Is Your Funeral Arrangement Process Affecting the Perception of Your Overall Service Quality?

 The number of choices offered in funeral service can be a real Catch 22. Too many choices can be overwhelming, cause fatigue and stress, and prevent the family from focusing on developing meaningfulness regarding the tribute. Conversely, too few options can be experienced as inadequacy of choice, resulting in the perception of an overall lower quality of service.
Two studies, appearing to conflict in conclusion, highlight the problem funeral service providers face in determining an appropriate mix of products and services. An extensive study conducted by Dr. Kathleen D. Vohs at the University of Minnesota and published in the April 2008 issue of The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology concluded that the most important decision-making factor causing fatigue and inhibiting behavior was highly correlated to the number of decisions that had to be made. Less relevant in causing fatigue were both the difficulty and the consequence of the decisions.
An earlier behavioral study at Stanford showed that extensiveness of product lines correlated to perceived general value of the entire product line. Limited choice correlated to lower perceived value, and greater choice had the perception of higher quality. A significant challenge in optimizing the funeral service therefore is to establish a balance between a limited offering, with poorly perceived value, and an extensive offering requiring many decisions that could cause fatigue and shutdown.
Fatigue and shutdown during funeral arrangements
In funeral service, an example of complex decision making might involve selection of a casket. Choosing from many features, metal or wood, quality grade, hardware, cap panels, and personalization features, might feel overwhelming. These multiple decision choices, according to the research, would be more "draining" than a single choice between an all-inclusive $8,000 funeral package and one for $6,000.
Funeral arrangements are stress-laden to begin with. Adding the burden of having to make many decisions can quickly lead to fatigue. Eventually, the family becomes unwilling or unable to make further decisions. Fatigue caused by the arrangement process could also undermine discussion of important and significant items that could mean the difference between a truly meaningful service and one that is merely ordinary. As fatigue increases, the discussion regarding arrangements might even conclude prematurely.
Reducing fatigue, increasing value, arranging meaningful funerals
Accomplishing balance between many choices and limited choices can be achieved by combining products and services into package offerings. Packaging goods and services into levels of good, better and best, for example, can reduce the decision-making to one decision, as opposed to many. Allowing substitution within the package offering also serves to reduce the total number of decisions.
Another way to reduce the stress of decision-making is to streamline the arrangement process. This can be accomplished by following decision paths and eliminating irrelevant discussion. For example, if final disposition is discussed as a first step, a brief overview of various paths leading to that final point can be explained, enabling the family to move forward on a path most suitable to their needs. The arrangement process can also be streamlined by efficient information gathering. If the family is helped to prepare basic statistical information before arriving at the arrangement, time-consuming information collection can be reduced to verification.
Lastly, facilities and product displays can be arranged in a manner that eases the arrangement process. Casket displays, for example, could be limited to a few selected caskets and supplemented with additional choices shown in a kiosk or catalogue. The physical casket display could be eliminated altogether, substituting a well–organized, high-quality catalogue. Some leading service providers that have eliminated display rooms include Heffner (PA), Krause (MN), Bean (PA), and Farley (FL). Simplicity in display also applies to paper products, video and photo tributes, jewelry, flowers, outer burial containers, and catering.
Conclusion
The funeral arrangement process should be conducted in a manner that minimizes stress. Too many choices and decisions can lead to fatigue and process shutdown. Decision-making and complexity of the arrangement can be streamlined by assisting the family in their preparing for the arrangement, providing packaged product and service choices, simplifying and arranging merchandise displays in an orderly fashion, and offering guidance to simplify decision paths during the arrangement. When the arrangement process is streamlined, the family is afforded an environment in which they can demonstrate their love for the deceased by focusing on creation of a memorable and meaningful tribute.
Johnson-Woodford, management consultants to the deathcare industry
Postscript

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