Omnichannel vs. Multichannel in Funeral Service: Why Consistency Across the Family Experience Matters

Funeral service is not behind because it lacks ways to reach families. The tools and channels
are there; the challenge is how disconnected they are.

That tension was at the center of a recent Funeral Professional Webinar Series (FPWS) session, “Meeting Modern Expectations: Redefining the Consumer Experience.” One theme surfaced repeatedly: funeral service is not behind because it lacks channels. It is behind because those channels operate in isolation.

Jenn Parvin, Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer at Batesville, emphasized how families now expect continuity across every part of their lives. Devin Dardanes of B+N Industries reinforced that expectation through the lens of retail evolution. As the conversation unfolded, the distinction between multichannel and omnichannel became unmistakable.

The Consumer Isn’t Adjusting to You

Consider a critical reality: the 55+ demographic, the primary audience for funeral service, is digitally fluent. They research, compare, customize, and expect personalization without friction.

They configure cars online before visiting dealerships.

They design home projects digitally before meeting contractors.

They track purchases in real time.

Then they walk into a funeral home and encounter disconnected systems.

That gap creates tension, and tension erodes trust.

Families may never articulate it directly. But when their online exploration doesn’t translate into the in-person conversation, uncertainty rises. And uncertainty leads to hesitation. Hesitation doesn’t just impact revenue. It impacts emotional clarity during one of the most difficult decisions a family will ever make.

Let’s clear something up.

Adding online arrangements to your website does not make you modern.

Adding text messaging does not make you omnichannel.

Having a Facebook page does not mean you have advanced.

These are all meaningful steps forward. But they cannot be done in isolation and called a strategy.

Most funeral homes operate in a multichannel environment and assume that equals progress. It does not. Instead, it creates fragmentation.

Multichannel = More Access Points.

Omnichannel = One Unified Experience.

Consumers now move fluidly between digital and physical environments. They browse online, save preferences, return later, complete purchases via mobile, and expect continuity at every step.

It’s one experience.

Multichannel means families can interact with you in multiple ways: phone, website, email, in person, and maybe even online planning. But each of those experiences lives independently. Omnichannel removes that separation.

A family begins exploring online, browsing your website, discovering products through social media, and saving what catches their eye. They personalize options, share ideas with their family, and when they walk into your selection room, what they explored digitally is reflected in the space around them. This is where funeral service is heading, and where consumer expectations are already pointing.

No restarting. No repeating themselves. Families arrive having gathered information from multiple sources, and a connected approach to product selection and personalization meets them there, bridging what they explored digitally with what they encounter in the room. That kind of cohesion between the physical and digital experience is a meaningful step toward omnichannel, even if it doesn’t represent the full picture of the family journey.

That continuity is what families already experience with major retailers. Retail moved beyond siloed environments years ago. Funeral service is only now confronting that same evolution.

Fragmentation Has a Cost

This isn’t simply about perception; it’s operational. Disconnected systems often result in:

● Staff re-entering information,
● Longer arrangement conferences,
● Missed personalization opportunities,
● Lower average revenue per service, and
● A brand experience that subtly feels dated.

Parvin noted that firms implementing connected digital and physical systems are seeing measurable gains. Not because they pressure families, but because they eliminate gaps in the journey.

When the process feels connected, families move forward more decisively.

Here’s the Shift

Multichannel expands touchpoints. Omnichannel strengthens continuity.

One multiplies entry points. The other creates cohesion.

his isn’t a theoretical shift; it’s already happening. The question isn’t whether funeral service will move toward integrated experiences. It’s who will move first.

If you missed the live session, you can watch the full “Meeting Modern Expectations” webinar replay and hear directly from Jenn Parvin, Devin Dardanes, and Ryan Thogmartin on how leading firms are bridging digital and physical environments. Visit the Batesville resource center at Batesville.com/webinar, exclusively for funeral professionals, and log in or register for an account to access the on-demand recording.

Because families aren’t comparing you to the funeral home down the street. They’re comparing
you to every seamless experience they’ve ever had, and that’s the new standard.