Founded in 1996 by Michael Turkiewicz and Jim Durbin, FuneralNet was the original and largest provider of custom websites for death-care businesses in America. It also served clients in Canada, Australia and Puerto Rico. FuneralNet was sold to Frazer Consultants in early 2017.
HISTORY
In 1997 FuneralNet invented online obituaries and forever changed the face of "death care." This invention, and the resulting public demand for online obits, forced most funeral homes that did not want a website to get a website. FuneralNet would also invent or make common many of the programs and functions that became industry standards.
FuneralNet’s innovation of "online cremation eArrangement" and "online ID of remains" began a second 'online death care revolution' of sorts in the U.S., to the tune of over $1M/year in online sales for some of its cremation business clients.
In 2008 FuneralNet’s Brian Young began compiling a first-of-its-kind data set of "death care website behavior metrics." This provided game changing insights into how families shopped and interacted online with funeral homes. Then in 2014 FuneralNet’s Kip Johnson led the development of FuneralNet’s W.I.S.E. program, offering the only "Peer-to-Peer Comparison" performance reports of similar firms from similar markets in the industry. From that research and analysis came the thought leadership and in-depth consulting services FuneralNet was unrivaled at.
In 2009 Michael Turkiewicz formed the FuneralNet Speaker’s Bureau, composed of himself, Director of Cremation Business Consulting Services—Brian Young, and Director of Analytics and Paid Advertising—Kip Johnson. Together over nearly eight years they produced FuneralNet’s unmatched "thought leadership" and delivered it through boot camps, articles and presentations. All together, they were invited to speak one or more times at annual NFDA, ICCFA, CANA, SIFH and OGR conventions, and at more than half of the US State Funeral Director Association conventions.