The Memorial Tree

This column originally appeared in the October, 2012 issue of Funeral Home and Cemetery News by Nomis Publications, Inc.

The Memorial Tree

A simple gesture and a lasting legacy

Plant a Memorial Tree

For thousands of years and around the world people have been planting trees in honor of loved ones lost.  For survivors, planting a memorial tree is a simple gesture that will benefit the earth and many generations to come.  It is a yin-yang of a sort--the end of one life honored by the creation of a new life.  It is in this simple act that many people find comfort.  For some, a living memorial tree is a pleasant reminder as the years pass and the tree grows to maturity keeping the memories of loved ones alive to share with the children of the next generation.

There is so much value in trees.  There are few opportunities in life where a tiny investment--less than a few pennies to plant a single tree from seed--can return so much value year after year.  The rewards compound each year as a tree matures and continues to sequester carbon, absorb storm water runoff, and shade our streets and homes.  Real estate sales data shows that property with mature trees sells for a 15% to 20% premium over property without trees.  The shade of one tree and the cooling affect of releasing water vapor from its leaves on the south side of a home can reduce energy costs by as much as 12% for a home or small business.  Various methods of appraising different species of trees suggest the value of even a 15 year old tree is at least $1000 and could be upwards of $10,000.  There are very few investments that can compound from a few pennies to thousands of dollars in 15 or 20 years--perhaps none as certain as a tree.

The Memorial Tree is one way the entire death care industry could participate in sustainability.   Any service provider in death care--funeral homes, churches, cemeteries, hospices, hospitals, vault companies--could complement their products and services with a memorial tree planting kit.  This inexpensive gift would not only help green our industry, but would also generate much goodwill as a kind gesture to the family of the deceased.

Many in the death care industry have made a memorial tree a standard part of their practice.  Years ago, Steve Mitchell, owner of Thompson Funeral Home in Wonewoc, Wisconsin, would send a memorial tree in time for Arbor Day to all of the families that he serviced in the previous year.  Steve expressed to me how he received thank-you letters and goodwill from those families for years and years afterward.  Sadly, Steve discontinued this practice when the partnering vendor who prepared and shipped the trees stopped providing the service several years ago.  This story is the reason that we, at the Northwoods Casket Company, have worked with the DNR and forestry experts to create our own memorial tree planting kit.

What if the death care industry were to expand the practice of planting a memorial tree to all funerals?  What if planting a memorial tree were as common place in funerals as sending flowers?  Imagine the goodwill, the value created in our communities, and the environmental impact of the trees we could plant.  Would you like to give it a try?

If you'd like to try a memorial tree planting kit, we'll send you one for free.  Our kit includes 50 seeds for up to 5 species of trees appropriate for planting in both urban and forest settings.  We've prepared simple 3-step instructions for germinating and planting the seeds.  The little peat pots included in the kit are easy to start indoors and then you simply transplant the whole pot come Arbor Day (in North America, anyway).  Learn more about our memorial tree kit and get one for free on-line at NorthwoodsCasket.com/Memorial-Tree-Kit.  (Enter coupon code MAPLE.)

The Golden Circle of Motivation

This column originally appeared in the September, 2012 issue of Funeral Home and Cemetery News by Nomis Publications, Inc.

The Golden Circle of Motivation

The art of explaining why

A friend recently shared with me an inspiring TED talk by Simon Sinek that introduces a visual model of motivation that can be applied to both individuals and organizations.  This model has three concentric circles--it looks like an archery target.  In the outer most circle, Simon writes "What" to represent the idea that all enterprises know what they do.  At the Northwoods Casket company, we manufacture and sell green caskets.  Most organizations create their marketing messages from what their business sells (ex. Want to buy an eco-friendly casket?).

"Want to buy an eco-friendly casket?"

The middle circle represents a smaller group of companies--those who know "How" they do whatever it is they do.  In many organizations only a select few individuals know exactly how they do what they do.  For example, think of food companies where employees and consumers really don't want to know "how the sausage is made" when deciding to purchase.  For some companies there is much benefit in explaining how as it more easily (but still indirectly) conveys the seller's motivation.  Some marketers use the how in their marketing messages to motivate consumers to buy their products.  We've certainly experienced success in telling our story and explaining how we manufacture our eco-friendly casket products.  (ex. We make green caskets by using locally harvested sustainable pine lumber.  We air-dry our lumber instead of using a fuel-burning kiln.  We use no metal in our caskets and no chemical finishes making both our manufacturing environment and our product clean, safe, and healthy for our craftsman and for the environment.  Want to buy an eco-friendly casket?)

"Want to buy an eco-friendly casket?"

The inner-most circle is where this model gets interesting.  This small circle represents "Why" we do whatever it is we do.  And "make money" isn't a valid answer.  Despite how Wall Street and Banking has shaped our economy, consider for a moment that companies make money to exist--they don't exist for the sole purpose of making money.  Just as we humans do not exist for the sole purpose of breathing air, but rather breathing is a necessary activity to support life.  Without making money a corporation's life would be short-lived.  Not every organization knows why it exists, but those that do demonstrate inspirational leadership.  Mr. Sinek cites several examples of individuals and organizations that truly understand why and use it in their messaging.  Apple, for example, illustrates this with the simple fact that loyal consumers are willing to buy phones and music players from a computer company.

Planting trees is important to our family.

The reason my friend shared Simon Sinek's TED talk with me is that he recognized that we know why we do what we do at the Northwoods Casket Company, but our marketing message does not espouse this.  We exist to plant trees--lots and lots of trees.  We helped plant more than 10,000 trees last April in state forests as well as urban areas with the guidance of the Department of Natural Resources Urban Forestry Initiative.  We have a goal of planting 10 million trees in the next decade.  We do this for the health and enjoyment of our community.  This is important to me, my family and others close to me.  Planting trees is the reason my wife and I created our casket company, but we haven't taken this message to our customers--at least not as bluntly as Mr. Sinek suggests.  Here's how our message might change:  At the Northwoods Casket Co, we value the quality of life and the world in which we live.  That's why we plant 100 trees for every casket we make. This is our permanent commitment to our children and the next generation.  We do this by making green caskets with locally harvested sustainable pine lumber air-dried and assembled using no metal and no chemical finishes making both our manufacturing environment and our product clean, safe, and healthy for our craftsman and for the environment.  Want to buy an eco-friendly casket?

"Want to buy an eco-friendly casket?"

There is some science to Mr. Sinek's Golden Circle model.  As it turns out, scientists and psychologists have understood for years that the part of our brain that makes a purchase decision is emotional.  It is not logical.  This is why it can be so difficult to make a purchase decision.  I've done this before by grabbing a pair of jeans at my local home improvement store.  The jeans were on sale for a good price, the right size, satisfactory color, and good brand name--the product is functional and logical in every respect, but I didn't come to this store to buy a pair of jeans.  Something doesn't "feel right" and I cannot explain it despite how logical this purchase decision might seem.  That's the emotional part of my brain at work in making this decision.  We can't explain it with logic and the best thing we can do is simply say, "It just doesn't feel right."  Then I put the jeans back on the rack.

The opportunity for marketers is to recognize the why and supplant our messaging to lead with why we do what we do and the rest will follow.  If we can appeal and attach our message to the emotional part in decision making, the how anbd what will naturally follow to support the decision.  I think this whole idea is particularly compelling in funeral planning decisions--especially when related to being green.  We already fully understand that families making funeral decisions are doing so in a very emotional context.  Simply espousing how "green" some part of the funeral may or may not be isn't likely to generate an effective response.  Those of us who learn to lead with why and be transparent in our motivation may find more success in marketing our products and achieving our mission--whatever that mission may be.  Making a purchase decision motivated by agreement with your mission is a very powerful motivation in any decision.

The Conversational Undertaker

This column originally appeared in the August, 2012 issue of Funeral Home and Cemetery News by Nomis Publications, Inc.

The Conversational Undertaker

Finding the meaning of "green" in green funeral inquiries

I've heard this story many times in the last few years as relayed to me by funeral directors.  A couple arrives to make funeral arrangements for an elderly family member in the final days of life or immediately after death.  Early in the conversation, a member of the family says something like, "Dad wants one of those Green Funerals... you know, like we heard on Public Radio."

As professionals in the death care industry, hearing a family ask about a Green Funeral is a good conversation starter.  In the whirlwind of news, sensational articles, books, television shows and Hollywood productions in the last several years, many people are interested enough to ask about a Green Funeral.  However, not every family knows fully what "green" can mean regarding a funeral.  The family's request could be motivated by any of several factors and warrants further conversation to understand the family's wishes.  The better we understand the reason for the family wanting to know more about green funeral options, the better we can serve them.

For some, a "plain pine box" is a bold statement.

Often times the key motivator for inquiring about a green funeral is cost.  Many funeral directors have shared with me the family's directive, "Dad just wanted a simple pine box.  Simple and plain, nothing fancy."  Directives like this are sometimes a bit hostile and motivated by Mitford's writings on American funerals.   We've learned that after presenting an inexpensive "simple pine box" like our Simple Pine Box casket, many families shy away from this option unless the deceased had made explicit arrangements beforehand with the funeral home or a family member.  In this early stage of grief, many families are not prepared to make as bold a statement as might be perceived by the family and community with just a plain pine box.  For this family, we can show a more conventional-looking wooden casket like our Three Panel Casket that appeals to the family that is both price-conscious and eco-conscious.  Additionally, we can address their concerns for cost in other ways--planning a funeral to meet a budget is not new to the death care industry.  The lesson learned here is that there are a few families who will ask for a Green Funeral when they mean to be more informed about ways to manage cost.

This pine panel casket appeals to both price-conscious and eco-conscious.

For some families the foremost concern when inquiring about a green funeral is the environment.  Unlike the cost-conscious, this family is primarily concerned with minimizing the impact on the environment.  Until recently, the only perceived alternative to a conventional funeral has been cremation.  We now have alternatives to cremation that convert many families to a full service green funeral that may be much more appealing to the eco-conscious.  A good indicator that a family has already done their homework on green funerals is their openness and willingness to discuss detailed matters such as the cemetery, burial vaults, biodegradable caskets, and embalming alternatives.  Cost is typically not an issue when it comes to paying a premium for a burial site in a natural burial cemetery, a hand-crafted wooden casket, and the added cost for refrigerated storage and/or dry ice in lieu of embalming.  For the family most interested in avoiding environmental impact, it may be appealing to complement the funeral services with a memorial tree-planting or a donation to an organization that will plant trees as an off-set for the impact of the funeral.

For other families, the main concern when considering a green funeral is more personal.  A family that is well-informed about natural burial may seek a funeral that inters the remains of the deceased in a manner that does not prohibit decomposition and allows the body to return to the earth.  For some, this is a spiritual matter and they want to be in direct contact with the soil in order to return to the earth more naturally.  Depending on the cemetery requirements, there may be options to fore-go the concrete vault altogether or use a grave liner.  The family may ask about biodegradable caskets that do not contain precious metals or chemical finishes.  For these families it is important to recognize that "biodegradable" and "low environmental impact" are not the same.  (Recall from a previous installment of this column that a biodegradable natural burial casket shipped from Indonesia via ocean cargo and air-freighted across the US would have more than twice the environmental impact when measured with carbon life cycle analysis than a steel casket assembled in the US.)

We all have much to learn as the death care industry changes.  The more families are willing to get involved, make advanced arrangements, and ask questions about death care, the more opportunity we have as death care professionals to make a lasting impression.  For many of us, it is that lasting impression, and the loyalty earned with it, that keeps us engaged in our profession.  When we are prepared to talk about Green Funerals with those families that inquire about them, we can better serve their interests, varied as they may be.