Our presenters bring you a different perspective than what you are probably used to hearing at industry conferences. Each of them has achieved and/or helped hundreds of businesses achieve success in the cremation business and online cremation business market spaces.
Special Guest Speaker – John McQueen
John McQueen is qualified like few people in America to discuss growing market share and revenues as the cremation rate rises.
Following his father’s death in 1987, his brother, sister and John together took over running the family business. Florida was experiencing an unprecedented shift from burial to cremation as the most commonly desired disposition. This meant a cremation rate explosion – from 21% in 1987 to over 72% by 2010 – for Anderson-McQueen.
During this period of falling revenues and increasing cremations around the State, Anderson McQueen achieved the opposite. Their call volume increased from 450 to 2,200 calls annually, with a high revenue-per-call average for “cremation with a service” families. Anderson McQueen also launched a low-cost cremation business from a strip-mall office that quickly grew into a big piece of their market share. Soon after they launched a “high end” cremation brand in its own building, which went on to become the first business in America to offer “flameless” alkaline hydrolysis “cremation.” John has since added more brands serving different demographics and price points, growing his call volume further.
Robin Heppell – Funeral Industry Marketing and Strategy
What gives Robin Heppell such deep understanding of the funeral industry and how to successfully market cremation to consumers? As a CFSP funeral director and certified celebrant that has arranged over 2,000 at-needs. As a pre-need agent he sold over 1,500 pre-needs – ranking as the #1 Sales Representative for NSMs (now SIFH’s) Monumental Life Plan one of his years there. At the same time, he developed marketing tactics that rapidly grew market share for the funeral home he was working at as the cremation rate soared from 64% to 92%.
Under the umbrella of Heppell Media Group, Hepp’s multiple initiatives and brands, including Funeral Futurist Consulting, Funeral Boardroom, and Funeral Gurus, have helped hundreds of funeral homes and cremation businesses rapidly grow market share. His educational program initiatives have earned him wide-spread notoriety among industry associations and funeral professionals. Hep has presented at over 40 National and State deathcare conventions on topics regarding infusing funeral marketing with modern technology. Hep’s Funeral Marketing Rock Stars conferences have attracted more attendees per event than any other industry vendor conferences. Robin Heppell is also a Google AdWords Certified Partner, having completed the many hours of coursework and passed the test necessary to attain certification.
It is this collection of experiences and skills that have equipped him to provide a degree of marketing expertise unmatched by any other marketer in the funeral care industry.