Funeral Service Merchandising and Marketing - MSFS 352

Merchandise

Goods that are bought and sold

Merchandising

The purchase, display, and sales of goods; product offering vs. service; retail of products to the public

Merchandising plan

The types of caskets, vaults, urns, etc. that FD shows; their costs, and how they’re displayed

Funeral merchandise examples

Caskets, vaults, clothing, urns, register books, memorial cards, thank you cards (paper products), religious, and fraternal items

Why do we merchandise?

To make profit, stay in business, pay employees, help economy, offer goods the client wants

Product knowledge

A merchandising plan is only as good as the FD’s knowledge of products offered; you must know your products and answer questions w/out hesitation

Casket

Rigid container designed for the encasement of human remains and which is usually constructed of wood, metal, or like material; ornamented and lined w/ fabric

Coffin

Case/receptacle for dead human remains which is anthropoid in shape

Burial casket

Casket sold for the purpose of interring/entombing w/ dead human remains

Cremation casket

Environmentally safe casket designed for encasing dead human remains for cremation

Rental casket

Casket used as temporary receptacle for dead human remains for the purpose of visitation/funeral w/ the intention that remains will be placed in some other suitable container for permanent disposition; casket intended to be reused

Ecoffins

Biodegradable, green, or environmentally friendly casket; free of toxic/hazardous materials and use little energy to produce

Wood (construction material)

Warm, beautiful, unique

Metal (construction material)

Most popular; steel has highest percentage of sales

Hardwood (construction material)

Trees that lose leaves annually (deciduous); close-grained resistant wood, usually more expensive than softwood

Softwood (construction material)

Cone-bearing trees (coniferous); lighter and more easily cut than hardwood

Birch wood

Smooth and thin layer. closed grain, strong and dense, heavy white wood, furniture and kitchen cabinetry, accepts variety of stains

Cherry wood

White, closed grain, sapwood is white and often stained in red hue, relatively strong, used in fine furniture and cabinets

Mahogany wood

Considered premier hardwood, expensive due to importing from Central America and sometimes Africa, strong wood with reddish-brown appearance and even grain

Maple wood

Strong and fine grain, interesting grain patterns known by description names like “tiger” and “curly”; light and closed grain found in bowling alley lanes

Oak wood

Known for strength and durability, distinct grain and comparatively straight, light wood - red and white oak comprised 1/3 of caskets sold in U.S.

Walnut wood

Expensive, brown wood, grain pattern usually straight but sometimes exhibits curly/wavy pattern, sapwood typically creamy white, decreasing popularity due to expense

Poplar wood

Number of woods originate from Populous (poplar, cottonwood, tulip, willow salix), Eastern/Central U.S., rapid growth, white wood, lots of different stains, strong wood but quite soft for hardwood

Pecan wood

Selection room favorite, usually straight grain, medium texture w/ natural low luster, heartwood tends to be light to medium brown w/ reddish hue, sapwood is paler yellowish-brown

Pine wood

Abundant, light-colored, soft wood, noted for twig-knots (attractive feature), low cost, sapwood is pale yellow to nearly white, heartwood is light reddish-brown

Other varieties of wood

Select hardwoods, laminates (wood veneer and artificial laminates), wood by-products, composition board (pressed/particle/flake board), plywood

Wood veneer

Created by gluing thin layer of wood of superior value/excellent grain to an inferior wood

Artificial laminates

Fake wood w/ wood grain appearance usually used for flooring

Pressed/particle/flake board

Particles of wood bonded together w/ waterproof glue; different types distinguished by size and shape of wood particles used

Plywood

Thin sheets of wood glued together so that grains are at right angles to one another; an odd number of sheets used so that grain on front and back will always run the same direction

Ferrous

Formed from iron; steel or stainless steel (SST)

Steel

Iron and carbon (low in carbon - keeps it soft and malleable)

Gauge

Measurement of thickness of metal (number of sheets in 1” thickness); the lower the gauge, the thicker the metal, which lasts longer in soil; 16g, 18g, 20g caskets

Stainless

Metal alloy of steel, chromium, and sometimes nickel; must have 11% chromium to qualify as stainless steel

400 Series casket

12% chromium w/ no notable % of nickel, non-magnetic; sometimes referred to as 409 sst - seen in automobile mufflers

300 Series casket

18% chromium and 8% nickel, magnetic; sometimes referred to as 304 sst - found in tableware and jet engines; usually 20g and better than 409 sst

Non-ferrous

Any metal not formed from iron; measured in oz per sq. ft. (32 or 48); the higher the number, the thicker the metal

Copper

Natural element, reddish-brown color, sometimes referred to as precious/semi-precious metals, offer natural corrosion protection, easily molded, contains no iron so it doesn’t rust

Copper deposit

Casket made from core of copper metal; copper ions deposited by an electrolytic process

Wrought copper

Copper metal rolled into sheets

Bronze

Metal alloy consisting of 90% copper w/ tin and sometimes zinc comprising the other 10%; not natural element, copper alloy noted for strength and ability to resist rust

Wrought bronze

Bronze metal rolled into sheets

Cast bronze

Molten bronze poured into a mold and allowed to cool

Plastic

Abundant, easily formed, low cost

Fiberglass

More common, finished in any color/pattern; almost indestructible in contact w/ elements

Polymer

Compound similar to plastic

Casket production method - Cast

Molten metal poured into mold forming seamless weld

Casket production method - Stamped

Sheets of metal pressed by hydraulic pump in designed forms, component parts welded together

Casket parts - Shell

Parts that compose the cap (lid) and body of casket

Casket parts - Cap/Lid

Top most part of casket shell including ogee, crown, pie, and header

Casket parts - Ogee/Rim

S-shaped molding that’s a component part of casket cap; having double continuous S-shaped curve

Casket parts - Crown/Swell

Uppermost part of cap, extending from rim to rim; everything above the rim

Casket parts - Pie/Fishtail

Wedge-shaped portion of cap (lid) at each end of crown

Casket parts - Header/Bridge/Cap filler

Sides of transverse cut in cap (lid); exposed sides of 2-piece lid in half-couch casket

Casket parts - Rim flange/Ogee flange

Turned under edge/horizontal portion of rim that comes into contact w/ gasket/body ledge flange (top body molding flange)

Casket parts - Gasket channel

Found on cut top of gasketed casket; function is to hold transverse gasket to seal space between head and foot

Casket parts - Body

Portion of casket shell containing top body molding, body panel, base molding, and casket body

Casket parts - Top body molding/Body ledge

Molding along uppermost edge of body panels

Casket parts - Body panels

Compose sides and ends of casket shell

Casket parts - Base panels

Molding along lower most edge on body panels

Casket parts - Hardware

Handles, ornamental fixtures, and their fittings attached to casket

Casket parts - Swing bar handle

Moveable casket handle w/ hinged arm; full length, individual, or single

Casket parts - Stationary bar handle

Non-moveable casket handle; full length, individual, or single

Casket parts - Bail handle

Single handle in which lug, arm, and bar are combined in 1 unit

Parts of casket handle - Lug

Part of casket handle attached to the casket body

Parts of casket handle - Arm

Part of casket handle that attaches bar to lug

Parts of casket handle - Bar

Handle; attached to lug/arm, which is grasped by pallbearers

Parts of casket handle - Tip

Decorative/ornamental part of casket handle that covers exposed ends of bar

Casket parts - Corner

Optional part of hardware that’s attached to 4 corners of body panels

Casket hardware production method - Cast

Most expensive hardware production method, in which molten metal is poured into a mold, allowed to cool, then removed from mold

Casket hardware production method - Stamped

Less expensive method whereby casket hardware sections are pressed out on hydraulic press

Casket hardware production method - Plastic extrusion molding

Method of molding by injecting molten plastic into a die

Casket parts - Casket bottom

Flat (not very stable) or w/ stiffeners

Casket exteriors - Unfinished wood

Has no stain/protective varnish

Casket exteriors - Natural finish wood

May be stained/unstained w/ an outer protective coating of varnish/polyurethane

Casket exteriors - Stained wood

Color stain applied

Casket exteriors - Unstained wood

Has no stain, but may be covered w/ protective varnish

Casket exteriors - Polished (gloss) finish

Surface made smooth and glossy usually by friction; brought to a highly developed, finished, or refined state; burnished (polished by rubbing)

Casket exteriors - Semi-gloss finish

Low luster

Casket exteriors - Flat/Matte finish

Used on casket exteriors that’s free of gloss; no shine/gloss

Casket exteriors - Satin finish

Has less luster than semi-gloss

Casket exteriors - Painted finish

The application of paint, single or multicolored

Casket exteriors - Laminate finish

Made by uniting superimposed layers of different materials

Casket exteriors - Cloth covered

Wood is covered w/ cloth

Metal casket exteriors - Brushed

First painted, then scratched w/ abrasive material to the base metal, then finished w/ sealer and buffed until smooth high gloss obtained

Metal casket exteriors - Plated

Base metal coated by another metal via electrolytic process; identified when used in casket construction by the term “deposit” (as in “copper deposit”)

Metal casket exteriors - Sprayed

Paint is sprayed on casket

Sprayed finishes on metal caskets - Gloss

High shine

Sprayed finishes on metal caskets - Crinkle

Exterior casket finish in which metal coated w/ substance that wrinkles as it dries; usually used on less expensive caskets

Sprayed finishes on metal caskets - Flat

No shine

Sprayed finishes on metal caskets - Hammer tone

Sprayed finish that has appearance of small indentations in the metal (as if struck by ballpeen hammer); indentations are in paint and appear as paint dries; usually on inexpensive caskets

Fiberglass

Material consisting of extremely fine filaments of glass embedded in various (?)

Polymer

Compound, similar in appearance to plastic, that has high molecular weight creating an extremely durable substance

Polymer finishes - Wood grain

Simulates the appearance of wood

Polymer finishes - Polished gloss

Shined to high luster

Polymer finishes - Sprayed

Paint applied to surface by airbrush

Shell designs (ends/corners) - Elliptic

Casket having ends in the shape of half circles

Shell designs (ends/corners) - Octagon

Casket having 8 angles/corners (8 sides/surfaces)

Shell designs (ends/corners) - Round corner

Curved corner formed by addition of a rounded corner piece that has been stamped/milled during manufacturing process; corner welded into position

Shell designs (ends/corners) - Square corner

Sides and ends joined at 90° angle, sometimes called mitered corner; less expensive than round corner because it requires fewer component pieces and hours of labor