Article originally appeared on The Funeral Commander
Parting.com launched its site which has virtually every funeral home in the United States with pricing for services listed for consumer comparative analysis. This disruptive innovation is the first of its kind in the funeral industry; the FTC, State and other funeral directory websites have never been able to accomplish…listing General Price List information for consumer comparison. It’s reported that a small percentage (9%) of funeral homes offer any pricing information on their website which provides Parting.com with a tremendous opportunity for consumer search using the internet for funeral homes.
Parting.com offers line item pricing from the GPL for basic services, embalming, visitations, etc. as well as direct cremation from the funeral homes listed. As a service to the consumer, the listed funeral home’s prices for at typical funeral (basic service fee, transfer of remains, facilities for viewing, facilities for ceremony/staff, embalming) are conveniently added from the GPL listed. Average national prices for a casket, dressing/casketing and outer burial container are separately listed but all added together to provide the consumer a comparative look at firms in the particular area of search.
In addition, most of the funeral homes listed have photos of the location (most look like Google earth shots), a link to make an appointment as well as a function for a consumer to review the service provided at the funeral home.
Innovation in the funeral industry continues to evolve especially in technology sector. I remember in the recent past funeral homes that did not have a computer in the building (I still get applications for one of my companies that appear to be completed on a typewriter) and had a fax with the rolled paper. From my vantage point, Parting.com has created a truly disruptive innovation site that no doubt is defined below:
Wikipedia defines Disruptive innovation: is an innovation that creates a new market and value network and eventually disrupts an existing market and value network, displacing established market leaders and alliances. The term was defined and phenomenon analyzed by Clayton M. Christensen beginning in 1995.[2] More recent sources also include “significant societal impact” as an aspect of disruptive innovation.[3]
Interestingly, if a consumer is already searching the internet for a funeral home, they certainly have no or very little relationship with a provider. Consumers now will have the benefit of comparative pricing if they are so inclined to use Parting.com instead of having to call or visit the funeral home for additional information. Parting.com has “upped the ante” for funeral homes to create more interactive and informational websites to showcase their particular value, services, etc. to secure the internet shopping consumer.
Want to know more? Tune into Episode #9 of Funeral Nation TV we interview the founders of Parting.com and learn about their disruptive innovation in the funeral industry. From behind a thick fog of smoke and the Command Post, Cheers Y’all! #thefuneralcommander
First of all, the a..hole with the cigar is a black stain on our profession. Second, the price information on this site is inaccurate. And finally, unless they have a huge marketing budget the consumer will never find them and they will disappear like so many before them. Contrary to what the a..hole with the cigar says, there have been several other “price comparison” sites that have crashed and burned.
Scared of being exposed?
This sounds like someone standing in the middle of Coachella, shaking their head and grumbling “stupid kids, this damn rock-and-or-roll will never take off.”
That a..hole with the cigar has taken a lot of time out of his busy days to give advice and encouragement to at least one scared newbie business manager fresh out of mortuary school—that I know of. That right there is more of a useful contribution to the future of our industry than I’ve seen from most perfectly respectable upstanding funeral professionals I’ve run into. (Thanks, Jeff 🙂
“Trending” thank you for the in-depth 3 point analysis regarding the article. Let me provide a quote from a funeral industry professional that has actually created successful funeral service disruption in different markets regarding his thoughts about the article;
“We have to stop thinking like our grandfathers and start thinking like the customer. If you want to look at another example of the Baby Boomer changing an industry look at the local Veterinarians. they have been under attack for years for high prices but never stop to notice the new service delivery method of companies like, “Banfield” and “Corner Vet.” Another example is Uber, the taxi owners knew about this service way before the entire public knew, but they did nothing. Are we next?”
If the price information listed on Parting.com is inaccurate, then submit your GPL for correction. That’s a pretty simple solution, however you have the option to “stand your ground” and do nothing (see quote above). “Trending,” your vast experience in the cyber/internet marketing arena provides you impetus to prognosticate the failure for consumers (the consumer will never find them), however you may have missed the mark due to the Parting.com’s clever use of key search and other domains that capture consumer search online. I’m sure your research also revealed the Parting.com budget and marketing plan (see quote above again) to reach consumers was inadequate just like other start up such as Facebook/Angie’s List and other start ups.
Nonetheless, one thing you did get right is that there are graveyards full of others that made attempt to offer funeral home price comparisons. This one is different: they already have the data and they don’t have to ask for it. There has never been a site that listed all the prices for the firms listed in the zip code search. It’s called innovation, some fail and some make it; but doing nothing other than providing knee jerk sophomoric rhetoric from no experience of development other than creating a fake name makes no difference.
The most salient point is that if a consumer is searching the internet for a funeral provider, they probably don’t have a relationship or see no value for the firms in their close proximity. Once again, read the quote above from a highly successful multi-market funeral service provider; either we as an industry adapt to consumer demands or our relevance dwindles.
Finally, “Trending” I would enjoy having conversation with you about your contributions/innovations to the funeral service profession and your views based on experience. My contact information is relatively easy to find as opposed to your brave “take a stand” posture of incognito. Until we chat, I encourage you to keep making a difference and as always, bless your heart! Cheers.
I am confused as to why Ryan and Jeff are celebrating this company and
their offering? They have not collected GPL information from “every”
funeral home in the United States, far less than that. The information
they have collected and posted
has many inaccuracies contained within. They do not calculate the
hearse or any other automotive equipment into their quoted funeral
costs. In the absence of facts, they have simply made “stuff” up; such
as, stating that for each funeral home they have posted
pricing for the average casket retail is $2000 and the average vault
wholesale is $1000? Really? There are vast differences in how funeral
homes mark up their caskets, outer burial containers and other
merchandise – so this just simply bad information being
presented to potential consumers. So Ryan and Jeff, why are you
investing your respective credibility in pumping this company up when
they are clearly not providing accurate and complete information to
consumers of funeral goods and services?