Help families memorialize in the new year

Blake Swinford,
Project Manager

How often do you speak with families that have scattered a loved one in the past, and now regret it? As memorialization experts, when talking with families, we need to be sure we are educating them on the importance of having a permanent place of memorialization. It not only creates a special place to visit and share stories for future generations, but it also keeps a family’s loved one's legacy alive.

As many do, I use this time to reflect on the past and plan for the year ahead. I encourage you to take advantage of this time of year to educate families you've already served, and families you hope to serve in the future. You can take it from someone who knows the real heartache of scattering and regretting it later. I scattered my mom’s cremated remains many years ago and didn’t think twice about it. It was what she wanted. Then, I had a family of my own and didn’t have a place to bring my kids to tell "grammy stories."

As we reflect on the past and plan for the year ahead, we are presented with the perfect time to fix things we regret from our past. Whether the families you serve want a bronze memorial, memorial rock or bench, creating a permanent place of memorialization is the most important part. I had a beautiful memorial bench and decorated with a bronze memorial. It sits just outside our memorial park’s Swan Pond. Now, my boys will always have a place to visit their grandma.

If you would like to hear the whole story after scattering my mom and years later creating a place of memorialization, visit us on YouTube.

This article originally appeared in Modern Memorialization, Trigard Memorials' weekly electronic newsletter featuring information for the funeral industry. Sign up for your free subscription at http://www.trigard.com/thursdays.

How are you handling the holiday roller coaster?

Ethan Darby,
Director of Business
Development

While the holiday season is upon us, I would like to take the time to wish every one of you a Happy Holidays on behalf of my family and the entire Trigard Memorials staff. It's a great time of year to show your appreciation to your employees and to celebrate the holiday season. I hope you all have taken the time to acknowledge the holiday's within your own companies as well.

This time of year comes with a certain feeling in the air. For most, this is an incredibly positive and joyous feeling. For others, it can be a sad or disappointing one. As cemeterians and deathcare providers, we are responsible for helping others through some of the hardest times of their lives. This responsibility can be a gift or an incredibly heavy burden. During this time of year, the burden grows heavier, as some families must deal with loss at a time that is supposed to be filled with family and togetherness. That is why we must make an extra effort to take special care of these families. I’m not saying that we don’t ALWAYS take care of our families to the best of our abilities, but maybe during this time of year, we can be more generous, and maybe more flexible.

We all probably have a few great ideas of how to add that extra personal touch for the families we serve this time of year, but a few that I recommend are:

• Placing a nice bouquet of poinsettias at the graveside with a temporary memorial to honor the family's loved one.
• Making sure there is a clear path to the graveside service to allow for better mobility if you have already received snow this year.
• Serving hot chocolate or coffee in a thermos to keep everyone warm during the outdoor ceremony.

This article originally appeared in Modern Memorialization, Trigard Memorials' weekly electronic newsletter featuring information for the funeral industry. Sign up for your free subscription at http://www.trigard.com/thursdays.

Don't let the holidays slow you down

Jason Murphy,
Director of
Family Services,
Sunset Memorial Park

During the holidays and into the winter months, cemeteries often see their sales take a nosedive. This happens for a number of reasons, but most often, it is because of the cold weather and the holidays leaving potential customers short on cash.

I think the most important thing to do in order to have a successful holiday season is to have a different outlook. Don’t let your sales staff convince themselves that being slow this time of year is “normal.” Remind your staff to be more proactive this time of the year. They can’t just sit back and wait for sales to walk through the door. That won't help increase your sales. Instead, I have two solutions for helping you have a successful holiday and winter cemetery sales season.

1. Hold seminars to attract new customers. Ask your sales staff to hold seminars or informational meetings to keep potential customers coming in the door throughout the colder months. These presentations not only give you more opportunity for better sales during the winter, but they also give your staff a head start going into spring.
2. Contact current customers. The holidays can be tough after losing a loved one, and many people visit the cemetery around the holiday season. This would be a great time to remind visitors to restore, refinish or even upgrade their loved one’s memorial. We constantly upgrade our cell phones, cars and appliances, so why not our loved one's marker? 

This article originally appeared in Modern Memorialization, Trigard Memorials' weekly electronic newsletter featuring information for the funeral industry. Sign up for your free subscription at http://www.trigard.com/thursdays.

Get personal with a memorial

As I walk through the memorials' production area in our plant, I often catch myself wondering what

Beth VadeBonCoeur,
Accountant

kind of memorial I would design for my loved ones. My family is full of different personalities, and I'm sure yours is as well. Have you ever thought about how you would tell the story of their life with a memorial?

When I think about the people in my family, I think about their passions and their strengths. My father is a hardworking man who loves talking with other people. He isn’t a big fan of taking pictures, but when you do snap his photo, he usually has a goofy grin. I feel like his personality best shows with one of our Classique memorials. On the other hand, my husband has a great interest and passion for restoring and flying World War II airplanes. I think our Collage memorial would allow me to design something around this passion.  

We encourage you to get to know the families you serve and the loved ones they lost. By talking with them, we believe the style of memorial that best fits will become apparent. Let your imagination go wild and let us help create a truly “one of a kind” memorial for the families you serve.

At Trigard Memorials, we have a number of different memorials for the many different personalities of the individuals that we honor. We believe they truly capture the person’s passion and personality. Give our Customer Service team a call at 800.798.4900 for pricing and details.



This article originally appeared in Modern Memorialization, Trigard Memorials' weekly electronic newsletter featuring information for the funeral industry. Sign up for your free subscription at http://www.trigard.com/thursdays.

'Tis the season for change

Drew Edwards,
General Manager,
Sunset Funeral Home

'Tis the season for great food, family and all the things that make the holidays special. It’s also the season for vendor price increases. Yes, many companies pick this time of year to send out their dreaded new price lists, including vendors that help the success of your business.

Although many look at this time of year as a burden, in essence it is a great time for you to reevaluate your business and prepare for 2015. It’s a great time to look over your sales from 2014 and find out where the best opportunity for growth might be for next year.

The trends in the funeral and memorialization industries are changing. And, as a business owner or manager, it is essential that we’re always looking ahead and making a plan to stay ahead of these changes. Whether it is memorialization sales, casket sales, vault sales or even something as simple as your paper goods, take this opportunity to let history tell you what the future might hold. I encourage you to set goals for better sales, and be willing to make small changes in goods or services that just might impact your business in a big way. If you make the necessary changes now, you will guarantee yourself the opportunity to be ready for the next challenge our industry throws our way. Here’s to a happy and prosperous new year.

This article originally appeared in Modern Memorialization, Trigard Memorials' weekly electronic newsletter featuring information for the funeral industry. Sign up for your free subscription at http://www.trigard.com/thursdays.