Consumers Are Talking – Are You Listening? 
Matt Baskerville, Owner and Funeral Director, Reeves & Baskerville Funeral Homes and Crematory 
Gail Marquardt, Vice President, Consumer Engagement, NFDA  

Do you know what consumers are saying about funeral service and funeral directors? We do! NFDA conducted “man on the street” interviews in cities across the country and asked questions such as, “When you think of funeral directors, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?” and “Would you use a funeral director if you needed to plan a service?” How did they respond? Find out when we take a deep dive into the good, the bad, and yes, even the ugly of what consumers had to say. We’ll use this feedback to identify strategies for meeting families where they are, educating them about why they may want to do more to honor their loved ones and, when necessary, doing what we can to change their perceptions of funeral service.  

Embracing Evolution: Navigating Consumer Trends in Your Funeral Home 
David Hernandez, CEO and Funeral Director, Jersey Memorial Group  

This insightful session delves into consumer trends in the funeral service industry and how funeral professionals can adapt to meet consumers evolving needs. We will explore the changing landscape of funeral service and discuss strategies to ensure you are prepared to serve the modern-day consumer. Discover the emerging trends that are reshaping the funeral industry, from personalized memorial experiences to eco-friendly options. Gain insights into the preferences and expectations of today’s consumers and learn how to tailor your services to exceed their needs. David Hernandez will share practical tips and innovative ideas to help you stay ahead of the curve. From embracing technology to offering unique and meaningful tributes, this session will equip you with the knowledge and tools to thrive in the ever-changing funeral service market.   

Partners in Death: Funeral Directors and End of Life Doulas  
Kris Kington-Barker, Director of Outreach & Care Provider Programs, International End-Of-Life Doula Association  

This session will discuss the emerging role of end-of-life doulas, their training, scope of practice and the mutual opportunities and benefits for a partnership between doulas and funeral directors.  

Lunch and Learn - A Snapshot into Your Consumer: Attitudes and Behaviors that Define Your Future Business Model

For five years, Foresight has been surveying the consumer on their attitudes and behaviors regarding funeral service and the cemetery profession. The goal of this research has been to deliver meaningful and factual data to educate our profession on these trends.

For the second year now, not only did we survey the consumer in general, but we also surveyed members of the profession in parallel about what they perceived consumer's attitudes and awareness of our service and offerings to be. What we found was a profession not responding to, and in some case, actively avoiding, how consumers want to do business...a profession too often resisting changes in the marketplace without a long-term strategic plan on how to handle a new, evolving and less "traditional" consumer.

Using factual data, in an easy-to-understand way this presentation will highlight the most critical information and share the direction and future of the profession and provide a snapshot into the attitudes and behaviors of your consumer. This presentation will highlight some of the most notable findings, the disconnect between the profession and the wants of the consumer and provide some new ways of looking at these challenges.

The New Funeral Consumer 
Josh McQueen, VP of Marketing and Product at Directors Investment Group   

Ever wonder what families really think about preplanning, attending funerals online, burial vs. cremation, and more? Find out in this discussion with Josh McQueen who will share the results of a consumer study conducted with McKee Wallwork & Co. and Directors Investment Group. Learn about 5 key findings of the study, discover 7 types of funeral consumers that exist in your community, and uncover hundreds of statistics and graphs about family preferences. You can use this information to help you make more informed decisions about your business, improve your marketing, unearth trends in your community, and more.   

Beyond the Funeral: What Savvy Funeral Directors Do to Connect with Their Communities Part 1  
Georganne Bender 

Community is incredibly important to today’s consumers. You get points for being a good corporate citizen, points for protecting the environment, points for recycling, up cycling, and for the local charities you support. This presentation looks at what you can do locally to become a better corporate citizen, engage potential customers, and encourage your community to look at your business as a local partner. You’ll learn how to be present in local activities; an easy exercise to help you brainstorm ideas, how to create partnership promotions with other successful, non-competing businesses; how to utilize Cause Marketing; why it’s necessary to toot your own horn, plus PR tricks to help you capture media attention.  

Beyond the Funeral: What Savvy Funeral Directors Do to Connect with Their Communities Part 2 
Georganne Bender 

Community is incredibly important to today’s consumers. You get points for being a good corporate citizen, points for protecting the environment, points for recycling, up cycling, and for the local charities you support. This presentation looks at what you can do locally to become a better corporate citizen, engage potential customers, and encourage your community to look at your business as a local partner. You’ll learn how to be present in local activities; an easy exercise to help you brainstorm ideas, how to create partnership promotions with other successful, non-competing businesses; how to utilize Cause Marketing; why it’s necessary to toot your own horn, plus PR tricks to help you capture media attention.