Please select which of the following applies to you:
2. Has the death rate in your market area…. 
3. Do you see the current decline in the national death rate as a blip or a trend? 
4. Have you had to lay-off employees? 
5. Has your receivables increased? 
6. Are traditional families choosing cremation or spending down on merchandise and services because of the current economic conditions? 
7. Are Green Burials becoming a part of your service offerings? 
9. Do you see Chinese caskets growing or declining in the USA? 
10. Do you see Costco growing or getting out of the casket business? 
11. Will other Big Box discounts enter the casket business? 
12. Has your preneed sales suffered in this economy? 
13. How do your preneed fulfillments compare to your current at need sales? 
14. Where do you see your revenues in the next 5 years? 
15. Does your firm have a succession plan in place 
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What is the greatest challenge to your business?
Accounts Receivable
- The present economy has made it very difficult to get paid for the service
- Volume is good, receivables are way up
- Need help in training staff to get payment commitment at time of service
Traditional Services/Operations
- Creating new services that have more appeal
- Having to do more with less staff
- Treading away from traditional to cremation
- Families are only looking at costs
- Showing Value for what we do
- People want less calling hours, more chapel viewing and cemetery viewing
- In a traditional market, my cremation could go to 60% this year
- Where and when to start to improve overall operations
- Need to grow or sell
Staff Recruitment and Development
- Motivating the staff to deliver superior services
- Keeping good staff from leaving the industry
- Breaking old and bad habits
- How to recruit good and productive employees
- Paying a competitive wage with benefits
- Dealing with burn out, apathy and bad attitudes
- Hiring a good manager
Marketing
- Looking for new ways to generate revenues
- Staying ahead of competition
- Choosing a funeral solely on price
- Need to increase volume
- How to increase prices and stay competitive
- Pricing alternative services
- Communicating the value of the funeral to the community
- Merchandising services instead of caskets and vaults
- How the community perceives my services
Finances
- Refinancing my loans at today’s rates
- Increasing my profits by being more efficient
- Increasing my cash flow
- Getting financing to expand
Competition
- Hospice
- Low price providers
- Third party casket providers
- Community buildings and churches used for visitation
- Competitors using Chinese caskets
- Former staff opening a new funeral home in the community
Preneed
- Trusting any preneed provider
- Guarantee the future price
- Dealing with large shortfalls
- Generating leads
- Lower preneed sales compared to at need
- Keeping good counselors
What new products or services have you introduced this year that have achieved success?
Products and Services
- Offering more cremation packages
- Put in a viewing room for cremations
- Using cremation pallbearers for burials in cemetery
- Using “Life Stories” to celebrate a life
- Pet burials and cremation
- Green Burial Packages
- Did a market study of my community
- Graphic designed brochures
- In house tributes and slide shows
- On line videos
- Put in a new accounting system
- Kiosk in selection room to show more caskets
- Changed showroom to Chinese caskets
- Webcasting
- Memory portraits
- Aftercare services and using a survey to get feedback on services
- Personalized head panels
- Using a sales tracking system
- Paying incentives to arrangers
- Added a reception center
- Added a new collection program with good results