Have you fallen victim to the discount conundrum?

Rich Darby,
Chief Operating Officer

Often times, as business owners and managers in our competitive marketplace, we allow discounts to cloud our judgment. This is what I like to call “the discount conundrum.” It’s that age-old game where companies compete by offering astronomical discounts to their customers. The battle between vendors becomes about the discount itself, and the rest of the equation is ignored and pushed to the side. For example, customer service issues, delivery times and product quality.

In my opinion, I would begin by looking at the dollar savings versus the discount amount. I have been booted out of a customer’s door because I wouldn’t offer a 42% discount. I have been told Company XYZ gives me 42% and if you can’t beat that I am sorry. They were right. I couldn’t beat it. I wouldn’t open myself up to that game. On a $1,000.00 product, this individual was receiving a $420.00 discount. I was offering a very comparable product with stellar customer service, a quality product and quick turn at a price of $606.00. I was still $26.00 higher than his 42% discount, but I brought so much more to the table.  Since I wouldn’t speak the same language and dive into that deep high discount pool, I lost the sale. I couldn’t get this individual to listen to reasoning. He was geared for discount percentage based negotiations. I’m sure a lot of us reading this are shaking our heads and saying yep. I have been that person.

I would like to challenge each of you to look at your vendors’ price lists, and recalculate what items are actually costing you. Come up with a dollar figure, not just a percentage. Then, on the cases with high dollar savings, ask yourself if the customer service, quality and delivery are acceptable. If they are not, it is costing you in your customer’s satisfaction. Then, look at the vendors with similar prices of the high discount percentage folks and evaluate their customer service, quality and delivery times. It may be worth the extra dollars to get a total solution that works for you and the families you serve. Often times, you get what you pay for.

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 we doing?

Julia Sullivan,
Creative Director

This week we decided to dig into our archives. And, we found a great article that asks you to get involved.

During the past year, this weekly newsletter has undergone some changes. It hasn't been drastic, but my team is always refining the messages we send you. The goal of Modern Memorialization is to keep you updated, inspired and educated - all in a short newsletter you can read in just a few minutes.

In each newsletter you'll find a:

• Feature article: We give the metaphorical microphone to our owners and members of our management team each week to demonstrate how the team of professionals behind the scenes at Trigard Memorials works together to serve you, our customers.
• Product spotlight: With so many innovative products and solutions, this space gives us the opportunity to focus on our products one at a time. We hope these spotlights either tell you something you don't know about a product you use regularly or entice you to expand your product offerings.
• Design tip of the week: These small ideas from our memorials designers and customer service team can help your ordering process go even smoother.
• Promotions and events section: These appear in the left-hand column to let you know about where we'll be exhibiting and the national campaigns, like Have the Talk of a Lifetime, that we're passionate about.

So how are we doing? I can see lots of data about the number of people who open the newsletters and which links are clicked on most often, but that's only part of the story. If you see something in the newsletter you really like, please email us at marketing@trigard.com. And if you have an idea about how to make it even more useful, absolutely let us know. There's no suggestion too wacky to at least discuss.

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.

Are we a part of a lost generation?

Linda Darby,
Chief Executive Officer

In the fast-paced world that we live in, I am continuously growing more and more concerned about our generation. With the growing trends we see happening every day in our profession, such as direct cremating and scattering. I worry that we are going to become a part of a lost generation.

Have you ever stopped to ask the question: Where does our history lie? Interesting question, isn't it? Well of course, it lies in our cemeteries around the world. While public records can be a resource, memorials in a cemetery are vital for anyone doing genealogical research. Can you imagine where they will confirm a family’s history years down the road?

It is important now more than ever to educate the families we serve on the importance of memorializing their loved ones. I encourage you to be a resource for families. Be an asset to this industry and help every generation be remembered. Encourage families to Have the Talk with their families. Our generation deserves it.

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.

What is body language? Why does it matter?

Stuart McDaniels,
Materials Manager

Body language can be easily defined as various forms of nonverbal communication where a person may reveal indications as to their intentions or emotions. These can include posture, facial expressions, eye movement, touch or even space.

Why is body language important? Body language complements verbal communication, and interestingly enough can either support that verbal communication, or contradict it. Noticing the signals that people send out is a very critical social skill and can be a great tool to utilize to enhance both our listening and speaking skills.

As a fun little experiment, try turning down the volume on your TV when watching some of your favorite shows or the news and just focus on body language cues. It’s a great way to become aware of just how much communication occurs with nothing but our body language.

All day long most of us communicate with other people. Maybe it’s your co-workers, your boss, your subordinates, customers, suppliers or even friends and family. It’s important in all these situations that the correct message is either sent or received, and body language is a critical component of that. By becoming more aware of body language and understanding how it might be interpreted, you can learn to read people more easily. In a business setting, particularly a negotiation, this information could be extremely helpful in instances such as securing new business, keeping current business, settling on price, terms and conditions or many other situations.

I encourage you to challenge yourself to better understand body language and how to interpret it. The knowledge can go a long way in helping you improve the outcome of your daily interactions.

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.