Shaping Tomorrow’s Trust: Reflections from 2025 and a Strong Start to 2026

Thank you to Jack Hirsch, President of Funeral Services, Inc. (FSI) for this timely and informative guest post!

As 2025 quickly draws to a close, one theme has emerged repeatedly across our profession: trust and education remain the defining gaps between deathcare professionals and the families we serve. Recent studies reaffirm what many funeral and cemetery professionals have experienced firsthand: consumers are looking for transparency, reassurance, and direct communication as they navigate preneed and at- need complexities. 

Reflections from 2025

While many in the profession report offering robust education and transparent service to families, according to Foresight’s 2025 Funeral and Cemetery Consumer Behavior Study, fewer than four in ten consumers feel they actually received the guidance needed to make informed decisions. This disconnect can leave families feeling uncertain, diminish trust, and ultimately undermine business growth. 

Ongoing industry studies, including the consumer behavior study and others from associations like NFDA, highlight several persistent trends.

• Transparency remains crucial. Consumers value and expect clear and accessible pricing, online information, and an open discussion of options.
• Digital accessibility is a must. Nearly 80% of consumers research options online before making decisions, where they seek pricing, reviews, and the ability to initiate or fully complete contracts digitally.
• Bridge the education gap. While most professionals believe they are providing sufficient education, consumers consistently report confusion, especially around new service options, memorialization, and preneed planning. 

From Insights to Action: Preparing for 2026

Firms must translate consumer expectations into operational improvements. From digital accessibility to financial transparency, the path forward requires aligning internal processes with the evolving needs of the families we serve. To respond to these shifts and focus on driving growth in 2026, funeral home and cemetery leaders should focus on practical improvements that build trust, meet consumer expectations, and strengthen day-to-day operations.

• Enhance consumer programs: Firms should provide an easy-to-navigate website that features clear product and pricing explanations, and offer online arrangement, payment and contracts so families can interact how and when they choose. We can proactively close the education gap with approachable digital resources, virtual tours, and timely communication throughout the consumer journey. Finally, develop an approach to collect reviews, allowing an opportunity to identify improvement areas and bolster trust. 
• Reassess your investment strategy: Critical approaches to maintaining your investments include consistently receiving and reviewing reports on your trust account and scheduling recurring meetings with your investment manager. Closely analyzing whether your current returns are meeting expectations and whether your portfolio is diversified enough to protect against economic fluctuations is integral to the health of your portfolio.
• Streamline administrative processes: Efficiency in administrative processes is crucial for any deathcare firm looking to optimize its operations, and pre-need trust program, in particular. Investing in recordkeeping software is one way to achieve this. Recordkeeping technology allows your administrative team to easily collect, organize, and manage customer data, reducing the risk of informational or mathematical errors that could have costly consequences. Further, it frees up valuable staff time and ensures that your records are accurate and accessible.
• Review regulatory compliance updates: The success of any deathcare firm is dependent on being compliant with state and federal regulations. Laws governing pre-need contracts, trust fund handling, and consumer protection can evolve, so staying informed is necessary to avoid compliance issues.

Industry research continues to drive home the same message – and one that we at FSI also believe: trust is built at the intersection of education, transparency, and compassion. 

In 2026, the most successful firms will be those that clearly display their offerings, embrace the digital expectations of modern consumers, and foster informed, empowered families. By acting on these lessons, deathcare professionals can meet rising consumer expectations and elevate the reputation of the entire profession.

Tribute Technology Announces Strong Start to 2025, Driven by Innovation and Digital Reach

WAUNAKEE, Wis. – Tribute Technology, the leading provider of technology solutions for the funeral and cemetery profession, announced a strong first half of 2025 with notable year-over-year growth across multiple areas of its business. The company achieved solid increases in both revenue and EBITDA, underscoring how its commitment to helping funeral professionals thrive in a digital world drives growth.

Tribute Technology’s platform continues to serve as an important connection point for families and communities during life’s most meaningful moments. In the first six months of the year, the company recorded more than 550 million obituary visits across client websites, demonstrating the scale and reach of its digital presence as families increasingly turn to online spaces to honor and remember loved ones. This digital reach was bolstered by a 9 percent increase in new funeral home websites launched year over year, expanding the number of firms able to connect with their communities online.

“Everything we do starts with the customer in mind,” said Craig Greenseid, chief executive officer at Tribute Technology. “We’re seeing real momentum across the business, and that’s thanks to the strength of our team, the clarity of our mission, the strong partnerships we’ve built with funeral professionals, and our commitment to delivering powerful technology.”

For Tribute Management Software, new systems launched increased 70 percent for the first half year over year, demonstrating Tribute Technology’s continued leadership in management software for the profession. This also reflects the platform’s expanding role in helping firms streamline operations, manage data more effectively, and provide a seamless experience for families.

Marketing services revenue increased 11 percent year-over-year, underscoring the value of these solutions in helping firms grow and connect with their communities.

Most importantly, eCommerce commissions earned by funeral homes in the first half of 2025 increased 7 percent compared to the same period last year, fulfilling Tribute Technology’s commitment to continually increase earnings for its website customers through optimization.  

Platform Enhancements to Support Funeral Professionals and Fuel Growth

Tribute Technology introduced a series of product and service enhancements in the first half of the year to improve efficiency, personalization, and digital outreach for funeral professionals. Among the highlights was the launch of Obit360, a next-generation obituary platform designed to help funeral homes and families get more value from every obituary. Obit360 offers an improved user experience, increased engagement, and easier access to event details—helping each obituary reach more people and generating increased traffic to funeral home websites. 

Strengthened Service Model and Expanded Partnerships

To better serve its clients, Tribute Technology restructured its support and account management teams, assigning a dedicated account manager to every funeral home partner. In addition, Tribute Technology expanded its partnership with Chptr to scale Tribute Spotlights—a unique feature that broadcasts death notices on local television stations, extending reach within local communities and honoring loved ones in a highly visible and meaningful way. 

Looking to the second half of 2025, Tribute Technology will continue to release AI-powered tools, introduce new features in its management software, and deliver continued enhancements across its product suite. These updates are designed to help funeral professionals operate more efficiently, grow their businesses, and strengthen their connections with families.

Tribute Technology’s strong performance in early 2025 reflects its investment in customer-driven innovation, agile product development, and its mission to help firms build trusted, modern brands within their communities.  This momentum reflects Tribute Technology’s continued growth in its customer base, expansion of its platform, increased adoption of management software and websites, and higher commissions earned by its funeral home partners.

About Tribute Technology:
Tribute Technology is dedicated to empowering funeral professionals with best-in-class technology solutions. Serving more than 9,000 end-of-life providers worldwide, Tribute Technology’s innovative software and services—including website platforms, marketing solutions, management software, online planning, memorial keepsakes, and payment processing—help funeral professionals save time and focus on supporting families.  To learn more, visit www.tributetech.com.

The “Funeral Rule” came into effect in April 1984.  That’s 40 years ago.

Don’t get me wrong. . . . I’m an advocate for consumer protections.  The “Funeral Rule” was supposed to offer those protections back in 1984. But in my opinion, the actual reality of the rule ever since it was implemented, has never seriously helped consumers in search of information on how to compare and purchase funeral and memorialization services.

Without going into too much detail, it has been my opinion that since the implementation, the format of the rule and the requirements for notifying the public of it have been too complicated and burdensome for the consumers it was meant to protect.  From my point of view, the rule seemed to stress the charges involved with what was a “traditional casketed burial with services”.  Since the time of implementation, death care and how and what consumers choose for their death services have changed . . . and changed dramatically.

Again, without going into too much detail, I think it is time for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to look at exactly how consumers of today look at their death care purchase options.  No longer do they simply defer to the traditions and mores of the church they worship at, but they look at all the growing options that are available — which is many more and many different options than those options available in 1984.

I’m in somewhat of a unique position to look at today’s consumers and their interactions and choices of death care options.  I’ve owned and operated a funeral home, I have been a front-line funeral home arranger for 33 years, I study and write on the changes and other business interests of death care professionals, and I’m a retired member of communities and churches who hears a lot of what my fellow retirees are looking for in death care.

For what it is worth, here are what I see as the major decisions of every death care consumer.

1. Choice of Disposition
2. Choice of Celebration
3. Choice of Memorialization

Those choices differ from what was available in 1984.  In 1984 consumers basically chose from earth burial and cremation.  There were some variables of such, but in general if a family told the funeral director that they wanted earth burial, the funeral director knew, dependent on the church traditions, how that funeral would be carried out and the charges that would be incurred by the family, including cemetery items.  The same was true, in most cases, for cremation memorial services.

Forty years later however, the “choice matrix” of consumers has drastically changed and the FTC should understand  that and not implement changes to a rule that does not reflect that growing choice matrix complexity.  Here are some of my thoughts on today’s consumer choices:

Disposition:  Disposition of the dead human body is the only requirement that needs to be purchased because of legal reasons.  Something has to be done and a family has to choose which disposition method to be used for their loved one.  Choices might include earth burial with embalming, earth burial without embalming, cremation, alkaline hydrolysis, natural organic reduction, or body donation (followed by the institution’s final choice of disposition).

It is also quite possible that a going-concern business may operate dealing in only the disposition of the human remains and not offer services such as celebrations and memorialization.  Businesses that feature “disposition” only that come to mind are some online cremation providers and some natural organic reduction providers.

Celebrations/Services/Tributes:  The 2nd death care choice of those I talk to is an optional choice that I term the Celebration/Service/Tribute.  This is something that is not required and even when a consumer family chooses a gathering, there is no guarantee that they will use a traditional funeral home for the logistic planning and/or venue.

Here’s some examples of Celebration/Service/Tribute companies that compete with traditional funeral venues for this business.  It’s my belief that over time more and more families will opt for the services and venues that these companies, and others like them, provide.

As we move forward and the off-funeral home site venues become more practical, I believe that wedding venues, that are traditionally used during the weekends, may be re-branded as “Tribute Venues”.   It’s my opinion that you will see more and more death care memorial-type events held at these venues on weekdays.

Here’s a venue near me that one would think is perfect for this type of business during the week days.  I found it quite by accident, but it offers facilities for services and for hospitality such as meals.  I think the evolutionary future for this type of venue will be as a Tribute/Conference center that will include gathering and meal services for Death Care in its options.

Memorialization: The third leg of the stool that I see in death care consumer choices is what I will term “Memorialization”.  This is the purchase choice of how families decide to “Memorialize” their loved-one for the long term.  Again, this can be an optional choice and it can be a choice that does not have to be decided immediately at the time of death.

Obviously, if the Disposition choice is some type of earth burial then this choice involves a decision regarding a cemetery and monument and at least the cemetery lot decision needs to be done at the time of death.  However, if the family would choose a Disposition method such as cremation, alkaline hydrolysis, or natural organic reduction, this choice can be delayed and it may not involve the funeral home or other company used for the Disposition.

This memorialization process of the family can be as simple as an obituary placed on Legacy.com or it might be with such memorialization processes such as Better Place Forests or in a scattering garden.  It may be solidified remains such as Parting Stone.  There are any number of choices available to families including urns kept at home and scattering of remains.

The fact is that some of these options can be purchased through a funeral home, but many don’t need to be.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

The Final Thought:  The death care thought process of the American consumer has changed much since the inception of the FTC Funeral Rule in 1984.  There is nothing inherently wrong with the rule, but I believe that simply re-writing a rule that places so much emphasis on the General Price List and costs such as embalming, costs for use of vehicles, and  use of facilities costs misses the mark when the options that the American consumer now chooses for death care disposition, celebrations, and memorialization has changed so drastically.

It’s my opinion that if the rule is to protect the American consumer and explain the decisions necessary to them about their choices, then a whole-new perspective on global choices possible and available by the American consumer should be part of the discussion.  If they are not we end up with a rule based on 1984 consumer thought processes that does little to protect, or educate, the American consumer on death care purchase options.  . . . . . . The “same old, same old” thought process in formulating this rule is a lazy and ineffective way for the Federal Trade Commission to proceed.

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