Funeral Home Cremation Study Question Title * 1. My firm is a .... (if you do not work at a funeral home, please do not take the survey.) Funeral home that owns its own crematory Funeral home that uses a third-party crematory Other (please specify) Question Title * 2. My funeral home also owns its own cemetery. True False Question Title * 3. My firm is located in ... Northeast Southeast West (including Hawaii and Alaska) Southwest Midwest Canada Other (please specify) Question Title * 4. My firm's cremation rate is .... Less than 10 percent 10 to 20 percent 20 to 30 percent 30 to 40 percent 40 to 50 percent 50 to 60 percent 60 to 70 percent 70 to 80 percent 80 to 90 percent More than 90 percent Question Title * 5. My PERSONAL VIEW of cremation is ... It doesn't allow families to properly mourn and remember a loved one. In terms of helping families mourn and remember loved ones, it's just as good as traditional burial. It actually helps families memorialize and honor loved ones BETTER than traditional burial. Other (please specify) Question Title * 6. When it comes to cremation, our general philosophy is ... We focus on volume and try to offer the best price in the market. We charge families a price among the highest in the market and back it up with service and value. We are somewhere solidly in the middle. Question Title * 7. When a family asks for "direct cremation," what assumptions do you make (if any)? Question Title * 8. Do you keep track of your average sale for a cremation family (so that when you look back on the sale months or years from now, you can easily separate out whether a family chose cremation or burial)? Yes No Question Title * 9. If you answered "yes" to the above question, please select the option that matches your average sale for a cremation family. (If you do not keep track of this, please skip this question.) Less than $400 $400 to $800 $800 to $1,200 $1,200 to $1,600 $1,600 to $2,000 $2,000 to $2,400 $2,400 to $2,800 $2,800 to $3,200 $3,200 to $3,600 $3,600 to $4,000 $4,000 to $4,400 $4,400 to $4,800 $4,800 to $5,200 $5,200 to $5,600 $5,600 to $6,000 $6,000 to $6,400 $6,400 to $6,800 $6,800 to $7,200 $7,200 to $7,600 $7,600 to $8,000 More than $8,000 Question Title * 10. If you keep track of the amount of average spend for your cremation families, and you ALSO keep track of the average spend for your full-body burial families, please select the option below that best describes your firm. (If you do not know, please skip the question.) Our cremation families spend more than our burial families. Our cremation families and burial families spend about the same amount. Our cremation families spend less than our burial families - but less than 10 percent. Our cremation families spend 10 to 20 percent less than our burial families. Our cremation families spend 20 to 30 percent less than our burial families. Our cremation families spend 30 to 40 percent less than our burial families. Our cremation families spend 40 to 50 percent less than our burial families. Our cremation families spend 50 to 60 percent less than our burial families. Our cremation families spend 60 to 70 percent less than our burial families. Our cremation families spend more than 70 percent less than our burial families. Question Title * 11. In the past five years, we've ... Seen more cremation families opt for some type of memorial service. Seen an increase in the number of families who choose "direct cremation" without a service. Seen no significant change. Question Title * 12. As a result of the rising cremation rate, we've ... Successfully capitalized on the opportunity, and our business is stronger as a result. Failed to successfully adapt to the change, and profits have gone down. Made very few changes because it hasn't really affected us. Question Title * 13. The rising cremation rate has made it ... More likely for the owners of the firm to consider selling the business in the future. Less likely for the owners of the firm to consider selling the business in the future. Has had no effect on the owners' feelings on selling the firm in the future. Question Title * 14. My firm also provides services directly through our firm for families that want to have pets cremated (meaning that you either own your own pet crematory or that you work directly with a third party to provide pet cremation services). True False Question Title * 15. If your firm DOES NOT provide pet cremation services, please select the option below that matches your firm. (Please skip if you already serve pet families.) We've decided to offer this option in the future. We've thought about offering this option in the future. We probably should think about offering this option. We probably won't think about offering this option anytime soon. We won't consider this option. Question Title * 16. Regardless of whether your firm serves families that want to memorialize pets, please tell us how you feel about funeral homes that provide this service. It makes sense because it allows firms to provide more value and service to customers. It diminishes funeral service and should be left to specialty providers that only serve pets. I have mixed feelings about it. Other (please specify) Question Title * 17. Alkaline hydrolysis should be classified as cremation. True False Unsure Question Title * 18. My opinion of alkaline hydrolysis is ... It's another option that might make sense for some firms to offer families. It's not a good idea for any firm to offer right now - there are just too many questions about it, including cost. It's a disrespectful form of disposition that has absolutely no place in the funeral profession. I don't know enough about it to really have an opinion. Other (please specify) Question Title * 19. Getting certified at a crematory operations conference is ... Very important for staff that work with cremation families. Somewhat important for staff that work with cremation families. Only important for those working in states that require certification. Question Title * 20. I have been certified at a crematory operations certification conference. True False Question Title * 21. National and state associations need to do a better job educating funeral professionals about how to help and serve cremation families. True False Question Title * 22. We anticipate needing to purchase a new cremator or additional cremator in the next three years. True False Question Title * 23. Please give us a tip that you've found useful in serving cremation families that might help fellow funeral professionals -- or use this space to provide any additional thoughts you have about cremation. Question Title * 24. If you do not subscribe to Funeral Service Insider and took the time to complete this survey and would like a copy of the report that will be written based on the results, please provide your email address. Done