In a world full of growing distractions and shrinking attention spans, how do you stand out and leave a lasting impression on the consciousness of others? It’s a question that marketing professionals have been scrambling to decipher as the answer is constantly changing. For deathcare professionals, finding ways to set yourself apart from your competition requires you to have a finger on the pulse of what will resonate most with your community. When it comes to differentiating your funeral home, the old playbook must be thrown out in favor of new strategies that account for the expectations of today’s families.
Here at ASD, we have spent much time and effort considering how to separate from the herd, often referring to our company as the answering service in a class of its own in our marketing. That same focus on differentiation shapes everything we offer funeral homes, from how our staff is trained to how intentionally our service is built around the realities of the profession. We understand the challenges owners encounter when trying to build a clear identify that is different from any other funeral home. Over the past 15 years writing for the deathcare profession, I have spent a great deal of time looking for examples of funeral homes we can feature who are doing something unique to rise above the rest. I have seen which strategies move the needle and which are often lost in the shuffle.
In this post, we’ll share real-world examples of how funeral homes are setting themselves apart. Not every idea will be the right fit for every firm, but our goal is to spark fresh thinking and inspire you to carve out a meaningful niche of your own. It’s also important to keep in mind that there is often more than one feature of your funeral home that attracts clientele, so your funeral home doesn’t have to rest on one pillar alone. The most memorable funeral homes are supported by several thoughtful touches.
Here are 8 Proven Ideas for Differentiating Your Funeral Home
1. Make Your Community Engagement Stand Out
Kincannon Funeral Home in Altus, OK hosts a Show N’ Shine classic car show in their funeral home parking lot every spring.
Before you spend even a moment thinking about marketing or branding, ask yourself if you have a solid community engagement strategy in place. These initiatives are more powerful and valuable for funeral homes than any advertisement or promotion could ever be. Over the past decade and a half following funeral homes online, we have seen how hosting social, charitable or educational events can help morticians build important relationships. Funeral professionals that prioritize engagement opportunities become well-known and highly respected in their communities.
Paul R. Young Funeral Home in Mt. Healthy, OH welcomes the public every Christmas to view their wax figure nativity set, often offering carriage rides and other holiday treats to the community
Two factors consistently help funeral homes succeed with community engagement: showing up often and creating welcoming experiences. Regular participation in local events—such as town fairs, parades or community gatherings—keeps the funeral home visible and reinforces its role as an active, invested neighbor. Equally important is hosting events at the funeral home that feel approachable rather than somber, allowing families to associate the space with connection instead of loss. From Christmas live nativities and classic car shows to hosting a free coffee gathering or movie night, these experiences help shift perceptions and build familiarity, making the funeral home feel like a trusted part of everyday community life long before services are ever needed.
Greenlawn Funeral Home in Bakersfield, CA recently held a movie night event that brought together hundreds of people from their community
Looking for more community engagement ideas? Click here for some more great examples.
2. Offer Creative Options for Cremated Remains
Recently, the ICCFA launched an awareness campaign aptly titled America’s Got Ashes to highlight a common reality in cremation care: many families hold on to cremated remains simply because they are unsure what to do next. While options are plentiful, families often rely on their funeral director to help them understand the possibilities and make informed decisions. This presents an opportunity to proactively guide families through their choices. Providing education on memorialization options, offering brochures from trusted providers, and presenting alternatives beyond standard urns, niches, or scattering containers helps families feel supported rather than limited to a one-size-fits-all solution. Families are increasingly choosing cremation and asking funeral directors about meaningful, non-traditional options that remain dignified and well documented.
There may also be meaningful revenue opportunities for funeral homes that position themselves as knowledgeable resources with expanded offerings—especially when those options are not readily available elsewhere. For example, keeping information on hand for services like aerial scattering through providers such as Cremation Air, or assisting with the planning of an inurnment service, allows the funeral home to remain involved in the family’s journey. Cremation does not have to mark the end of the relationship. By helping families navigate what comes next and showing them the full range of possibilities, funeral homes can provide lasting value, deepen trust, and truly set themselves apart.
3. Invest in a Unique Funeral Home Vehicle
While investing in a custom hearse may not be a realistic option for every funeral home, it’s worth considering the powerful impression a distinctive procession vehicle can leave on your community. Options range from an elegant antique-style hearse (such as those offered by Nu-Classic Coaches), to a historic horse-drawn funeral carriage like Blackwell Memorial Home’s iconic 1901 beauty featured in their logo, or even a motorcycle hearse like Charles F. Snyder Funeral Home’s Harley Hearse. Each of these choices reflects a clear sense of identity and tradition, creating a memorable tribute that honors the life being celebrated while differentiating your funeral home in a meaningful, highly visible way.
4. Add a Therapy Dog to Your Funeral Home Staff
Funeral homes looking for a heartfelt way to stand out may want to consider adding a therapy dog to their team. Dogs have a natural way of comforting people, especially during times of grief, offering a quiet sense of calm when words just don’t help. With proper training, therapy dogs can learn to gently support families during visitations, services, or private moments, providing companionship without being disruptive. There is a reason why so many funeral homes have jumped on the doggy bandwagon. It isn’t just a feel-good idea or a short-lived trend—it reflects what many families are looking for today: personal touches that make a difficult experience feel a little less overwhelming. A therapy dog can leave a lasting impression, reminding families that the care they received went beyond arrangements and logistics to truly supporting them when they needed it most.
5. Position Your Funeral Home as a Leader in New Disposition Methods
Like it or not, more families are asking about new disposition options such as green burial, alkaline hydrolysis, and natural organic reduction. Even in a profession that tends to value tradition, change is unavoidable—and over the next decade, interest in these options will only continue to grow. Your funeral home may not be in close proximity to a green cemetery yet, or these methods may not be legal in your state today, but that doesn’t mean they should be ignored. In many areas, these changes are already on the horizon.
Funeral homes that take the time to learn about these options now have a real opportunity to stand out. By staying informed and open-minded, you can position yourself as the trusted local resource families turn to with questions—even before these services are available nearby. We’ve already seen many funeral homes successfully do this with green burial, and the same shift is beginning to happen with other alternative dispositions.
6. Make Your Funeral Home Building Worth Visiting
What’s the best way to brainstorm a good idea for differentiating your funeral home? Look around you! We have seen so many interesting ways funeral homes utilize their spaces. If you are fortunate enough to own a building with a rich history and unique architectural elements, don’t hesitate to use it in your branding. Other great ideas we have seen include having a unique collection like the Norman Rockwell art collection at Danjolell Memorial Home in Broomall, PA or the old timey collection on display at Village Chapels Funeral Home in Middle Village, NY. Not big on collecting? You can still create a memorable display like the Veteran Appreciation Wall Kevin Lyons & The Marvil Family Funeral Home created.
There are many other ways you can use your funeral home property to create a wow effect—like making a spectacular Christmas light display (we’re looking at you, Hanneman Funeral Home!), building a serene outdoor space with unique landscape architecture, constructing a little free library filled with grief support books, or installing a wind phone. We’ve even seen funeral homes erect scattering gardens on their properties. If you have enough space, you might also consider whether a café area or a full kitchen offering catering options for funeral luncheons might be something worth investing in as well. There is no shortage of great ideas for ways you can use the space you already own to make your funeral home stand out.
7. Become a Thought Leader and Influence Others
We hope you take the meme above in the spirit it’s intended—a tongue-in-cheek way of celebrating (and gently poking fun at) the growing number of funeral directors building audiences on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. These deathcare professionals have done an excellent job shedding light on the mysteries of funeral service, educating and enlightening others with every post. However, while it is a great tool for creating awareness and building a personal brand, if you’re looking for a way to make your funeral home stand out it might be hard to know how to use these platforms without getting lost in the shuffle. Our advice? Check out the funeral homes that have had the most success and see why their approach works.
There are a few clear leaders in this space and one of them is unquestionably our friends at Wagner-Elfner and Burg Funeral Home in Red Lion, PA who generated 29 million video views in 2025 alone. A quick scroll through their page will show you that every video generates thousands of views. Most of them are short, unpolished videos of owner Katherine Wagner-Elfner speaking directly to her community about what she does. Another standout example is Hollis Funeral Home in Syracuse, NY which features some incredibly entertaining content created by Funeral Director Eileen Hollis. Whether she is taking you on a tour of the funeral home basement, showing you her favorite prep room supplies, doing a dance routine while putting on PPE or interviewing her super-sweet father about his experiences working in the funeral home, Eileen’s passion for her work shines through every video.
Stark Memorial Funeral Home in Salem, OH and Plainville Funeral Home in Plainville, CT who have also embraced using short, punchy videos to show who they are and connect with their community. With hundreds of views on each video, their original content shows you don’t have to become a worldwide social media influencer to make a splash in your own community.
8. Build an Onsite Crematory and Offer Witness Cremation
You may be surprised by how often ASD receives calls from families asking whether a funeral home has an onsite crematory. In recent years, heightened media attention around a few bad actors in the profession—along with documentaries like HBO’s The Mortician and renewed discussion of the Tri-State Crematory case on well-known podcasts—has contributed to lingering mistrust surrounding cremation. For many families, the question comes down to peace of mind. They want reassurance that their loved one’s remains will be handled with care and returned to them, and that a clear chain of custody will be maintained at every step of the process.
To address these concerns, some funeral homes have gone a step further by offering onsite cremation and, in some cases, witness cremation rooms that allow families to be present if they choose. While this option isn’t right for everyone—and zoning restrictions or operational realities may make it impossible for some firms—it reflects a broader shift toward transparency and reassurance. Even for funeral homes without an onsite crematory, clearly communicating how cremations are handled and emphasizing the safeguards in place can go a long way in building trust and easing families’ concerns during an already difficult time.
Which idea on our list do you think would make the biggest impact in your funeral home’s community? Do you have any unique ideas for differentiating your funeral home? Share in the comments below!
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