Elementary, but a good exercise at the start of developing your business plan is to make an exhaustive list all the things your organization does. These activities will be examined later in the process during the step where we answer the question, "Are we dong the right things?"
A starter list is below. Think of distinct activities that can be separated from one another. After you decide on the right things to be doing and, important as well, not doing, we will work on the assessment answering the question, "Are we doing things right?"
Look over the list. What can you add to the list? What don't you do? What might you want to do in the future? Print your list and keep it for future planning.
Starter Checklist of Activities
for Funeral Homes and Cemeteries
o Cremate bodies
o Bury bodies
o Conduct events – offsite
o Conduct events – onsite
o Conduct graveside services
o Conduct memorial services
o Conduct facility tours
o Console families
o Grounds management – historic preservation
o Grounds management – conservation
o Grounds management – upkeep
o Marketing and advertising
o Prepare bodies for burial
o Raise funds – endowments
o Raise funds – endowments lot care
o Raise funds – endowments other
o Raise funds – conservation and restoration
o Raise funds – other
o Sell cemetery property
o Sell funeral-related services
o Sell funeral services
o Sell funeral goods (e.g., caskets, vaults)
o Sell monuments
o Historic preservation
o Educate/inform the public
o Administration – Human Resources
o Administration – Legal
o Administration Accounting/Finance
o Community relations
o Government relations
o Land planning
o Investment management
o Facilities management
Johnson-Woodford, management consultants to the deathcare industry
Postscript
This post and others on the Johnson-Woodford Blog will be compiled into a Free, downloadable E-book, which will also be available in hard copy.
A final thought. We can all learn from one another. Your thoughts, ideas, and sharing are important to us and others. Please send your notes and comments to blogger@johnson-woodford.com or log on to www.johnson-woodford.com.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Starter list for planning. What do you do?
Elementary, but a good exercise at the start of developing your business plan is to make an exhaustive list all the things your organization does. These activities will be examined later in the process during the step where we answer the question, "Are we dong the right things?"
A starter list is below. Think of distinct activities that can be separated from one another. After you decide on the right things to be doing and, important as well, not doing, we will work on the assessment answering the question, "Are we doing things right?"
Look over the list. What can you add to the list? What don't you do? What might you want to do in the future? Print your list and keep it for future planning.
Starter Checklist of Activities
for Funeral Homes and Cemeteries
o Cremate bodies
o Bury bodies
o Conduct events – offsite
o Conduct events – onsite
o Conduct graveside services
o Conduct memorial services
o Conduct facility tours
o Console families
o Grounds management – historic preservation
o Grounds management – conservation
o Grounds management – upkeep
o Marketing and advertising
o Prepare bodies for burial
o Raise funds – endowments
o Raise funds – endowments lot care
o Raise funds – endowments other
o Raise funds – conservation and restoration
o Raise funds – other
o Sell cemetery property
o Sell funeral-related services
o Sell funeral services
o Sell funeral goods (e.g., caskets, vaults)
o Sell monuments
o Historic preservation
o Educate/inform the public
o Administration – Human Resources
o Administration – Legal
o Administration Accounting/Finance
o Community relations
o Government relations
o Land planning
o Investment management
o Facilities management
Johnson-Woodford, management consultants to the deathcare industry
Postscript
This post and others on the Johnson-Woodford Blog will be compiled into a Free, downloadable E-book, which will also be available in hard copy.
A final thought. We can all learn from one another. Your thoughts, ideas, and sharing are important to us and others. Please send your notes and comments to blogger@johnson-woodford.com or log on to www.johnson-woodford.com.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
What's Your Vision?
While this question may sound a little odd, many funeral and cemetery service providers lose focus over time by not having a clear vision for their business. Many try to be something they are not capable of or trained to be. Others forget the real reason they are in business. This may not surprise you.
To test whether you're on track, try a first step in developing your vision by completing a list of things that start with "We are," "We provide," and "We will."
Once the list is completed, look for things to stop emphasizing and focus on those areas in which you can really set yourself apart from your competitors. In our next post, we will give some examples and thought starters.
Johnson-Woodford, management consultants to the deathcare industry
Postscript
This post and others on the Johnson-Woodford Blog will be compiled into a Free, downloadable E-book, which will also be available in hard copy.
A final thought. We can all learn from one another. Your thoughts, ideas, and sharing are important to us and others. Please send your notes and comments to blogger@johnson-woodford.com or log on to www.johnson-woodford.com.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
About - Inagural Post
To some, managing a cemetery or funeral home seems to be a fairly simple task. However, compared to many service businesses, cemeteries and funeral service providers face extraordinary challenges, the greatest of which is the risk becoming irrelevant within the next thirty years.
Since the opening of the first planned landscaped cemetery in the early 1800s, cemeteries have been custodians of history. More recently, with growth of cremation and green burial, which do not necessarily translate to the cemetery as a final resting place, the public has more frequently chosen non-cemetery options to memorialize their loved ones.
Funeral providers, as well, have disregarded the consumer's longing for something different and more meaningful. A recent response has been add-ons such as memory boards, personalized casket lids, and memorial DVDs. Not that these new offerings are not important, but consumers have demonstrated they want more than just "things" to make a funeral an important event and a true rite of passage.
The Johnson-Woodford Company, a management consulting begun in 1980, has wide experience in helping cemeteries and funeral service business's improve performance. This Blog is dedicated to sharing our experience and thinking about how to improve your performance. We hope you find the information useful and high value for your time invested reading.
Johnson-Woodford, management consultants to the deathcare industry
Postscript
This post and others on the Johnson-Woodford Blog will be compiled into a Free, downloadable E-book, which will also be available in hard copy. A final thought. We can all learn from one another. Your thoughts, ideas, and sharing are important to us and others. Please send your notes and comments to blogger@johnson-woodford.com or log on to "http://www.johnson-woodford.com/"
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