February 2017

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Page A16 FEBRUARY 2017 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on A
Owner and CEO Mark Pennington is a 1973 Magna Cum Laude
graduate of Memphis State University and proudly served in the
Marine Corps. He was a member of the Honor Guard/Marine Bar-
racks Eighth & I Washington, DC during the presidency of LBJ. Well
known for his innovation and commitment to the funeral, ceme-
tery, and cremation industries, he earned the CCFE, CCrE and CSE
designations of the International Cemetery, Crematory and Funeral
Association. Mark served as Executive Vice President and COO for
Superior Funeral Supply for 27 years refining his management ex-
pertise before starting HALO over 17 years ago. From 1999-2000,
he served as President of the Casket & Funeral Supply Association.
Since founding HALO, Mark has built one of the most innovative
and unique product lines available today and his catalogs bring a
wealth of profitable marketing opportunities to his customers.
By Mark Pennington
out spending a fortune on redecorating. We’ll of-
fer some ideas that can be simply implemented
but that have long range impact. On your own,
take an objective look, if you can’t remember the
last time you added something new, or redecorat-
ed even one space, start making a list. Here’s a so-
bering thought, too often in my 40-plus year ca-
reer I have returned to a funeral home visited 15
or so years earlier and everything, I mean every-
thing was exactly the same. That speaks volumes
to families who often choose a funeral director for
their family and do return again and again. What
is this saying about you?
Marketing Your Funeral Home
Part 1 of 2: First Impressions
Marketing. Whoa, that’s a huge topic so I’m go-
ing to break it down. This column will address im-
age. When you’re reviewing the plan to market
your funeral home (yes, you should have a plan),
consider the entire process. You need an objective
assessment of what your current image is, what
is perceived that you do well and what needs im-
provement. Notice I said “perceived”. Unfortu-
nately that’s one thing that really matters in mar-
keting–what people think and what they believe
about you. In order to get this essential feedback,
you need to ask a third party, not a friend, to come
in and provide an honest critique. You’ll be amazed
at what you’ll discover about people’s perceptions
once you ask for objective comments. Companies
depend on “focus groups” to help them market
their product. We need them too.
Here are some things you could ask: “What did
you think or see when you first pulled up? Were the
building and grounds attractive?” In other words,
how’s my curb appeal? Just as if you were marketing
a home to sell, you need to be concerned about what
people first see. The old cliché about you have only
one chance to make a first impression applies here.
Do you need to cut back foliage? Repaint doors, clear
weeds from pavement, stripe driveways? It’s so easy to
ignore these things because you see them every day
and they no longer make an impression. Fresh objec-
tive eyes are needed.
Do you have a flagpole? Consider this, there is no
more accepted sign of patriotism or respect than to
show our country’s flag. If you have one, has it been
dedicated? Is there some group from your town that
deserves recognition? A dedication ceremony with
the mayor, councilmen, VFW, American Legion, etc.
is great PR – usually garnering newspaper space with
a photo. This begins to establish your funeral home as
a center of activity other than funerals. You could tie
this dedication ceremony into an Open House, pos-
sibly showcasing a new showroom, family space or
gathering area.
Do you have a comfortable outdoor area with a
bench or garden, a contemplative spot that provides
a quiet space during busy times? Or, a dedicated spot
for smokers? Can you carve out a small treed area for
this purpose? Private space can be a blessing during
times of stress, just one more reflection of your expe-
rience and compassion.
Next month, we’ll move inside and give you some
thoughts about how to showcase your home with-
Mark My
Words
SCI Sponsors Donate Life
Float at the 128th Rose
Parade®
Floragraph Finishing Events Honor Donors
and Raise Awareness of Organ Donation
HOUSTON,TX— Service
Corporation Internation-
al and its brand, Digni-
ty Memorial®, celebrated
their ninth year as a ma-
jor sponsor of the Donate
Life float, which appeared
in the 128th Rose Parade®
on January 2, 2017.
Since 2009, SCI has par-
ticipated in Donate Life’s
annual tribute to organ,
eye and tissue donors, and
helped 43 client families
honor a loved one with a
memorial portrait featured
on the Donate Life float.
These portraits, called “flor-
agraphs”, are made primari-
ly of flowers, seeds and oth-
er natural materials.
The Dignity Memori-
al locations that honored
donors with a floragraph
sponsorship this year in-
cluded:
• Dignity Memorial Pro-
viders of Detroit hon-
ored donor Gary Ter-
reault, age 61.
• Goble Funeral Home
and the Dignity Memo-
rial Providers of New Jer-
sey honored donor Isak
C. Anderson, age 14.
• Palm Mortuaries and
Cemeteries, Las Vegas,
honored donor Russell
Slouffman, Jr., age 21.
• Moore Funeral Home
and Memorial Gardens,
Arlington, Texas, hon-
ored donor Philip John
(P.J.) Wolf, age 8.
In preparation for the
Rose Parade float, these
Dignity Memorial loca-
tions hosted floragraph fin-
ishing events in the weeks
leading up to the parade.
At the events, family and
friends paid tribute to their
loved ones, who had made
organ, eye and tissue dona-
tions, by putting the finish-
ing touches on their flora-
graph memorial portraits.
“The Donate Life Rose
Parade float helps raise
awareness of the impor-
tant cause of organ dona-
tion and helps our client
families celebrate the lives
of their loved ones while
healing during a time of
loss,” said Phil Jacobs, se-
nior vice president and
chief marketing officer at
SCI. “We are honored to
once again support Donate
Life’s mission of increasing
the number of organ do-
nors around the country to
help save lives.”
Service Corporation In-
ternational (NYSE:SCI),
headquartered in Houston,
Texas, is North America’s
leading provider of death
care products and services.
As of September 30, 2016,
SCI operates 1,531 funeral
service locations and 471
cemeteries (including 262
combination locations),
which are geographically
diversified across 45 states,
eight Canadian provinces,
the District of Columbia,
and Puerto Rico.
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