To be fair, I was pretty skeptical about Eternal Space when I first met them. They called me to give them my view of the funeral industry and, like any of my consulting clients, they paid me a small fee per hour to share my insight.
As a side note, I never knew how much consultants can really make until I told people how little I was charging my clients and got the “you should be billing at least $100 an hour” speech from several colleagues.
My first few sessions with Eternal Space were productive for them, but I was still unsure if they could ever be anything more than a dream bandied about during cross-country phone calls.
Later, when they made a big splash at the 2008 NFDA show, I was impressed with their work to that point, but the fact that they hadn’t created a working site yet made me nervous.
I continued to be concerned about their ability to build a business without a working product – especially considering how much money they’ve burned through with advertising and their NFDA booth – but those fears vanished when I saw a working prototype.
Truth is, their site looks like the “movie-version” of an online memorial. Seriously, the versatility and user experience are akin to an episode of CSI.
I’m hooked and I think they’ve got a great product. And, frankly, the only one that offers a funeral director tangible value to market to their clients. I think funeral directors can make some good money promoting Eternal Space.
Anyone who reads my ramblings here will know that providing a good service AND making money make up the real “bottom line” for me.
Don’t think for a minute, however, that I’m not there to give dissent. I’ve never been reserved with my opinion and I will continue to push Eternal Space to make sure they continue to provide real value to funeral professionals. Because, if they don’t, our industry really doesn’t need them.
April 29, 2009 at 11:35 am
Tim,
I’ve watched you go through this process with them. Your ability to see everything about it without bending to meet what they wanted to hear instead of showing your true feelings is commendable. Good job!
April 30, 2009 at 4:23 am
Tim, your post of 13 April made me anxiously wonder why you hadn’t declared an interest, but I guess you hadn’t joined the AC at that stage. I have to say that I don’t know that I share your enthusiasm for Eternal Space. Sure, it makes Respectance look clunky, but it could be argued that it does that for itself. The tributes currently viewable at ES fail to display its capability and are a poor advert. I’d have thought that the ES market is a niche defined by taste; some are going to like it, others are going to find it tacky or mawkish — but perhaps I am speaking out of turn from a UK cultural standpoint. I would dispute your assertions concerning the technical brilliance of ES (there’s no animation), and in terms of personalisation (the key to sales) it quickly takes on an air of seen-one-seen-them-all. For my money, it’s MuchLoved.com all the way — and it’s free, what’s more. But I shall be following ES with interest. It’s on to something, for sure, but I don’t think it’s anything like there yet.
April 30, 2009 at 7:48 pm
I am on the same page as Charles. I don’t think Funeral Directors are going to add this to their list of products to sell to the family. Families are too in the concrete realm during their initial shock, and this whole concept is more in the abstract. I can’t see this site as adding value to the families experience in relations to the funeral homes services they offer. I much rather sell the family a “reception or gathering” that has “real memories” shall we say, then a walk in a virtual park…
December 31, 2009 at 10:36 am
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