Mother Nature has what we need

Erin Brodbeck, LCSW, CT,
Director of Grief Services,
Sunset Funeral Home

With the recent February weather being in the 70s here in our part of Illinois, I am beginning to get a touch of spring fever. The warm weather has got me thinking about spending time outside and its ability to aid in the grief process. I recently read a few articles that discussed the therapeutic abilities of nature and its tendencies to reduce stress.

When a family is grieving after the loss of a loved one, their stress levels are more than likely skyrocketing. By utilizing the healing powers of Mother Nature and her many different resources as ways of memorialization, we can help the families we serve to reduce their stress levels.

• Plant a tree in honor of a loved one.
• Dedicate a favorite hiking spot by placing a plaque or memorial in their honor.
• Design a memorial by incorporating images of nature’s beauty or decorate a grave with some beautiful flowers.
• Host a nature walk or presentation in your cemetery to educate the community about our natural resources. At Sunset Memorial Park, we host an Arbor Day celebration at the end of April for area schools to learn about its history and plant a tree.

The combination of memorialization and nature can be a great way to help the families we serve in their journey to healthy healing.

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.

Do you have laser focus?

Rich Darby,
Chief Operating Officer

Does your company have a strategy in place for creating new growth? At Trigard, we are currently going through a major exercise of continuous improvement. We have spent many hours in meetings, brought in experts in several different fields and put together a major plan to create a new focus. We have learned a lot about our company throughout this process, but one thing is for sure, we must have a laser focus on the things that we do best.

Often times, as we explore new sales strategies, we get excited about the possibilities to offer a bunch of new products and solutions to our customers. The more the merrier, right? Well, that may not be the correct answer.

As we head into the spring months, I challenge you to focus on your core competencies and work on a growth strategy based on what you do best. What advantages do you offer over your competition other than price? What can you highlight and what value-added services can you bring to the table that set you apart from your competition? Yes, the price is important, but someone is always going to come in and do it cheaper. Come up with a laser focused strategy that is realistic, obtainable, and one that is guaranteed to complement your strengths. Many small wins are much better than an occasional home run.

If you are reading this article, that means you have a strong company and have survived some hard times. Your company has its strengths and is good at something. I encourage you to go back to your roots and begin growing from there. You may not be able to do it exactly the same way you have always done it, but a new spin on an old product or process just may be the ticket. 

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.

Because it won't fit in the pan

Julia Sullivan,
Creative Director

Have you ever heard the old story about cutting off the ends of a roast? There are many versions of this legend, but they all involve someone making a roast and cutting off the ends before putting it in the pan. When asked about it, the woman explains that her mother always did it that way. The tradition is followed up the family tree. Finally, a great-grandmother explains that she started cutting off the ends of her roasts because that was the only way it would fit in her pan.

I wonder how many things you do every day in your business that are only because that’s how you’ve always done them. These things are especially tricky to spot when things are going well. If there’s a problem, suddenly everything is on the table, right? You’re desperate to find the problem and patch it. But when things are going smoothly, that’s really the time to take a good look at how – and why – you work the way you work.

That’s exactly what we’ve been doing at Trigard over the past few months. We’ve been mapping out our processes, finding opportunities to do them better, and questioning everything. All of our changes and decisions are filtered through what we believe will be the most valuable to you, our customer.

You may have already seen some of our changes in action. We’re getting you proofs even faster than before, and our Customer Service team is able to track your order more accurately through production. There are even more things on the horizon, and we can’t wait to share them with you.

But what about your business? What are the things that you do every day because that’s your business tradition? Is there a way to do things that would give your customers even more value?

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.

Do your memorials talk about the dash?

Donna Darby-Walthall,
Chief Financial Officer

When we started Trigard Memorials thirteen years ago, we thought it was time to help families memorialize in a different way. We had the vision to make memorials say more about our loved ones than just the dates they were alive. We wanted to tell the story of the "dash." The time between the dates.

Were they a proud grandparent or a Cubs fan? Did they have a huge heart and a love for animals? By putting beautiful, full color photos on bronze, the family gets to relive their memories, and, passersby get to know the person a little better. Since day one, our goal was to honor a life well lived, and I believe we continue to do that very well.

I know our industry is slow to change, but we can’t let that get us down. It is our job to change the mold and give families what they need. If your cemetery’s rules and regulations limit how families can memorialize their loved ones, change the rules. I know it isn’t easy, but anything worthwhile never is. In the end, it will be worth it.

Over the years, we have learned a lot and it is always fascinating to walk through our manufacturing facility and see the work we create. Our design team truly has a gift for bringing a person's "dash" to life. The things they create are so amazing.

I would like to invite you to come see our process and let us show you what we do. We strongly believe in what we do and we want to share that with you. Give us a call at 800.798.4900 and schedule your visit.

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.

Our order process just got FASTER

At Trigard Memorials, our customers always come first. We care about you and the families that you serve. For some families, the journey to healthy healing doesn't begin until their memorial is placed at their loved one's grave. So, the last thing they want to do is wait.

In an effort towards continuous improvement, we have updated the way we do a few things around here, which will only benefit you and the families you serve.

You’ll get faster design proofs. Once you place an order, it will now go straight to our design team to begin creating your unique memorial. You won’t receive a bid or a final price until after the memorial design has been approved. By eliminating the bid process, the families you serve get to see their memorial design quicker and your order is processed faster.

Your order is being tracked better. If at any time you are curious of when you will receive your memorial order, all you need to do is email orders@trigard.com or call 800.798.4900 to find out where it is in our production process. With our new and improved order tracking system, our Customer Service team can tell you exactly where it's in our manufacturing plant and when it's expected to ship.

We appreciate your feedback. If you have questions or concerns about the new changes, please contact us at 800.798.4900.

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 kind of company culture are you creating?

Stuart McDaniels,
Materials Manager

Have you seen the recent advertisement for the United States Postal Service? It is a humorous commercial about a guy working in an office, stuffing envelopes to be mailed. A postal worker comes in to make a pickup and mentions to the guy that the company he works for could save money by utilizing a particular service that the post office offers. Just as the office worker's boss comes into the room, he replies, “That’s cool and all, but it ain’t my money. I seriously do not care.” The postal worker tries to bail the office worker out by saying, “So you don’t care what anyone says because you want to save this company money?” The office worker replies, “That’s exactly what I’m saying,” and tries to high five his boss who looks annoyed and just keeps walking past him.

We can laugh at a silly commercial on television, but the question remains, is that attitude prevalent in our workplace? Of course, it’s possible anywhere, but is that truly what is happening in our companies?  A lot of that depends on how we, as leaders, work to shape our company culture.

Every company has a culture. You may have never given it much thought, or maybe don’t believe it, but it’s true. Your company’s culture is constantly being shaped, either subtly or overtly, positively or negatively, depending on many varying factors and inputs. What are you doing to shape your culture? Maybe there are things you are or aren’t doing that are impacting your company’s culture that you are not even aware of, both good and bad. It happens all the time.

How often do you talk about costs within your organization with your workforce? Never? Occasionally? As a leader are you working on creating a cost conscious culture? Are you leading by example? Creating or changing a culture in a positive way takes work, persistence and determination. It’s much more than a catch phrase or a motto posted on the break room bulletin board. I believe that if you put effort into molding your culture into one of cost consciousness it will pay off in more ways than you can imagine.

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.

Create a lasting impression

Jeff Miller,
Vice President of
Business Development

Most of the time, the first thing families think of when losing a loved one is the funeral, then maybe the casket and then the grave. But, the piece that creates the most lasting impression is the memorial.

All aspects of remembering a family's loved one are important and contribute to the journey to healthy healing. This includes the visitation, the funeral and the graveside ceremony. They are all extremely important in celebrating a life well lived. They begin the healing process and allow friends and family to say goodbye. However, when a family chooses to memorialize their loved one with a uniquely designed piece of bronze or finely etched granite headstone, they will keep their loved ones memory alive for generations. For example, 20 years from now when our great-great-grandchildren ask about their heritage, their parents can bring them to the cemetery and show them our memorials. By creating a permanent memorial, we are creating a special place for future generations to gather, share and create memories for years to come.

The permanent memorial is usually the last component a family receives after losing a loved one. Let’s all do our part in helping families understand the importance of memorializing and creating a legacy for future generations.



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.

Baby, it's cold outside

Brodie Krause,
IT Manager

It was a bit late to show, but winter has finally reared its head here in East Central Illinois. Each morning brings a heavy coating of frost, the wind has a bite to it, and soon enough, we’ll have plenty of snow to deal with. When I go out during this time of year to battle the cold, there’s only one thing that makes it bearable, having multiple layers of protection. The wind has less of an impact when it has to go through a variety of warm layers of clothing.

The same is true for your data systems. It seems you can’t go a week without hearing about another security breach or hack attack in the news. We’ve all read about them, and unfortunately, the odds are we’ve all been impacted by them at some point. The best thing we can do to prevent these attacks from having a major impact is to protect our systems with multiple layers of protection. Gone are the days when having antivirus software alone is sufficient.

For 2016, I strongly urge you to do a top-to-bottom review of the security of your data systems:

• Computers and servers should have a combination of antivirus, antimalware and firewall software.  
• Networks should have locked down firewalls and routers.  
• Email systems should have spam protection and you should have some method of monitoring for spoofed emails.

Nothing can stop the winter wind from howling, just like nothing can stop gifted but misguided coders from attacking data systems. The only thing you can control is how big of an impact these attacks have on you. So cover up and have a great 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.

Cremation is no less important

Ethan Darby,
Director of Business
Develoment

This article originally appeared in the March issue of Funeral Business Advisor.

Imagine you are with a family that has just lost their father. You listen to their stories and learn about his life. During the conversation, they mention that he wanted to be cremated because he was a simple man, and didn’t want to make his death a “big production.” So do you flip your presentation book to the direct cremation section and grumble to yourself about how no one appreciates good funeral service anymore? Or do you start to think creatively about how you might display the urn during the visitation?

A family who chooses cremation is no less important than a family who chooses a traditional burial. No matter what form of disposition they choose, the family has still lost a loved one and is healing from their loss. Their loved one was important, and their life mattered.

As a fourth generation member of a business in the funeral industry, I have seen many different celebrations of life, including traditional services with the body present and cremation services where an urn or photograph was displayed at the front of the room. And, do you know the difference between them? Just two things: the way the body was presented and how the family chose to memorialize their loved one. At both kinds of services, friends and family gathered to share their condolences and grieve their loss. Each included music, prayers, kind words and plenty of tears. Each honored a life well lived.

It seems to me that cremation has most of us in the funeral industry nervous about the future of our industry. We worry that when people choose to cremate their loved one, they are choosing not to use the services that we offer in either our funeral homes or cemeteries. But, that does not have to be the case. Instead of assuming the worst, we have to educate families on the importance of honoring their loved one’s life and creating a permanent place of memorialization to honor them.

Cremation offers funeral homes, cemeteries and memorial parks a lot of opportunity to increase and expand the variety of their product selection. At each national convention I attend, I see new products designed to help families memorialize their loved ones. 

But remember, when families come to you for a cremation, they may not know anything about their options. Just like we educate families about the importance of a burial vault and the different casket options, we need to educate them about the importance of a ceremony when cremation is chosen and the many unique memorialization options that cremation allows.

We need to make sure families know that when they choose cremation, they have just as many, if not more, memorialization options available to honor their loved one. Show them a custom bronze urn with photographs of a loved one or a piece of beautiful cremation jewelry. Tell them about how a memorial rock can hold cremated remains. Explain the benefits of having a space in a niche tower. Talk about in-ground interment options. Show them a memorial bench in a cemetery or a bronze plaque on a memorial wall.

No matter what form of disposition a family chooses for a loved one, they need to have peace of mind in knowing that their loved one’s life mattered. As long as the families we serve understand that cremation is no less important than that of a traditional burial, we can focus on what really matters – helping the family begin to heal.

Value in the eyes of a Baby Boomer

Rich Darby,
Chief Operating Officer

This article originally appeared in September issue of The Cremationist.

Why do you think cremation is gaining popularity? Shifting demographics, incomes and religious beliefs have all played a role one time or another in the increase of the cremation rate. I think a lot of families who choose cremation would say that they are looking for the best value for their money. But what do they really mean by “value?”

In my experience, they are either focused on the price or on what the price will get them. They are either searching for the cheapest, fastest solution, or they want a special blend of traditional and unique created just for them.

These are both hallmark characteristics of Baby Boomers, people born during the World War II era from 1946 to 1964, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. They are independent, challenge the norm and want things their way. They not only forced our industry to change our perspective on cremation, but they also constantly challenge the status quo. They make up an ever-increasing portion of the families we serve. To remain viable, it’s important to understand how they see value.

Cheap and fast or breaking the norm: How to talk to them…
This could prove to be a difficult task if you try to play master to both segments. As the owner of several funeral homes and a cemetery, I can tell you the way we have found success is to stay true to the type of business you have built over the years. Instead of being the lowest priced option, demonstrate that you are the best value for their money.

If you’re working with a family who equates value with the lowest price, you could say they have a “Wal-Mart mentality.” They believe cheaper is better. But, what do you really get with the lower price? They get lower quality products. They ignore how great service makes them feel. They forget that they only have one chance to honor their loved one’s life.

When you work with a family like this, it is the most important time to stand firm in who you are and what you do. You need to explain to them the emotional and healing benefits of having a service. You need to listen to their concerns and find creative solutions. And sometimes, you have to stop spending energy creating special deals for those who aren’t looking for the quality of care you have worked so hard to provide your community.

If you’re working with a family who understands real value – or who comes around when you explain the value of your services– help them design the unique experience they want. Reinforce the value that they receive beyond the price tag. Give them something truly memorable.

If the Baby Boomer generation has taught us anything, it is to stay true to who we are and constantly challenge the norm. With the ever-changing funeral market, we can’t waste our time on things that don’t matter. We have to stick to our guns and give the best service possible. The families we serve deserve it.

So, what’s it mean to be a “Boomer?”
According to the Cremation Association of North America’s cremation statistics, up until about 1965, the cremation rate was flat at around four percent, and since then it has dramatically increased to an average of about 44 percent. If you do the math, it isn’t hard to explain the increase in cremation. In the early to mid-70s, the first Baby Boomers were entering their thirties and were beginning to make funeral arrangements for their parents. The cremation rate at this time was between four-and-a-half and six-and-a-half percent. By 2005, over half of the Baby Boomers were 50 years old or older, and beginning to pre-plan their own final wishes. By this time, the cremation rate had escalated to approximately 32 percent. The Baby Boomers interest in cremation and their constant desire to go against the norm has proven to increase interest in cremation as a way for final disposition.