Our membership community helps shape who we are and how we support independently owned funeral homes. To gain insight into how we can continue to improve service to our members, OGR commissioned Whorton Marketing & Research to conduct a survey of members and non-members in 2022. The survey had a 28% response rate with 104 participating out of 368 who were sent an invitation. This is a typical response rate percentage for associations across the board.

Participation by current members was highest (71%), but also relatively high among both former (12%) and never-members (17%), who had almost identical response rates.

Most respondents (78%) identify as the owner within their funeral home(s) and most of the remainder are senior management (18%), with only 4% in non-management roles.

Tentative business plans over the next 5-10 years are generally to continue owning/operating their funeral home(s), but 39% intend to sell and retire in this timeframe. If they do sell, almost half (45%) have specific expectations — most often another independently owned home (23%), with fewer expecting to sell to a family member (14%) and fewer still to one or more of their staff (9%).

From a list of 18 options, survey participants identified the top five ways in which they engage with OGR, with the most popular choices being: The Independent® magazine, InSights digital newsletter, conferences & events, the Family Contact Program Survey and OGR's Supplier Network.

There are many reasons why current members want to remain a member if they are current, or want to join if they are not current members. Respondents checked an average of at least six reasons, regardless of current member status. The top five responses were access to OGR resources (62%), distinguishing themselves from their competitors (57%), networking (57%), discounts from OGR supply partners (43%) and the annual conference (40%).

We would like to thank everyone who took the time to complete the survey. Your honest feedback helps us to continue to develop opportunities that enable our members to connect, learn and grow. An executive summary of the survey is available to OGR members by contacting me at [email protected].

This article was originally published in the Winter 2023 issue of The Independent® magazine. Click here to read the entire issue.