and there is no frequency.

Direct mail and database mailers are excellent choices as well.

7. Implement a month-by-month marketing timetable. Marketing is a long-term investment. Any marketing plan should be completed on a yearly basis, with a small reserve of dollars for any new opportunities that arise during that year.

Advertising doesn't work overnight. It takes time and a commitment to make an impact in the marketplace; anything short term is doomed to fail. Track your results so that you can determine what works and what does not. This will enable you to hone your plan over time, eliminating the failures and building on the successes.

Ever wish the competition would just disappear?
Well, it's not going to happen, and that's OK, says this municipal cemetery manager, because families like having choices. He suggests you learn to thrive on competition rather than trying to eliminate it.

Sometimes competition seems to bring out the worst in both people and companies, but what is our goal in the cemetery and funeral service profession? Is it to steer families to buy the products and services that will help us and our companies, or is it to help families and give them the options that will better serve them?

I like to believe I'm here to serve families. And believe it or not, families that have been treated in a way that serves their best interests rather than yours are more likely to return and reuse your service-whatever the cost-when the next time of need arises.

Badmouthing others is bad for everyone
Last weekend a family called me to ask about the availability of infant spaces at our cemetery. I told them Greenwood has plenty of spaces in our babyland section and said if they wanted me to, I could meet them later in the afternoon to show them the burial options. Naturally, in true dedicated cemeterian fashion, I didn't mention that when their call came I was on the lake fishing and answering it lost me one of the biggest catches of the morning.

I cleaned up and met the couple at the cemetery. Now, since Greenwood is a stand-alone cemetery and not a combo operation, I deal mainly with land purchases and opening and closing charges. The couple said they had been to a funeral home to make arrangements, and when they asked about getting space at Greenwood, the funeral director was adamant that we were sold out! He urged them to consider another cemetery. I was not surprised, when the couple told me which cemetery he had suggested, that it's one owned by the same company that owns the funeral home.

So here was a family distraught over the loss of an infant being told a "tall tale" by the funeral director. They were furious over the time they ended up wasting checking on cemetery availability because of what they viewed as games being played by a funeral director they had assumed was there to help them in their time of need by looking after their best interests. Do you think what this funeral director did will generate any future business for his firm?

When I contacted the funeral director to ask why he tried to keep the family from looking at Greenwood, his response was, "I lost a 3 percent commission on the cemetery sale." Let's see, using my admittedly very Southern math, his commission on what would have been about a $500 land sale would have been around $15.

If it were me, I would much rather have the family happy with my service and open to coming back to my funeral home in the future than to pocket the $15, make them mad and have them bad-mouthing me all over town.

In another case, a funeral director (one I had recommended) told a family a simple concrete burial container would not meet our requirements and that they had to buy a special vault, at an additional cost to them of several hundred dollars. When the family mentioned this at the burial, I was speechless.

I hate to compare our profession to car sales, but I think it's interesting that car dealerships have found that they are more successful when they all operate in a geographically concentrated area and let the merchandise speak for itself.

In most cities, the dealers locate next to and/or across the street from their competitors. This allows shoppers to easily compare vehicles and make an informed decision based on their needs, desires and budgets. Most of us leave our house with a certain make and model in mind but want to shop around and feel comfortable with our decision about this major purchase.

Bringing the concept back to our profession, funeral service guru Todd Van Beck talks about getting his first job at Heafey & Heafey on Omaha, Nebraska's "mortuary row," where there were 10 funeral homes in a 12-block area, so the idea isn't foreign to funeral service.

Instead of badmouthing the competition, concentrate on highlighting the best of what you offer families. Every funeral home and cemetery offers something unique and different to enhance its service. Some might offer night and weekend services, others a fancy hearse; some give back generously to the community; some showcase their facilities through tours and open houses.

Knocking the competition in an attempt to close a sale simply puts the entire profession in a bad light, and as families become more educated about our profession (something that is getting easier to do in this Internet age) and make their own comparisons, they are left with a bad taste in their mouths if they have been misled.

Our cemetery is one of the only ones left in the area that allows upright memorials. Some families come to us for this reason, while others couldn't care less about having this option.

Our cemetery encompasses over 100 acres and bellows Southern charm, with huge trees hung with Spanish moss and acres of old monuments. Some families prefer a small cemetery, or one with highly manicured lawns.

Our cemetery sits in the heart of downtown Orlando. Some families do not want to fight the traffic to get to the cemetery and would rather have their loved ones interred closer to their neighborhood.

Do any of these reasons for a family not choosing Greenwood bother me? Not one iota. In fact, if you visit our cemetery, I have brochures and business cards from my competitors, both corporate and independent, displayed in the front office.

I am confident that Greenwood offers a unique and special burial place that many families will willingly choose. I would much rather have a family make an informed decision to use Greenwood than "settle" because they felt they had no choice. A family that freely chooses your funeral home or cemetery tends to be a more understanding client in those cases when things don't go exactly as planned.

Get to know the competition
When we offer the public fun and educational programs, I extend an offer to my competition to attend. Why? Maybe they can learn something that will enhance the level of service they offer their families. And why not let them know firsthand what we are doing? If they don't know, they might make it up, so why not make sure they have the straight story?

Our municipal cemetery averages about 12 burials a week and has no preneed or telemarketing sales program. We do no print advertising. Everybody who walks through our gates wants to be here, has family here or has gotten a recommendation to use us from someone else.

In October, our local newspaper ran a story announcing the opening of 220 new spaces at Greenwood. They sold out in six hours. The demand for these spaces was humbling. There are cemeteries in the area that offer extended payment plans, insurance assignments, free coffee and a good looking office staff. We offered a very simple financial plan—one payment, no interest—and still families were lined up to buy.

What you offer to families year round is what entices them to your funeral home or cemetery, not what the glossy new ad states on Sunday. Sure, some families are drawn to your location due to slick advertising, but wouldn't your bottom line be better off if it were based on return business generated by how well you meet your families' needs?

Embrace the competition, show off your accomplishments and make decisions that enhance your level of service. Speak with your competitors; get to know them. Sell yourself and your business—don't knock the competition. Strive to create new and exciting programs; be a leader in your community. Offer programs designed to educate families so they can decide what they want, not to maneuver them into making the purchases you want.

These are the things families will remember.

What worked in the past no longer works in funeral service, and some of the things being tried to reverse the trend are just making it worse. Why? Because they don't address what families want and are willing to pay for, this marketing expert says.

Many articles discussing marketing, whether in the funeral and cemetery profession or any other industry, begin with a definition of marketing as encompassing every activity within the business, not just the sales and advertising functions. Yet most people continue to use the terms marketing and advertising synonymously.

Simply put, anything your company does to generate new business or to hold customers is marketing—new buildings, pricing, employee training, sales tools and advertising all fall under the marketing umbrella.

Many death-care businesses, including vendors, are in desperate need of new marketing plans, and the situation has little to do with advertising. Those businesses suffering from high overhead and shrinking margins—which include most of the funeral homes in the United States—find themselves in their precarious positions because their marketing plans are failing.

Even if their advertising were more effective, these businesses would remain in a precarious position simply because their current plan of pursing additional volume at any cost is not viable at a time when many of the services they are offering are provided at a loss. For this reason, in this article I am going to address the issues of merchandising and pricing, which are integral aspects of a comprehensive marketing strategy.

If it's so popular, why is it so cheap?
Just as an illustration, let's begin with caskets. Casket companies have arguably provided the highest level of merchandising support in our business. Nonetheless, they consistently violate the most basic rule of merchandising: A product's more popular features should be reserved for the highest-priced models.

Everyone in the business knows that pink and blue are the two most popular colors for caskets. We also know that comer pieces, head panel embroideries and other structural features (such as the memory drawers) are very popular. But instead of being reserved for our highest-priced units, these features are (for the most part) available from the top to the near bottom of the line. Is it any wonder the public has difficulty seeing the value in higher-priced units?

Instead of being based on popular features, casket pricing reflects the cost of the materials used in manufacture. Certainly copper and bronze are more expensive materials than steel, and mahogany is more rare and expensive than oak and pine; but 90 percent of American consumers really don't care what the casket is made of.

They simply want an attractive, well built piece of furniture with special features, such as interchangeable corners, interiors that can be personalized and a choice of their loved one's favorite color—and they would be willing to pay for the features they want.

Applying this same analysis to funeral homes, we must ask why they include all of their services in their basic packages, thus depriving families of an opportunity to select—and pay for—additional services they may want. The funeral homes not only deny themselves the chance for needed revenue, they also deny families a choice so that they can select the package that best serves their needs.

Notice to the funeral and cemetery profession:
Consumers like choices.
Funeral homes must learn, as hotels have, that superior profits can be generated only by selling services, not merchandise. As funeral merchandise (caskets, vaults and urns) becomes more available from alternative sources, including retail outlets and the Internet, it will be increasingly difficult to realize a reasonable profit from the sale of these products. On top of that, funeral directors will increasingly face cremation families who will announce that they have no need for a casket or vault.

Profiting from services should be fundamental to the funeral business. Why else would funeral homes build and operate large facilities with rooms appropriate for large gatherings of people? Certainly very few funeral homes have anywhere near enough volume to simply operate as a furniture store; but most do serve enough families to profit as an event venue, making use of all their facilities.

Yet almost no funeral home effectively merchandises its services. Instead of incorporating graphics and other sales aids to help arrangers make effective arrangements, most firms operate under the assumption that families are fully aware of their options and will simply tell their arranger what they want.
 
Preneed lead generation is based on advertising concepts developed in the 1950s when mom stayed home with the children and seniors lived with their children, before answering machines and e-mail.

Cemetery direct mail advertising in the 1950s generated fifty times the results of direct mail today, at a time when postage was just pennies as opposed to $.39 apiece. The cost of getting a direct mail piece delivered is over $.40 apiece, including mailing lists and handling, and this is before the piece is created and printed.

Every knowledgeable preneed marketer in the business knows informative consumer seminars; family follow-up and public relations efforts generate leads of a far better quality than direct mail—at a fraction of the cost. Even so, cemeterians and funeral directors, led by preneed insurance companies, continue to flood the nation with direct mail appeals.

Incorporating consumer priorities into your marketing plan
The popular business book "Blue Ocean Strategy" discusses the concept that all industries operate under certain basic assumptions, so that every company within an industry ends up looking very much like all of the others. This makes price the only differentiation. The ongoing consolidation of the casket companies would be the anticipated corporate response to a declining market. Instead of creating a line of products geared to consumer priorities, the goal is to reduce overhead cost per unit while continuing to sell the same products.

As much as we would all prefer to sell American-made products, following this course to its ultimate conclusion will require funeral homes to offer lower-priced caskets manufactured outside the United States in order to get casket prices low enough so that families can afford to pay for the profitable services funeral homes are going to have to sell if they want to remain in business.

An objective observer of today's funeral homes would conclude that their priorities are, in descending order: 1. service, 2. large facilities, 3. vehicles, 4. clergy, 5. formality, 6. aftercare.

Suggesting "service" is a misplaced priority is tantamount to heresy, but the reality is most consumers are unable to evaluate a funeral home based upon service provided simply because they so seldom visit funeral homes. Furthermore, when people do visit a funeral home, they typically are so overwhelmed by the loss of their friend, the family's grief and the realization of their own mortality that afterward they can't remember the color of the casket, let alone the quality of service provided.

What about priority number 3, vehicles? Consider for a moment the lunacy of trading in a 6 to 10 year-old hearse with 15,000 miles on it in order to incur debt for a new vehicle. I cannot conceive of anyone believing that consumers select a funeral home based on the age of the hearse. Yet funeral homes maintain their vehicles beautifully just to sell them before they even reach midlife.

That money could be put to much better use: Create a reception room where families can socialize after the funeral. Buy equipment for creating video tributes the family will treasure for generations.

Then there's priority number 4, clergy. Research indicates fewer than 5 percent of individuals would consult a clergyperson to recommend a funeral home, yet funeral homes invest an immeasurable amount of time and money in church bulletins and contributions in the hopes of influencing local clergy.

The reality is that families who attend church are already familiar with their funeral home options, and most people without a funeral home preference do not attend church on a regular basis. On top of that, Episcopalians, Presbyterians and some Methodists encourage members to minimize funeral services or to let the church handle the service.

What does research show about how consumers decide on a funeral home? The influences they cite are listed in the table at the top of this page. Looking at this list gives us some variables we can control to produce tangible benefit to our funeral businesses. As consumers ourselves, we can understand why people would be more inclined to contact a funeral home where they know a staff member or one that's more convenient.

But how many funeral homes include in their promotional budget funds for building the community's awareness of their staff? As the second-most-volunteered reason for selecting a funeral home, building the community's familiarity with staff members should be a promotional priority.

When it comes to facilities, the funeral profession persists in building large facilities strategically located in places central to a very large population. Why not build several smaller buildings, each very convenient to a specific population? Families want a funeral home that's convenient for them and their friends, not one "conveniently" located between two fair-sized cities.

Summary
Reviewing funeral service from the consumer's perspective, we find that funeral businesses, like most others, focus resources on areas that deliver little in the way of customer value. This situation offers opportunity to those who realize the current way of doing business runs counter to what consumers want.

To take an example from another business, consider that for generations, roadside motels all included restaurants and lounges with their facilities. They continued to do this even after the interstate highway system was created and hotels and restaurants began to be built near the exits, giving families plenty of alternatives to eating where they were sleeping.

Even though the restaurants and lounges consistently lost money, motels continued to include them until Hampton Inn ignored the well defined norm and opened facilities offering only sleeping quarters and a free continental breakfast. Competitors finally appeared, but for years, Hampton Inn enjoyed a monopoly on this popular concept.

Returning to the funeral business, think about how operating differently would allow a funeral home to offer families better value and a more rewarding service, as well as to build relationships with new families who would turn to them in the future, even though other funeral homes ultimately will attempt to copy the leader's success.

The basic truth is, most funeral homes are suffering badly from shrinking margins, and still looking for solutions in the well worn business practices that brought us to our present state of affairs. Developing a new strategy or marketing plan focused on consumers could be the key to discovering a more profitable way to operate your funeral business.

Theory is all very well, but what sales managers need is a step-by-step outline for putting a sales and marketing theory into practice. Here it is.

A successful marketing effort requires a combination of theory and actionable ideas. In previous articles, I have discussed the theoretical aspects of marketing, so I thought it would be timely to offer seven ideas you can act on. These ideas can be implemented to augment your current marketing efforts or to chart a new marketing course for your funeral home or cemetery.

1. Use the power of radio. As marketers, we tend to gravitate toward the newspaper as a first choice, but research indicates consumers are spending less time with this medium. The average consumer spends only 10 percent of his or her media day with print and 44 percent with radio. Radio enables you to target a specific audience and, because of its afford ability, reach that audience with enough frequency to attain positive results.

Of course, the creative content of your commercials is ultimately what will make the difference. Radio, as with any other medium, requires a specific call to action. Tell listeners what you want them to do in no uncertain terms: "Pick up the phone and call today for your free information kit with no obligation."

Another possibility that radio offers is the PI (per inquiry). Ask your radio sales representative about a PI, which is essentially a campaign scheduled by the station based on availability and paid for by you each time your phone rings.

2. Let someone else tell your story. The use of testimonials is not a novel idea in the marketing world. Having satisfied customers telling others about the benefits of preplanning, for example, goes a long way to enhance the credibility and validation of your company.

We recently ran a television campaign highlighting three individuals who had preplanned with our company. Of course, there was a call to action at the end of the commercial. The results were incredible, with hundreds of phone calls in a relatively short period of time.

Remember, the responsibility of media outlets is to drive prospects to your business, but it's up to you to make the sale. By the way, if you are going to make a television buy, ask your television sales representative about off-peak times, as prime time can be cost prohibitive.

3. Set up a seminar series. A critical part of our marketing efforts at Mount Royal Commemorative Services involves educating the public. In the last couple of years, we have created a "portable" seminar that can take place at a house of worship, a senior association get -together or a civic group meeting.

The seminar includes three experts, since comprehensive final arrangements involve more than just funeral and cemetery preplanning. We include a notary (to discuss the importance of a will), an estate planner and one of our preplanning counselors.

It is important to gather attendees' names and contact information so you can follow up with them in the future. Last year, we did approximately 45 seminars throughout the city, resulting in a substantial amount of revenue.

4. Follow up on prospects. Most marketers do an excellent job in targeting new prospects for their business. However, many ignore the database of prospects who have expressed an interest but have not yet made a decision to purchase.

More than half of the consumers that request information from your business will eventually buy, but only if you maintain consistent contact with them. All advertising leads should be placed in a database so they can be systematically followed.

The follow-up can be in several forms, including newsletters, phone calls, personalized notes and e-mail. Statistics indicate that 80 percent of all sales are made after the fifth point of contact, so it is imperative that you stay front and center in the mind of your consumer or prospect.

5. Learn the value of public relations. Advertising is the wind; PR is the sun. The value of public relations has increased dramatically over the last decade. An article in the newspaper or an appearance on a popular radio show has greater value than a simple advertisement.

Create events that are unique in your market and will attract the attention of consumers. Today's consumer is inundated with approximately 3,000 advertising messages daily, so if you're not being different, you're in trouble. In a book called ''Differentiate or Die," Jack Trout writes about survival in an era of killer competition.

Over the last several years, Mount Royal Commemorative Services has offered the following programs to differentiate ourselves:

-    Open air gospel choir concert
-    Shakespeare in the park presentation
-    Cultural music event
-    Jazz concert in our new chapel
-    Historical walking tours
-    Art exhibition
-    Sunday brunch preplanning seminars
-    Crematorium tour

6. Track your results from advertising. "Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half."—John Wanamaker.

Advertising without tracking the results is an exercise in futility. The vast majority of business owners have absolutely no idea if their marketing efforts are delivering results.

According to Roy H. Williams' "The Wizard of Ads," the waste in marketing is anywhere from 50 to 90 percent. Given that knowledge, we must attempt to analyze our marketing efforts so that we can maintain what's working and get rid of what is not.

How do we track results? There are several ways; the method you use will depend to a great degree on your advertising objectives. If your goal is to get the phone to ring, use different phone numbers with different media outlets. Or, use the same basic message and theme in all of your advertising, but promote a specific benefit unique to each media. A somewhat less scientific method is to ask prospects when they call or come to your cemetery or funeral home where they saw or heard your ad.

7. Choose your words carefully.  Although it is important to target your advertising and maintain enough frequency over time, the essence of your success or failure will be based on what you say in your ad. Avoid clichés, funereal sounding music in the background, and too much time spent on your company.

Focus on the benefits to the consumer. A good ad is about the consumer; a bad ad is about the advertiser. Use a two-step approach as opposed to an approach that says "call us in a time of need." By offering a free information kit and educating consumers, you will position your company as being different from the rest.

Many cemeteries and funeral homes have at least one minority ethnic or religious group to which they want to appeal. St. Michael's Cemetery in Queens, New York, has them all. Well, maybe not all, but as the most diverse community in the United States, Queens presents the sales staff with a special challenge—and opportunity.

When St. Michael's Cemetery was established in 1852, Queens had plenty of farmland that could be turned into cemeteries as the island of Manhattan became more crowded. It was a different era, and the names on the memorials reflect a homogeneity long since gone.

The cemetery is part of St. Michael's Episcopal Church, but is open to people of all faiths. It began its life as a potter's field. As the population of Queens grew, it welcomed the burial of those who wanted and could afford the memorials and statuary that marked the Victorian era.

At one point not long ago, St. Michael's had become dependent on an Italian market that was shrinking due to age and an increasingly transient population. Today, St. Michael's tries to reach out to all the ethnic, cultural and religious communities that now make up Queens, determined by the U.S. Census to be our nation's most diverse community.

A sampling of whom we serve: Hindus, Buddhists, Italians, Romanians, Bulgarians, Albanians, Greeks, Croats, Irish, German, English, French, Spanish, every South and Central American country you can name, Chinese, Koreans, a few Russians. Some speak English; others do not.

As head of community relations and sales, I must reach out to as many groups as possible. I accomplish this in a number of ways. My advice:

1. Read newspapers aimed at specific groups. Some of them are published in English, some are not. For those that are not, find someone in that community who will translate for you, or will look through them and tell you about events taking place that are important to that community.

2. Advertise in these newspapers. For example, I advertise constantly in the Greek Herald and the other Greek newspaper, the Hellas. In addition, every year at Christmas we run a full-page ad celebrating life in the Greek community and we do the same thing when the community celebrates Easter.

3. Meet the leaders of these groups; invite them to your cemetery or funeral home and talk to them about their traditions and desires. When planning new facilities and services, consult with them early in the process.

For example, St. Michael's decided to build a crematorium in the 1990s. We knew the Hindu community would be an important constituency for the facility. We kept this is mind in the design. In fact, if you take a look at the stained glass that Pickel Studios created for us, you'll see that for the most part it is devoid of religious symbolism. But at the very center is a Hindu symbol.

After doing some research, we ended up meeting with the head of the Hindu Association of America. She spent several hours with us, educating us about what a Hindu family looks for in a cremation facility. She explained that the eldest son or eldest male in the family has to initiate the cremation process, and the family must view it. The family wants to be right where the retort is. We had not been aware of this, an important consideration for planning the design of the building.

Also, Hindus park the hearse away from where the casket will be placed, and have to stop and place the casket on the ground five separate times while carrying it. It was intriguing to learn.

In some cases, it's important to learn about another tradition so that your staff knows what to expect. Some people in our Eastern European community, when attending a traditional grave burial, will not allow us to lower the casket until some member of the family defaces it. They actually stab it, hit it with chains and otherwise damage it.

It was a real shock the first time I saw a family do that. Then someone explained that in the "old country," it was not uncommon for cemeteries to remove the body from a casket in order to resell it. Defacing the casket was the family's way of making sure this would not happen.

The African-American community has chapel services for cremations, with the funeral director acting as the lay minister. It surprised us to learn that regardless of what kind of service has already been held at the funeral home, before the casket is moved from the crematorium chapel to the retort, the funeral director is expected to deliver a sermon for those in attendance. We included a podium at the front of the chapel to make it easier for the speaker.

Another thing we heard from several groups is that they felt rushed when they wanted to use the chapel in connection with cremations. We therefore decided that one of the things that would differentiate St. Michael's All Soul's Chapel and Crematorium was that we would extend the typical chapel time scheduled to half an hour (the norm in the area was 10 to 15 minutes). We try our best to allow families to remain in the chapel as long as they wish.

In fact, as a result of the input we got from different groups as we planned the crematorium, we went from envisioning the crematorium as the focus with the chapel as an adjunct to the exact opposite view, with the chapel as the focus.

4. Invite religious leaders from all faiths to participate in events as appropriate. We have an annual service in honor of the Queens firefighters who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. We offer everyone from our community representation. We've had Buddhist, Muslim, Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Jewish religious leaders participate.

5. Hire counselors from key communities. Everybody knows to do this, right? But you need to go beyond that initial step to fully reap the benefits.

Like most urban cemeteries, St. Michael's has limited land and is counting on mausoleum space to extend its active life. Part of my job is to sell out a new building every two years, at the rate of about 600 preneed mausoleum spaces annually.

We have a very large Greek community in the Astoria area of Queens, which is not far from our front door. The members of this community have historically been traditional grave purchasers, reluctant to even look at spaces in a community mausoleum, fearful of cemeteries and never preplanning.

I wanted to hire a Greek counselor, so I attended a lot of Greek churches and met a lot of people. Eventually I met the person I wanted to hire, Nicholas Papamichael, a young man who was running a food business but had a great personality.

After he was on board, I invited the local Greek newspaper to come down to St. Michael's and do a story on him. They wrote what turned out to be a four-page story on the advantages of preplanning and about how community mausoleums are a great advance over traditional ground burial.

In the past, the Greek community would have been responsible for maybe 2 to 3 percent of our mausoleum sales, purchased at-need. Since that article, close to 18 percent of our pre-need mausoleum sales are in the Greek community.

6. Look for ways to be a community facilitator. The past few years, we've managed to reach out to every elected official in Queens, partly through our Queens 9/11 memorial and service. We know them; they know us.

As I keep tabs on what's going on in different communities by reading their newspapers and talking to their leaders, I look for opportunities for St. Michael's to help out.

If there's a group trying to place a bench in a park, clean up a neighborhood, get a traffic light or stop sign installed or secure an increased police presence, it's not uncommon for us to get a phone call requesting help in getting the attention of the appropriate elected official. But we don't wait for the call. If we learn of a need, we offer to help.

It also works in reverse-our Congressional representatives view St. Michael's as a community resource and will come to us for help in reaching out to constituents.

7. Make your facilities available for use by community groups. Organizations need places to meet. A local Kiwanas group uses our chapel for meetings; so does a Queens Library committee. Sometimes Rep. Carolyn Maloney holds meetings on local issues there. A local businesswomen's group meets there.

8. If you're a cemeterian, think of funeral directors as a group you should cultivate as you would any other. This is crucial for stand-alone cemeteries. I belong to the Metropolitan Funeral Directors Association and the Long Island Funeral Directors Association. I participate in their events; I advertise in their journals. St. Michael's sends a newsletter to 224 funeral directors.

I do whatever is required to make sure that every funeral director in the area has a positive view of St. Michael's. Funeral directors know that if they need something they can call me and most likely my answer will be "yes."

When All Souls Chapel was complete, the first thing we did was notify the funeral directors that it was available-free of charge-for any need they might have. Some of them are members of fraternal organizations that require a place to meet; others want a place for their own special events.

Each year Farenga & Sons funeral director Gus Antonopolous observes All Souls Day with a candle-lighting service in our chapel. He's also used the chapel for Greek Easter, New Year's and other occasions.

 
No business can be all things to all people, but as communities become increasingly diverse, we need to find ways to reach out to more people. At St. Michael's, we try to reach beyond the cemetery's gates and become a partner in the lives of our c1ients and potential clients.

Are you spending money on advertising and not getting the results you hoped for? Is your funeral home or cemetery Exhibit A for the statistics indicating that somewhere between 50 and 90 percent of advertising is wasted? Are you looking for a bigger bang for your buck?

Let's take a close look at the six advertising mistakes you should avoid in order to turn your advertising budget from an expense into an investment.

1. Lacking patience. Any advertising campaign will take time to deliver results. As marketers, we tend to be impatient and look for immediate gratification. When you are developing brand awareness for your cemetery or funeral home, there is no sense of immediacy in most cases.

The objective is to be constantly present so that consumers will think of you when the time of need arises or when they have a personal experience that gets them thinking about preplanning. We call this "top of mind awareness."

The ad that creates enough urgency to cause people to respond immediately is the ad most likely to be forgotten immediately once the offer expires. It is of little use in establishing the advertiser's identity in the mind of the consumer.

The essence of branding is simply the perception or idea that the consumer has in their mind when they think about your business. For example, when we mention Volvo, we immediately think about safety; BMW, the ultimate driving machine.

A long term plan in any media generally involves a commitment for a one-year period. On radio, for example, it's a minimum of three commercials per day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year.

2. Spreading your budget too thin. Advertising success is dependent on two things, the message and the frequency. For a media mix to be effective, each element in the mix must have enough repetition to establish retention in the mind of the prospect.

Too often, advertisers put their dollars in too many places. Instead of advertising on three radio stations and three newspapers with limited frequency, select one or two radio stations and newspapers and make an impact.

Would you prefer to reach 100 percent of the population and convince them 10 percent of the way or reach 10 percent of the people and convince them 100 percent of the way?

Reach and frequency combine to make a campaign effective, but frequency is the more important part of the formula. Media outlets such as television deliver huge reach, but can you afford to impact the audience without investing a fortune?

In our market, there are some powerful FM radio stations that deliver huge, targeted audiences, but the cost is prohibitive if we want to talk to their listeners with any reasonable level of frequency.

3. Selecting the wrong media. Every advertising vehicle has a different purpose. Nonintrusive media, such as newspapers and yellow pages, tend to reach only buyers who are looking for the product. They are poor at reaching prospects before their need arises, so they are not much use for creating a predisposition toward your company.

The patient, consistent use of intrusive media, such as radio and television, will win the hearts of relational customers long before they are in the market for your product.

When marketing preplanning, the combination of radio and TV is ideal. If TV is too expensive in your market or for your budget, radio is probably the most cost-effective media choice available. By educating consumers about the benefits of preplanning, you can ensure that they will ultimately be served by your company.

4. Placing too much emphasis on targeting. Although different media choices offer different qualitative audiences, we tend to spend far too much time on where we are investing our dollars as opposed to what we are saying in our advertising.

Many advertisers and media professionals grossly overestimate the importance of audience quality. In reality, saying the wrong thing has killed far more ad campaigns than reaching the wrong people. It's amazing how many people become "the right people" when you're saying the right thing.

Most advertisers insist on repetitiously cramming the name of their company, the name of their product, their business hours and their street address into every ad they buy. Such ads do a great job in answering the who, where, what and when while failing to answer the all-important question: Why?

Bad advertising is about the advertiser; good advertising is about the customer. Avoid generic-sounding ads that talk about "our family serving your family" and focus on educating consumers and demystifying the death care profession.

5. Confusing response with results. The goal of advertising is to create a clear awareness of your company and its unique selling proposition. Unfortunately, most advertisers evaluate their ads by the comments they hear from the people around them.

The slickest, cleverest, funniest, most creative and most distinctive ads are the ones most likely to generate these comments. See the problem? When we confuse response with results, we create attention-getting ads that say absolutely nothing.

Also, the purpose of advertising is to deliver response that is ultimately up to us to capitalize on. Our two-step marketing program at Mount Royal Commemorative Services simply asks consumers to call for a free information kit with no obligation. Once that step is completed, it is up to us to follow up and convince the prospect to buy our services.

6. Making unproven claims. Remember, there are two worlds of marketing: the world outside your door, which is advertising, and the world inside your door, which is your people fulfilling the advertised claims.

Advertisers often claim to have what the customer wants, such as "the highest quality at the lowest price," but fail to offer any evidence to back up the claim. An unsubstantiated claim is nothing more than a cliché the prospect is tired of hearing.

Have you ever walked into a retail store whose ad campaign touts the ultimate in customer service only to receive the opposite? I once walked into a store owned by a large national retail chain to buy a product and was surprised when the cashier neither spoke nor looked me in the eye during the entire transaction.

You must prove what you say in every ad. Do your ads give prospects new information? Do they provide a new perspective? If not, prepare to be disappointed with the results.

Are we too "bound to the body"? It's time for funeral professionals to deal with families in a new way, or we won't be the ones planning the meaningful funerals and memorial services of tomorrow.

The custom of burial has a long history in North America. Ancient Native American burial grounds provide evidence of that. Yet in the past 50 years, our society has undergone major changes in its death care rituals, and people are moving from traditional burial to the alternative of cremation. People are rejecting the standard burial formula in such great numbers that if there were another alternative besides cremation; that might be the direction in which they would be going.

As cemetery and funeral service professionals, we need to look back at history to discover what it is that people want and figure out how we can best meet their needs.

Anti-cremation tactics backfired
A few years ago, Batesville came out with a program called "Options," based on the premise that cremation families have more choices and flexibility than families choosing traditional burial. Many of us used the "options" idea to try to dissuade people from choosing cremation, but we greatly misjudged our customers.

Instead of scaring people off, the idea of greater choice selection was embraced. Suddenly, the unthinkable happened. God-fearing burial families began to be seduced over to the "dark side" of cremation.

Instead of facing this new challenge and catering to families' needs, we tried to teach them a way to not want it. Many of us accomplished this temporarily by hiding the urns where no one would see them, in that familiar dark, smoked-glass container in the corner of the arrangement space.
That attempt not only was a colossal failure, but also prevented us from keeping up with the consumers who are now demanding more than many of us can now offer.

The reason for this switch in consumer mindset from traditional burials to alternative services is not hard to understand. People view cremation and memorial services as the Burger King, "have it your way" offer, providing them the flexibility to have the service exactly the way they want it.

People choose cremation because it just happens to be the option that allows them to put together a meaningful service their own way. A memorial service is more adaptable than a funeral service because it does not necessarily have to be sad or religious, nor does it have to follow the well-worn path.

The challenge for us as a burial community is that we are so bound to the body, and so anxious to get it into the ground within 48 hours, that we do not allow enough time for putting together the service. It takes time to organize a memorable funeral service, yet we are too bound to time and to the body to make it happen.

When Coretta Scott King died, her funeral was not two days later, it was nine days later; After President Reagan's death, his body was flown across the country and laid in state before he was buried.

Take the example of a friend of mine named Calvin, whose brother, Steve, died at 48. Steve's memorial service was held in a bar and restaurant in Franklin, Virginia, on a Monday night. There were 250 townspeople there.

Above the buffet was a PowerPoint display with a rolling pictorial of Steve's life. At the other end of the bar a screen and PowerPoint projector were set up for Calvin to tell his brother's story. No one who attended that memorial service left without knowing who Steve was.

One of the people there was a local funeral director, "Barky." After the service, Barky said to Calvin, "I've had no less than 20 people from this town come up to me and say, 'This is what I want when it’s my time to go."

"What's wrong with that?" Calvin asked him. Barky looked him square in the eye and said, "But I can't do this." And he was right.

Many of you who attend conventions are already offering these types of services, but the challenge is getting the message to the people in our profession who are not, because they reflect on our businesses and pull us down with them.

Funeral and cemetery professionals aren't "typical" in today's society
One of the major hurdles for today's cemetery and funeral service professionals involves relating to people who are completely different from us demographically. There are several factors causing people to reject traditional burial. Our society is a very mobile one and, in general, is becoming less and less affiliated with religion and the societal boundaries and rituals that go along with it. Marriages between people of different faiths and blended households created by remarriage bring up other issues. These trends are not slowing down, so it is important to face the challenges they bring rather than to ignore them.

Society is moving and changing all around us, but we are not going anywhere. We keep things exactly as they have been for generations because that is what we know. Many funeral service professionals who have been at the same location for generations have trouble relating to cremation families, to people who have changed jobs several times and moved across the country.

Because we are living in direct contrast to the way our customer base is, it is very difficult for us to give up our traditions and adapt to change. But we need to keep in mind that we are the exception rather than the norm in society, and trying to resist inevitable changes will only hurt our businesses in the long run.

Thus far, many of us have managed to compensate through our excellent communication skills. We can easily talk people into choosing the service we want them to choose. But not everyone on your staff has equal communication skills, nor do they have the same vested interest you have in your business succeeding. We need to face the issue head on and move forward as a profession.

Suppliers need to change, too
Suppliers are also contributing to the problem. Instead of adjusting their sales methodology to modern times, they continue to sell the same way they have throughout history. The same merchandise available to a burial family does not necessarily apply to a cremation family, yet suppliers have not made enough effort to adapt to changes in the marketplace.

The practice of selling merchandise by what it is made of rather than what it looks like is a case in point. The major challenge for suppliers is to learn to merchandise their products differently. Via Spiga, which historically bought its shoes from Mexico, recently began buying shoes from China as well. The shoe from China costs $3 to manufacture, the shoe from Mexico costs $10. But instead of pricing the shoes to reflect the cost of manufacturing and materials, Via Spiga bases prices completely on looks. The $3 shoe sells for dramatically more than the $10 one, and the resulting profits suggest this is the right decision.

We need to take a major step in changing our sales methodology so that our pricing reflects more than the raw product. It also needs to reflect the value perceived by the consumer.

We also should be more aware of the people we are serving. Just because families choose cremation does not mean they want to know about the details involved in the process. Some of you who offer windows where people can peek through and watch the cremation may be surprised to learn that not everyone wants to see it. This is not to suggest that having such a window is a bad idea, but that you need to be attentive to your customers' individual needs.

When we think of cremation, we think of decreasing profits, yet many of us put very little effort into selling to cremation families. It is important to make families aware of all options regarding final placement and to encourage them to purchase urns.

Unlike caskets, which are 100 percent lift (every burial family buys one), urns are completely optional. By providing cremation families with temporary urns, we are even encouraging them to walk out without buying anything.

We cannot afford to sit back and do nothing while the cremation trend continues to increase. Learning more about our customers and what they want is the first step to increasing our sales and profits.

Before we can begin to increase sales, we need to stop our tendency to equate cremation with burial, with disposition. Our profession has distorted this notion so badly that it seems almost impossible to undo. When faced with cremation, we think of final placement as an afterthought. When cremation becomes the alternative to burial, final placement falls right off the page.

Our challenge is to change our perception of cremation and look at it not as an alternative to burial, but as an alternative to embalming. Cremation is simply the preparation and it is the final placement on which we should be placing more focus. When we start seeing and believing in the value of final placement following cremation that is when we start selling more urns and achieve a higher lift on related products.

We are still not focused enough on final placement, and some of us may not even be involved in the memorial service. You should have seen Barky in Franklin, Virginia, when we changed his world overnight. Things will never be the same for him.

What cremation families want
The short answer to the question of what cremation families really want is "just what everybody else wants." They want less contact with salespeople. When a salesperson walks up to someone at the mall and asks, "Can I help you?" the customer inevitably says, "No thanks; I'm just looking." What he or she means is, "Leave me alone. Some smart guy set this store up in such a way that I can find it on my own. If I need your help, I'm glad to know that you're available, but I don't need you following me around the store."

Yet as soon as people cross the threshold of our funeral homes, we try to sit them down and make them use our age-old selling process, one that people in focus groups consistently reject, comparing it to a timeshare sales pitch.

Today, "personal service" no longer means "one-on-one service." People now consider it to mean being free to browse on their own, able to control the pace and momentum of the entire transaction.

Just like everyone else, cremation families want more meaning, more flexibility, more individuality and value for their money.

But the more in-depth answer to the question of what cremation families want is still to be determined. We need to discover the answer before we get further behind than we already are.

As a profession, as individuals and as leaders in our profession, we need to stop trying to convince people to accept what we want and focus on learning what they're looking for. We need to do this ourselves and more important, we need to spread the message to our colleagues who don't attend conventions. 
 
This article compiled from an address presented by the author at the 2006 ICFA Annual Convention

Linus Shackelford
Educate, educate, educate. I think churches are overlooked in the real value of what they can offer us. Let's look at the mega churches, with 5,000+ members. Twenty years ago, there were about two dozen mega churches. Today there are 830; more than 3 million people attend mega churches.

Some of these mega churches no longer have on-campus Sunday school classes; their rapid growth does not allow it. Instead, people get together in small groups in private homes to study the Bible.

These small-group Bible study classes last for several weeks usually before they start a new section. Sometime before they start the new one, don't you think they would appreciate someone to come in and socialize with them and bring some delicatessen food, some brownies, and talk about something that relates to death but also relates to the church?

There are a lot of people interested in knowing more about end-of-life issues, but no one is doing anything about it except having seminars for seniors groups.

This is a wide-open market involving very little money and advertising. If you like working with church people and have the determination and the persistence to do this, all it takes is effort and passion. These mega church study groups are all over the place; they're waiting for us. Never go to them to try to sell, only to educate people.

Marianna Hayes
Baby boomers on average see old age beginning at approximately 75 years old. Guess what, folks? Seventy-five is the average lifespan of Americans. They plan to die before they get old, frankly.

That's important to consider in marketing to them—they're not thinking about their old age, so you've got to come at them from a different direction.

What a lot of marketing articles are suggesting is that we look at the boomers by attitude. Don't qualify them into "everybody over 60 is acting this way," because it's not true.

So if you're looking at customer relationship management software and systems, you need to look at how you can integrate attitudes. Are they outdoor enthusiasts, health food nuts, loving grandparents? Attitudes are really going to affect how you market to them.

This article compiled from an address presented by the authors at the 2006 ICFA Annual Convention

About twelve or thirteen years ago a young man stood on a hilltop overlooking a small country cemetery of some fifty-five acres. This property had just been placed in his charge. He saw no buildings on the property. There was only a patch of lawn, with a few straggling headstones. Beyond the scant dozen acres of developed ground the hillside rose sere and brown. It was not exactly a scene of surpassing loveliness. The problem of making a notable property out of it was a serious one. It was apparent that its future commercially would not rise above its artistic and esthetic plane.

The young man who surveyed the scene, however, possessed one of those minds to which visions come. He was, as a matter of fact, a rare combination: In the highest sense an idealist, a dreamer of dreams; and at the same time, a practical, trained engineer, who could plan definitely how to make a worthy dream come true. On this historic occasion a dream did come—a vision. He saw, in one swift instant of revelation, what this tiny "God's Acre" might be made into. So real was this vision, so definitely did the philosophy by which it might be realized present itself to this practical man that that very day he put down in writing for his own private guidance, what you might call a Creed. It was a statement of his own beliefs and principles and theories.
And I think no better basis could be laid for the brief discussion which I shall attempt, than to read you this Builder's Creed—the self-instituted guide which was set up twelve years ago for Forest Lawn Memorial Park by Mr. Hubert Eaton: (which has been quoted in Mr. Eaton's address)

"This is the Builder's Dream; this is the Builder's Creed."

This was the vision. Now for the realization. It has only been achieved in part. Naturally, like the horizon, such a sweeping esthetic and spiritual concept must inevitably lift and carry the pilgrim on to bigger and better things beyond. But Forest Lawn Memorial-Park is today a property of about 200 acres. It is bounded on three sides by the everlasting hills, and protected equally from encroachment on the other by the natural situation and location.

Its employees number about 500. Its interments exceed in number those of any similar institution in the West. Its "Little Church of the Flowers," inspired by the historic church at Stoke Poges, England, to which immortality was given by the poet Gray, is the scene of hundreds of weddings each year. The Administration Building houses the executive offices, the well-patronized Flower Shop, a Museum of Antiquities. Its exterior architecture and interior decoration and arrangement are all authentically inspired by the mansion house of an English nobleman of the Sixteenth Century. Just being completed is a second church, "The Wee kirk o' the Heather," patterned after that famous little chapel in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, where Annie Laurie worshipped. The Mausoleum-Columbarium is a stately building of steel and concrete, built against the rock of the hillside in terraces, and upon the roof is now being placed a magnificent Court of Honor at one end of which will be placed a stained glass reproduction of Leonardo's "Last Supper." Surmounting Mount Forest Lawn a rugged Tower disguises its utilitarian purpose (the storage of water) by its allegorical conception and design and forms a landmark famous for miles around the property.

This is a quick sketch of Forest Lawn Memorial-Park as it has evolved since the Builder had his vision, a complete sketch except that I neglected to mention the scores of notable pieces of sculpture placed with great effectiveness about the grounds, or housed in the various buildings.
Now you might properly ask the question: Did advertising build all this? To answer it accurately would be as difficult as to answer the age old question: In the original creation, did the Egg or the Chicken come first? The fact is, the support of the public in the way of sales made possible the advertising, and the advertising helped to build the sales.
 
To most people there is something incongruous at first in the idea of a cemetery advertising far business. It is a common thing for us to be favored with "wise-cracks" and rather labored attempts at humor, when the subject comes up in ordinary conversation with the lay man. But we think we have discovered that Mr. Average Man’s heavy efforts at humor in connection with such a subject are what the psychologists call a "defense mechanism." Most people instinctively shrink from the thought or discussion of death. It seems like opening the door to morbid reflections. But it is also a fact that if death is faced courageously, accepted as a natural part of life, it begins to lose its power to terrify. Forest Lawn Memorial-Park holds boldly to the theory that a rational discussion of death and the problems which death creates for those left behind, rather than hastening one's end, operates in quite the opposite manner. We ask people to accept the unalterable fact of death, and to make wise, rational preparation for it, as they would for any other event of which they had certain foreknowledge.
 
Approaching the problem of selling a cemetery from this standpoint, the sales resistance is much more theoretical than real. It shrinks to a practical minimum indeed, when coupled with the utilitarian features of a cemetery property, you are fortunate enough to have esthetic, civic and artistic considerations on such a prodigal scale as happens to be the case with Forest Lawn.
 
Now of course what Forest Lawn is really doing is to create what is virtually a great composite memorial perpetuating not simply the memory of one individual but of all the brave souls who have gone on before us, from this community. Every owner of Forest Lawn property thus becomes a partner in this great enterprise. The fact that it has a commercial aspect in no way lessens its civic, esthetic and spiritual value to the community.
 
In fact, its commercial foundation is one of its outstanding virtues, because out of its sales is set up a perpetual fund for care and maintenance, which is a guarantee for all time to come that this area dedicated to a great purpose, shall forever remain dedicated to it, shall forever grow in grandeur and beauty, shall forever continue to evolve into a monument more and more fitting and adequate.

So this brings us to the practical problem of continuously making sales. These sales automatically group themselves, as you know, into the two classes: those made by natural exigency or "at need" and those made in advance or "before need".
 
Both classes of purchases are influenced tremendously by the good will or prestige of the institution. The sales force which is maintained devotes its efforts to the making of "before need" sales. Selections of this character naturally represent a greater volume in money than an equal number of "at need" sales.

I think I have sketched sufficiently the background of Forest Lawn to show you where advertising comes into the picture, to accomplish that which no other force could accomplish within the same time. May I remind you of an axiom very familiar to advertising men—that no business can succeed with advertising unless it would and could also succeed without it. I think that is generally true enough to set it down axiomatically. But what is implied in that axiom is this that advertising can be compared to the glassed houses of the florists, or the fertilizer and watering or the farmer, which renders success more certain and also encompasses it within reasonable time limits, as human lives and activities are measured. The "mouse trap" theory of Elbert Hubbard's, while it contains a considerable portion of truth, is yet dangerous in this modern day. Life is too short to wait for the world to beat a path to your door. If you have something worthy for the people, you must tell them if you want to sell them.

So it comes down to the question of telling. Who is going to do it? The Forest Lawn story—as I think I have sufficiently indicated—is no ordinary story. The average salesman will be able to do it but scant justice, even if the ordinary prospective buyer has the patience to listen or the intelligence to grasp quickly. Furthermore, if you have an important property, conducted on an ambitious a scale as Forest Lawn, you will not want to entrust its telling to the average sales force. If you have 50 people, you are bound to be creating at least fifty different versions of your story.

Forest Lawn boldly tells the public its story, in its own way. It uses for the purpose, practically every legitimate medium of advertising—radio, newspapers, billboards, theatre programs, direct advertising through the mail printed literature, and publicity.

Every character of Forest Lawn advertising goes through the same process of meticulous care in preparation: that is to say, no amount of time or pains is spared in the writing of copy, the preparation of art work, the arrangement of printing, so that precisely the right shade of meaning is conveyed, and so that the advertising shall always and everywhere be upon a very high literary, artistic and spiritual plane.

Radio has been found astonishingly effective in directing public attention upon the institution, and creating for it a most favorable association of ideas. A thirty-piece symphony orchestra and an ensemble of approximately sixteen singers of very high professional caliber are used one hour each week, together with a carefully written continuity. The programs are selected about two weeks in advance. Each program centers about one outstanding theme. The titles of some recent programs will give you an idea of this: Songs of the Sea—The Old Corner Book Shop—A Night in Havana—Russian Nights—A Night in the Theatres—"Chimes of Normandy"—Love Songs of the World—Evolution of the Dance—Wheels of the World—and Music of Devotion, which is the title of the Forest Lawn radio presentation to be given this Friday evening.

Practically all the music is rehearsed, and the entire program is approved by us before it is presented. The same hour and the same night each week are used, and since the advertising has now been running over the air for practically forty weeks, I think it is not too much to say that the Forest Lawn programs have become a recognized institution on the Pacific Coast. Emphasis is placed in the announcements on the cultural and esthetic features of Forest Lawn, the important works of art and notable buildings are repeatedly mentioned, and there is always an invitation to visit the Park as one of the best known places of interest in Southern California. Radio is one of the great new factors in advertising, but its technique is difficult and subtle, and offers the grandest opportunity of any medium open to the advertiser, for him to demonstrate how little he knows what the public wants. A certain well known national concern decided a few years ago to go on the air, and among their directors was a fine old gentleman who in his early youth had had it musical education. He volunteered—in fact, insisted—that he would take charge of the radio advertising. He searched the musical libraries of the new and old worlds for fine music which had never before been played. He announced that he was going to raise the standard of musical taste in America. After the company had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars it was unanimously agreed to abandon the idea of education. The fact is, that radio is a new and curious combination of art and showmanship and advertising. It is not absolutely necessary to be crazy to handle radio advertising, but you will get along better if you are!

Before we used the radio we used the newspapers, and in them presented the Forest Lawn story week after week. Copy and art were pitched upon a high plane. This newspaper advertising was widely read and commented upon. But when we began using radio we changed the character of the newspaper ads somewhat: that is, we now use the newspapers to advertise the radio programs. However, with each advertisement, there is also a straight Forest Lawn advertising message.

I think perhaps this would be as good as place as any for me to remark that the newspapers are much more effective since we have used the radio and the radio undoubtedly has a larger and more impressible audience because we use the newspapers. And this holds true of all our advertising, just as it holds true of advertising in any other field. When you use two mediums instead of one, you more than double your returns, because you increase the effectiveness of each one.

We use painted billboards, illuminated. Here we have only the briefest telegraphic message. Just now we are beginning the first of a series of symbolic messages. The one on the boards now is just a beautiful painting of the sea, no land or other objects in sight except clouds. Our copy reads "Eternal—as the sea." Then at the bottom of the board, FOREST LAWN MEMORIAL PARK IN GLENDALE. The next board no doubt will be just a painting of infinity, that is, a point far out in space, with the stars and planets suggested and again the phrase "Eternal—as the heavens." These boards are symbolical, suggestive, and carry the thought so necessary to get over, that Forest Lawn is an institution which shall endure for all time to come. Of course, there is a psychological association also, for it directs the mind, very subtly and without even appearing to do so, to the unalterable fact of earthly change but Eternal persistence of the human soul.

Though this discussion is not intended to be metaphysical or theological, we are not ashamed to say that Forest Lawn believes in eternal life, and we don't hesitate to say so in our advertising. We try to take the morbidity out of death, and the institution we advertise does not parade grief and woe and disconsolation, but typify and symbolizes in every way that ingenuity can suggest, abundant, endless and joyous life.

Right along this line, may I say that my company is at present  preparing a beautiful book which will probably be called "This Continuing Life" and in it will be quoted the best thought in prose and poetry of the whole world, bearing on immortality. The purpose of this book will be to serve as a courtesy or good will present, to patrons, without charge whatsoever, but as a subtle and delicately expressed gesture of understanding and sympathy with the bereaved. Surely it is not preaching to say that the surest and in fact, the only solace, which we can give to those left behind, is some concrete expression of our own conviction that their separation from their loved ones is out temporary.

So fast are precious objects of art from the old world being added to the already large collection in Forest Lawn, that we find it necessary quite frequently to reissue the official souvenir of the Park, called "The Chimes." This is a beautifully illustrated and printed booklet, in size 9" x 12", showing the latest and most attractive views of the grounds, buildings and statuary. As time goes on, The Chimes is growing further and further away from a commercial booklet, and tends to become more artistic and more truly a souvenir. This book is sold for a nominal price at the grounds, or is sent by mail in response to newspaper and other advertising.

Regular mailings of letter campaigns are maintained. We have tried to cover the "before need" sales story by letter but just now we are using a very short letter, with which is enclosed a simply written booklet with the sales story.

We have another booklet, called prosaically, "The Truth. About Burial Customs and Costs," and our advertising is keyed for this booklet also, which is distributed gratis. It is a plain story of the': subject, as its title indicates.

Still another booklet, which is growing more and more important as time goes on, is the Official Guide Book. This is practically a cyclopedia of all the interesting features of Forest Lawn, describing in detail the grounds, buildings, statuary and other objects of special significance, interest, or historical association. This booklet, on thin Bible stock, is in great demand by visitors.

The use of theatre programs for cemetery advertising may seem incongruous, but our experience and observation is that this is a most valuable medium. It reaches a good class of people, it profits by the very fact that it is different from any other advertising in the program, and we know from actual tests made in the theatres, that it is read perhaps more thoroughly than even our newspaper insertions.

We are fairly generous patrons of some of the higher types of class publications, such as women's clubs magazines, musical publications, etc., going to special groups. When we do use these mediums, we exercise exactly the same care in preparation that we would if we were going into the Ladies Home Journal or Vanity Fair.

Then of course, we attempt to secure all the publicity to which we are entitled by virtue of the news value of the events which occur in which Forest Lawn figures. The acquisition of new statuary or buildings makes legitimate news. At Easter Time a sunrise service is held on Mount Forest Lawn attended last year by 40,000 to 50,000 people. The Little Church of the Flowers attracts many notable weddings, which are the basis of legitimate publicity.

I should not be surprised if some of you are mentally asking the question: which advertising, medium is most profitable. I have always tried to live up to the legend that an advertising man is omniscient, but in this case I will imperil my reputation, if any, by saying that I do not know. I think I am safe in saying that, taken all together, they are profitable. My recommendation to any cemetery is that if they are using practically all media, and the sum total of results is pretty satisfactory, leave well enough alone. It is entirely probable that some of those media are pulling only 50 percent, some 90 percent, some 100 percent, and maybe others 200 percent. If it was my money I wouldn't care. I have seen too many instances where it was attempted to get exactly 100 percent out of each and every cog in the wheel. Don't look for perfection in every piece of advertising, any more than you do in every individual in a given group. We ought to be happy if the general level of the group is pretty high, in a world which is still able only to approximate perfection in any line of effort.

From the publication:
AACS - Proceedings of the 43rd Annual Convention
Los Angeles, CA
September 3, 4, 5 and 6, 1929

The title of this talk, "Sales Incentive from a Management Viewpoint," is so comprehensive that it seemed to me, as I worked on it, that it might have been more fitting to call it "What Management Should Do to Build and Maintain a Successful Sales Organization."

There are two ways to operate a business, whether it's the cemetery business or any other. You can operate it with as low overhead as you can possibly get by with and take what business comes to you easy, or you can carry on an aggressive promotional program-advertising, etc. and in a cemetery that would be a pre-need sales campaign. In our own operation that has been necessary because of our location, and because we do have some very active competition in Dallas. We found out early it was necessary for us to seek our business actively if we were to do any considerable volume, so we have operated on that basis ever since we have been there.

Now it seems to me the first sales incentive that should be provided is adequate and competent sales leadership or sales management. In a small cemetery that perhaps is not in a position to hire or employ a full-time sales director, this leadership must come from management itself, but in many cases many of you represented here do have your own sales managers, and I think it is important that you have as good a sales manager as possible. So many people ask me, "How do you get one?" Frankly, I can't answer that, but it occurs to me that there are few ready made cemetery sales managers available to any of us, and it also occurs to me that we possess no particularly unusual and unfounded ability. The same ability that we have, others have. We have got to seek them out, and if you find any able, competent, aggressive, intelligent young or relatively young man who wants to learn sales work, I see no reason in the world why you can't teach him to be a sales manager in the cemetery business. It is going to take some work on your part. When you find and hire the man you have got to outline some definite policies. You must cut his work out and leave him alone, and not be doing all his work for him. You let him do as much of it as he will. It makes him feel better if he begins to accomplish things, and he probably will begin to accomplish things. You want to back him up by furnishing subscriptions to sales magazines, to sales services, to releases that are put out by insurance companies, to books having to do with selling; in other words, try to help him become a better sales manager through the equipment that is made available to sales managers in general. A great deal of that material is applicable to the cemetery field.

Then you can give him what other additional help you want to give him. We, in our institution, use the services of an outside firm, or cemetery consultants, to come in and consult with us once or twice a year, because we find that helps us to keep on the track. You are apt to get off if you start working by yourself.

The next thing you have is a room, a comfortable place for a sales organization to work. As I visit around over the country, I try to make it my business to visit cemeteries continuously, and I am often amazed that the front office is a roomy, airy place with a lot of desk space and everything, yet when I get back to the part that is supporting the whole institution I find a cramped room with a couple of desks in it, three or four folding chairs and a couple of small blackboards on the wall, and that is the sales room; yet that is the department that is main¬taining the front office. I think it is necessary that they have plenty of room, and feel they are just as important as any other part of that institution.

I think it is necessary to furnish them with adequate blackboards. I like lots of blackboards. We didn't learn it ourselves. Bill Boyd came down to Texas and used lots of boards. We started using them and it helped us a great deal. A man can see what his record is as compared to the others operating that month. He sees how he is standing compared with last year. It is all around the room, so that everybody, including himself, can tell just how well each one is doing. They like that.

The next sales incentive is to provide that man with selling tools, good selling tools. If I go in a garage with my car to have it worked on and the mechanic has only a broken screw driver and a pair of pliers with one handle bad on it and everything is greasy or covered with dust and sand and I don't see any good looking tools there, I think immediately, "This character is not fit to work on this automobile. I've got too many chips invested in this car to turn it over to him," and if a salesman has a beat-up kit with the zipper torn halfway off, and it looks as if he's had it since the cemetery was founded, and you see a bunch of old dirty sheets of paper and pictures that look like the management must have hired a man to come out at a buck a picture and consequently didn't make very good ones, and all contracts and forms are dog-eared, I immediately get the idea that the salesman is selling something cheap or he'd have a better sales kit, he'd have better tools.

You expect others to have adequate tools with which to do a job. It is just as essential that you furnish your sales department with adequate tools. They are available at not much expense from the N.C.A., including leather kits and acetate sheets. Many of the sheets that go inside those acetate covers are available. Surely you have some interesting pictures of your own property. As Dr. Eaton said the other night, "There are few cemeteries that cannot find things of interest if they will look around; things to talk about, things of which to make pictures in their own property." Of course, if you can't do that, you can do what all of us have been doing for the last twenty years. You can take some pictures of Forest Lawn at Glendale, California, and start using them. I am sure Dr. Eaton doesn't mind, because almost everybody has done it.

Now the man is in business; he has his kit, his blackboards, and he wants to put something on it. I think, perhaps, if you would name the one thing that management can do that creates as great a sales incentive as any other, it would be the fulfillment of management's promises to their salesmen on time. If you promise to build a section and have it completed within eighteen months from the date of opening said section for sale, or whatever the date is, have the section ready by that time. You do two or three of them that way and then you start telling the salesmen that "whatever we tell you we are going to do, we are going to do it better, and we are going to do it on time." He sees that happen a few times and then he believes it, and he's able to get that message over to the people with whom he's talking. I think that is one of the most convincing things that you can do to make a salesman believe in you and believe in your institution.

The next thing is build those things that you promise to build better than you actually promised. If you are going to build a chapel, it's not too difficult to do it a little bit better than you picture it in the minds of the men and one of the most gratifying things that can happen is for a lot owner to tell your men who are in the field, "Oh yes, we bought a lot out there in 1937; they were getting ready to build a chapel and we bought a lot in Chapel Section. We had no idea they were going to erect such a lovely building as they did, and we are sure proud of it." He hears that a few times and hears, "Yes, we own in the Masonic Section" or whatever the section is, "We are right there close to the monument; we had no idea it would be as lovely as it is; we are so proud of it." You see how it snowballs on the man and gives him confidence? He knows pretty quickly from that time on whatever he promises, whatever we promise through him, we are going to deliver.

Deal fairly with your salesmen and sales manager. When you employ a man, either salesman or sales manager, enter into an employment contract with him; then he knows the terms and conditions under which he is employed. He knows what his commission rate is supposed to be. You never get into any argument with him, and if you don't chisel him, if you don't get the feeling that he is making more money than he should be making, if you don't get the feeling that on his big deal you ought to cut him down with "After all, I helped him, close it, you know," the salesman gets the feeling that here's an outfit that deals fairly with him and who is going to deal fairly with others too.

We have had examples of this. We have lost in the last few years six of our men to other organizations within our city.

Salesmen change around, you know. Today I believe three or four of those men are back with our organization. Now, one of the reasons they came back was, after they left, they continued to get their earned commissions. We did not chisel. I believe three or four of them are now back because we treated them fairly while they were here and we treated them fairly after they left. Men like that. They tell one another about it. It helps to keep a sales organization.

The next point is, have clear-cut policies and procedures. Reduce your pro¬cedures to writing. I refer to policy such as your charges for removal from another cemetery to yours. Sales people often come in contact with someone who owns a lot in the country; they have a burial or two on it or it is within our own cemetery, they have too small a lot and want it moved to a larger lot; what are our charges for removals? If they buy a certain size lot would we give a discount on removal? It does not require too much time to reduce all of those to writing, actually cover the charges and then a salesman, instead of having to go in to you and take up your time and maybe you make one price on this one and another price on another one, he just looks at his sheet and it's all mimeographed, and the customer feels good, as he knows everybody is getting the same treat¬ment. It makes it simpler. Have all your prices mimeographed, and don't vary your, prices; don’t vary your charges. When you do, you are destroying the confidence of your sales people in your institution.

Do enough advertising to let the people know where your property is located. That is a sales incentive. When your salesmen are out working, they shouldn't have to spend the first five minutes of their time when they call in the evening making sure the people know where the property is located. Management should have done that job through newspapers, television, Easter Sunday services, Memorial Day services, radio, or other media to let the people of the com¬munity know the name of the property. Get it fixed in their minds, get its location fixed. That helps the salesman in his calling on the people.

I think it is necessary to provide contests and bonuses. In fact, if our commission rate were a little lower, I would like it so that we could payout more money for contests, bonuses, etc. Contests and bonuses create enthusiasm; they gain recognition for the men, for the winners. You know if you got a good salesman, he wants recognition inside his own organization; he wants recognition outside the organization. He and his wife can’t tell their neighbors, "Joe is making $250 a week now”; he would be bragging if he tells them how much money he is making, but if they say, "Joe won this nice radio here" or "Joe won this $75 watch when he was top man over at Restland last month." They say "Oh, is that so," and he gets some recognition. He can tell folks about that but he can't show his money.

In addition to that, he likes to be recognized in his own organization, that he's the top drawer boy there. Maybe you have his picture on the front counter and the girls of the accounting department speak a little more friendly to him; they recognize him. That is why you need bonus deals and contests. It isn't the money he wins, but it's the lift that it gives him in winning.

Now, I think that the quality of funeral services at your institution and my institution affects sales.

A funeral service brings more people to your cemetery than any other one activity. It is the ultimate point for which that lot was sold. When the salesman sold it he pictured in the people's minds the value that that lot would reach on the day of need, and I think on that day of need we should go as far as possible to make that service as nearly perfect as is within our means and is within the price that we are getting for the service. You can't lose money on it, but do use good equipment and have your men in uniform.

I have been in some cemeteries and watched services where it seemed to me that they felt when the lot was sold and paid for, they had the purchaser hooked after that, and they didn't have to take care of him too well even at the time they had the funeral on that lot. I think that hurts sales about as much as any¬thing an institution can do, because at that time, when many people are there, it us urgent that they go away feeling, "There's an understanding operation; people there understand the business they are in; they are cemetery people," and then when a salesman accidentally calls on one of those families in a can¬vass, or whatever it is, they say, "Oh yes, I was out there; we attended the funeral of Mrs. Jones there; it's a lovely place." You see, he's halfway in; he's halfway there; he's got a receptive audience.

It is management's obligation to take a place in the community. Throughout the years, one of the things that has always provoked me ... doesn't provoke me, it's more chagrin, I guess ... I'll meet someone on an airplane or a stranger at a luncheon, and we are right friendly. Apparently he thinks I am a pretty swell fellow and I ask him what he does and perhaps he is a lawyer or a doctor or working for the Schlitz Brewing Company or something like that, and he asks what I do and I say, "I'm in the cemetery business." Well, you would think I had hit him with a wet towel; I've chilled him. He's cool. Now, I don't know why it is. I think this is about as good looking a bunch of men and women as I ever see around, and I know dang well it takes just as much intelligence to carryon one of our operations as it does to operate most of the other businesses with which I am familiar, but unfortunately not too many of us take an active part in our community, in our civic clubs; we have just been the cemetery operator. They think of us as digging the graves and locking up the gates and taking advantage of the people at the time of death.

We should be active in our communities, working on the Community Chest, taking an active part in the Kiwanis, the Lions Club, the Rotary and your other civic clubs. I don't mean be present, but be somebody in it. By taking an interest in the various civic activities of the community, it is so easy to be recognized, and then when your salesmen happen to call on somebody and he finds out he is with the Atlas Metal Works and he happens to have heard me mention it or he knows that Mr. Story is a member of the club that I happen to belong to, and maybe Mr. Story says, "I know George Young or so and so," and the salesman says, "Oh, you do?" The salesman says, "Here's a man who knows my boss, and he's a pretty good guy," and he thinks the other one is a pretty good guy too, and the salesman has something to talk about.

You owe it to your sales organization, to yourself, and your property to take a place in the community in which you live.

This is the last point. Management's obligation to be sales-minded. You must develop your sections; you must plat your sections with sales in mind. When Nash recently came out with its little Rambler, they call it, I am sure the president of Nash didn't begin riding around in one of these, but he built it because he felt there was a market for it. His analysts had been throughout the country finding out what the people wanted, and they wanted a cheaper car; they wanted a smaller car, a more economical car; a car that is a convertible. Anyhow, he thought that is what they wanted and they built it.

Our important corporations throughout America don't build what the man¬agement wants they build what they think the people want. We used to plat all our lots in six-grave lots. It's easier to plat them like that, but during the years we now have developed to a point where we keep a record in every section of what we sell. In platting the next section we plat according to what we think the demand was, and now instead of platting all 6's, we plat about twenty-eight percent 6's, fifty percent 4's, and of those 4's about thirty percent are deluxe 4's…that is, all the graves are side by side. Maybe you are doing it already. It was kind of new for us. We used to plat them two by two; now thirty percent of them are side by side.

In the past we never platted companion lots, two-grave lots. Now in every section thirteen or fourteen percent of them are two-grave lots. About six percent of them are deluxe companions- those are three-grave lots. We are trying to build, and I think all of us must build what we think the people want, arid when I say "what the people want" I mean what the people will buy. Don't build what you like.

In your sales organization you must show interest. The greatest incentive that management can offer is to come in occasionally and look at the boards and talk with the fellows, kid them about their position, let them know that you know what they are doing. Let the sales manager know that you are interested in what he is doing.

If you've got a construction job going on, if you are building a section or if you are buying a feature and installing it, if you are the management, I'll bet you are looking at the section and wondering if the guy is putting in the feature like he's supposed to; if you are enlarging the office, you are looking at it all, the time, but the sales department is just as important, if not more so, than anyone of those, so don't you hire a sales manager and say, "Well, Bub, it's yours, I'm going to leave it with you." Let him know and let the sales depart¬ment know that you are interested continuously in what they are doing.

Keep abreast of their problems in the field. As an example of what I mean, we used to sell corner markers 6 x 6 inches square, bronze corner markers, for $30 a pair-rather profitable item. We just did fairly well. Then I attended a sales conference and heard a man talking and he said, "We install bur corner markers when only $50 has been paid in on the lot." In our case we were requiring that the entire lot be paid for before we permitted installation.

We came back and put that into effect, and today instead of selling just a few corner posts we sell seventy-five to eighty sets a month. That is what I mean by keeping abreast of the problems that are confronting your men in the field. Keep abreast of what your competition is doing. If you don't, you'll wake up some day and they'll be so far ahead of you you'll never catch up. It's hard enough to stay up in my town watching them all the time. A bunch of my competitors are sitting in the front row here.

Read, study, attend conventions, and attend sales conferences, plan your opera¬tions well in advance; stay on the job. If you are in the cemetery business be in the cemetery business. I don't see how a man can operate a cemetery business by proxy and do it successfully. I have to work at it all the time, practically day and night.

Be accessible to your men; let the salesmen be able to come in and talk over their problems with you. Don't go over your sales manager's head, but there are times when the sales manager would like them to bring some problem to you. Be accessible to them.

I don't say we do all these things-these are the things we would like to do; if you would do a reasonable number of them, you would create a great deal of confidence in you on the part of your sales organization. To me that is the greatest sales incentive that you can bring about and it gives him a feeling of pride when he is talking about the property and a feeling of pride when he talks about his management. And he will do a fairly successful job of selling then. Thank you!

From the publication:
“1950-1951 Cemetery Yearbook”
NCA 21st Annual Meeting
Hotel Schroeder, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
October 18, 19, 20 and 21, 1950

Philadelphians are quite proud of their tradition that it takes three generations to make a true Philadelphian, while one may become a New Yorker over night.

The same principle applies to old line Cemeteries. You cannot transform them into a Modern Cemetery by simply waving a wand and declaring that in the New Addition no upright monuments will be allowed. Edgar Guest, one of my fellow Detroiters, wrote quite a poem, entitled: "It takes a heap of living to make a house a home." In this poem he described the joys, the tribulations and heartaches that make our fireside a sacred, comforting place. It takes a lot of planning, a lot of inspiration, a lot of perspiration, a lot of capitalization to transform a City of the Dead into a Burial Estate designed for the living as well as for the dead.

Forest Hills Cemetery was established in the Northeast corner of Philadelphia 42 years ago. During its span of existence it has passed through the hands of many owners, individuals, corporations, syndicates and selling organizations. Each of the owners and each of the selling organizations had different ideas in the building and selling of cemetery property. Fortunately for the Forest Hills of today none of these ill ¬conceived ideas are irreparable. Fortunate too, are we in the fact that we have not inherited a tombstone thicket, for all during the years care and discretion has been exercised in the type and style of the monuments erected therein. Our greatest heritage is the wonderful, natural beauty of Forest Hills, for you can travel the country over, and nowhere will you find a burial ground with more beautiful rolling hills or wooded areas. That natural beauty, with the possibilities of enhancing it with manmade beauty, is the reason why I am now in Philadelphia. Nowhere have I seen greater possibilities for a sales engineer to work hand in hand with landscaping engineers to create a modern cemetery that will rank with the country's finest, when these improvements are carried out.

The subject assigned to me has been a difficult one to prepare. If I were speaking to you on a matter of sales theory, I could speak freely and earnestly. However, I must speak to you in the light of my actual experience, and relate the work that I performed day after day during the five months I have been engaged in this new endeavor. Naturally in such a short space of time, miracles cannot be wrought, and I am going to handle this talk as if it were addressed to each of you as an individual, and not to an audience of hundreds of cemetery experts gathered from all over the North American Continent. I am going to picture you as if you were individually seated at my desk in Philadelphia and that you and I, are swapping our common experiences in the operation of our sales departments and of our cemeteries. I have done this in the past with many of you here, and you and I have sat across our respective desks in many States in this country. When you and I talked to each other indi¬vidually, it did not sound like braggadocio, but from our conversation we each gathered points of information to help us in our future endeavors.

In the experiences I am to relate to you, you will find no startling innovations, no cure-all solutions to our many problems. During the past 10 years in which I have been engaged in this fascinating work of manu¬facturing and merchandising modern cemetery property, I have, come across many sales ideas. A lot of these ideas were very, very bad - a few of them were good. The only way in which I, have ever been able to separate the wheat from the chaff, was to take all of these ideas apart, piece by piece, to see whether or not they were feasible. This cannot be done by sitting behind a mahogany desk - it must be done in the field, face to face with the prospect or the lot owner, or, if you please, your Board of Directors ... In these 10 years, therefore, I learned which ideas have worked, and which should be discarded. In my present connection I have tried to use these ideas that clicked, not experimenting again with the ideas which had failed to produce results. So draw up your chair a little bit closer to my desk and light a fresh cigarette, while I proceed to go into my story.

Fifteen years ago a new Memorial Park area was opened at Forest Hills, that is to say, it was called the Memorial Park area. The restrictions of the cemetery forbade the erection of upright monuments in that area ¬also forbade the installation of bronze memorials in the same area, allowing only stone or granite memorials, of any size or description, just so they were installed flush with the ground. The first step I took was to have our Board of Directors amend the By-laws of the cemetery, so that bronze memorials, installed flush with the ground, would be permitted in any section of the cemetery - monumental, as well as non-monumental. Our new letter heads describe it as Forest Hills Cemetery and Memorial Park. In other words, we immediately brought to the attention of the public that we have a complete line of Cemetery lots. The Ford dealer is fortunate in the fact that he has a complete line of automobiles, appealing to all pocket-books and all tastes - the Lincoln, the Zephyr, the Mercury, and three models of Fords. So it is with us - if a man wants a $10,000.00 monumental burial estate, we can take care of him. We do not have to spend time in selling him on a new idea and losing the sale if we are unsuccessful in selling that new idea. We have property that appeals to the great middle class, and also to the low income class, although we do not have any single graves for sale. Our plans call for the completion of a separate entrance to the Memorial Park area, so that one may enter there direct from the Main Highway without driving through the Monumental Sections.

We do not have an unlimited amount of money at our disposal with which to make some very necessary rehabilitations and improvements, so my immediate job was to make those improvements, not only where they were most needed, but also where they would show up to the best effect to let our large family of lot owners know that new life had come to their dormant, sleeping cemetery. During the past 10 years there had been no sales force whatsoever at Forest Hills, and although the interment business continued on a good even keel, increasing lack of funds had been felt from year to year, and naturally many jobs had been allowed to remain undone through the need of money with which to carry out those necessary repairs.

The first Sunday after my arrival, which incidentally was Easter Sunday, the visitors to the cemetery were surprised to see a beautiful pair of white swans gliding gracefully over our lake. They not only stopped a long time to admire these swans, but they remarked to themselves and to me that something new was happening here. That one expenditure of $45.00 for this pair of swans brought an amazing touch of life to a place in which no life had existed before. Several stretches of road were repaired at once, and the lot owners, as well as the prospects could get a graphic idea of how all of the roads throughout the cemetery would look when our improvement program is completed. The purchase of a funeral chapel tent drew many immediate favorable comments from funeral parties, and from funeral Directors themselves. Lower cost in Cemetery maintenance was secured immediately through the purchase and use of a 75" Power Mower, for the cutting of the lawns in the Memorial Park area, instead of by the 30-inch mowers which had been used previously. Another innovation which appealed to our lot owners and prospects alike was the free flower bed, with a beautiful enamel sign containing the inscription "These flowers are free for use on graves."

The first time I set out by myself to drive to the cemetery I had one deuce of a job finding it. I did not want to have to stop to ask for directions, but I was forced to do so. At the cemetery I had difficulty in distinguishing where certain sections were located, even though I had the map of the grounds before me. It was not long before a beautiful gold leaf raised letter entrance sign was erected at Forest Hills. Small metal signs were placed on each side of our burial sections, these signs bearing the name of that particular section. Small arrow directional signs were placed at all important road intersections leading to our cemetery.

The cemetery administration building looked worse than a Country Store at Simkins Corner. It was dingy and shabby, inside and out. I had often heard of the miracle a few coats of paint could create, and I saw this happen before my very eyes. The interior of the office with this light paint, with its bright linoleum on the floors and the Venetian blinds on the windows, has become a place of which we are all proud instead of apologetic as heretofore. The shining whiteness of the exterior has brought our cemetery forcibly to the attention of the motorist who use the highway, and the railroad passengers of the New York line of the Reading Railway, which passes before our Administration Building door.

For a great many years, the only City office of the Cemetery was a small bookkeeping office in the center of town. I immediately moved our Executive office to a modern daylight, office building located 4 miles north of the City Hall, but 4, miles nearer to our cemetery. We are now located at a main transfer point of many trolley and bus lines, as well as the Broad Street Subway line. This makes it much easier for our lot owners to drop into the office personally to make their monthly payments. It makes it more accessible for our salesmen also, as m this location they have unlimited parking facilities on wide streets, and the office is closer to their fields of operations.

I have just mentioned here about our salesmen. That is one big job I had to do, and still have to do for that matter. Not having had a sales force here for ten years I had to start from scratch, building up sales material and getting sales pictures for our kits, which in itself was no easy thing to do, as the winter continued late in Philadelphia this year, and I had to wait until the trees began to have at least a sign of foliage upon them.

I did not wait until this sales material had been completed to start hiring salesmen. In fact, I ran an Ad for salesmen even before my new office had been redecorated completely. This first Ad brought in so many applicants, that I was forced to buy and install the salesroom furniture within 24 hours, as I had to start conducting a sales school immediately. Twenty men answered that advertisement in a City which I had been told by several that the cemetery business had been exploited to death, and that salesmen would run from the sight of a cemetery Ad. I had been told moreover, that it would be impossible to hire any new men if they were not given an advance or drawing account. That these two statements were fallacies is proven by the fact that out of the 20 men who answered this Cemetery Ad, 15 became salesmen for us. Not a one of these men has ever been given a cent in advances or, drawing accounts. Some of you may be interested in knowing just how this Ad read. In our City, the Philadelphia Inquirer insists that the nature of employment and manner of remuneration therefore must be specifically mentioned in the Ad. I quote for you this advertisement:

SALESMEN OVER 35:
GRAY HAIRS ARE AN ASSET HERE.

Analyze these advantages enjoyed exclusively by our new Sales Force!

(1) We furnish BONA-FIDE LEADS. No canvassing necessary.
(2) Prestige of 42 years continuous service to Philadelphians, thousands of owners.
(3) Superior quality and beauty.
(4) Prices today but a fraction of value. You will sell on rising market.
(5) Extensive improvement program just starting.
(6) Over one million Philadelphians do not own. They should buy NOW, before need arises.
(7) Experience not required. You will be given intelligent training and cooperation in 1940 cemetery merchandising.
(8) Unlimited earnings thru generous commissions and advancement possibilities for lifetime career.
(9) No dull seasons. No samples to carry. No credit turn-downs.
(10) Sales force just starting. Get in on ground floor.

Your appearance, personality, and character must be in keeping with the dignity of our proposition. Apply Monday only to:

FOREST HILLS CEMETERY
Beury Building
3701 N. Broad Street

I think the reason that it has been an easy matter for us to hire good men on a straight commission basis, is the fact that our proposition creates enthusiasm in their minds and in their efforts. It has always been said that “Anticipation is greater than realization” and we are fortunate that we are just at the start of our improvement program instead of having to sell a cemetery that is completely finished. Enthusiasm is always a vital factor in selling any commodity, and it is especially true of Cemetery Property, where you can draw such a splendid word picture of the beauty that is there and the beauty that is to come, the romance and sentiment of a cemetery that is designed for the living.

Here is a true story of what happened to one of our salesmen, in the first week of our sales force's existence: An 89 year old Aunt of his died and he was at a local funeral establishment waiting for the funeral serv¬ices to start. In his conversation with the funeral director he told him, in great detail, of his new connection at Forest Hills, and just what Forest Hills was going to do in the way of improvements. He evidently did a good job in selling this funeral director on Forest Hills. There were only ¬two cars besides the hearse and as the funeral procession got under way, our salesman noted the fact that it passed by the highway where it should have turned off, to go to the cemetery where the interment services were to be held. Instead, the procession continued right out to Forest Hills, and pulled up beside an open grave there which had been made ready for another interment service. It was then, and only .then, that the funeral director realized that his mind had been filled so full of Forest Hills, that he had driven there instead of to the other cemetery. It was fortunate for his reputation that the funeral party consisted only of the immediate family of the Forest Hills salesman.

On the books of the company are the names of over 5000 lot owners, representing over 4000 burials. During the period of years which had elapsed since these owners had purchased, many had moved away; in many cases the complete families had died out. During all those years I do not think they ever received a general mailing from the company on any subject whatsoever. Naturally, I wanted to acquaint them with the detailed plans which we were to carry out for their benefit, as well as to let them know about the new management. With this idea in mind, I engaged Homer Rodeheaver to come to Philadelphia to conduct a Lot Owners Meeting on May 25, in one of our large down town auditoriums. I sent a general mailing out to these 5000 names announcing the Homer Rodeheaver Meeting, and over half of these letters were returned to us as undeliverable. This mailing, however, was the means of our securing many new addresses for our records. I used the Post office plan, Form No. 3547, which applies to multi-mailing of 3rd class mail matter. The envelope which was mailed on 1½¢ postage bore this inscription: "Return postage guaranteed: Postmaster: If addressee has moved and new ad¬dress is known, notify sender on Form 3547, postage for which is guaranteed." By this method the Postmaster returned to us a post card containing the new address. On the 2500 or so letters which were re¬turned as undeliverable, we continued our checking further thru the funeral directors, asking them to advise the present address of survivors if it were known to them. In this way we received the correct address of many of these families. Unfortunately, we still have many names on our books which we cannot locate, and I am praying and hoping that some day. In the future, a new City Directory will be issued in Philadel¬phia. None has been issued in the last 5 years, and so far, no one has any definite idea if one will ever be issued again. We of course have used the telephone directory to trace the phone subscribers.

The Homer Rodeheaver Meeting attracted over 600 lot owners on a rainy Saturday evening which was the only date on which I could book Homer. It created genuine enthusiasm. Quite a few Funeral Directors were also present that evening, as they too had been sent an invitation for this meeting. The lot owners were told that night of our plans for improvements and rehabilitation, and they were also told that they were expected to help in the sale of lots, as the more lots that were sold would mean more improvements would be made. It was pointed out to them that three - parties would benefit from every lot that was sold to their friends and relatives:

First: The lot owners themselves would greatly benefit, as the value of their lots would increase according to the additional money spent in the cemetery with the additional beauty and desirability thus created.

Second: The cemetery would benefit as their own unsold property would greatly increase in value, due to these improvements.

Third: Their friends or relatives would benefit by an immediate purchase as they would be in position to buy at ground floor prices, as these prices would continue to advance, as the improvements proceeded from time to time.

Our salesmen are following up the families representing the 4000 burials at the Park by means of the Historical Record, with which most of you are familiar. On every one of these calls the salesman is supposed to conduct a miniature Homer Rodeheaver Meeting, pointing out the many improvements from which they will benefit as lot owners, and also calling to their attention the other parties who will benefit from additional sales to their friends and relatives. Such a method is followed in our contacts with visitors to the cemetery, and also to those who attend interment services. It is quite interesting to note the results obtained by the various types of salesmen in following up these Historical Records. Some of them become ideal census takers. They turn in a complete Historical Record of the deceased in flawless handwriting, with every question fully answered thereon. Some of them in listing the surviving relatives of the deceased are too timid or negligent to ask as to whether or not those surviving relatives own cemetery property themselves. Other salesmen by their sympathetic listening, by their enthusiastic presentation of our plans for beautification, are very successful in securing the wholehearted cooperation of our owners and their actual physical aid in helping them to sell property to the Uncle Johns and Brother Harrys listed by them on these records.

I will not go into great detail about the beautiful Memorial Day program we had at Forest Hills. It is interesting to state, however, that in spite of great difficulties, this program turned out to be a great success. It was the first of May before I had an opportunity to even think or make plans for such a service here. No such service had ever been held at Forest Hills. In fact, there was not even a flag staff of any description, I started contacting the various veterans’ Posts adjacent to our cemetery, and I found that for years each post had been going to certain specified cemeteries in their area to hold their Memorial Day services. Everywhere I went I was greeted with the information that it was too late for their posts to change any plans; therefore, after starting at the bottom I decided to continue at the top. I introduced myself to the District Commander of the American Legion of our District and received an invitation from him to attend the monthly meeting of the Commanders of the 23 posts of that district; which was held the first week in May. At that Meeting I told these Commanders my story briefly, that I would like to have a Memorial Flag Staff dedicated on Memorial Day, and while I realized that their Posts could not attend this dedicatory service, that I would at least like to have their colors represented by volunteer delegates from each Post.

The next week I presented a similar invitation at the Monthly District Meeting of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. The result was that our first Memorial Day service had a good turnout from the 23 posts of the Legion, and the 16 Posts of the V.F.W., with many of the Commanders them¬selves attending. They were so inspired and pleased by the beauty of the site where we erected the Memorial Flag Staff, that it was decided then and there that Forest Hills would be the official cemetery for the entire District Memorial Day Joint services in the future. All of the Metropolitan and Community Newspapers gave publicity to this service, the first time in many years that the name of Forest Hills had been mentioned by any Newspaper other than in the obituary columns.

Due to the late spring it took a long time for me to secure suitable films in color, of the beauties of the Cemetery, Late in May we began our Moving Picture Travelogue Lectures in the Churches and Lodges, and as the fall season now opens we are booked extensively for the showings. As I have spoken to you before from this platform on Movie Lectures, you know how sold I am on them as an aid to sales, so it will not be necessary to go into this phase of sales promotion here. If you are not familiar with these Moving Picture Lectures I suggest that after the meeting you pay Roy Hatten $5.00 for a copy of the 1937 year book containing this information.

We have not as yet installed our amplified music but expect to do so in the near future. I perhaps should not mention this fact here at this meeting, as I imagine after this talk I will be besieged by the musical exhibitors at this convention. I, however, do state definitely here that while we have not as yet decided on what musical installation we will make, that you can bet it will be thru one of our exhibitors. The Chapel Tent and the Power Lawn Mower, which I mentioned earlier in this talk, were bought from exhibitors at our previous conventions, and I make it a strict rule to favor our exhibitors wherever and whenever possible. Again, I will not go into detail as to how we will secure prospects through our Sacred Concerts. The 1938 year book covers this subject thoroughly. And again, you may get a copy of that book from Roy for another five dollar bill. Perhaps after all, Roy's offer of $15.00 for a complete set of year books will be your best bet.

After our mailing list had been brought to date, we found that there were over 1000 unmarked graves. Thru Bill Williams' cooperation we immediately got out a letter to these 1000 families, advising them that bronze memorials could be installed anywhere in the cemetery, and giving them a sales talk on the use of bronze. Our salesmen in their daily calls with the Historical Records have the privilege of selling Bronze Memorials for which they receive a commission of 10%. While our salesmen are not Memorial salesmen, it does give them an opportunity to pick up' a little expense money through this incidental selling. These families will be systematically followed up, also, by future letters. Quite a few profit¬able orders have already been received for Bronze Memorials, but we have not scratched the surface as yet. In my previous connection at Michigan Memorial Park, it was quite a simple matter to sell bronze memorials, as they either I had to install bronze or nothing at all. Here we are competing with every monument and memorial dealer in the City, and we have to overcome a lot of prejudice that has already been built up in our lot owners' minds. We find that the more bronze memorials we install the easier it is for us to sell additional ones, so I feel that the hardest part of this particular job is already over. I do not want to go on record as favoring the installation of bronze against that of granite. I do want to go on record, however, in saying that by selling bronze we receive a selling profit ourselves, and do not have to be content with only an installation charge. Figure for yourselves a potential average profit of $25.00 each on 1000 unmarked graves and you will see that that total amounts to $25,000.00 possible profit for the cemetery. Multiply that by 400 burials a year and that will give you an additional future profit of $10,000.00 per year.

In this short space of time allotted to me, I could give you only a few of the highlights instituted since last spring. Inasmuch as there is not in this whole audience a possibility of selling one lot in Forest Hills, I am not going to attempt to tell you about the future plans we have in mind for our own particular cemetery. I do hope that if any of you pass through Philadelphia, or any way near Philadelphia, on your way home from this convention, or at any time in the future, that you will drop in my office, and we will then continue the discussion which you and I have had this morning. I know that you will be impressed with the beauty of Forest Hills when I show it to you then. I do not advise you to have any of your salesmen stop by to see it, as they might do what I did last March - move to Philadelphia and become a living part of the beauty that is Forest Hills.

From the publication:
“1940-1941 Cemetery Handbook & Buyers’ Guide”
ACOA 11th Annual Convention & Exposition
Hotel Statler, Buffalo, New York
September 8-11, 194

PUBLICITY for the Halberstadt Sales Campaigns includes the use of NEWSPAPERS ... RADIO ... MOTION PICTURE SHOWINGS IN CHURCHES AND LODGES and the DISTRIBUTION OF THE PRINTED MATTER OF THE CEMETERY BY THE SALES REPRE¬SENTATIVES.

1. NEWSPAPERS. Only a sparing use of the newspapers is made chiefly because of the expense. When we do run an ad it is usually a rather large one and is the broadside announcement of the launching of the campaign or the completing of some feature of the construction program. It is always accompanied by liberal use of pictures. Attached hereto is a sample of this type of announcement. Tear sheets are bought from the papers and become a part of the salesmen's literature. We do not make regular weekly use of the papers.

2. RADIO. It is our opinion that the radio, judiciously used, offers a better medium of advertising our product. Beginning in 1928 we have been on the air continuously. Our program on KDKA in 1928 was I think the first use of the radio by cemeteries. For several years we experi¬mented with various types of radio material till in 1931 we adopted the OLD SONGS OF THE CHURCH program, on WFI in Philadelphia, and since that time have used nothing else.

The hymns of the church are associated in the mind of the public with the same basic things as the cemetery, hope of a life to come, resurrection, reunion with loved ones and everything connected with the doctrine of immortality. THE OLD SONGS OF THE CHURCH pro¬gram therefore offers a very proper and fitting "vehicle" for the message of the cemetery.

Not only so but it is probable that more people like this type of music than any other kind. The most often-requested song, sacred or secular, on the air today is Dr. George Bennards "The Old Rugged Cross". After all the effectiveness of an advertising medium is measured by "coverage". In Radio this means the listening audience. From the advertiser stand¬point the purpose of the entertainment part of his program is to capture an audience and engage their attention so that, at not too frequent inter¬vals, the announcer may slip over to them some thought about his product. Amos and Andy gather such an audience nightly for the sole purpose of giving Bill Hay a chance to plug now and then for Campbell's Soup.

The character or make-up of the audience is of course important. It would be foolish to use a children's program as the vehicle for advertise¬ment of ladies’ wearing apparel. The audience of the Hymn program is made up of Protestants. They are the only ones that use the hymns we feature. Seldom do we get a reply from a Catholic and never from a Jew. The significance of this is that a Non-Sectarian cemetery is always at least ninety-five percent a Protestant Cemetery. Thus our radio program enlists an audience of persons most likely to be prospects for our product.
Of recent years we have broadcast almost wholly by transcription. Two considerations enter into this. One is that really good talent is so difficult to secure, especially in the smaller places, and the other and chief reason is that we wish to use Mr. Rodeheaver's voice, not because it is the finest in the world but it certainly is the best-known in the entire Protestant world and the best-loved. No one even remotely approaches him in his fame as a leader of gospel song. It is his book that we give away and the link¬ing of his world-wide renown with our own radio program is all to our good.

With Mr. Rodeheaver's recorded voice we feature a mixed quartet singing the same type of music. Both the Rodeheaver and the quartet recordings were especially made for this purpose and the master records all belong to the Halberstadt Organization.

At the close of each broadcast, a fifteen minute program on Sunday, we offer a free copy of the Hymnal to all who will send for it. The salesman delivers the book of course and it is his introduction to the person, usually a lady, who asks for it. We have given away more than four hundred thousand of these books ... and sold several millions of dollars worth of cemetery lots to the persons receiving them.

3. MOVIES. The use of motion pictures is dictated by the same awareness of modern methods of reaching the public as the use of radio. Over a period of time we have gotten together a four hundred foot reel of beautiful colored film showing typical modern cemetery development from coast to coast. Even the titles are in color and the showing of the reel, which lasts about fifteen minutes, is not only not boring to the audience but actually affords much pleasure. In every audience there is someone who immediately solicits their showing in some other organization to which she belongs. All of our appointments are obtained that way and we keep busy from fall till spring each year.

We mince no words at these meetings as to why we are there and they are frankly told that a salesman will call on them some day. We leave each meeting with the names and addresses of all present and always with their cordial good-will. We consider these the most productive leads we have and the salesmen prefer to work them to all others.

4. DISTRIBUTION OF LITERATURE BY SALESMEN. This title is not quite accurate nor is it sufficiently descriptive. As a matter of fact we put less and less emphasis on printed literature as the years pass. We certainly have long ago given up the notion that large and expensive brochures are needed or even desirable. Our printed matter is simple and rather inexpensive, just something that briefs the story told by the sales¬man and then left by him as a help to the prospect to remember the high¬lights of what he said to them. It is our conviction that nothing can take the place of the word-of-mouth testimony of the man himself, and it is our experience that loading him up with printed matter encourages him to mental laziness and to simply make crutches of this material on which he hobbles about ineffectively.

Our main objective therefore is to train him properly and then develop means of putting him in contact with people who are his most logical prospects. The hymn book requests from the radio serve this purpose only. The fact that the lady wrote in for a book indicates nothing one way or the other as to whether she is a prospect. What does it do? It gives my salesman an opportunity, under pleasant circumstances (he has brought her a present), to find out whether she is or not. It engages him in a conversation with her that, if judiciously directed by him, will lead rip to his finding out whether this family has a cemetery lot, if not why not, and why not in our beautiful place.

SUPPLEMENTING THE RADIO and in order to have a sufficient volume of these contacts for the men from week to week we use a News¬paper Advertisement of the Hymn Book at intervals of several weeks. We have newspaper mats for this ad and it contains Mr. Rodeheaver's picture together with a picture of the book itself. It DOES NOT mention us, the cemetery company I mean, but directs mail inquiries including the coupon attached to the advertisement to be sent "Old Songs" at our down-town office address. These returns come in by hundreds, some¬times more than a thousand from one insertion. In the south we indicate that requests from white people only will be met and in all cases we restrict the free book to "persons living in the city and immediate sub¬urbs." This restriction does not keep some inquiries coming from a distance but it frees us from having to respond to them. A copy of the mat used in papers is attached hereto.

ALSO SUPPLEMENTING THE RADIO AND THIS NEWSPAPER EFFORT we have printed by the thousands a duplex card, post card size, on one section of which is Rodeheaver's picture and a description of the song book which anyone may have FREE by return of the attached section of the post card. This is a postage paid card and is addressed back to Old Songs at our office address. It also is free from any mention of the cemetery company.

These cards are put under people's doors by salesmen. They keep a supply of them in their cars at all times and whenever they finish a call they do not leave the neighborhood without sowing a few of these cards roundabout. In a few minutes they can put out a hundred. Some of them have their ten-year-old sons to distribute them thus. The result of this is that every day the salesman gets some of his cards back thru the mail and every morning therefore he leaves the office with several places he can go and get an interview.

This latter is the most reliable and most prolific source of leads we have. When all others fail this one works. And the fine thing about it is that it never runs out. We have gone right back over the same territory, around the same blocks, for years on end and we get about as many replies from the tenth or twentieth distribution as from the first.

Salesmen have a very great reluctance to "cold-turkeying" a cemetery sales campaign. And you can't blame them much. We have found that if you can give them something in the way of a "lead", even if it is nothing more than introduction, they will make the calls. These post card requests do just that, they introduce the salesman to a person to whom he brings a gift, a religious gift, something that the lady wanted badly enough to write in for. She of course thought that it would come by mail, if she gave it any thought at all, but we did not say that it would. Anyhow here it is a present and she is never discourteous. Old Dr. Charles Sheldon used to remind us that the first and absolutely essential thing to be accomplished in making a sale was to "secure favorable attention". The song book does just that, only that, but does it perfectly.

We are asked why we do not attach our name to the newspaper ad or put it on the song book card mentioned above. For the simple reason that we get vastly more replies without it. As advertising the inclusion of our name would have little if any value. The purpose of the ad or the card is to get replies that will bring us into contact with these persons. In the resultant interview the salesman can do the "advertising" necessary and can leave them all the advertising matter he wants to when he leaves.

About the only publicity we do is a little in the newspapers, continuous use of the radio and with a transcribed program it is not expensive and the distribution of these cards, which is our unfailing, source of leads. Whenever a salesman gets shy of leads, he can always get a few more by spending an hour or two around the block or sending someone else to do it, and they begin to come in within 24 hours, and he has some place to go.

You sales managers know after a sales meeting each morning when the salesmen get down to the foot of the stairs or the elevator, about 80 percent of them don't know whether they are going up the street or down. They have no program for the day. This gives them one. The cards are always in their pockets. If they work this a little they have a few places where they know they can go, be cordially received. As I said in the paper the fact the lady wrote for a hymn book doesn't indicate anything one way or the other. Whether she is a prospect he can soon find out and he comes in contact with her under the most pleasant circumstances. She may come to the door with blood in her eye. He may be the sixth door banger and she is getting her dander up a little, but when she opens the door and he has her name on the post card and he introduces himself and says, "Mrs. Brown, I have brought you the hymn book you wrote for," he takes all the fight out of her. Nobody is impolite to anyone giving them a Bible or hymn book. She is engaged in conversation. That has overcome the greatest obstacle, the greatest mental handicap, the fear of the beginning of the interview.

It is easy to switch over to the cemetery theme after that. He asks her if she has ever seen a cemetery that is without tombstones, or if she has been to the cemetery since we built the fountain, - any kind of a question. He has gotten her mind off of the hymn book. If he is half a salesman that conversation will lead up to his finding what he wants to know¬ whether they have a cemetery lot or not. That is the purpose of it and that is the story.

MR. E. C. HINDS (Memphis): What is the cost percentage in what size city, Doctor? Have you the cost of securing these prospects with that feature?

DR. HALBERSTADT: No, we never had. You put these out and maybe 5 or 10 percent come back the first time. You can go again in three weeks and you get about that many again, and they are inexpensive.

MR. HINDS: Compared with radio contests, you think that is the most economical?

DR. HALBERSTADT: This is the most economical. If you forget the general idea of the radio as a means of getting leads, contacts, places to go, this is the cheapest of all.

MR. L. S. WRIGHT (Buffalo): What percent of the returns are sales?

DR. HALBERSTADT: We have never been able to tabulate that from any source of our leads. The final information attached to the sale is more or less clouded and frequently by the salesman himself who doesn't want to reveal it.

MR. A. L. GROVES (Davenport, Iowa): I have used this program and have kept a very accurate record in regard to the contacts from the radio program and we used your cards. In regards to the cards, in a town of 60,000 we put out 15,000 cards in a year's time. We had pretty nearly 40 percent return on the cards. In regard to the radio program, during the 13 weeks we were on the air with this particular program we found our cost, including our newspapers and all printing matter, was about 6 percent of our sales, but we found that this carried over for pretty nearly a year to 14 months when it finally ended up, our sales cost to use this program was less than 1 percent.

DR. HALBERSTADT: This that Mr. Groves has stated is what makes it difficult to compile the cost. You are getting sales two years later, or from the radio or any of these, that are deferred sales and it is impossible at any time to say how much you have gotten back from any particular use of it.

MR. WM. GALL (Cleveland): Regarding the radio program, we have had some experience with it. I was interested in behalf of that program in knowing what size city is favorable to use a radio program in?

DR. HALBERSTADT: We have used it from cities of 20,000, like Bristol, or 18,000, I guess is the size of Charlottesville, up to the large cities as great as Washington or Philadelphia, or Denver.

MR. GALL: Have the results been correspondingly favorable in the large cities as in the small?

DR. HALBERSTADT: Yes.

MR. GALL: We spent several thousand dollars this year in a radio program and, unfortunately, it proved a total failure to us.

MR. GEORGE YOUNG (Dallas): You use those cards only in connec¬tion with your radio program?

DR. HALBERSTADT: No, we use them in connection when we have a radio program. We use the cards and it is an advertisement of the radio program with the announcement they can get the book also, either by writing in or sending this card in, but in recent years we have used it independent of the radio program. It is just really an advertisement of that hymn book, that the lady can get Mr. Rodeheaver's book if she sends the card in. That has widened its use tremendously.

MR. COWAN (Chicago): How do you key the card to the particular salesman?

DR. HALBERSTADT: Every salesman has a number, as they do in Sing Sing and places like that, and before he puts his cards out on the return portion of the card --- you have to warn him about that, some salesmen are so dumb they would put it on the part she keeps - on the return part of the card he puts his number up in the corner and the girl in the office hands him a bunch of cards. She separates them. It is a postage paid card. We pay only for those that come in. It is two cents.

From the publication:
“1940-1941 Cemetery Handbook & Buyers’ Guide”
ACOA 11th Annual Convention & Exposition
Hotel Statler, Buffalo, New York
September 8-11, 1940

Probably each of the four men who are to discuss this subject have many ideas in common concerning the value of publicity. However, we all know that there are many ways of getting publicity and we may not agree as to the best type of publicity or how to secure it. Nevertheless, the fundamental fact remains that publicity of the right kind pays dividends. It is the proud boast of the Company which I represent that if you were to stop 100 people on the main streets of Seattle and ask them the name of the principal cemetery in our town, 80 of them would say “Washelli” and the other 20 would be divided between the other proper¬ties of Seattle and those who did not know. This gratifying result has not been obtained by hit or miss methods, nor has it been a mushroom growth of just a few years. Systematic publicity is the answer. Washelli is over 50 years old, it having been established the same year that Wash¬ington became a state. Every time there is a celebration by the State of some anniversary connected with the date of statehood we tie Washelli right into the proposition. For instance, last year was the 50th anniver¬sary and the Washington State Progress Commission had 50th anniversary programs all over the State. So we had one also and all through the year we kept informing the people that 30 years of Washington and Washelli were being celebrated simultaneously. We had a well-known poet write a poem on 50 golden years of marriage and we have presented hundreds of copies to couples who were celebrating their 50th anniversary anywhere in the West.

We have three properties in the same vicinity, each one operating under its own name although the properties are owned by one company and operated as a unit. This makes it more difficult to secure publicity which pays. It is necessary to impress on the public mind the name and location of your property. We had three at the same location so we picked the name which was most distinctive and have majored it in our advertis¬ing of all kinds. The word "Washelli" is distinctive. Therefore, on our radio programs we feature the Washelli Quartet. Washelli lawn seed is sold by one of the principal seed merchants of Seattle. Easter Sunrise services are sponsored "at Washelli" by the Seattle Council of Churches. In Washelli is held the principal service of Veterans on Memorial Day.

All of these things produce much publicity for Washelli to the neglect of Evergreen and the Pacific Lutheran Cemeteries. But we do not mind this in the slightest. If we can get people out to see Washelli we can take them to Evergreen and the Lutheran Cemeteries. However, we do not ignore the other two properties but endeavor to keep them before the public. In the Lutheran Cemetery we have a special Memorial Day service for all Lutherans who are buried there. No.1-We have a moving picture film showing practically all the Lutheran churches in Seattle and in the film many pictures of the Lutheran Cemetery. This film is in demand with the Lutheran people and it has been presented in the main church auditoriums taking the place of the regular Sunday eve¬ning service. Also it has been shown at many ladies' aid societies, etc. We have another version of the film which shows the Veteran’s section of Washelli and activities in it on Memorial Day. This film is shown to veteran organizations. We are also preparing a film of Evergreen which will be used in connection with other Protestant churches.

Previously I mentioned briefly the Easter Sunrise service held in Washelli. If the theme of immortality means anything at all, the proper place to hold the Easter Sunrise service is in the cemetery. This year we had our 11th Easter Sunrise service, bringing thousands of worshippers to the Cemetery at dawn. While a large percentage of those in attendance have friends or relatives in one of our cemeteries a considerable number are attracted there for the first time each year. A deep sense of religion characterizes all of these meetings. We have never permitted in that service anything which distracts from the religious significance of it. If you do not have an Easter Sunrise service in your town, start one next year. You will be surprised at the way the newspapers give it front page publicity which you could not possibly buy with your dollars. On the morning following Easter, our daily papers usually carry on the front pages pictures of the two Easter Sunrise services held in our city which are sponsored by the Council of Churches. They also carry a description of the services and a synopsis of the sermons. As a result of this Easter Sunrise service and of the Memorial Day service we have, the name of "Washelli" has appeared on the front page of our daily newspapers hundreds of times. You must agree with me that publicity of this kind pays.

There is another form of publicity which is of equal importance to that of newspaper or radio. I refer to the publicizing of the people who are prominent in your organization. No.2-In my judgment social publicity is not of any value. But there are other forms of publicity for the heads of your business which are productive of good results from a best stand¬point. I refer to an active participation in the civic affairs of your com¬munity. I am not so much interested in partisan politics as I am in activities such as Boy Scouts, Campfire Girls, P.T.A., your symphony orchestra and your art museum and the many other organizations which have as their object either character building or the betterment of your community. Most high grade funeral directors take an active interest in all these community matters and look upon it as one of their best means of publicity for business connections.

Our radio program, now in, its 7th year has developed to the point where those taking part in it are in demand for entertainment at churches, lodges and many other places where they bring the message of Washelli and Evergreen along with their entertainment. This kind of publicity cannot be spasmodic but must be continuous and of a character which will reflect favorably on your institution. This program is an example of a specific job accomplished by constant repetition, to wit, overcoming feeling that our prices were higher because of superior beauty.

No. 3-The best kind of publicity is "one friend tells another" so publicity can be materially aided by making friends through better service to all. No. 4-Recognize the principle of repetition in publicity. "It's the constant drip of water that wears away the hardest stone. It's the constant gnaw of Towser that wears away the toughest bone."

This is how repetition helps in publicity. In obit stories in daily, weekly and all other publications, not the paid obituary but the news stories in the editorial column. Supply the information about each deceased, accurate and well written, always including place of burial. Papers are glad to have it and in appreciation for sending it, invariably include place of interment.

Send to all papers wherever any kind of tie-in is possible. For in¬stance, if a man lives in one district but works in another, send to district paper where he works, as well as where he lives. Send also to district papers where relatives live; to the papers of the lodges with which he is affiliated; to papers in district where he formerly lived. Be sure that the particular tie-in is apparent near the very beginning of the news story, or else it might hit editorial waste basket. Sometimes a little note to the editor explaining it will help.

No. 5-All these tie-ins can be uncovered through the use of "His¬torical Record" which also are a valuable aid for prospects for "before need" sales (other branches of family, pall bearers, etc.). One of the problems in publicity for profit is keeping bad publicity out. This can be done by maintaining friendly relations with editors. They'll give you a fair break.

Finally, your publicity should be directed towards the class of people who are more or less the backbone of our nation, the solid, substantial middleclass. I am not interested in advertising Evergreen and Washelli to the very rich or the extremely poor. No. 6-I want the best of that great mass of so-called middle-class of people. They are the ones who create the memorial of love and affection, they are the supporters of the churches and they are the ones who help us create beautiful cemeteries because of their abiding faith in immortality.

No. 1: Incidentally, at that service we read the names of all Lutherans ho have been buried in that cemetery during the past year. That list runs anywhere from 125 to 175 Lutherans in the year and it doesn't take too long and it pays to read the list, at your Memorial Day service:

No. 2: Now neither of the other speakers have mentioned this phase of it, yet I think it is a very important thing.

No. 3: Speaking of that particular job, because we feel our radio program has done that unusually well, many people thought because we had developed our properties far beyond that of any other cemeteries in our locality that our prices must necessarily be much higher. We overcame that by constant repetition on the radio by saying prices were as reasonable as in any other cemetery.

No. 4: If we can get the people whom we serve to go to their friends and say, "My, but we had a nice service at Evergreen or Washelli. Wasn’t everything beautiful and handled in the best manner, possible!” That is the best kind of publicity you can get.

No. 5: For instance, if a man in one district works m another district, I would send it both to the local papers in the two districts. I would send it to the district papers where relatives live, to the papers of the lodges with which he might be affiliated, to papers where he formerly lived. In other words, get the publicity concerning the death and burial of that man in just as many mediums as possible.

No. 6: Now just briefly about one problem of publicity. That is the problem of keeping bad publicity out. There is only one way to do that. That is to keep on friendly terms with your newspaper editors and pub¬lishers. Meet them and know them, get acquainted with them. Then if some bad publicity comes up, they are going to consult with you before it is printed and if untrue or unfair it will not be run.

For a dozen years I have entertained newspaper reporters and editors with a week-end party up at the place I own on Whitby Island, in the State of Washington. We go up there and have a grand and glorious time. They will give you a fair break, if you keep on friendly relations with your newspaper men.

Now finally your publicity must be directed toward the class of people who are the backbone of our nation that great middle class of people, just like you and me, who are predominant in numbers in using our cemetery properties and who are the real people to whom we must look for our business. I don't care much about selling the wealthiest of our people. I don't care much about selling the poorest of our people. In neither case are the relations apt to be the most satisfactory. But I want to sell that great mass of the so-called middle class of people.

CHAIRMAN HATTEN: I might ask Mr. Harley if the funeral directors most of whom furnish this publicity service along an obituary nature if they resent your stepping into that field.

MR. HARLEY: Apparently not. In fact, I talk to them very frankly and tell them I think when they are sending a story to the newspapers they should include the place of Interment, saying that is just of as much interest to the public, who read the stories, as the place where the funeral, is going to be held, and it is. We have had many, many telephone calls from people concerning the burial of some particularly well-known man or woman, where the interment place was not mentioned in the news article and they have called us up to find out where the burial was going to take place.

CHAIRMAN HATTEN: Do you have many services in your chapel?

MR. HARLEY: None at all.

MR. SANGER: I would like to ask Clint, how far you have been able to kill that idea of "too expensive" – “with all this beauty the price is over our head". How do you kill that in addition to using the radio?

MR. HARLEY: In our advertising - radio, newspapers, booklets, word of mouth - we emphasize the fact that prices in modern cemeteries are no higher than the ill-kept property which does not have modern conveniences, modern aspects. It is a question of constant repetition all the time.

MR. J. T. SHEA (Houston, Texas): Mr. Chairman, does the under¬taker prefer to have the funeral conducted in his parlor and don't they resent families going to the chapels? Don't they miss bringing the families into their place of business?

MR. HARLEY: We do not have any services in our chapel. The serv¬ices are all held either in a funeral home or at the grave.

CHAIRMAN HATTEN: We will take that question up in the general discussion, John. Anything else?

MR: L. O. MINEAR (Washington): I would like to ask Mr. Harley if in his advertising, where he is trying to build up the thought that his property isn’t too high, he uses the price of the property. Do you quote prices?

MR. HARLEY: No, we do not.

CHAIRMAN HATTEN: Anyone else?

MR. WORK (Clinton, Iowa): I use the name of my employees in the "display advertising frequently. They have many friends and it is very helpful to use their names. We say, "Ask for Mr. So-and-so when you come to the park."

MR. HARLEY: I think it would be helpful.

CHAIRMAN HATTEN: Anyone else?

MR. GEORGE YOUNG (Dallas): You have a Veterans' Plot don't you?

MR. HARLEY: Yes, sir.

MR. YOUNG: How large is that plot and what do you call it?

MR. HARLEY: We call it "Veterans Memorial Cemetery" and it is large enough to take about 4,000 burials.

MR. YOUNG: In it do you permit the other members of their families or just the veterans?

MR. HARLEY: Just the veterans alone.

MR. YOUNG: Do you have an adjoining section?

MR. HARLEY: We have an adjoining section in which we put the veterans’ families on a considerably larger plan.

CHAIRMAN HATTEN: How do you like the plan?

MR. HARLEY: It works.

MR. CHESTER SPARKS (Philadelphia): Did you have to give the veterans a lot free?

MR. HARLEY: We didn't give them any free sites except a place big enough for them to put a chapel, a circle 24 feet across.

MR. SPARKS: We will call you a miracle man.

MR. HARLEY: We didn't give to a man and they pay for every burial and I have 700 burials in this plat started three years ago.

MR. YELLAND (Norwalk, Conn.): Is the plot more expensive than in the outlying section? May I say one more thing in explaining the question, which might seem to be impertinent? In our case the outlying sections are mostly country cemeteries that are beautiful but are also very much cheaper. We would have a difficult time in saying as you say.

MR. HARLEY: I am referring to comparable property inside the city. I am not referring to the country cemeteries. In fact, we have very few of them. We are just youngsters. We are not 400 or 500 years old, like you fellows. I don't know where you live. The first baby that ever lived in Seattle just died a mature man the other day, this year, so you can see how young a town we are.

MR. J. T. FREES (Atlantic City): Clint, concerning your Memorial Circle - we have an All-Wars Circle in our park and when we first started out in 1928, I wrote a letter to all the American Legion camps in our section and told them that we were rendering a service to any soldier that had served his country in time of war if he died without a place, had no relatives, no friends, no money, we would bury him in this circle with¬out any cost whatever. We have about 15 burials we have made or prob¬ably 18 in that circle that have cost us $30.00 every time we made a burial because we brick-line the grave and stone-cover it. We have found that has made the people in Atlantic City think we are rendering a service that nobody ever thought of, and it has brought us back a hundredfold.

MR. HARLEY: That is good publicity. When I said we never gave the Veterans anything - I am a veteran myself, and I think one of the damnable things of the American nation at the present time is the fact that the Veterans are always demanding something extra for themselves over and above the rest of the people. I am a veteran and I can get up and say that. I think it, is rotten. I think a veteran should not be entitled to more than any other man or woman who has raised a family in this country. We charge the veterans just the same. I say to them, just as I say to every minister and every organization, "if you have somebody in your circle of friends that has died and has no place to go, you can come to Evergreen or Washelli and we won't charge you a cent." I don't care whether he is a veteran or not. We do that right along.

From the publication:
“1940-1941 Cemetery Handbook & Buyers’ Guide”
ACOA 11th Annual Convention & Exposition
Hotel Statler, Buffalo, New York
September 8-11, 1940

The definition of publicity that I like best is given in The Second Edition of Webster's New International Dictionary. It is as follows: "Any action or any matter spoken, written or printed which secures public attention; also the attention so gained". Therefore it is very evident to me that publicity in connection with any project is most important and especially if one is to secure profits through this publicity. Profits as well as losses can come from this source. Due to the very nature of our business which in my opinion borders on the sacred, it is very important to guard against the wrong kind of publicity. There is another reason too that the cemetery industry should be especially careful of its publicity and that is because of the unfavorable publicity that has been widespread through the nation from various sources known to most of us.

Let us analyze and see what the best type of publicity for our industry is. In my opinion it should be that publicity that creates good will for your enterprise. This, of course, can be printed publicity, and in my opinion this is the best type because it reaches more people, or it can be through the acts and actions of your organization. To me it seems that this type is effective because generally personal contact in some manner is necessary and results definitely in sales which mean profits to the organiza¬tion if it is properly handled. Then, of course, there is the radio which is very popular and effective just now, and also there are the various types of memorial services to be held on the property that have an appeal to others.

Let's see which is the best way to secure the various types of publicity; first, the printed type can be had effectively through newspaper adver¬tising, direct mail advertising, and news items. I prefer the latter because it is read by more people and does not smack of advertising. Then, of course, it can be secured through the use of booklets, circulars and all types of literature. The second type can be had through personal contact of your organization in executing the various services in connection with their work. This is especially effective when done at the property at the time of interments.

Third - Radio - I like radio publicity very much although great care should be given this type of advertising by the person in charge because today radio programs to be effective must be well done and executed only by people who are expert in their line whether it be musical or vocal. To me nothing creates a poorer impression than a radio program badly done by amateurs to the extent that it is at least uninteresting. It is my belief that a radio program should not be too long. A minute or so to talk about the thing you wish to publicize, a few minutes of diversion that will hold the interest of your public and then another spot, very short, giving more details of your commodity or service.

Fourth - There is however another type of publicity that in my opinion is very good. That is memorial services of various types that can be participated in by the public such as religious sunrise services on Easter Sunday morning; memorial services by the various military organizations on Decoration Day; various types of memorial services other than these two and especially those held during the holidays, such as Thanks¬giving and Christmas services. The various features in the cemetery such as the chapel and musical devices are very important in connection with the holding of these services. These features can be called to the attention of the public by their use on these particular occasions rather than publicly pointing them out to the individuals. Along this line can also be services conducted by garden clubs, the art departments of the large stores, and also the public schools.

It is my opinion that all publicity should be handled by a person well qualified for the work as it is especially important that only the right type of publicity come to the public attention. This person of course should know every phase of the business so that only publicity of the proper character should go forward. This covers many angles. First it should be of a character representative of the commodity to be publicized. In our business especially it should be dignified, sympathetic and sincere with an appeal to the public that would create a desire for your services. It should be honest and contain no misleading or half-truth statements designed to create the wrong impression. Great care should be given in order to guard against illegal or fraudulent statements which might result in bad publicity and great loss to your particular property and the entire industry has in my opinion unfavorable publicity in connection with any project which is a reflection against the entire business.

It is my opinion that the cemetery business has resulted almost entirely in the sale of service while the property itself is only incidental to the complete service. In all publicity it is my suggestion that service be stressed more than anything else. The attention of the public should be called to the fact that the cemetery organization is only a service organi¬zation caring for that obligation of your clients that it is impossible for them to perform for themselves. If this service is rendered sincerely, honestly, efficiently, and proper provision made for all of the years to come, and properly publicized so that there is no question in the minds of your clients that this service will continue through all time, certainly nothing but profit can result from publicity. Of course to secure the best results from any of this publicity it is necessary to have a follow-up system that will result in personal contact between your organization and the public so that sales of your services may be consummated.

MR. McBRIDE: I have attempted to cover just in a general way different pieces of publicity that have been profitable to us and other organizations I know. I didn't go into detail at all in this short paper.

CHAIRMAN HATTEN: Mr. McBride, would you say a word about publicity at the property at the time of interment?

MR. McBRIDE: I mean by that, Mr. Hatten, the actions of your organi¬zation in handling not only the interment itself but the people that attend the services. It is not what you would call advertising, but in my opinion the result of those actions at that particular time is publicity in a subtle manner, however, but it is very effective. It creates and breeds good-will for your cemetery and certainly, if properly done, leaves a favorable impression that later on results in business. That is what I meant by that. That can extend from the lowest employee in your organization to the top of your organization. One bad move can result in bad friends to your organization. Our particular type of cemetery is non-monument. It is now, and we are the only non-monument organization in our territory, and we feel that we cannot afford to have any unfavorable actions by any of our organization or employees so that unfavorable publicity or bad feeling might be created.

MR. L. S. WRIGHT (Buffalo): You mentioned those who attend the service. Do you refer to those who are the family?

MR. McBRIDE: I mean those who attend the service on behalf of the ¬bereaved; in other words, the people that attend the funerals. We try to give those people as much attention as anybody else. After all, they come to the cemetery to attend the interment of some friend but nevertheless if we can create the impression for Forest Lawn that they might like to come there eventually, we feel that is good publicity.

MR. CHESTER SPARKS (Philadelphia): What do you mean by giving them attention early?

MR. McBRIDE: Courteous attention. In our chapel about 60 percent of our services, Chester, are conducted. We try to provide people in our organization who can usher them to their seats and be very courteous to them and we provide a lot of little things in the family room for the family and their friends, so that they will remember us. I don't mean we pass out literature or anything of that sort, just personal courtesies.

MR. SPARKS: I think by just the personal attention to the family and their relatives and the people who attend the services that later on contacts can be made in those things you have in mind giving to them. In other words; as Dr. Halberstadt's postal card, it provides a door opener.

MR. REX KEIFFER (Zanesville, Ohio): Mr. McBride, on that 60 percent of your chapel services do you hold your committals there to?

MR. McBRIDE: Very often, Rex. Our plan is that the services are held in the chapel, and most all of the people including the family attend and the undertaker leaves unless the family wants to leave someone and from there on our organization takes the casket to the grave and makes the interment. Occasionally - I would say half the time - the family will leave someone of their group there to see that the inter¬ment is finally made, but half the time that doesn't even happen.

MR. WM. A. HOEFGEN (Indianapolis): Who do you charge for that chapel service?

MR. McBRIDE: Nobody. Our service charge is $25.00 and it includes either the tent service at the grave or the chapel.

MR. HOEFGEN: Do you always furnish the tent?

MR. McBRIDE: We furnish the tent at the grave, but we do not furnish the tent where the chapel service is held.

MR. E. C. HINDS (Memphis): Mr. McBride, would you say it would do any good or build good-will to have a card on the chapel tent to say "Service by J. T. Henton and Son."

MR. McBRIDE: You mean the undertaker's name? We provide our own tents.

MR. HINDS: I mean to say "Service by Henton and Sons" or what¬ever the case might be. I never tried it.

MR. McBRIDE: As the man on the program this morning said he didn't want to be in the cemetery end and he didn't want the cemetery people in the undertaking business. I feel any advertising or publicity to be done by the cemetery should be done in behalf of the cemetery. That is the reason we provide our own tents, and on it we mention the words "Forest lawn."

MR. HINDS: I do that, too.

MR. McBRIDE: At least we try to be courteous to the undertaker and do everything we can for him. I know that has never extended to the extent of advertising for any of them on our property.

MR. HINDS: A member came in, named Bowen, and said, "Mr. Hinds, I would like to compliment you on your service. We had ice water here.” It was a very hot day and he was evidently thirsty and got the service. The children were crying for water. He sent an agent and complimented me. I didn't ask him whether he had a lot, but I sold him a $350 lot because we had the ice water in the cemetery.

MR. McBRIDE: The particular kind of publicity that the various people feel is the best is the kind that works for them. Dr. Halberstadt's system, of course, is marvelous. There is no question about it. You have gotten a sale out of personal service at the cemetery. I think all of those things are important and if properly done can result in profits to the organization.

MR. COWAN (Chicago): I understand you have a very beautiful electric fountain in your park. Have you had any publicity out of it and, can you trace any direct sales to it?

MR. McBRIDE: Leonard, our system of selling never has provided that information. We have been very lax in that a plan whereby we can trace direct sales to any of our various features has never been worked out. I do know that when we were more active than we are now and would advertise our musical concerts on Sunday afternoons or in the evening, great numbers of people would come. In fact, they do now, even without our advertising them and it has created a lot of interest and good-will for the cemetery, and I am sure it has resulted in sales. I can't tell you how many or what percent or what they have cost. It has created a lot of interest favorably and we think it has definitely resulted in some sales.

MR. W. H. YELLAND (Norwalk, Conn.): Don't you think the least advertising that is done, especially of an obstructive nature at the time of interment, the more it would add to the dignity and general fine impression of the whole thing?
MR. McBRIDE: Very much so. It must be done in a manner that isn't offensive. In fact, it should be done without anybody knowing it is done. If they feel it is advertising or sales effort, in my opinion the benefit is lost. In fact, I think I said it must be sympathetic, efficient, and well done and not too commercial.

MR. YELLAND: You wouldn't think it would be nice to put a card on a tent saying Mr. So-and-so supplies the flowers?

MR. McBRIDE: We wouldn't do it.

MR. HINDS: I never did either. I have just heard people talking about it.

MR. CLARENCE SANGER (Detroit): Earl, I would like to ask if you have ever had any reaction from the funeral directors because of the name of your cemetery on your tents.

MR. McBRIDE: No, we haven't. We purchased our tents early in the game because we didn't know much about it and we thought that was the part of the equipment that we should furnish. We found later on that some of the undertakers, a very small percentage of them, had their own tents, and we were glad that we were able to supply them or had supplied them. I don't believe we have ever had a kickback on that.

MR. SANGER: For your information, we have watched that pretty carefully and we used to have the name of our park on our chapel tents and we never had any serious kickback, but we would occasionally hear whispering among the people, and once a funeral director discussed it with us. We felt it was better to take it off, because the value as an adver¬tising feature is very small, and we felt there was a slight reaction.

MR. McBRIDE: When we bought our equipment, as I said before, we were very ignorant about the whole thing. I think Mr. Vale suggested the name "Forest Lawn" be on the equipment, and that is the reason it was on there. It wasn't put there with any thought at that time of advertising even our property, but I feel that is much better than anybody else's name on there.

MR. R. D. ROSENBERGER (New Castle, PA): Earl, have you ever had the experience of having the undertakers charge for your tent service?

MR. McBRIDE: No, we haven't, Ross. We have never inquired. I wouldn't say we have never had the experience. We never knowingly have had that experience. We try to conduct our business and that part of the business of the interment, - that is ours directly with the individual. We break over at times and conduct it through the undertaker. We make no effort to find out what he charges or what his charges are for. I am sure we have never known about his charging for that service we provide, Ross. It might be done, but I am sure we haven't known of it.

MR. E. O. WORK (Clinton, Iowa): I just wanted to mention that, but he got up ahead of me. We have had scores of those cases where the people pay the undertaker and come and tell us what a fine service the undertaker provided at the cemetery with carpets and tents. We have had quite a time knocking that down and if you haven't looked into it, maybe many of you fellows are furnishing this and the undertaker getting the credit.

MR. McBRIDE: As I say, Mr. Work, most of our business is con¬ducted at that time directly with the family or some representative of the family, and we call their attention to the things we furnish.

CHAIRMAN HATTEN: How do you bring that about?

MR. McBRIDE: It is all done, Roy, by our superintendent who is a very diplomatic man. I think Dr. Halberstadt knows him and knows he was cut out for the job.

MR. WORK: Does the undertaker have a flat charge, including ceme¬tery charges that include in their price $12.00 or $15.00 for full tent service and charge your people the same price you furnish the tent for?

MR. McBRIDE: It might be. I have never inquired about their charge.

MR. ROSENBERGER: Do you think you get credit for providing the tent?

MR. McBRIDE: Probably not, but I know we get credit whether or not they like the service they get at Forest Lawn. I know the cemetery gets a lot of benefit from that. If they are badly handled and something offensive occurs, we get blamed for it. On the other hand, we get a lot of credit for the manner in which our interment services are conducted by our people, and that is more definitely brought to the attention of the people in the chapel service than it is in the tent service.

MR. L. S. WRIGHT (Buffalo): Mr. McBride, if the Association at the time of interment would issue an opening and closing order which would prescribe the entire service, including the cost, wouldn't those who arrange for such service know what they were purchasing?

MR. McBRIDE: I would think so.

MR. WRIGHT: That is the way we do.

MR. McBRIDE: For every service there is an order signed. Now we haven't gone to the extent that you have suggested, in other words, of detailing it. We haven't gone to that extent on our order blanks.

MR. CLARENCE SANGER (Detroit): I would like to ask you, Earl, what has been your experience or observation with respect to your chapel service as it is accepted by the public? Do they seem to appreciate the chapel service over the graveside service?

MR. McBRIDE: The ones that use it, yes, Clarence. In fact, the only trouble, and it is not anything serious, that we run into is having them have the service in the chapel. The reaction after it is done is very good, we find. Now most of that reaction comes from the fact that it is new, from the fact that somebody in connection with the interment feels that somebody else is trying to take something away from them, but the people themselves after they have had that sort of service, I would say almost invariably, like it and talk about it and feel good about it and remember Forest Lawn for it.

MR. SANGER: That has been our experience. If I may just take a minute Roy; in my talk this morning I mentioned our big mausoleum as not being finished yet and several in the audience got the impression that I was inclined to feel that I regretted that we built our mausoleum. I want to correct that impression. Our experience has been that it has been worth doubly all and any grief we have had with it. I have been always keen for a chapel or mausoleum where we could hold indoor services, especially in this northern climate.

MR. McBRIDE: We have felt at times maybe we spent too much money on our chapel. If we had done it purely from a commercial stand¬point maybe we did, but I am sure over the period of years we will find it has proven a good job.

MR. SANGER: We have several funeral tents, and a time or two in a small town cemetery where they had no tents and a nice family to be buried; we have permitted the Funeral Director to use our tents without charge. We have also loaned them out to small nearby towns on days like the Fourth of July, where they wanted to use them perhaps for a Red Cross emergency tent, or the Boy Scouts wanted to use them, or something of that kind. We have loaned them out in this case, not to the funeral directors but to the officers of the town or the chief of police and there has been quite a lot of good come from it. Where they haven't, this equipment, it has been loaned by White Chapel.

From the publication:
“1940-1941 Cemetery Handbook & Buyers’ Guide”
ACOA 11th Annual Convention & Exposition
Hotel Statler, Buffalo, New York
September 8-11, 1940