Funeral Directing CH-11 Merchandising

Incandescent Lighting

The illumination resulting from the glowing of a heated filament

Merchandising

The purchase, display, and sales of goods

Reduce the Initial Shock of Entering the Room

(1) All of the lights on (2) The funeral director enter the room first (3) the demonstration group near the door

Considerations When Selecting Suppliers

(1) Can they provide goods of required quality, type or model? (2) Do they have goods available at desired prices, terms, and in quantities needed? (3) Are they reliable? (4) Do they supply good service, not only in making deliveries but also in handling transactions and making adjustments (5) Do they make appropriate provisions for managerial or merchandising aids and technical assistance when needed? (6) Do they employ representatives with whom the business owner can work and cooperate successfully (7) Do they provide discounts and other incentives such as cash discounts, quantity discount, rebate and consignment

Funeral Merchandise

(1) Caskets (2) Outer burial containers (3) Urns (4) Burial garments (5) Cremation containers (6) Rental caskets (7) Cremation jewelry (8) Register book/Memorial and Thank you cards (9) Religious items (10) Memorial videos (11) Monuments and memorials

Casket Display Methods

(1) Material (2) Alternate Pricing (3) Appearance (4) Style (5) Traffic flow

Direct Selection Room Procedure: Cons

(1) No privacy for family to discuss matters relating to their decision when the funeral director is present (2) The presence of the funeral director may influence the client's selection (3) Non-verbal communication which occurs can be both negative and positive (4) The funeral director may misinterpret the needs of the family

Indirect Selection Room Procedure: Pros

(1) Privacy exists for the family (2) Elimination of funeral director's influence (3) Non-verbal communication do not occur (4) The opportunity for the funeral director to misinterpret the needs of the family does not exist (5) Written information about each casket can be analyzed more carefully

Direct Selection Room Procedure: Pros

(1) Some families prefer the support given by funeral directors (2) The funeral director is better able to meet the needs of the family

Indirect Selection Room Procedure: Cons

(1) Some families prefer the support of the funeral director (2) The funeral director is not present to answer any questions that may arise (3) Written information could be ignored or misinterpreted

Selection Room Enhancements

-Designed as comfortable as possible -Colors should not clash with casket exterior or interior colors -Flowers, art, statues.

Arrangements of Caskets

-Number of different ways and everyone has their own view of what's best -There should be some types of furniture grouping to (1) Give families something familiar to relate to as a way to relieve tension (2) Have something available to sit on in case people feel it necessary to get off their feet -Demonstration or educational group of caskets

Casket Room Location

-Same building as the funeral home -Recommended that it is located on the main floor for easy access (if not, upstairs is preferred over downstairs) -elevator should be available

Number of Caskets in Selection Room

12 is the minimum, 30 is the maxiumum

Space Per Casket

40 to 60 square feet allotted per casket

Product Knowledge

A family can quickly distinguish a knowledgeable director from one who isn't by the presentation given and manner in which questions are answered

Cash Discount

A reduction of the price given for payment of an account within the time limits established by the sales contract

Rebate

A return of a portion of a payment

Sales Objective

A sound merchandising program should start with this. -Most are based on evaluation of sales history, availability of products, recommendations of suppliers, and the amount of profit a director wishes the firm to generate

Church Truck

A wheeled collapsible support for the casket, used in the funeral home, church, or other location when moving a casket

Computerized Selection

Approximately 25% of funeral homes do not have a display room but used this method instead Advantages (1) Ability to show more caskets (2) Inventory cost decrease (3) Families appreciate not going into a room full of caskets (4) Families appreciate being able to make arrangements in their home (5) People select better caskets (6) The casket room can be put to better use as another chapel or reception room

Pre-Selection Room Introduction

Before entering the casket room, the funeral director should give the family an introduction on what to expect when they enter (1) Required state and federal disclosures (2) Quantity of merchandise displayed (3) Types of merchandise displayed (4) Possible presentation of price lists (5) Amount of money they have spent before the purchase of merchandise (6) Merchandising aids

Merchandise Other Than Caskets

Burial vaults, cremation urns, clothing, register books, memorial cards, religious and fraternal symbols

Consecutive Method

Caskets are arranged in order of increasing or decreasing price

Demonstration or Educational Group

Caskets used when introducing the family to the selection room. 3-4 caskets are utilized to educate the selecting part regarding the elements of casket construction, differences in caskets, features that affect price and where prices are to be found

Style

Display method where all half couch caskets may be in one area and full couch in another, or they may be mixed. In many parts of the country funeral homes will only show one style, usually half-couch

Material

Display method where arranged by woods, steels, coppers, bronzes

Appearance

Display method where caskets can be open closed. If the casket is closed and the family requests to see the interior, the funeral director opens the casket or may open selected caskets as part of the presentation

Alternate Pricing

Display method where each group would have a low, medium, and high cost casket

Traffic flow

Display method where the casket display is usually arranged in such a way that the family moves through the room in a manner that makes it obvious to them the differences in the quality of the caskets

Traditional Display Room

Features a selection of full size caskets

Fractional Display Room

Features sections of a casket as 1/4 or 1/8 panels or ends sections, on a wall display. May also have a limited number of full casket displayed

Merchandise

Goods that are bought and sold

Best Lighting to Use

Indirect, recessed incandescent lights.

Indirect Selection Room Procedure

Method of selling caskets whereby the funeral director does not stay in the selection room during the selection process, but instead leaves after his introductory process. This option requires that the family be given adequate pre-counseling and clear description of the casket, that the price be visible in each casket, and that the display easily shows comparative values

Direct Selection Room Procedure

Presenting caskets whereby the funeral director remains in the selection room throughout the entire selection process

Quantity Discount

Reduction in the amount of a bill when a minimum quality of merchandise has been ordered

Indirect Lighting

Reflected illumination of an object

Lights Used to Show Off Caskets

Spotlights

Foot Candle

The amount of illumination produced by a source of one candle at a distance of one foot.

Consignment

The funeral director does not have to pay for the merchandise that will be displayed until it is sold

Fluorescent Lighting

The illumination produced by a tubular electric discharge lamp. -phosphors coating the inside of the tube

Inventory Turnover

The number of times the average inventory has been sold or used up during a period

Economic Order Quantity (EOQ)

The quantity to be purchased which minimizes total costs

Casket Stand (Casket Standard)

The stand or support upon which a casket rests in the selection room Should be: (1) Sturdy (2) Attractive

Inventory

Those goods or stock of goods which are held for resale

Optimum Casket Lighting

90-100 foot candles of illumination measured at approximate pillow height on a displayed casket

Casket Rack

A device upon which two or three caskets are placed, one on top of the other for display

Direct Lighting

Illumination directly shining on an object