AFD Survey By Tanya Kenevich Until one has loved an animal, a part of one s soul remains unawakened. Anatole France, French poet, journalist and novelist A Four-Legged Forecast 2012 Pet Survey Results SPECIAL REPORT Owning a pet today is much different than it was 50 years ago. These animals have become more than just outside dogs or mouser cats pets have grown into an important and integral aspect of society. There are animal-friendly hotels, doggie spas and daycares, hypoallergenic pet foods and even pet psychologists. In fact, it is estimated by the American Pet Products Association that the United States pet product industry will reach $52.87 billion by the end of 2012. These numbers bode well for the growing pet loss industry. According to Donna Shugart- Bethune, executive administrator for the International Association of Pet Cemeteries and Crematories and advertising and marketing director for Deceased Pet Care Funeral Homes, Crematories and Cemeteries in Georgia, the death of a pet results in a different sense of loss. Unlike human relationships, a relationship between an owner and his or her pet has no emotional baggage. There s that bond that pet always loved you, Shugart-Bethune said. It s a different type of loss. The topic of pet loss is so important that American Funeral Director conducted a survey to shed light on trends within the pet loss movement. The survey drew responses from 107 people, and 53.8 percent said that their firms already offer pet services. Out of these respondents who currently offer pet services, 34.9 percent offer them in combination with a human funeral home; 51.2 percent said they provide these services through a secondary business that that they own and is only for pets; and 14 percent said they outsource pet services to another provider. Coleen Ellis, founder of Two Hearts Pet Loss Center in Greenwood, Ind., is not surprised that more than 50 percent of respondents offer pet services. It is encouraging, but I know that that number will be trending up, she said. Sheri Richardson Stahl, vice president and business manager of The Island Pet Cremation Services in Okatie, S.C., added, Pets are family members now they aren t just an adjunct to the family. I see the pet industry growing by leaps and bounds. Shugart-Bethune has also seen a rise in human funeral homes that are offering pet services, as well. She believes that human funeral homes are entering this market because there has been a massive change in the way society looks at pets they are not just animals, but a true part of the family. She added, There s a whole different level to the services provided. (Families) look for (pet services) they need it. They need to go through the process of grieving. Interestingly enough, out of the respondents who did not currently offer pet services, 52.9 percent said 26 American Funeral Director September 2012
that they plan on offering them in the future. According to Kate Moore, who founded Beyond the Rainbow Pet Hospice and Memorial Center in Texas with her husband Terry, Funeral directors are finally seeing the light and are seeing that fourlegged family members are a part of the family, she said. If you re not serving the community with that need, someone else is going to do it. According to Ellis, that percentage will most likely plateau in the coming years, which could be from people figuring out if offering pet services is right for them or not. You re going to have people who don t do it and that s OK, she said. It s not for everyone. Those who enter the pet loss market need to make sure they re a good fit for it, Ellis cautioned. Pet parents see right through that (if you re not a good fit), she said. That will damage the (funeral home s) brand horribly. Demographics The majority of respondents (80 percent) were owners, presidents or managers of their businesses; 15.8 percent of respondents were funeral directors; 2 percent were support staff; and 2 percent were crematory operators. According to our respondents, 88.9 percent said that the title of funeral home best defined their business and 11.1 percent of respondents said they only have a crematory. When asked what type of animals they owned, 90.8 percent said they own dogs; 42.5 percent own cats; 11.5 percent own small animals like hamsters, mice or gerbils; 11.5 percent own birds; 8 percent own horses; and 6.9 percent own a lizard or another type of reptile. According to the survey, 46.5 percent of respondents have held a funeral service for their pet. Shugart- Bethune thought the percentage would have been much higher. If they offer pet services to families, funeral professionals should own a pet themselves and know what that experience is, she said. Shugart-Bethune added, You have to know what that means to families. That is key. However, Ellis was encouraged by the percentage of respondents that have held funeral services. Moore added, I m impressed that 46.5 percent said they did do a type of service. The Pet Loss Market When asked what pet loss products and merchandise were offered to families, the survey showed that 89.7 percent of respondents provide pet urns; 79.4 percent offer memorialization products; 77.9 percent offer cremation jewelry; 73.5 percent offer small cremation keepsakes (like miniurns); and 54.4 percent offer pet caskets. Other write-in answers included: Glass monuments and memorial plaques Memorial glass art Burial locations Pet grave markers The survey also showed that 48.8 percent of respondents believe that offering pet memorial services has helped their human funeral home business; 27.4 percent of respondents said that they don t have a human funeral home business. Moore believes that this percentage of respondents who said it helped their human funeral home business should have been higher. I can t imagine anyone doing it where it hasn t helped (his or her) business, she said. Ellis, however, believes that offering Which of the following do you have as a pet? 100% 75% 90.8% 50% 25% 42.5% 8% 11.5% 6.9% 11.5% Dog Cat Horse Small animal (hamster, etc.) Reptiles Bird American Funeral Director September 2012 27
pet services serves the community with an important message: that a funeral home will serve the entire family even the four legged ones. According to the 2011-2012 American Pet Products Association s National Pet Owners Survey, 62 percent of U.S. households own a pet and by offering pet services, a business can reach families that they never would have before. Shugart-Bethune added, It can also help with name recognition in a different way. For example, if a family has a good experience with a pet funeral home from the beginning, the family will continue to use that firm s services for all their pets and most pet owners will have multiple pets in their lifetime. Out of the respondents that said offering pet memorial services has helped their human funeral home business, 86.2 percent said it has helped with public relations; 72.4 percent said it has increased community awareness; and 65.5 percent said that it has increased referrals. According to Moore, firms that provide pet services are often looked at in a positive light because the business is tending to the entire family unit. This positivity, in 60% turn, will help with word-of-mouth and referrals. That s our 40% best advertising, she said. Shugart-Bethune also added that exposing 20% pet services to pet community groups could help a business become a trustworthy source for information and service. In addition, the marketing avenues that a firm can take can be especially exciting and interesting. Ellis added, There s marketing angles galore with the things you can offer to pet parents. And another service that has more families interested is pet preneed. According to the survey, 33 percent of respondents offer pet preneed. It might seem like a small percentage, but the fact that one-third of respondents are If your firm does not currently offer pet services, do you plan on offering them in the future? 52.9% Yes 47.1% No already offering pet preneed, even though there are no preneed or insurance companies that specifically deal with pets, is an interesting result. It s an area of opportunity, Ellis agreed. Shugart-Bethune added, Pet preneed is definitely going to grow in the next few years. This is one of those services that will only continue to grow. If your firm currently offers pet services, how do you provide that service? 60% 45% 51.2% 30% 34.9% 14% In combination with a funeral home (human) Secondary business for pets only Outsource to another provider 28 American Funeral Director September 2012
75% 50% 25% Do you offer pet preneed? 33% Yes Ellis added that preneed and insurance companies are already looking to enter the pet market. There s only one way to go in the pet market, and that s up, she said. By continuing education, you can also show your families what is available for prearranging so that decision does not have to be made when they are suffering the most emotionally, said Shugart-Bethune. 67% No All clients should be offered preneed for their pets, she added. When our respondents were asked if they offered pet aftercare programs or grief support for families, only 29.2 percent said they provide that service. That is sad, Moore said of the percentage. If businesses are offering the pet services, they should be offering the aftercare services, too. Ellis agreed, saying, I would have wished that number was higher. That s our job to provide that as death-care professionals. However, Shugart-Bethune believes that that percentage will be going up in the coming years, and that she has already seen a rise in interest within the past three years. Grief support is key for community service, she said. The interest in having those support groups is just going to continue to grow. Working with Veterinarians The opinion of pet funeral homes working with local veterinarians is divided. Some believe it s integral to the success of a firm, while others believe it s a delicate relationship that can have its ups and downs. The survey found that 48.9 percent of respondents do work with local veterinarians. Although Ellis believes there is nothing wrong with working with local veterinarians, it is important to be able to connect with the family and not just have the veterinarian as a type of intermediary. Those services need to be provided to the family, she said. You have to find a way to build a relationship with the family. Ellis also said it s important to explain your service in the process, if you do decide to work with local veterinarians. We re not a vendor or supplier that s not what we do, she said. Ellis suggested using the term partner if there is a working relationship with a local veterinarian. Stahl hasn t been overly successful when working with veterinarians, but What pet loss products and merchandise do you offer your families? 90% 60% 89.7% 73.5% 77.9% 79.4% 30% 54.4% Pet urns Pet caskets Small cremation keepsakes Cremation jewelry Memorialization products American Funeral Director September 2012 29
she did say that some veterinarians understand the niche pet loss market others just don t. Moore also added that pet loss professionals can work directly with consumers instead of through veterinarians. By educating your community on the services you provide, families will know to call you first if their pet dies. Pet Parent Employees In order to be a successful pet loss provider, should you first be a pet parent? We received some interesting survey responses on what our respondents thought about the question: Being a pet parent helps me relate to the family and having lost my own pets helps me be more aware of the need of our service. No compassion for loss should come as a natural part of being a decent human being. Yes, there is no way to understand the bond and the feeling of loss unless you have been a pet-parent or pet-sibling. I think you have to have an appreciation for the love some people feel for their pets, which I have seen as stronger sometimes than human connections. Yes, I do not think one can understand the loss of a pet; it is like no other. My husband has been a funeral director for 25 years and buried many in our family. The only time I have seen him cry is for our pet when (our pet) died. No, you just need to understand that pet families grieve much like human families and demonstrate the same kind of compassion and care. Just as in losing a child, the experience gives us an added understanding of loss that enables us to reach out to other bereaved families who have lost a child. Pet loss providers who experience loving and losing a pet know in a heartfelt way how others feel and can, therefore, provide more meaningful care. When people know you understand how they feel, they appreciate more fully everything about your service. Shugart-Bethune believes that Pet Loss Services in Your Community Coleen Ellis, founder of Two Hearts Pet Loss Center in Greenwood, Ind., has given her life to educating the death-care industry on the importance of pet loss and memorialization. Here are her top five tips for marketing pet loss services creatively and successfully. Group Presentations: A hot topic for pet parents is how to legally and appropriately set up pets in a trust. (Interesting tidbit according to legal counsel Poul Lemasters, with Lemasters Consulting in Cincinnati, the average pet trust is $25,000!) Team up with an attorney to provide this popular learning and then have the preneed team follow up with other planning ahead services. More Group Presentations: From the Lions Club to local Rotary Clubs, associations are always looking for interesting topics for their meeting s presentations. With 62 percent of people having a pet, a talk on pet death care options will surely be a hit with any group. Pet Blessings: The month of October is the feast month for the patron saint of animals, St. Francis of Assisi. Turn to those ministers and priests that are supporters of your funeral home and have a pet blessing in the parking lot of the funeral home. National Pet Memorial Day Held the second Sunday of September, this is another opportunity for a touching public event. By holding a memorial service in your facility, you create another opportunity to show pet lovers that you, too, honor the life they shared with a beloved pet. E-newsletters The topic of pet grief support as well as pet memorialization options is one that most pet parents are unaware of what s available. With an e-newsletter pet parents will get constant education on pet memorialization options, as well as virtual pet grief support. although the grief is the same for a pet death as is a human death, the sense of loss is different, she said. Ellis said that some death-care professionals are able to understand and serve the pet loss market, even if they don t own pets themselves. Some people can do the work and respect the relationship, she said. From an empathy perspective, however, Ellis believes it can help the families when sharing stories about their pet, while the pet loss provider can share pet stories with them and show that they are not alone in their love and loss. According to Moore, To understand the depth of love and loss a pet parent feels, you should be a pet parent. However, she said there might be some instances where that might not be the case. You don t have to be one to help the other but it does help, she added. 30 American Funeral Director September 2012