Cemetery versus columbarium part 3

Selling and Implementing the Vision

Money talks, and the investment funds needed to create new, innovative products to meet the changing needs of the cemetery, will flow to those people who can show an inspiring return on investment. For many financially minded individuals this type of presentation is second nature, but there are a significant number of cemeterians out there who excel at serving the community and do not have the background to properly sell their vision. To this end, Sunset Memorial & Stone has created a Financial Performance Calculator available to prospective customers at no charge. It is specifically designed to assist people who may have limited experience in putting a business case together. All that cemeterians need to do is fill in key variables such as the desired number of niches, the forecasted sales, and the price per niche, and the calculator will automatically tell them the number of years until the investment is paid back and the Return on Investment (ROI). Best of all, it can provide guidance as to how to improve the financial performance and even advise cemetery management if the are buying too many niches for the initial columbarium purchase.

Leaf goes onto say that – It has been my experience that there is no one right business case when trying to assess the financial outcome of something that has not happened yet. Instead cemeterians are encouraged to “play” with the business case to look at a wide variety of scenarios like:

1. What happens if my future sales are only ½ of what I’m projecting?

2. What is the number of years payback if I go for that new cool accessory on the columbarium and I charged a little more?

3. What is the result if I go for a more basic columbarium product and spend more money on landscaping?

By creating a number of different scenarios and looking at the financial implication of each scenario, cemeterians will be able to more deeply understand which variables are critical and require more attention to detail, and which are less relevant. This assessment also arms you with the thoughtful response to “zinger” questions coming from your board of directors as you make your pitch.

Also by going through the business case analysis, it opens up the opportunity for an honest assessment of what portion of the “ideal product” can be delivered by the cemetery, and what portion would be better if it were outsourced. Find out “who” can deliver “what” most cost effectively. If you decide to expand cemetery operations into new domains, make sure that this new role is taken on in “bite sized chunks”. Leaf stresses that “If you decide to outsource some aspects of your product, make sure the cemetery takes full responsibility for the end result. Too many companies take half steps in their products by outsourcing part of the solution and absolving themselves of the remaining responsibilities, thus leaving it to the customer to figure out how to pull everything together. This approach not only creates opportunities for customer disappointment, it also distances the business from the customer, and inhibits further opportunities to creating new and more insightful products for them in the future.

For example, a cemetery may want to create a cremation service for their park, but doesn’t have the skill set to run the facility. Outsourcing the operation to a local funeral home may be an option, however, if the cemetery starts to view its role as solely a facility provider and nothing else, the sales aspect of that service has just been handed over to another company who may not always have the cemetery’s best interest in mind, and consequently a meaningful touch point with the customer has been lost.

He adds, “Don’t be afraid to leverage the expertise that is in the cremation community. No one person has expertise in everything and sometimes knowing the one’s own limitations can be a great attribute.” Leaf strongly believes that complimenting skills and product visions with hired professionals who have expertise in cremation can make for a winning partnership. Landscape architects like: Hilton Landmarks, Lees and Associates, and EDA Land Planning are firms that not only bring their artistic creativity to bear in landscape design, their exposure to the wide range of cemetery businesses across the continent help deliver cemeteries with additional business insights and planning methodologies that can really set them up for long term success.

Evolution is a Process Not a Destination

Above all else, Leaf suggests that, “Cemeterians should be prepared that the creative process is iterative and may lead to spots never really considered. Try not to become too enamoured with a particular product idea, and be prepared to drop those concepts that are not making money, and dive more deeply into those that show more financial promise.”

Gord ads, “In a business environment that is becoming more dynamic, action is better than inaction. Even if our initial decision turns out to be wrong, it often leads to more insight and a better way forward.

Repeating the same routines based on past traditions will not only drive cemetery revenues down but they will eventually rob the future of what the cemetery could be for future generations.

This is the time for cemeteries to invest in that future product, share ideas, experiment and get excited with the prospect that a new vision may become the start of a new tradition”.

https://www.columbariumusa.com/evolving-the-cemetery-the-art-of-remaining-relevant-in-a-cremation-world/