Janssen Funeral Home - Homesteaders Life Company

y
M
Homesteaders
May 2016
Scott and
Debbie
Janssen
Debbie Janssen woke up to the phone ringing
around 3 a.m. one morning. It was her husband, Scott,
who had been at work all night in the embalming room
at Janssen Funeral Home. He had a strange request –
would she bring one of their daughter’s dresses down
to the funeral home?
The afternoon before, Scott had received a call from Nome, Alaska –
about 1,000 miles north of his Anchorage location. “There are no funeral
homes in the villages of Alaska – they are all in the main cities,” Scott
explained, noting that it is common practice for funeral homes to ship
the casket directly to the village so the family can dress the deceased
and place him or her in the casket.
In this case, the young girl’s parents requested special care and
transportation so they could have a viewing before the funeral. They
put their little girl on the 6:30 p.m. flight out of Nome, and she landed in
Anchorage around 8:30 that evening. Scott immediately took her into the
embalming room, working through the night to address the damages left
by the accident and prepare her for the next day’s viewing.
As you can imagine, the restoration work was extensive. “When I
finished, the dress the family had placed on her for transport wasn’t
in any condition to be put back on. So, around 3 a.m. I called Debbie
and told her the situation. At the time, our oldest daughter was also four
years old. So Debbie took a brand new dress she had just purchased
for Angela and brought it down to the funeral home.”
Scott dressed the little girl and placed her in the casket before returning
her to the airport early that morning. “She was on the first flight back to
Nome and made it in plenty of time for her family to hold the funeral and
viewing at 2 o’clock that afternoon.”
No one who has met Scott and Debbie Janssen would expect them to
do any less.
More
My
Homesteaders
Contents – May 2016 Issue
Janssen Funeral Home.............................. page 1
The Homesteaders life................................page 5
Important updates......................................page 6
Upcoming events & Con-ed...................... page 7
What we’ve been reading..........................page 8
Five game-changing tools.........................page 9
Pet loss grief support................................ page 11
Executive insights.....................................page 13
Note from the editor
The best part of my job isn’t the salary, the benefits or
the people I work with (though every one of them is
spectacular). The best part – by far – is getting to meet
our funeral home customers. There is something so
valuable in putting faces and voices to the names of our
customers – funeral professionals who do so much for
the families in their communities.
Most of the time, I talk with funeral home owners on the
phone or over email, but every once in a while I get to
sit down and interview them in person.
A few months ago, our Home Office employees enjoyed
a unique treat: a visit from some of our customers – all
the way from Alaska! Scott and Debbie Janssen (and
their team of sled dogs) spent the day with us, sharing
stories about their approach to funeral service and
Scott’s adventures racing the Iditarod. I had an
opportunity to spend a few hours interviewing them,
and I am excited to share a bit of their wonderful
personalities in this month’s newsletter. I hope you
enjoy reading their story (and watching their video
footage) as much as we did.
Janssen Funeral Home
(continued)
High school sweethearts, the Janssens got married right out of school and settled down
in their Minnesota community with no thoughts of Alaska or funeral service. But that all
changed a few years into their marriage when a neighbor encouraged Scott to consider the
funeral profession. He started working at a local funeral home a few weeks later and then
decided to enroll in the University
of Minnesota.
By graduation, Scott had received
an offer to join the staff at
Bradshaw Funeral Home in Saint
Paul, MN. But when he got the call
to interview for a job in Alaska, he
and Debbie couldn’t turn it down.
“We went up for the interview, and
the personalities just clicked,”
Scott explained. “We sat and
chatted with (then-owner) Dick
Rome for over three hours.”
A few days later, they had made
their decision. “We packed up
everything we had, then sold
Left to Right: Jordan Eastman, Chelsea (Janssen) Eastman,
the Datsun and the Jeep. We
Debbie Janssen and Scott Janssen
bought a little Bronco II, packed
our stereo in it, added my rifle, our
camping gear and our dress clothes and took off for Alaska,” Scott explained. Originally, the
Janssens planned to move back home after two years, but three decades later they’re still
working at the now family-owned firm. “I instantly fell in love with Alaska, the people I worked
for and the people I took care of at the funeral home,” he recalled.
More
Our latest newsletter also features a wealth of tips to
boost your pre-need efficiency, adopt a more
strategic approach to long-term planning and
respond to the unique needs of pet owners. As you
read, I encourage you to consider how these tools
might benefit your funeral home business and the
families you serve.
Enjoy!
Danielle J. Burmeister, Marketing Communications Specialist
800-477-3633, ext. 7734 email: [email protected]
myHomesteaders is a publication of Homesteaders Life Company,
P.O. Box 1756, Des Moines, IA 50306-1756
Stephen R. Lang, Chairman, President & CEO
Editor: Danielle J. Burmeister Designer: Ken Haas
Visit us at homesteaderslife.com.
Life insurance and annuity products are issued by Homesteaders Life Company. Products are subject
to state availability. Texas consumers visit www.prepaidfunerals.texas.gov for more information.
Originally, the Janssens planned to move back to Minnesota after two years,
but three decades later they’re still working at the now family-owned firm.
2
Janssen Funeral Home
“I instantly fell in
love with Alaska,
the people I
worked for and
the people I took
care of at the
funeral home.”
After four years, Scott was promoted to General Manager
of the firm. Then, in 2007, he and Debbie purchased the
business. Unlike many owners, Scott still spent much of
his time in the preparation room. “I couldn’t manage the
funeral home from the arrangement office. I managed from
the embalming room,” he explained. “That is the core of our
business. It’s how we restore dignity to an individual and what
we do for the families.”
Though Scott can remember many of the individuals he’s
prepared over the years, he most vividly recalls caring for the
casualties from an AWAC plane crash that occurred in 1995
just outside of Anchorage. “Twenty-four airman were killed,
and 52 kids lost their dads that morning,” he recalled, noting
that the deceased were in no condition to be viewed by their
families. Out of concern for his staff, Scott wouldn’t allow
anyone else in the preparation room while he wrapped the
remains and placed them in caskets.
“I didn’t sleep for months after that,” he reflected. “Every time
I closed my eyes, I saw the embalming room that night.”
Scott struggled with his thoughts for several months, feeling
isolated because he didn’t have anyone to talk to about his
experience. “The privacy and the dignity that we put into what
we do is of upmost importance. So, who do you talk to when
you’re dealing with something like that?”
(continued)
In the end, Scott was able to find some relief by sharing his
personal struggles with his staff without violating the privacy
of the airmen. “There’s a saying we share with families all the
time: Grief shared is grief diminished,” he affirmed. “And for
me, it really was.”
As a manager, Scott brought fresh perspective and energy to
their funeral homes, investing in creative advertising efforts to
try and build their client base. “When I first started managing, I
decided I wanted the business to sponsor an Iditarod musher,”
he recalled, noting that the Iditarod is a big deal in the north
– similar to the following NASCAR has in the south. “It’s a
unique way to get our name out there.”
“With advertising, you’re throwing rocks into a pond. If you
throw a big rock – maybe place a quarter page ad in the
newspaper once a month – that rock is going to hit the
surface of that pond. Those ripples you see represent the
people who see your ad. But at some point, those ripples go
away,” Scott observed. “What we do with our advertising is
take that big rock and split it into pebbles, so that constantly
throughout the year, I’m flinging pebbles at that pond. And the
ripples are out there all the time.”
More
“I couldn’t manage the funeral home from the arrangement office. I managed from the embalming room,” Scott recalled.
“That is the core of our business. It’s how we restore dignity to an individual and what we do for the families.”
3
Janssen Funeral Home
When the Janssens moved to Alaska in 1985, the business
served about 500 families a year. Today, that number has
grown to 850. “In the entire state, we do 62% of the business,”
Scott noted. “It’s a wonderful feeling to know that we’ve
accomplished this by just being ourselves.”
“The comfort
level we
have with
Homesteaders
and the
resources our
pre-need team
has now, are
really going
to make an
impact.”
The Janssens now use their advertising dollars to spread
the word about pre-need. “Alaska’s absolutely brand new
to pre-need, so I’m excited to get things moving and to
teach people what it means to prearrange and pre-fund their
funerals,” Debbie affirmed. In addition to helping Scott with
the day-to-day ownership responsibilities, she also manages
their pre-need program. “We’ve been doing a lot of promotion
for pre-need on the radio and on TV. I think the more we do to
educate our communities, the more comfortable families will
be with pre-need.”
(continued)
Scott echoed her thoughts explaining, “In our advertisements,
we point out that you plan for all major events – a graduation,
a wedding, the last great race – to reduce stress when those
events occur. Then we point out that death is a major event,
too, and that prearranging a funeral reduces the stress for
your family when a death occurs.”
“Right now, I am spending upwards of $250,000 a year on
advertising,” Scott estimated. “The goal with our pre-need
program is to be able to significantly reduce our advertising
costs in the next five years. Our hope is that the people
who have prearranged with us will be out in the community
causing those ripples so we don’t have to throw so many
pebbles.”
Their approach to pre-need has historically been very passive,
but when a colleague started talking to them about the
benefits of working with Homesteaders, the Janssens decided
to make a change. “We were comparing what he was telling
us to our experience with the pre-need company we were
using at the time. And the more he talked, the more I realized
that what he was saying lined up with everything I’ve always
believed about pre-need. So we switched to Homesteaders.”
Citing Homesteaders’ sole commitment to the funeral
profession, Scott affirmed their choice. “The comfort level
we have with Homesteaders and the resources our pre-need
team has now are really going to make an impact and build
those ripples.”
The Janssens also get a lot of free publicity. Scott – better
known in Alaska as the “Mushin’ Mortician” – is an avid sled
dog racer and a two-time Iditarod finisher. “I’ve been mushing
now for about 14 years. And every advertisement we have, I
introduce myself as Scott Janssen, the Mushin’ Mortician,” he
reflected. “When you’re a funeral director, you need to get out
there and be involved in your community. You’ve got to know
what is important to the people you serve and make sure they
know that it’s important to you, too.”
janssenfuneralhomes.com
Click here to learn more about
Scott Janssen’s experience leading a team
of dogs through Alaska’s Iditarod race.
4
The Homesteaders life
At Homesteaders, we believe that our
positive corporate culture is the source
of the high level of customer service
and expertise we offer our funeral
home customers. Ask anyone who
works for Homesteaders and they’ll tell
you the days go fast – proof positive
that time flies when you’re having fun
and loving what you do.
Right now in the Home Office:
We’re endorsing some healthy competition.
The Iowa winter (and the winter holiday treats) hit all of us a
little hard this year – expanding our waistlines and making our
Homesteaders polo shirts a little snug around the middle. To
help combat our excess beefiness, the Wellness Committee
organized a four-week fitness challenge, complete with a
little friendly competition. More than 60 employees signed up,
committing to four weeks of nutritious meals, daily exercise,
aggressive water drinking and at least one new healthy habit.
Participants competed in teams – each one led by one of our
Homesteaders executives. When the competition ended, our
participating employees had lost more than 250 pounds!
We’re training a new group of pre-need professionals.
Last month, we hosted our first Successful Sales Strategies
class of 2016. Nineteen pre-need professionals completed
the rigorous three-day training at our home office in West Des
Moines. This was the fifth installment of the course, which
offers an engaging, interactive opportunity to learn techniques
for selling to the modern consumer. Click here to hear what
the latest graduates had to say about their experiences.
Right now on the road:
Former Regional Director Wanda Sizemore
is transitioning to a new role.
We’re very pleased to announce that Wanda Sizemore has
accepted a new position as Director – Field Training and
Development for Homesteaders. In her new role, Wanda
will provide direct sales training support to our funeral home
customers, conduct sales training in our home office and out
in the field and provide coaching to our account executives.
Please join us in congratulating Wanda and wishing her the
best of luck in her new position.
The latest graduates of Homesteaders’ Successful Sales Training course spent three days at our Home Office honing their pre-need strategies.
5
Important updates
A.M. Best Affirms Homesteaders’
A- (Excellent) Rating
We are proud to announce that A.M. Best Company has
once again affirmed our rating of A- (Excellent). “Our financial
management is centered on one simple, but very important
principle: to ensure Homesteaders maintains the long-term
financial strength to honor the promises we make every day
to our policy owners and customers,” said Homesteaders
Executive VP-CFO Steve Pick. “The A.M. Best affirmation
represents a significant vote of confidence in our financial
management philosophy and our ability to honor our
future obligations.” Click here to learn more.
Current Crediting Rates
for Michigan and Virginia.
Homesteaders’ management periodically reviews crediting
rates and adjusts up or down when necessary. To
access the latest crediting rate information, login to the
myHomesteaders.com dashboard. Select the “Need
Help” tab, then click on the “Policies & Procedures” link and
scroll down until you locate the product information you need.
Questions? Contact your account executive.
U.S. Postage Rate Decrease
For the first time in nearly a century, the United States Postal
Service has lowered the cost of a first-class stamp. The new
rates took effect on April 10 and include a two-cent decrease
on first-class stamps (now $0.47), a one-cent drop on postcard
stamps (now $0.34) and a one-half-cent drop ($0.005) on
standard mail, which is what is used for direct mail campaigns.
With the new rates, direct mail has become even more
affordable for our funeral home customers. It’s a great time
to contact your account executive to learn more about our
mail-based marketing collateral.
Next-day Mail Delivery
At Homesteaders, we work hard to process paperwork as
quickly as possible after we receive it. If you are sending an
item via next-day delivery, we recommend sending them to
our street address, rather than our post office box:
Homesteaders Life Company
5700 Westown Parkway
West Des Moines, IA 50266
We pick up mail from our post office box early each
morning; however, the next-day mail may not have been
sorted and could potentially remain at the post office until
the next day. Deliveries to our Home Office arrive later in
the day, once all the next-day deliveries have arrived and
been sorted. Mail is delivered and tracked much more
regularly when delivered directly to our home office, which
ensures faster processing for your important documents.
Rate Calculator Improvements
When we released the new rate calculator apps on
April 1, we heard great things from many of you who found
them more intuitive and easy-to-use. We also received a
few suggestions for how we could improve these apps
to make them an even better fit for your needs. We’re
happy to report that we have released an update for the
Online Rate Calculator as a direct result of user feedback.
The online Estimated Payment Worksheet (EPW) once
again includes fields to add projected inflation rates
and life expectancy, allowing users to see the estimated
future funeral cost when writing new business. To take
advantage of this helpful new feature, simply login to
the myHomesteaders.com dashboard, navigate to
the “Calculators” menu at the top of the screen and select
“Online.” The EPW may be accessed by selecting the link
in the upper right corner of the “Results” page.
6
Upcoming events
Homesteaders values participation
in industry events, which is why you’ll
find our staff attending conventions
throughout the year. In May, you can
visit with Homesteaders experts at the
following events:
Tri-State Convention
(Nebraska, Kansas & Missouri)
May 9-10
Overland Park Convention Center | Overland Park, KS
South Dakota Funeral Directors
Association State Convention
May 11-13
Ramkota Hotel & Conference Center | Sioux Falls, SD
Ohio Funeral Directors Association
Annual Convention & Exhibition
May 16-19
Hilton Columbus at Easton| Columbus, OH
Iowa Funeral Directors Association
Annual Convention
May 17-18
Prairie Meadows Hotel & Casino | Altoona, IA
North Carolina Funeral Directors Association
Educational Conference & Expo
May 23-25
Raleigh Convention Center | Raleigh, NC
Minnesota Funeral Directors Association
Annual Convention
May 23-25
Continuing
education
Homesteaders hosts several
continuing education programs
throughout the year that qualify for
state insurance, funeral director and
ethics credit hours. In May, we will
be hosting the following classes:
Duluth, MN
• The Evolution of Ethics
(May 3 from 8 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.)
• The Evolution of Insurance
(May 4 from 8 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.)
Bloomington, MN
• The Evolution of Ethics
(May 5 from 8 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.)
• The Evolution of Insurance
(May 6 from 8 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.)
Hillside, IL*
• The Evolution of Ethics
(May 24 from 8 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.)
• The Evolution of Insurance
(May 25 from 8 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.)
The fee for each course is $75 and includes the
registration/filing fees, lunch and refreshments
throughout the day. Visit our website to learn more.
*Valid for Illinois and Wisconsin (funeral director only) credit hours
Treasure Island Resort & Casino | Welch, MN
Visit our website for the complete list of upcoming events.
7
What we’ve been reading
Hundreds Gather to Honor Homeless Veteran
Last month, Marty Mitchell of Mitchell Funeral Home in Marshalltown, IA, posted an update to his Facebook page about
an upcoming funeral for Charles Lanam, a homeless Korean
War veteran with no living family. “On Monday, we are going to
bury a man who served our country honorably, and probably
before many of us were born. He has no family – absolutely
no family – so our staff and the chaplain from IVH (Iowa Veterans Home) will gather on a quiet hillside at IVH and put this
man to rest,” the status read. “Even though you did not know
him… you are welcome to come and honor his life or serve as
a pallbearer or even as important, send your prayers.” In the
next few days, the post was shared over 1,700 times, gathering the attention of the local VFW, American Legion and Patriot
Guard along with several local and statewide media outlets.
When Charles Lanam was laid to rest less than a week later,
he received full military honors in the presence of hundreds of
mourners. Click here to read more about this incredible story.
Hundreds came out to
show their respect at
Charles Lanam’s funeral,
including representatives
from the Patriot Guard
(pictured right), American
Legion and Combat
Vets Association; pictured
second from the left:
Dean Lambert, Senior VPMarketing and
Communications at
Homesteaders.
Most Adults Still Listen to the Radio
Video may have killed the radio star, but a recent poll from
Edison Research found that 90% of adults in America still
listen to radio on their daily commute to work – outstripping
the next-highest option (listening to CDs) by nearly 30 points.
Considering that the average one-way commute time for
modern workers is 25.4 minutes, radio could offer over 250
minutes each week to potentially reach consumers. At Homesteaders, we recognize that radio can be a powerful tool for
funeral home advertising. In fact, we offer scripts for 30 or
60-second radio spots our funeral home owners can customize for their own advertising. Contact your account executive
for more details.
How to Be an Unsuccessful
Funeral Professional
This article from the Funeral Business Advisor is certainly
worth a read – especially for funeral professionals who want
a quick, 10-step inventory of some of the most common
business pitfalls facing today’s funeral home owners. Offering
insight on everything from cremation options and staffing to
the importance of a robust, innovative pre-need program, this
short read is full of helpful tips.
Want more great content?
Connect with us on social media or subscribe to our
blog for additional industry information, tools and tips.
8
Five Game-Changing Tools
to Boost Your Efficiency
Karen King
Regional Director,
Home Office
Region
I started working at Homesteaders in
the Policy Issue Department on May
30, 1972. Back then, we worked out of
a tiny office space on Grand Avenue
in Des Moines with a staff so small
that the whole office participated in
a bowling league at the alley next
door. That was long before cell
phones and internet – it even predates Homesteaders’ industry-leading
account executive program.
Today, Homesteaders employs 145 employees in our (much
larger) home office in West Des Moines and around 35
employees in the field. We now serve thousands of funeral
professionals and families across the country and are the
most often used* pre-need provider in America.
There are so many things that have changed since I joined
Homesteaders and so many new tools that can help our
funeral home customers and agents establish and support a
healthy pre-need program.
One of the most beneficial tools is the myHomesteaders.com
dashboard. While many of our funeral home customers are
familiar with the basics – goal setting and monitoring, policy
details and production trends – there are several tools that
often get overlooked, tools that can help boost your efficiency.
Here are a few of my favorites:
1. H
omesteaders Correspondence Archive
Did you know that we archive digital copies of all the
letters we send to policyholders? You can access
the correspondence Homesteaders has sent to your
client families by clicking on the “Policyholder Letters
Sent” option under the “Policy Details” module on the
myHomesteaders.com dashboard. From there, select the
funeral home location (either click on a particular branch
or select “All”). When the inventory opens, you can scroll
through the latest letters, organized by date, or search for a
specific insured or range of dates using the options at the
top of the page.
2. Online Enrollment Packages
Online Enrollment** is one of the simplest tools licensed
agents can use when writing new business. The form does
the work for you – so you know the business you submit
is clean and complete. You can even set up package
options to group the merchandise and services that are
most commonly sold together. To set up your packages,
login to the myHomesteaders.com dashboard, and click
on the “Online Enrollment” link on the right side of the
page. From there, select the “Pre-need Package Setup”
image, and complete the required fields. Then, any time
you use Online Enrollment, you can select the applicable
package and avoid having to enter those details on every
new contract.
3. Ready-to-use Unfunded Letter
Most of you likely have a file full of unfunded or
underfunded funeral arrangements – preferences written
up with an individual who may not have been able to fully
fund their contract at the prearrangement conference.
One way you can boost your pre-need sales is to regularly
revisit those unfunded files, reaching out to individuals who
have already demonstrated their desire to do business
with your firm. Not sure how to start? Homesteaders
has created a form letter you can use to reach these
individuals. Simply login to the myHomesteaders.com
dashboard, click on the “Library” link at the top, and find
the “Marketing/Sales” section. You can download the
sample letter by clicking on the “Unfunded Letter” link.
More
* 2015 independent brand-tracking study commissioned by
Homesteaders and performed by McGuire Research
** Not available in all states.
9
Five Game-Changing Tools
to Boost Your Efficiency
(continued)
4. Pre-need Contract Detail Report
There are so
many new tools
that can help
our funeral home
customers and
agents establish
and support a
healthy pre-need
program.
You may already be familiar with the Pre-need Contract
Summary Report – a high-level overview of your pre-need
sales during the current calendar year compared with the
previous year – but did you know you can also access
a report with much more specific data? The Pre-need
Contract Detail Report (available through the link at the
bottom of the “Policy Details” module) gives you more
specific information about each contract, including the
merchandise information for casket, vault and urn sales,
so you can easily identify trends that can help you train
your pre-need counselors and establish the most effective
marketing strategy.
Our online training – accessible through the “University”
link at the top of the myHomesteaders.com dashboard –
features dozens of training modules on everything from
marketing tools, product details, policy administration
and compliance.
Still looking for more tools? Try exploring the Homesteaders
Blog for tips on marketing, grief support, aftercare and
pre-need strategy, or browse the archive of White Papers
available in the myHomesteaders.com dashboard library for
more industry insights. And, of course, your Homesteaders
account executive can point you to the most effective tools.
5. e
University Training Modules
Not sure how to use Online Enrollment? Need a refresher
on calculating product growth? Curious about the
Homesteaders Assurance Trust®? We’ve got you covered!
10
Why Funeral Homes
Need to Offer Pet Loss Grief Support
My cat is a menace.
He routinely sprints full tilt through the house at 4 a.m. only
to crash into a wall/door/cabinet in a mess of flying fur and
distressed meows. He repeats this at least once a week.
Danielle Burmeister
Marketing
Communications
Specialist
He regularly shows his disdain for unwanted guests by stealth
attacks to their feet, midnight aerial assaults to their pillows
and violent hissing in the general vicinity of their luggage. (We
don’t get many repeat visitors.)
He skillfully scouts out the least stain-resistant surfaces in the
house to display his latest hairball, in great triumph and glory.
And he indiscriminately claws at man and beast, resulting in at
least six shredded chairs and a couch that sports a series of
suspiciously cat-shaped bite marks.
Bless his little whiskers.
Pancake (so-named in honor of my
husband’s favorite breakfast) is a brilliant
and strategic little monster,* and I often
dream of how peaceful our house would be
without him. It would be quiet. It would be
clean. And it would be lonely
– so very lonely.
According to sociologist Gerald
Mollenhorst, the vast majority of adult
relationships are temporary. In fact, 70% of
friendships do not last longer than seven
years. Consider that many household
pets – dogs and cats, specifically – often
live a dozen or more years. Wouldn’t it
make sense that those relationships, some of the longest
many adults have outside their immediate families, are
significant enough to merit a considerable amount of grief
and necessitate a corresponding amount of funeral home
support?
A recent survey by the American Veterinary Medical
Association found that 56% of American households have a
pet, representing nearly 66.5 million families. The same study
found that more than 63% of owners think of their pets as
members of their families – and they treat them as such.
In an article for the Funeral Director’s Guide to Statistics,
Coleen Ellis, founder of the Two Hearts Pet Loss Center,
noted that today’s pet owners often humanize their furry
companions, going so far as to have conversations with them,
dress them up for the holidays and reward good behavior
with their favorite treats. “Even during the 2008 recession,
pet spending continued to rise as pet owners cared for them
during the downturn just like they would any other member of
the family,” she affirmed.
According to the Pew Research Center, the 2008 recession
had a significant impact on other types of spending. Their
research into consumer buying habits found that over half
of consumers cut back on travel during the recession and
three out of 10 respondents limited their alcohol or cigarette
consumption. An overwhelming majority – 71% – further
curtailed their expenses by opting for off-brand
purchases rather than their preferred brandname products. Yet consumer spending on
pet care continued to go up.
During the recession, consumers prioritized
the care of their pets above family vacations,
wine night with the girls and brand-name
groceries. What does that suggest about their
approach to caring for those same pets when
they pass away?
Consider the following eulogy from former
Chicago Tribune reporter Barbara Mahany:
Bit by slow bit, I’ve been subtracting, cleaning
the shelf of the cat food, washing out his bowls
one last time. I’m trying to think of these awful
days as lessons in grief, and the insolubility of death. No matter
how hard you wish, you can’t bring back the pit-a-pat paw
sounds. Can’t muster his face, the ears perked just so, there at
the glass still streaked with his mud prints.
It’s the valley of mirage and phantom echo, the raw and early
hours of grief, as you imagine, make-believe — for an instant
— you’ve just caught a glimpse, or just heard the sound.
It’s deafening. And deadening.
More
*After reading this far, my husband suggested I point out that I do, in fact, really love my cat. Really.
11
Why Funeral Homes
Need to Offer Pet Loss Grief Support
… And while the loss of a most blessed friend and the loss of a
furry one are in no way comparable, I’ve realized this week that
death is death. And “little deaths,” too, loom large, and they
hurt sometimes in ways that riddle each hour with excruciating
moments of missing.
So how do you
support families
who have lost a
furry loved one?
In much the same
way you support
more traditional
services.
Though – as Mahany points out – the death of a pet in no way
compares to the loss of a friend or family member, loss is still
loss and grief is still grief. If you want your funeral home to be
able to meet all the needs of your client families, you might
want to consider offering pet loss grief support to respond to
the growing number of owners who want to commemorate
and remember their pets.
Even if your funeral home does not offer disposition services
for pets, your client families can still benefit from your
services. Aftercare following the loss of a pet is particularly
important as it often impacts children who have not otherwise
experienced a permanent loss. Reaching out and helping
families teach their children how to grieve is an important part
of your calling as a funeral service provider.
(continued)
It’s also important to remember that many pet deaths occur
as the result of euthanasia. In those situations, decision
makers may demonstrate a greater propensity toward
feelings of guilt – even when they feel their decision was the
compassionate choice. Aftercare from an expert can help
them process their feelings and find healthy ways to cope
with their loss.
So how do you support families who have lost a furry loved
one? In much the same way you support more traditional
services. Take a minute to google “pet grief support,” and
you’ll notice that many of the suggestions you find match the
grief support you already offer client families. Send followup cards to families. Provide memorial merchandise options.
Host remembrance services. All of the things that help
individuals process human losses can also help them cope
with the death of a pet.
After all: grief is grief and loss is loss.
This article was originally published
on the Homesteaders blog.
Click here or on the links above
for more great blog content.
12
11
Executive
insights
“You’ve got to
think about big
things while
you’re doing
small things, so
that all the small
things go in the
right direction.”
- Alvin Toffler -
Kim Medici Shelquist
Senior VP-Planning & Development
One of the greatest business
challenges most of us face is finding
the right balance between managing
day-to-day operations and planning
for future success.
We work hard to maintain focus on a consistent approach
to strategic planning and believe this is key to successful
business outcomes in both the short and long term. Our
business planning results in key initiatives we monitor
throughout the year. We know monitoring progress and
measuring success (or failure) is key to effective outcomes
and business success.
It often feels like we spend the majority of our time putting
out fires and almost no time considering how to position
our business for long-term success. This is particularly true
in funeral service where schedules change on a minute-byminute basis and the families you serve expect you to be
100% focused in their time of need.
It’s relatively easy to see the value of strategic planning, but it
can be difficult to start and maintain a discipline of planning.
Here are just a few tips to help you get started.
Though it can prove challenging, the benefits of a consistent
approach to strategic planning are numerous:
• Make time for it. Set aside the time and protect it.
Unexpected events are the hallmark of funeral service, but
it’s vital that you plan for uninterrupted participation in your
sessions. Consider your options for back up and conduct
the session at a time that is unlikely to be interrupted.
• The chance to investigate and explore options. You
can proactively investigate your business environment,
challenges and opportunities in a less time-sensitive setting.
An absence of planning will force you to make rushed, less
informed decisions when confronted with both opportunities
and threats.
• Invite the right people. Include the leaders of your
organization and make sure participants represent a range
of perspectives and responsibilities in your organization.
It doesn’t have to be a large group, but the groups’
perspective should be broad and well informed in terms of
all aspects of your business.
• Improved control over the future of your business. You
design and plan your future as opposed to simply letting it
happen.
• Prepare well. There are many tools and resources you can
use to design your session and create an effective plan (I’ll
share some of my favorites in next month’s issue). Make
sure you have competitive and historic business information
readily available. Create an agenda and follow it.
• A clear purpose and direction. Your team members are
more unified and understand what is expected of them and
how they can contribute.
• Better business decisions. A clear vision for the future can
lead you toward the actions that can help you reach your
goals. Perhaps more importantly, a clear vision can help
steer you away from those actions that will NOT help you
achieve those goals.
• Well-allocated resources. Strategic management of your
human and financial resources is key to your success. A
solid plan for your future allows you to put your resources to
work most effectively to help you achieve your goals.
There are certainly differences between the business
environment of a funeral home owner or manager and the one
I experience as I lead the Homesteaders’ strategic planning
process. However, you can be assured that we struggle
with many of the same challenges and distractions that you
experience.
So how does Homesteaders overcome those challenges
to ensure we’re meeting the immediate needs of our funeral
home customers and policy owners while planning well for the
next 100 years?
• Don’t “skip” the hard questions. It’s important that you be
honest with yourself and confront the hard questions about
your business. For instance, many funeral home owners say
it’s their service to families that helps them stand apart from
competitors. Attempt to answer questions like, “How does
our service set us apart?” “What do we do that is different
than our competitors?” “How would our clients distinguish
between the service that we provide and that of our
competitor?” If you can’t answer those questions, it’s highly
unlikely your clients will be able to.
• Document and track. The insights, decisions and initiatives
that result from your planning should be documented and
shared with the planning group and your team. This also
creates the plan your team will use to move forward in the
execution and tracking phase or your planning cycle.
Creating an effective strategic planning cycle for your firm
takes time and attention, but the process is key for your firm’s
long-term success. In next month’s installment, I will talk in
greater detail about how you can get started.
13
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