1. Research mourning customs of other cultures. What role do products and services play in making the experience meaningful for mourners? Is technology changing customs outside of the United States?
2. Describe the characteristics of a new product that affect its rate of adoption. Which characteristics will impact how quickly the new services described for the funeral industry will be accepted by mourners in the United States?
Every culture has rituals for mourning the dead, but technology is now changing many of our long-held cultural norms. The conservative funeral industry is slowly embracing new technologies, resulting in new mourning behaviors. High-definition video screens play a video homage to the deceased, live-streamed funerals reach all corners of the globe, digital guest books remain permanently active, e-mails remind the bereaved of the anniversary of a loved-one's death, and digital candles remain perpetually "lit" on memorial pages. The deceased can now live on in cyberspace and friends can visit them on Facebook long after they have passed on. Quick-response code chips ("QR codes") affixed to tombstones can bring a person "back to life" virtually on a smart phone. With nearly half of all Americans owning smart phones, 20 percent owning tablets, 80 percent on the Internet, and almost 70 percent visiting social media sites, the time is now right for the funeral industry to capitalize on these digital trends. And with the still-sluggish economy and new competitors (for example, Walmart and Costco now sell caskets online) squeezing profit margins, the funeral industry is more open than ever to ways to satisfy consumers' mourning needs digitally.