Years ago one of my business mentors taught me this rule…
If an industry is rapidly expanding, an easy strategy is to copy the leaders and grow with the industry. For example, back in the 1990′s Dell copied IBM’s personal computer and grew into a huge corporation. They eventually overtook IBM and became the leader in the pc market. But if an industry is not expanding or if it is contracting, you have to stand out in the crowd in order to grow…and copies never stand out in the crowd!
I believe it is going to be extremely important for you to stand out by becoming unique in 2011.
The funeral home market is getting more and more crowded; there are more discount service providers popping up all over the place, the cremation societies are spreading across the country. Families who used to go to your funeral home are now holding a memorial gathering at the country club (without your help). If you do not have a way to establish yourself in the market, and to truly be unique, you will only be headed for more and more price problems this year.
