Funeral Service Merchandising and Marketing
Merchandising
Merchandising covers selecting, displaying, pricing, and presenting goods: caskets, urns, outer burial containers, vaults, and ancillary items. Understand selection-room design (lighting, grouping by price, sight lines), the role of the general price list, and the separate casket price list and outer burial container price list required by the FTC Funeral Rule. The Rule expects the price list to be offered before merchandise and services are discussed, itemization of prices, and no requirement to buy an unwanted package.
Marketing
The classic framework is the marketing mix - product, price, place, promotion - built on market segmentation, targeting, and positioning. Funeral-specific applications include preneed programs, referral relationships with clergy, hospitals, and nursing homes, community education, and truthful advertising. Misrepresenting legal requirements (for example, that a casket or embalming is legally required) is both a marketing failure and a regulatory violation.
Traps
- Markup vs. margin. Markup is based on cost; margin is based on selling price.
- Quoting percentages without stating the base.
- Assuming a package price may be offered only as a package - itemization is required.
- Confusing inventory turnover with inventory level.
Worked example
A casket costs $1,200 and the firm wants a 40% margin: Price = Cost ÷ (1 − margin) = $1,200 ÷ 0.60 = $2,000. The markup on cost is $800 ÷ $1,200 = 66.7%. Same dollars, different percentage - read the question's base carefully.