"The Experience Economy: Funeral Goods and Services are No Longer Enough"

 "The Experience Economy: Funeral Goods and Services are No Longer Enough"
By James H. Gilmore
The Director | July 1999

People are commemorating the loss of their loved ones in increasingly unique ways. This trend indicates that if funeral homes went beyond their traditional offerings and provided unique experiences consumers would be willing to spend money for those experiences. Few funeral homes, however, offer unique memorable experiences.

The Experience Economy-Funeral goods and services are no longer enough discusses how funeral directors must take a different view of their occupations in order to offer new sources of value in an age of commoditized goods and services. It explains how funeral directors can help grieving families have positive experiences and give them stories worth telling, for lives worth remembering.

The article was written by James H. Gilmore and B. Joseph Pine II, co-authors of The Experience Economy: Work Is Theatre & Every Business a Stage (Harvard Business School Press, 1999). Gilmore will speak at NFDA's 118th Annual Convention and International Exposition on November 1, 1999, in Kansas City, MO.

This article appears in the July 1999 issue of The Director.  The complete text of this article is available for purchase at www.nfda.org/directorArticle.php?eID=642&arc=1

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