Case Study

Assessing Disruption in the Death Care Industry

Company

A leading insurance company offering end-of-life products and services.

Challenge

Witnessing disruption in industries similar to its own, the client wanted to gain a better understanding of the potential for disruption in the funeral industry over the next 5-10 years.

Intervention

B|G engaged in primary and secondary research to gain a thoroughunderstanding of leading market trends that willdrive change and innovation within the funeral industry. Implications of thesetrends were analyzed in the context of the client, and recommendations wereoffered as to how the client could influence and/or respond effectively toindustry disruption.

Results

B|G’s market analysis helped the client understand upcoming challenges and opportunities in the funeral industry. Recommendations based on these trends enabled the company – and their clients – to develop proactive strategies to avert disruption.

Learn More

The scope of this project includes four main areas of activity:

Insight

B|G reviewed relevant internal strategic documentation and conducted interviews with key internal and external stakeholders:

  • A review of documentation related to the client’s corporate and business strategies provided a full understanding of the relevant context for the research engagement.
  • Semi-structured interviews with client leadership, funeral professionals, association leaders, and trusted marketing partners provided expert insight into the research questions.

Innovation

Secondary research established a thorough understanding of markets, competitors, products, and services:

  • Market trends that foreshadowed where and how the funeral industry would change were identified and ranked in order of potential likelihood and impact.
  • Competitive profiles of innovative funeral industry firms were developed.
  • Relevant case studies were examined in order to consider how and why disruption occurred in other similar industries.

Integration

Industry-specific knowledge through interviews and market analysis was then integrated with accepted disruption models to predict future trends and outcomes.  These multiple scenarios helped the client envision the potential consequences of disruption in its industry:

  • The effects of market trends on the client’s business model were analyzed.
  • A value chain analysis illustrating where disruption was likely to occur and from which actors was mapped out.
  • A final report that summarized key research findings and included recommendations for next steps was provided to the leadership team.

Impact

B|G’s actionable insights allowed the client to develop strategies to prepare for future industry disruption:

  • The client understood how it could better serve current and future consumers.
  • The client understood several options for how it could evolve its business model to adapt to changes in the funeral landscape.
  • The client understood areas in which it could take a proactive leadership role and engage in strategic innovation to create future real-options.

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