2022 Deathcare Survey: The Results Are In!

The Connecting Directors 2022 Deathcare Survey netted nearly 200 responses and an incredible amount of information. Your feedback presents an amazing snapshot of the state of deathcare today: who you are, what you’re concerned about, your plans for the future, and what you’d like to see in Connecting Directors. This data is going to help us craft content that you can use in both your personal and professional lives.

Speaking of useful things … we’re excited to announce the three winners of $100 Amazon gift cards! Of the respondents who supplied names and email addresses, these three readers were randomly selected for prizes:

Greg Woodruff,
Anthony Carpinello, and
Christopher Cooke!

Congratulations Greg, Anthony, and Christopher, and our immense thanks to everyone who participated! Now we’d like to share just a few things we learned from your responses. As we continue to evaluate this feedback, we’ll share even more of our survey results with our readers.

Your concerns are evolving

We wanted to know more about your biggest frustrations so we can curate content to help you conquer them. Last year, the top five concerns revolve around three topics: human resources, self-care, and business growth:

33% Recruiting/Retaining Talent
32% Compassion Fatigue/General Mental Health
25% Rising Cremation Rates
24% Educating Family/Public
24% Personnel Management/Difficult Coworkers

This year, your frustrations shifted, but only slightly:

45% Recruiting/Retaining Talent
39% Compassion Fatigue/General Mental Health
28% Time Management
28% Educating Families/Public
26% Communicating Value to Families

Clearly, human resources issues have become more widespread, with 12% more of respondents citing recruiting and retaining talent as their biggest frustration. After another full year of COVID, 7% more are now struggling with mental health concerns. This year, though, the topic of rising cremation rates fell out of the top 5 entirely (it ranks at number 8, with 19% citing it as an issue), and was replaced with time management. Lastly, more respondents are experiencing challenges communicating their value and explaining what they do to families and the general public.

Are these concerns some with which you can identify? We plan to bring you practical advice and guidelines you can use to tackle and conquer these challenges. In fact, we’ve already started! Check out this recent piece that addresses educating the community on what you do.

Big shifts in marketing

Social media marketing went through some interesting changes from 2021 to 2022. Although the number of respondents using social media to market your funeral home, crematory, or cemetery remained at 88%, the way you’re using social media has shifted.

Facebook is still the frontrunner, with 76% of respondents actively using the platform for marketing (with the help of DISRUPT Media, perhaps?). However, other channels are getting a lot more love this year. Six percent more are using Twitter, 3% more are using Snapchat, and TikTok has moved from only 2% usage last year to 8% in 2022 (told you DeathTok is an actual thing!).

Interestingly, the number of respondents who said they have no plans to implement social media marketing rose from 22% to 26% this year.

Innovation and expansion

In the survey we asked you several questions about technology — what you have now and what you plan to add in the coming year. In 2022, more of you are using digital document signing technology than in 2021, and crowdfunding program usage grew significantly. Online floral and gift storefronts also increased.

Here are the technologies respondents plan to add this year:

24% Digital Document Signing
23% Online Funeral Home Pricing Module
18% Livestream Video
14% Upgraded/Mobile-Friendly Website
14% Video Conferencing (Zoom, Skype, etc.)

When it comes to other offerings like facilities and services, more respondents this year reported having a wider variety in place, including indoor event centers, columbariums, and professional grief counseling. The biggest increases over 2021 were in outdoor gardens or event spaces (up 15%), onsite coffee shops and flower/gift shops (both up 6%), and liquor licenses or bars, which increased by 8% in 2022.

This year’s respondents reported great plans for the next five years, too. The following percentages of you plan to implement the following facilities and services by 2027:

21% Professional Grief Counseling
19% Cremation Facility
18% Catering Partnerships
16% Outdoor Gardens or Event Space
12% Indoor Event Center/Banquet Hall

Products and services

What keeps you from adding new products and services to your business? For the second year in a row, the answer is still overwhelmingly cost, followed by the lack of management approval, and a shortage of time. Likewise, the features you look for in new products didn’t change. Profitability still reigns supreme, followed by quality, community support, and “made in the USA.”

The survey reflected big changes in new forms of cremation and green options, though. The number of respondents offering alkaline hydrolysis was up to 15% in 2022 from just 6% last year, while those offering natural organic reduction jumped 6% to 9%.

Thanks again to everyone who participated! Feel free to share your Connecting Directors feedback on Facebook or here in the comments section so we can continue to improve your reading experience.

Deathcare Survey