Extraordinary times have a way of forcing companies to reexamine how they go about delivering value to their customers. What worked yesterday might not work anymore today. Some age-old industries, already in the throes of change, will now certainly be altered forever.
The funeral service industry is already dealing with the disruptive forces of a modern-day preference for cremation vs. burial, as well as the movement to buy goods and services online. Funeral homes are also now confronted with the idea that their core product, a gathering at a funeral home, has—at least for the time being—become ill-advised if not all together obsolete.
Despite positioning Foreverence as an innovation leader and having entirely reimagined the idea of what a custom urn should be, like all organizations, we must now choose a lane:
- Are we going to wait and hope that the impact on our business is manageable?
OR
- Will we use this opportunity to come up with creative ways to better align our custom cremation urns with today’s changing needs?
Next Steps for Foreverence
Through the course of this self-examination, we’ve determined that there are two glaring problems consumers face today as they endeavor to remember loved ones in a meaningful way. One of those problems is a direct result of our current health crisis. The other is just an old way of doing business that needs a refresh.
Top 2 Challenges
- Funerals and life celebrations are being, delayed, deferred, or cancelled.
- The old way of buying an urn at a funeral arrangement, when you are under the pressure of time and grief, compels people to select substandard—or at best ordinary products—only because it was the “least bad” option presented to them at the time.
How do we know problem 2 exists? Because we interact every day with families who find themselves in this exact situation. They’ve purchased a run-of-the-mill urn at a time of need. Afterward, they reached out to Foreverence once the pressure of time had passed and the imminence of grief had lessened. With clearer heads, we then help our customers come up with the most appropriate and meaningful way to remember their loved ones.
Foreverence Custom Urns
As funerals and life celebrations are being delayed, we now have an opportunity to help families get it right the first time. Our Imagine, Create, Celebrate process inspires families to envision the perfect tribute, collaborate with us on a perfect design and create a celebration centerpiece to honor a loved one today, even if the gathering of family and friends must wait.
The bottom line is we will ultimately get through this health crisis. But until we do, I offer the same advice I do to my kids:
Take the time you need to feel bad, to be scared, and to make plans. And then let’s get on with it. We cannot let this experience sap us of our resolve, our creativity, our productivity, and our good will. As a business, let’s use the opportunity to innovate, to be more resourceful and mindful of what really matters to your customers and, in the end, not just survive but thrive.
