In Episode 74 of the Direct Cremation Podcast, Will de Michaelis breaks down why that opportunity attracts so many funeral home owners—and why many side brands still struggle to get off the ground. Get those pieces right, and the market opportunity has a much better chance of becoming a real business! 💯
Launching a lower-cost cremation brand alongside a traditional funeral home sounds like a smart growth move.
The market opportunity is obvious. Cremation keeps gaining share, families increasingly want simpler arrangements, and a well-run direct cremation business can generate meaningful revenue without requiring another full-service operation.
The surprising part? The biggest problem usually is not branding, pricing, or demand.
It is execution.
Launching a lower-cost cremation brand alongside a traditional funeral home sounds like a smart growth move.
In Episode 74 of the Direct Cremation Podcast, Will de Michaelis breaks down why that opportunity attracts so many funeral home owners—and why many side brands still struggle to get off the ground.
The surprising part? The biggest problem usually is not branding, pricing, or demand.
It is execution.
Timestamps
(00:00:00) Intro
(00:00:43) What Makes a Side Brand Tempting
(00:01:46) The Revenue Opportunity
(00:02:32) Why Most Side Brands Fail
(00:03:03) What We Looked At
(00:04:48) How They Performed After Launch
(00:06:04) What We Expected vs What We Found
(00:06:49) Why Don’t Side Brands Work Out?
(00:08:25) The Risk Nobody Talks About
(00:08:56) The Champion Without Authority
(00:11:21) What Has to Be True First
(00:11:32) A Real Owner
(00:12:08) Dedicated Staffing Time
(00:14:03) Build the Workflow Before Launch
(00:16:32) Getting Staff Buy-In
(00:18:13) Alternatives to a Side Brand
(00:20:40) The Real Decision: Staffing, Not Marketing
For Innovative Funeral Directors Blazing a Trail.
A podcast for funeral home owners where we talk about trends & opportunities we see in the funeral home industry. We bring on death care professionals and cremation experts to share what they know.
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Find us at https://directcremation.com
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Want to start a cremation brand yourself? Learn how the some of the biggest cremation brands do it at https://www.partingpro.com
Learn the playbook responsible for growing my family business to over 4500 calls a year without digital marketing: https://wdgroupconsulting.com