Cemetery versus Columbarium
Cemetery versus Columbarium
Traditions are familiar, intensely personal and comforting rites that are passed on through the generations, and nowhere is tradition more powerfully observed as in the rituals of burial. The practice of commemorating life is the one rite of passage that people feel a duty to honor, in part because the death of a close one marks a passage within their own lives. But as times change and the Baby Boomers start to leave their mark on interment practices, they are beginning to fundamentally change how society looks at what is considered a tradition worth keeping and what is no longer of value. So the question is, “Are cemeteries effectively moving with the times?”
We can go back a couple hundred years in North America and wander through the formal cemeteries of the past. As we proceed towards the more modern sections of these areas, one notices that very little has changed. Spaces for in-ground interment are evenly allotted. Monuments are respectfully placed at the head of each plot row on row. Other than the use of backhoes (instead of shovels), the business operations of the cemetery service remains pretty much the same. In many respects, the cemetery business environment has been very much like that of a utility company, in that there is a need for only a limited number of cemeteries in the community. Thus the business automatically “arrived” at the gate without a lot of need for marketing to get the work. As an approved monopoly for centuries, the cemetery has never really had the need to adapt or change, as in-ground burial was traditionally the preferred interment option. For cemeterians, they have for the most part experienced a very comfortable work environment when compared to the “dog-eat-dog” businesses found elsewhere. Cemeterians have never had to for example deal with the stress of literally re-inventing their business every other year in order to remain relevant as many High Tech Companies have to do.
As hard as it is for some to imagine, this rather comfortable situation is beginning to dramatically change, as a series of combined forces are affecting the course of cemetery interment. First, the global population has grown from 2 Billion in the 60’s to 8 Billion today, and all of these new populations are all looking for the North American affluent lifestyle. Global Warming/Climate Change is on the minds of many and consequently there is a heightened sensitivity to how humans are degrading the environment. This in turn has contributed to a deceleration of traditional in-ground burials as people prefer to leave a lighter environmental footprint.
Second, the Baby Boom generation (the wealthiest generation in history) is having a tremendous impact on burial “traditions”. They are a unique force that is used to controlling how they want their wealth to be used, and they have no qualms about prescribing how they want their remains to be treated. Many Baby Boomers are choosing cremation as it allows them the creativity within their wills to direct the scattering of their remains in sentimental locations. Unfortunately, when imposing this action on their families, the whole concept of memorialization is missed. But this is another topic for another day.
And third, as hard as it is for some demeterians to imagine, the emergence of cremation has created a new market segment that sees the cemetery as no longer relevant. Statistically, in North America the growth of this segment has been a West to East phenomena, perhaps because families out west are less “rooted” and less “traditional”. Whatever the reasons behind this segment’s growth, the impact to the cemetery is very clear in that for the first time, the cemetery’s monopoly has been challenged as an unseen competitor starts working in the background. The competition is insidious in that it’s not a particular person, or entity that allows one to focus a more traditional response. Instead it is a “mindset” within people that an acceptable place for human remains resides in the previously unthinkable location of an esteemed position over the fireplace mantle, in the deep blue ocean, in the family lake, or on a memorable ski run in the mountains, – and yes, even in the bedroom closet! Worst of all, this new competitor is selling his product at no charge!
In this “unsettling” environment, many cemeterians are beginning to ask, “What can we do today to complement our “traditional product” to ensure we remain relevant in what to some must look like a rather bizarre twist in the way of doing things.
“There is always a strategy to meet this challenge.” says Gordon Leaf (MBA, P. Eng.), “Although there is no one right way of doing things, as each cemetery may be experiencing these trends at different rates, and have to contend with their own unique circumstances”. Having worked for 20 years as a product manager at Nortel Networks (a high tech communications company), Gord created product concepts and business strategies to help what were old style, utility minded telephone companies, such as Bell Canada, Verizon, Sprint, and British Telecom, transition into the dominant communications/data providers they are today. Now President of Sunset Memorial & Stone (a columbarium manufacturer), Gord offers a few suggestions to those looking for guidance through what can look like an intimidating new situation.
Creating the Right Mindset for Change
The single most important step after recognizing that there is a problem to address is to flick the switch in one’s mind to be open to the possibility that an effort to change product and process may be required. It’s amazing how at first subtle changes in the business environment can sneak up on us and significantly impact the whole foundation of the business right under our noses. If this happens, don’t feel bad because our brains are pre-wired to simplify the world we live in using a wide variety of assumptions and biases. To help avoid this trap, many managers in a wide variety of industries try to take a step back (often in an off-site setting) to look at the business in a new light to ensure all they have grown accustomed to, and all the assumptions used to get to where they are today, are in fact still valid.
It has been my experience that the most successful managers have a steely pragmatism and a willingness to look at the world the way it is, and not the way they would like it to be. They are very attune to the fact that we all have a tendency to try and rationalize and convince the world that the new ways are not right. That they are a passing fad. Or simply, that their existing product remains superior. This avoidance mentality is like trying to defy gravity. Futile efforts to fly over the emerging trends against the stream are exhausting and counterproductive, as prospective customers who listen to you trying to convince them to maintain a more traditional approach, will (rightly or wrongly) think of your comments as “self-serving”. Therefore for the sake of one’s mental health, the amount of effort expended in driving against the stream, and in the end, the health of the business, it is better to view the changing environment as a positive opportunity rather than a threat. For many cemeterians the stress they experience regarding the challenges of cremation can be simply resolved with a twist of perspective in which a potentially depressing situation turns into an exciting time to create a new product of value for the community.”
Aeternitas Chapels and Columbarium