Tomorrow I’ll be on my way to the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) convention in New Orleans.  I’ll spend three or four days there, see old friends, grasp new products and see innovations for the first time.  This is probably true with many funeral service professionals. . . . but the older I get, the more I enjoy the convention.

One of the things that I am excited to see is what Batesville described in a recent press release and referred to as “Family Choices” — the showroom of the future””.  According to the press release Batesville describes this showroom as such:

Batesville’s new Family Choices digital and physical showrooms transform this (product choice) process, making it as simple and comfortable as possible. Developed in collaboration with funeral directors and leading digital and retail experts, Family Choices respects the traditions families value while embracing new approaches to deliver a better experience for families and funeral directors.

Batesville concludes by saying “Family Choices showrooms provide a consistent way to help families navigate a difficult process and optimize every engagement. “

Related —  Click here to see the Batesville website page on the 2024 NFDA Convention.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take:  I’m excited to see what the experts at Batesville have come up with for this concept.  Especially, since for a long time I’ve concluded that “casket selection rooms” are simply an expensive real estate option in a funeral home and believe that real estate space can be much better used for today’s consumers while suffering no loss of revenue from product placement and sales.  When you think about it, casket selection rooms are probably used for about 30 minutes by each family you serve and are then closed for no other use for the rest of the time your funeral home is serving the public.

If a casket selection room is 1,800 square feet that represents an investment of about $432,000 (1,800 sq. feet x $240 per sq.ft. cost of construction).  And, if you do 300 death care services a year with each family spending 30 minutes in the selection room, then the room is used for about 150 hours per year. . . . that’s only a little over 6 days.  My thought is that $432,000 could be put to better use. . . . .such as expanded hospitality space for funeral home visitors.

We built a new funeral home in 2005 and I made the difficult decision, believing technology was here to stay, to do so without a casket selection room.  We slightly enlarged the new arrangement rooms so they could accommodate a large screen monitor and then put a technology program into place where our caskets could be viewed by material (steel, wood), colors, or price on those monitors while arrangment attendees were seated in the arrangment office.  The selection process was very well accepted and we continue to use that process today.

And, in today’s world, where I believe in a growing cremation and “cremation aftermarket” for products and services, I have some ideas on how my arrangement rooms can be “re-decorated” for maximum sales of post-cremation products.  I’m interested in seeing how Batesville looks at this thought process as well.

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As I routinely check my inbox it has became apparent that the suppliers to the cremation industry have moved to a belief that “environmentally friendly” or “natural” products will be an ever-increasing choice of American consumers.  In the last week I’ve received press releases from casket companies introducing new product offerings that are positioned for that type of eco-consumer market.

It’s probably no coincidence that these innovative products are being introduced right before the 2024 International Cemetery, Cremation, and Funeral Association (ICCFA) Convention and Exposition next week in Tampa, Florida.

Starmark has introduced the “Brentwood” ceremonial casket that they mention will join The Arbor™, The Natural™, and The Terra™  green burial and cremation options in their innovative “Nature’s Way® ” product line.  According to Starmark, the Nature’s Way®  product line “offers environmentally friendly green burial and cremation options for funeral homes and families”. 

Here’s what their press release says about this unit, “The solid pine Brentwood ceremonial casket offers Starmark’s “Built to Last” construction and features a replaceable head panel, adjustable bed system, gas spring lid support, and J-Channel quick-install interior system. The exterior styling features a natural finish with a water-based clear coat and simple wood handles. The interior of the casket offers a natural cotton fabric-lined head panel to highlight the Nature’s Way®  “green” appeal”.

The press release continues, “The combination of the Brentwood ceremonial casket and the Nature’s Way® rental casket insert provides funeral homes and families with an environmentally friendly green burial and cremation option”.

To see the new Brentwood ceremonial casket and other product offerings from Starmark

Batesville has also introduced new products which include the Fairview^™ Rental Casket and the Sureview^™ Rental Insert.  Here’s what they say about those products:

“Fairview^™ Rental Casket: Inspired by popular casket designs, the Fairview is the first rental product with Batesville’s exclusive LifeView^® personalization panel, allowing families to display treasured photos or mementos. It features hardwood construction, a light pecan finish with wood embossed bars and a fold-down end for easy loading/unloading”.

“Sureview^™ Rental Insert: More than just a new design, the Sureview^™  has six-layer reinforced corrugated cardboard construction for added strength and structural integrity with a leak-resistant tray for added peace of mind”.

In addition to those products, Batesville’s press release lists other new items to their product line including  “. . .new investments in the Dimensions^® by Batesville oversize product line. . . Generations™ sustainable products, and the addition of more than 80 new cremation urns, keepsakes and contemporary jewelry items that are on trend for today’s generation”.

You can see Batesville’s plans for the 2024 ICCFA Convention, including their educational seminars, by clicking here.

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