How to Stay Relevant In The Funeral Business In 2023

2023 is officially here.

And with it, are lots of changes and transitions.

Many of us have noticed HUGE shifts in the funeral profession over the last few years, especially since the pandemic. And this year will be no exception. 

There are a few big trends emerging in 2023 that are hard to ignore, so we shared some quotes from the greatest minds and publications of business. 

Then, we relate them to the funeral profession, including a wrap up of some of our favorite relevant blogs to each topic.

That way,  we can all begin to work together to adapt to the shifting needs of the modern day consumer. 

So keep reading for a few new and refreshed trends to start looking into if you want to remain relevant in 2023 to your client families:

 

Trend #1: Sustainability

“Consumers prefer businesses with the right environmental and social credentials, and buying trends are increasingly being driven by conscious consumers – those among us who prioritize factors such as ecological impact and sustainability when choosing who to buy from or do business with.”

Forbes

How to tap into this trend: Since nearly 54 percent of Americans are considering a green burial, we see this as the easiest trend of the year. Start partnering with sustainable and green projects and practitioners who can help your funeral home appeal to those who want a green funeral. 

Read up on this trend:

 

Trend #2: Adding perceived value

“Consumers are still buying, but the items they spend their money on must be well worth the investment. Solve problems well, as many of them as you can, with one product, then tell your consumers all how your product makes life better.”

– Shelley Martin, founder of Skinician

How to tap into this trend: We’re going to tap into this a bit more later on in the blog, but for now we should say that value is truly everything these days. Since there seems to be a tip towards recession in our economy, the average client family simply won’t invest in something that they don’t see value in. 

Direct cremation forces the families to bring the funeral ritual or celebration into their own hands, but what if you tapped into the value of your experience and leadership in offering non-traditional, non-religious rituals for families? It seems that as we move forward, this is a growing trend. 

Another route is to offer value after the funeral is over, through grief support & grief wellness offerings. And of course, last but not least, funeral personalization is always a great route to explore at your funeral home, too.

Read up on this trend:

 

Trend #3: (Short form) video is still the content king

“By now, you know that video has played a powerful role in the lives of consumers. Not only do consumers stream more video than ever, but year-over-year, HubSpot researchers find that most brands consider it to be their most effective type of marketing content.” 

Hubspot

How to tap into this trend: Still hesitant to show your face in front of your audience on social media? That might be why you’re still getting crickets on your social media posts. Your client families want to know who you are and connect with you, your story, and your behind-the-scenes life at the funeral home. The good news is, people really crave short-form video on all of the social platforms, so you don’t have to create anything spectacularly complex or hire a professional. Keep it simple and start small!

Read up on this trend:

 

 

Trend #4: Crowdfunding

One estimate suggests more than 50% of campaigns successfully meet their initial goals, and 78% can generate enough funds to exceed their goals. Additionally, experts predict the venture capital crowdfunding market will reach nearly $43 billion by 2028.”

Global News Wire & Yahoo

How to tap into this trend: There are many question marks around 2023, but one thing we do know is that inflation is at an all time high, and in general, consumers cannot keep up with it. This means that a tool like crowdfunding becomes a necessity for a lot of folks who face a sudden loss in their family. 

Why not tap into this need by providing crowdfunding options for your families? You could even add it as an add-on service – an ability to have a crowdfunding campaign set-up on a site like GoFundMe. This will add a lot of value to your service and show that you truly care about your families at a time where financial stability is not present. 

Pro tip: Did you know that we’re launching a seamless, integrated crowdfunding option on f1Connect soon?! Contact our f1Connect sales team to learn more!

Read up on this trend:

 

Trend #5: Customer experience trumps price

“A Walker study found that at the end of 2020, customer experience will overtake price and product as the key brand differentiator.”

Super Office

How to tap into this trend: We’ve established that consumers don’t have as much to spend these days, they do want to invest in great customer experience, and (86% of consumers) will actually pay more for it. Hopefully that means the days of direct cremation are no more. 

Add more value through experience to your offerings, and you will make it easy for your client families to choose your funeral home, instead of a run-of-the-mill cheap cremation center.

Read up on this trend:

 

Trend #6: Death positivity

“We are a generation that is less willing to be shamed for our interests in difficult topics,” Doughty says. “We know that not talking about money has put us in a very difficult financial position, especially those that graduated around the time of the [September 2008 stock market] crash,” she adds. “And we know that not talking about death can lead to a less self-aware life.”

– Caitlin Doughty in Vox

How to tap into this trend: Move over Boomers – Millennials are starting to take over the funeral profession. And with that, comes lots of changes. Millennials are a generation that are very ready to tackle the topic of death. In fact, it’s almost a trendy topic now. 

There are many ways to tap into this trend of death positivity, but some concepts to consider checking out are death doulas, mourning rituals, grief wellness, Death Cafes and of course, sustainable funerals. We have a TON of content on this topic, so keep reading below for some great resources to get you started in this exploration.

Read up on this trend:

 

Over to you…

There’s a lot to explore while we await the arrival of 2023. What trends are you going to take with you into 2023? Which ones are you already tapping into at your funeral home? Tell us in the comments below!

 

Ps. Get the funeral profession’s #1 all-in-one website platform for 2023

Equip your funeral home with f1Connect, f1’s all-in-one website platform. Click here to speak with one of our Funeral Success Specialists or give us a call at 1-800-798-2575 to make the switch today.

 

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