Respectance.com

It was a brand new day yesterday. We finally got to meet all our colleagues and clients in the industry since our launch in July.

I was wondering what this convention would be like. Would it be very dark and somber, or commercial in a way that would make us feel embarrassed? After all almost every funeral home writes on its website that it does not exist to make a profit on death.

After yesterday, I can say that it is not somber or noir. But it is a bit more commercial than I thought it would be, with the main selling argument being to, “get a higher margin”. It is clear that the funeral industry is going through difficult times as consumers are watching their budgets more closely and are opting for cremations over burials.

At the same time, it is not really commercial as no deals are done at the booth. I was checking other booths and it seemed that the industry is really informing itself. There are a lot of caskets, urns and memory products. There are also a fair number of websites at the convention center. I am very proud that we have a very humble but active stand, including this online blog component. It is not always what it seems. A bigger stand doesn’t mean that your product is better. Shouting louder does not mean that you are more right than the other.

It is good to see that the younger funeral home directors understand immediately what we are about - a community, like MySpace and Facebook, where the entire family is participating in creating a Tribute and more. It is not a one or maybe two dimensional website.

The older funeral home directors are more interested in making sure the product is integrated into their website. They think inside out. If they really like to make a change in their profitability they should start thinking outside in. Just look at the music industry. There are world famous rock bands with huge websites as well as a presence in MySpace to promote themselves and be where their fans and clients are. The Rolling Stones don’t ask MySpace to integrate into their website. They know that MySpace is where the community and fans are. Rather than trying to move our community to a funeral home’s website, it makes so much more sense for a funeral home to act within our community - the people who need their services are already at Respectance.

Let’s make it easy for ourselves and let our clients do the work for us. Set up your business account, create a very simple Tribute for each of your clients with your name automatically attached to it. The family and friends will be very thankful for showing them the way and letting them participate. You will definitely get the credits for that. Let’s stay young as an industry.

Respectance can be found at the NFDA convention, booth 1146 or business members can join at www.respectance.com/join/business.

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Posted by Richard Derks

9 Oct