Funeral Home Marketing
How is market research used in a family-owned funeral home?

The primary manner in which family-owned funeral homes market now -- apart from family referrals, of course -- is over the Web. Many third party companies provide interactive web sites for professionals in the Death Care Industry. They also provide funeral home search engines, national obituary listings, and virtual memorials.

By creating a premier web presence, these companies provide Funeral Directors unprecedented flexibility and creates a national marketplace for showcasing their establishments.

Aside from providing professional interactive web sites, these Web-based companies market family-owned funeral homes throughout their entire family of web sites. This unique family of services puts your business in several different web listings and displays your information though a cluster of web sites and search engines.

Funeral Directors can also update their web site easily, anytime - in real time. This gives you the complete autonomy of your information…...

The Canadian Registry of Regulations is a useful source for demonstrating that the issues with which American trade commissions must respond are similar to those faced in Canada. Tight regulatory control can be observed in provinces such as Nova cotia such as this source dictates with respect to embalming norms and practices. The document tells that "the Registrar shall, on behalf of the Board of Registration of Embalmers and Funeral Directors, administer the issuing of licenses for embalmers, apprentice embalmers and funeral directors." (RoR, 1) This means that embalming is a profession which is tightly regulated by state oversight.

Harrington, D.E. (2007). Markets: Preserving Funeral Markets with Ready-to-Embalm Laws. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 21(4), 201-216.

imilar regulations are observable in the United tates as the Harrington source indicates. Though it is a state by state process, evidence suggests that states are increasingly following suit with one another to the end of fully…...

mla

Similar regulations are observable in the United States as the Harrington source indicates. Though it is a state by state process, evidence suggests that states are increasingly following suit with one another to the end of fully streamlining embalming procedures and requirements. As present, "thirty-nine states currently have ready-to-embalm laws, which typically require that all firms selling any type of funeral service (even those specializing in cremations) have embalming preparation rooms and all funeral directors be trained as embalmers." (Harrington, 201) the journal article provides detail on how the embalming field is given oversight with respect to ethical and professional conduct as much as are price issues attended by the FTC.

Kopp, S.W. & Kemp, E. (2007). The Death Care Industry: A Review of Regulatory and Consumer Issues. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 41(1), 150-173.

Ultimately, the Kopp & Kemp article underscores the major challenges that stand before regulators in an industry where little pricing competition has developed over time. Indeed, with some funeral service companies expanding and homogenizing a once family run business, "regulation of the industry has been contentious from the outset, and there have been numerous questions as to regulatory effectiveness." (Kopp & Kemp, 150) This stands as true today, making this is sensible point on which to close this discussion.

family-Owned funeral home do to be proactive with regard to safety management?
The key to being proactive is to be attentive to the work environment and possible hazard areas. It is of paramount importance for any business owner to examine the working environment of the business and establish what areas and activities are at high risk of having an accident. Once the key accident-risk areas have been identified, steps can be taken to minimize the dangers, either by changing the dangerous element of the environment or developing an alternate method that incurs less risk of injury to the employees. For example, heavy lifting is often a duty that comes up at a funeral home, therefore heavy-lifting belts could be provided to employees to reduce the risk of back injury. If the owner can afford to invest in the equipment, machines can be used in place of manpower wherever possible, reducing…...

family owned Funeral Home adopt performance appraisals?
hen dealing with a topic as sensitive as death, it can be difficult to know how to proceed with different families. The standardized implications of formal performance appraisals might seem to be counterintuitive to the nature of a family-based funeral parlor, especially if family members would be doing the critiquing during the meeting. But in a service-based industry, appraisals of individual and collective performance are still key to overall organizational responsiveness to the industry's shifts and the multifaceted needs of clients. There is, perhaps, "a basic human tendency to make judgments about those one is working with, as well as about oneself," and so a performance appraisal, it seems, is an inevitable and universal need in all businesses. (Dulewicz, 1996, cited in "Introduction: Performance Appraisal," 2005) "In the absence of a carefully structured system of appraisal, people will tend to judge the work…...

mla

Works Cited

Hansen, Dexter. (2005) "Employment Evaluation: Tips Help Page." Retrieved 14 May 2005

http://iso9k1.home.att.net/pa/performance_appraisal.html

'Introduction: Performance Appraisal." (2005) Retrieved 14 May 2005

 http://www.performance-appraisal.com/intro.htm

Human Resources
Training in a funeral home should be proactive, rather than reactive. Reactive training is training based on responding to needs as they are identified and as they become urgent. Proactive training refers to training employees before the need becomes urgent. In any service-based industry dealing with the public, proactive training is the better option because it means that employees are prepared when issues arise and that they can deal with problems. For example, it is no use identifying that employees need to know how to manage conflict once the conflict situation arises. It is not like a manufacturing organization where the employee can learn how to complete a task and then return later to fix the problem and complete the task. Once the employee has learned how to fix the problem, the opportunity and the client are no longer available. A funeral home would also especially benefit from a…...

Funeral Services
Arranging a funeral is one of the most difficult things a human being will ever have to do. Aside from all the personal issues which are clearly at stake, there are also certain legal issues and state requirements that one also needs to be able to pay attention to. For instance, the Funeral Rule, which is administered by the FC means that when arranging a funeral, one only needs to select goods and services that are specifically desired, and that one should only pay for the ones that are specifically selected. his is a type of rule which was selected which makes it possible for people to choose the specific funeral arrangements and the particular funeral home that one wants to use. Legal issues and rules like these are important as they represent a form of necessary regulation. When a person is planning a funeral, it's too easy for…...

mla

This article examines some of the standards proposed in order to enact a more thorough standard of infectious diseases for the protection and prevention of workers in funeral homes. This article explores some of the topics which were covered during a stakeholders meeting which was more of a brainstorming session to determine the potential infectious disease program standards. This article examines the procedures that are enacted to protect workers along with the processes to safeguard against and identify infectious agents, along with the measures in place for medical screening, surveillance and vaccination.

NFDA.org. (2011, September 29). Nfda calls on federal government to do formaldehyde research. Retrieved from  http://nfda.org/government-relations-/current-funeral-service-issues/2661-nfda-calls-on-federal-government-to-do-formaldehyde-research.html 

This article looks at the measures in place on current formaldehyde research along with all additional measures which are necessary for protecting funeral home workers against this known carcinogen. This article looks at how the NFDA acknowledges that formaldehyde has such aggravated carcinogenic properties and how the government has a greater responsibility to protect workers and consumers against it.

wrongs do not make a right." By Shun Newbern
The writer presents the reader with situations that can come up in the funeral profession which may end up in utter disappointment of the clients or even worse still end up in the court system with heavy penalties passed down to the funeral home. Unfortunately most of the situations that he presents are unforeseeable hence unplanned for in terms of remedies put in place, a situation that puts the funeral home or the professional responsible for the decedent in a precarious situation.

However, the article falls short of explicitly fronting the recommended remedies that were supposed to have been used in the situations presented in order to have had a pleasant ending. For instance in the first case of the strong odor emanating from the casket during viewing, he gives the remedies that were used by the funeral home to try and…...

mla

Reference

Shun Newbern, (2012). Two Wrongs Do not make a Right. Viewpoint: American Funeral Director

National Funeral Director's Association, which has 20,000 members out of the roughly 22,000 Funeral homes in United States, they do not have even the facilities to provide additional facilities for the Americans with Disabilities under an act. Some of these 22,000 homes are the property of publicly traded funeral service companies and they constitute some 15% of the total. The vast portion of these companies is small businesses which have existed for a long time, and have come to the present directors through a process of inheritance over a long period. In some cases, the passing on has even been to employees from the owners. That is also the reason why many of these homes operate out of the residences of the former homes of the original owners and some of them are today even historical buildings. Most of these funeral homes had begun in houses which were the…...

mla

References

"Comments of the national Funeral Directors Association on the Advanced Notice of Proposed Rule-Making on the Potential Application of the Revised ADA Standards." Gilligan Law Offices. (January 28, 2005) Retrieved from Accessed on 2 June, 2005http://www.adaanprm.org/viewcomments/000066_652.pdf

"Economics Basics: Demand and Supply" Retrieved from   Accessed on 2 June, 2005http://www.investopedia.com/university/economics/economics3.asp 

'Funeral Directors and Embalmers (NOC 6272)" Retrieved from lang=en& site=graphic Accessed on 2 June, 2005http://www.workfutures.bc.ca/profiles/profile.cfm?noc=6272&

"Funeral Directors and Morticians" Occupational Outlook Handbook. U.S. Department of Labor: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved from   Accessed on 2 June, 2005http://www.umsl.edu/services/govdocs/ooh20002001/211.htm 

.
One tactic which has made the John Doe group unique in the industry is its recognition of the importance of community in the viability of individual enterprises. Its damaged relationship with the communities in which it has sought to operate can be rectified by aspects of its model which are already in place. Though the company operates thousands of funeral service establishments from a centralized point of authority, its acquisition strategy incorporates the families who have owned and operated the newly purchased assets into the business plan. As a result, John Doe's holdings are hybrid entities, armed with the resources of a large parent company but endowed with the close community relationship of an independent business. Taking advantage of this model should be central to the company's overall reversal of its negative public image. This will demand that the new core of central leadership make an effort to increase…...

Freedom speech guarantees freedom extend disturbing funeral (Armed Forces funerals) support claim, acknowledge claim opponent, find common ground .
There is presently much controversy regarding the concept of freedom of speech and the fact that people are often denied the right to speak when they want to express themselves. Even with this, there are a series of situations when one's right to express his or her position needs to be denied on the basis of common sense. It would surely be absurd to claim that freedom of speech should not be present in every setting regardless of circumstances. However, people should carefully analyze a situation and decide whether or not it would be right for them to speak in a particular environment. Freedom of speech is in some cases rendered ineffective because of a series of reasons that make it possible for individuals to understand that it is more important…...

mla

Works cited:

Brouwer, D.l C. And Hess, A. "Making Sense of 'God Hates Fags' and 'Thank God for 9/11': A Thematic Analysis of Milbloggers' Responses to Reverend Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church," Western Journal of Communication 71.1 (2007)

Conery, B. "Supreme Court upholds protests at military funerals as free speech," Retrieved February 12, 2012, from the Washington Times Website:  http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/mar/2/supreme-court-oks-church-protest-military-funerals/?page=all 

Kingsbury, A. "Supreme Court Weighs Free Speech Limits in Military Funeral Case," Retrieved February 12, 2012, from the U.S. News Website: http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2010/10/06/supreme-court-weighs-free-speech-limits-in-military-funeral-case

Liptak, A. "Justices Rule for Protesters at Military Funerals," Retrieved February 12, 2012, from the NY Times Website:  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/03/us/03scotus.html?pagewanted=all

Night funeral in Harlem: When the funeral was completely over and the boy's coffin was carried out to the hears, which drove too fast down the street, the streetlight even seemed like it was crying for the boy. He was well-loved by everyone, and their love made the funeral magnificent, even if things looked more poor.
Connotation: The meaning behind the literal sense of the poem seems to be that despite what hardships, disadvantages, and unfairness, human relationships are the really important things that make us rich. The words that Hughes uses juxtaposes symbols of money, greed, and death with love, friendship, and life -- insurance men with satin boxes, flowers and the greedy preacher man, etc. This implies that many people just don't understand what's really important.

Devices: As stated above, the rhyme and meter of the poem enhance the poem's varying meanings. In addition, the use of repetition drives…...

Marketing Strategy for KitKat Desktop Publishing
Creating an independent desktop publishing business from one's home is indeed an exhilarating prospect. Entrepreneurship offers one a career of truly boundless possibilities and the intoxicating freedom of being one's own boss. However, such a path is not without challenges; there are the regulatory and compliance issues, financial issues, start-up capital needed to be gathered, evaluation of technology systems, and marketing (Schulaka, 2009). When it comes to the last challenge, marketing, this truly is an aspect which can make or break a business, particularly a nascent business and one which is small and developing. "Marketing and entrepreneurship are traditionally regarded as two separate academic disciplines" (Hills et al., 2008). However, such a perspective is inherently flawed. Strategic marketing in necessary for a small business to exist, survive and thrive, particularly for a small, home-based business. The best marketing strategy for such a specific type of…...

mla

References

Esales. (n.d.). 7 Key Benefits to Blog Marketing for Your Business. Retrieved from Streetdirectory.com:  http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/113659/blogging/7_key_benefits_to_blog_marketing_for_your_business.html 

Forbes.com. (2012, August 3). The 6 Basic Components Of A Strong SEO Strategy For Online Retailers. Retrieved from Forbes.com:  http://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2012/08/03/the-6-basic-components-of-a-strong-seo-strategy-for-online-retailers/ 

Hills, G., Hultman, C., & Miles, M. (2008). The Evolution and Development of Entrepreneurial Marketing. Journal of Small Business Management, 99-112.

Kumar, A. (2011, December 19). Five Effective SEO Strategies to Optimize Your Business Blog. Retrieved from Entrepreneuer.com:  http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/222499

Death is a reality all human beings face. The industry of death care is therefore in the dubiously fortunate position of always being in business. This does not however mean that marketing and public relations are not important. Because of the rising demand for services, the funeral industry has become extremely competitive. This, along with the fact that death and grief should be handled with extreme sensitivity and care, makes public relations a very important part of the funeral home's business.
A further important point regarding the death industry is social, value- and economic change. A funeral home should remain aware of the latest changes in all social areas, and be willing to accommodate their customers with regard to their personal preferences. In society today for example many people prefer to be cremated for a variety of practical as well as spiritual reasons. Funeral businesses should therefore be aware of these…...

mla

Sources

Blair, Gavin. (2003, April). Buzzing on brands: never has image made so much difference in business. In Japan, Inc., Japan, Inc. Communications. Database: FindArticles.com

Brown, Monique R. (1999, March). Preparing for the hereafter - funeral planning. In Black Enterprise, Earl G. Graves Publishing Co., Inc. Database: FindArticles.com

weak dollar encourages exports, while a strong dollar encourages foreign imports into the United States. The explanation in this case is rather simple. Imports need to be paid in the currency of the country wherefrom they have originated. This means that the American importer needs to purchase the foreign currency in order to pay the import. If the dollar is strong, then the fixed amount of foreign currency that needs to be purchased for the imports can be purchased with less American dollars, in the sense that less American currency needs to be exchanged to reach the fixed import sum.
A practical case refers to an import from the European Union. A strong dollar favors a cheaper import. On the other hand, a weak dollar favors exports from the U.S., because the American producers need to pay comparatively less than their counterparts and their products are internationally sold against stronger…...

components we need to analyze and discuss here. First of all, there is the compensative/remunerative component. enefits and compensations represent a way of increasing personal revenue and partially represent the compensation for a cost of opportunity. For example, in some cases, compensations are paid for extra hours spent at work. These are a way to remunerate the time you have spent working for the company, time you could have used to produce the same amount of money otherwise.
As an individual, however, the reward component is even more important in the case of compensations and benefits. It is the most practical way by which the upper management can show an employee that the work he or she is performing within the company is important and boosts overall profits for the entire company. It is also a way to show how important the role of the respective employee is within the…...

mla

Bibliography

1. HR Guide to the Internet. 1998. On the Internet at  http://www.hr-guide.com/data/G442.htm 

HR Guide to the Internet. 1998. On the Internet at