I sat down with Justin Crowe to discuss an often-undiscussed topic: The future of funerals. There isn’t a lot of dialogue about the future of our industry. We took a trip into that space and chatted about what it might look like.
Justin Crowe is the Managing Editor for www.connectingdirectors.com and specializes in publishing information into the blogosphere for funeral professionals. Crowe pushes the edge of the funeral industry envelope in a way that we all need (whether we know it or not).
Innovation is exactly why I sought out Crowe and his penchant for discarding norms. Owners talk about taking family businesses into the future of the industry. New businesses want to be on the forefront of technology for families. No one wants to hang on by a thread.
Crowe pointedly stated, “The funeral space is totally misaligned with the customer. Nobody wants to go to a funeral home. ‘Funeral Home’ is the worst word.”
Bold words for some of us to hear, but viscerally true. It’s true because consumers don’t want to go anywhere. They consume online, in their jammies, at home (think Netflix vs Blockbuster). They’re busy professionals ordering goods with a tap on their smartphone. Or they’re retirees who are home-bound and don’t go into brick-and-mortar locations (like we all think they do).
Consumers are online. More than that, they expect interactive content. They expect convenience (remember: jammies at home). Crowe asserted, “The funeral homes are not presenting options to them (families) in the way they want to spend money.”
“The young people know the future and the old people are resistant to change,” Crowe cautioned. “The challenge will be, how to communicate value to the older leadership.”
I thought of my grandfather, who I’d likely have this challenge with if he were alive. But I also smiled, knowing that he would move Heaven and Earth to serve families in any way that he could. Shouldn’t you?