From Guessing to Growing: Why Your Cremation Business Needs Marketing Math
Here's something that will shock you: I've never spoken to a single cremation provider outside of our program who can tell me their return on investment from any marketing campaign. Not one.
In any other industry, this would be crazy. But in deathcare? It's normal. And it's costing you thousands of dollars every month.
The Stone Age Problem
When I ask funeral home owners about their marketing numbers, here's what I hear:
Me: "What's your ROI on those radio ads?"
Them: "Oh, I think it's pretty good."
Me: "Great! Let's double your spend then. Double the money, double the customers, right?"
Them: Long pause
That pause tells you everything. Deep down, they know they're guessing. They're spending thousands on ads each year with no idea if they're making money or losing it.
Even funeral homes using Google or Facebook ads can't answer the simple question: "If you put $1 in, how many dollars do you get out?"
Don't tell me about how many clicks you generated. You can't eat clicks. You can't pay bills with website traffic. What matters is money in versus money out.
Why This Industry Is Different (And Why It Shouldn't Be)
Walk into any tech company and ask them about their marketing return on investment (ROI). They'll pull up dashboards, show you reports, and explain exactly which campaigns generate revenue.
But funeral homes? They're running Google Ads and Facebook campaigns with no way of telling if a sale was made or not, just gambling. "I think we got some calls from that ad."
This has to stop.
The Numbers You Need to Know (Starting Today)
Here are the five basic numbers every cremation provider must track:
1. Cost Per Qualified Lead
How much do you spend to get one real inquiry? Not tire-kickers. Real families who need your services.
2. Cost Per Arrangement
How much marketing money does it take to get one paying client? This is essential to know.
3. Average Cremation Sale Value
Come on. You should know this number in your sleep. If you don't, stop reading and go calculate what the average fee was for your cremation service last quarter. Make sure you include any additional services sold too.
4. Return on Advertising Spend (ROAS)
For every dollar you spend on marketing, how many dollars come back? If this number is less than $3, you're probably losing money.
5. Close Rate on Qualified Leads
Out of 10 real families who call, how many choose your services? Don't count anyone that you didn’t share your price with.
The Shocking Reality
When we start doing the math with funeral homes, owners are always shocked. The reality? Most marketing efforts in death care aren't even breaking even.
That radio ad you've run for years? It might be costing you $600 to get just one $1,200 cremation. Not a great return on investment, probably not even profitable.
Here's the real cost: while the radio ad barely breaks even, your competitor is getting 3 cases from the same marketing budget spent on trackable advertising.
That's not just a poor ROI on the radio ads. That's a missed opportunity worth $3-5k in monthly revenue.
What Changes When You Know Your Numbers
Everything changes when you can see what's working:
You stop wasting money on ads that don't work
You double down on marketing that actually makes money
You can make smart decisions instead of guessing
You sleep better knowing your marketing budget isn't being burned
The Real Problem: You Don't Even Know What You Don't Know
Here's the truth most funeral home owners won't admit:
You don't know how to figure this out. And that's okay - you're not supposed to be a marketing data expert. You're supposed to help families:
But here's what's not okay: spending hundreds of dollars every month on marketing while having no idea if it's working.
When a family calls, do you know which ad they saw? Which Google search brought them to you? You should. This is 2025, not 2005.
The solution isn't learning how to piece all of this information together yourself (clearly most marketing agencies can’t even do that). The solution is plugging into a system designed to give cremation and funeral providers transparency over their key sales and marketing numbers.
Stop flying blind. Get help from experts who can show you exactly where your marketing dollars go and which efforts actually make money.
It's Time to Join the 21st Century
Other industries figured this out long ago. It's time deathcare caught up.
You wouldn't run your business without knowing your bank balance. So why are you running marketing without knowing if it makes money?
Start tracking these five marketing numbers today. Your future self (and your bank account) will thank you.
Need help setting up proper marketing tracking for your cremation business? We help funeral homes see exactly where their marketing dollars go and which efforts actually make money. Contact Dignified Inbound to stop flying blind and start making data-driven decisions that grow your business.
Ready to finally know your marketing numbers? Contact us today.
About Dignified Inbound: We help cremation providers escape the stone age of marketing with modern tracking and data-driven strategies that actually make money.
