Transforming the Family Experience, Growing Your Business with Batesville: Vaughn Greene Funeral Services Testimonial
Discover how one funeral home transformed its selection room with the Family Choices® Physical Showroom, increasing profitability 26% and margins 2.8x, while improving family satisfaction, and the overall selection process.
Create a brighter, more welcoming showroom that enhances the family experience, improves product presentation to boost revenue, and makes it easier for families to explore personalization options and make informed choices.
Customer:
Vaughn Greene Funeral Services
Founded: 1996 in Baltimore, MD
Locations:
• 4 in Maryland
• 2 in Pennsylvania
Families served: 1,700/year estimated
As a part of the implementation, Vaughn Greene installed two Family Choices® selection rooms and repurposed two legacy slatwall rooms. With similar merchandising assortments, the Family Choices® Physical Showrooms delivered immediate, measurable results within the first six months, including:
26% 12%
in profitability was generated by the combined Digital and Physical Showroom, outperforming the previous supplier.
2.8x
Improvement
Overall Increase in casket margins compared to legacy slatwall displays.
Increase
in higher value product mix, shifting families toward premium selections and away from nongasketed products.
This showroom refresh not only modernized the family experience but also unlocked substantial revenue growth and profitability for the funeral home.
Vaughn Greene Funeral Services has served Baltimore families for over 20 years, known for its warm atmosphere, exceptional service, and deep commitment to honoring every life with dignity. While their facilities reflected this commitment, their existing selection room felt dated and didn’t match the uplifting environment families experienced elsewhere in the building.
The team at Vaughn Greene Funeral Services, including Vice President of Operations Brittney Greene, partnered with Batesville to transform their selection experience through the Family Choices ® Physical Showroom
Upgrades at two locations — Randallstown, MD, and Philadelphia, PA — created spaces that are not only functional but welcoming with enhanced lighting, helping families feel at ease during difficult decisions while clearly showcasing the full range of personalization options.
With six funeral home locations across two states, Vaughn Greene Funeral Services reaches a wide and varied population of families. Their Randallstown, MD, and Philadelphia, PA locations, which feature Family Choices ® Physical and Digital Showrooms , reflect this diversity serving different ages, incomes, religious affiliations, in just a 10-mile radius.
Age Group Distribution
This chart illustrates the distribution of individuals across different age groups. The largest segment falls between ages 30–45, followed by strong representation in the 45–60 and 18–30 ranges. In contrast, the smallest group is those aged 75 and older, highlighting a younger-to-middle-aged majority.
Insight: With most engagement coming from ages 30-60, it suggests key choices are being made by younger family members in their prime working and caregiving years.
Income Distribution
This chart highlights the distribution of income levels across a population.
Insight: Serving all families with meaningful solutions that they can afford regardless of income level.
Religious Affiliation
This pie chart presents a breakdown of religious affiliation by percentages. The “Unknown” category dominates, followed by Catholic and Mainline Christian groups.
Insight: While Christianity represents a broad share across multiple denominations, the large “unknown” group (51%) suggests many families may not identify with a specific faith tradition, underscoring the need for flexible, inclusive service options.
Age Group Distribution
Income Distribution
Religious Affiliation
The decision to partner with Batesville and invest in the new Family Choices® Physical Showroom was rooted in trust and experience.
Quality Products: Batesville delivers consistent high craftsmanship burial and cremation products that reflects well on the funeral home.
Long-Term Relationship: Sustained long-term relationships with many of the large, innovative funeral homes in the industry.
Proven Reliability: A track record of delivering on both quality and service needs.
“I think as funeral homes, we have a responsibility to consumers to keep up with the evolution of funeral service… to provide the consumer with the best process for them to move through what’s already a difficult situation.”
– Brittney Greene
Brittney and the team at Vaughn Greene Funeral Services envisioned a showroom that mirrored the warmth of their facilities, showcased the breadth of choices available, and made personalization easy to explore.
• Create a Welcoming Space: Replace a dark, dated showroom with an elegant, calm and respectful atmosphere.
• Simplify Choices & Highlight Personalization: Showcase personalization and product options in a clear, inspiring way that helps families make confident decisions.
• Drive Business Growth: Increase revenue and improve margins by leveraging physical components and digital tools designed to drive more business.
From Brittney’s Perspective: “The Physical Showroom, as it is now, is 10 times more attractive than the slatwall.”
“Having worked with a number of different casket manufacturers, Batesville by far provides the highest level of quality. And so, as a funeral director, I can’t say for sure that families know the difference, but I can tell the difference in the quality.”
– Brittney Greene Vice President of Operations, Vaughn Greene Funeral Services
An Atmosphere Families Notice:
“The slatwall presentation was just sort of dark and dreary and not really design friendly,” Brittney said. “And I think design, especially from an interior perspective, has always been really important to our funeral home. It’s one of the compliments that a lot of families give us when they walk in our doors.”
The new Family Choices® Physical Showroom is designed to educate, engage, and comfort families. High-resolution, backlit silicone edge graphics, integrated digital displays, and curated display areas make it easy to compare caskets, urns, and personalization options. Built-in storage and flexible layouts keep the room organized and adaptable, while thoughtful design elements create a welcoming environment that supports meaningful choices.
• Design centers are an integral part of the selection room strategically placed to incorporate tactile personalization elements with digital renderings.
• A sleek touchscreen featuring the Family Choices® Digital Showroom replaces bulky binders, making browsing intuitive.
• Products and Family Choices® personalization items are now clearly visible and easy to render and approve in real time.
“It’s an absolute game changer in terms of being able to have a family walk around the room… instead of flipping through that big bulky book, I can pull up exactly what they’re looking for.”
– Brittney Greene
Beyond the redesigned physical space — from updated design centers and walls to lighting that enhances every detail — the Physical Showroom includes a full integration with the Digital Showroom. Large, easy-to-read touch screens let families and staff browse and filter products in real time, while clearly displaying personalization options such as medallions and engraving. This seamless blend of physical and digital elements makes it easier than ever for families to visualize and select the choices that matter most to them.
• Family Choices® Spotlight: Inspires conversation about meaningful personalization and allows for a customized journey to showcase medallions relevant to their loved one.
• Empowered Choices: Helps staff create a tailored experience and educates families so they can make informed decisions
• Interactive, Guided Experience: Guides families step by step and shows real-time renderings to simplify and personalize the selection process
Personalization in Action:
“I think that being able to create the casket with personalization is helpful for a family to be able to really see what they’re getting, as opposed to kind of imagining it from a picture,” Brittney said.
“I think the filtering option is really, really incredible, especially for a director that might not be as familiar with the Batesville catalog of products,” Brittney said. “Being able to filter based on what a family is looking for, I think, helps us give them what they want in a way that’s easy, seamless and doesn’t make a family’s personalized requests feel difficult.”
Families often comment on how bright and uplifting the room feels, especially compared to its previous, more traditional format. The updated space evokes a sense of celebration rather than loss, with many visitors noting the noticeable improvements and refreshed atmosphere.
“It’s certainly bright, right? That is a big comment that we get from families when they’re walking into the room, especially those that are more familiar with the traditional format,” Brittney said. “It’s a brighter room, so it automatically leads your brain to celebration versus loss.”
“ I’m really grateful that the showroom and the technology has become available to us, and I’m excited to continue to see what the showroom can do for us.”
– Brittney Greene
The transition to the new showroom was smooth and efficient, completed without major disruptions to operations.
• Staff Adjustment: Some initial hesitation from less techsavvy staff quickly shifted to enthusiasm.
• Positive First Impressions: Families immediately noticed and complimented the bright, celebratory environment.
“I think everyone’s really excited about things that are new,” Brittney explained. “There are probably a few directors that are maybe not as technologically savvy, but I think it’s an opportunity to grow and to learn new ways of doing things, especially when you’ve been repeating the same sort of presentation to a family for years. A change in a showroom really forces you to adjust your presentation, and I think that can be a positive thing.”
The transformation delivered both emotional and financial impact. Families are more engaged, more comfortable, and more willing to explore personalized or premium selections.
• Majority of families now select directly from the showroom floor
• Drives visibility and engagement across the product assortment, resulting in measurable improvements in revenue and mix
• Personalization conversations happen more naturally
• 2.8x improvement in casket margins compared to the same merchandising assortment in legacy slatwall displays
• 12% increase in higher value product mix, shifting guided families toward premium selections and away from nongasketed products
• 26% overall increase in profitability was generated by the combined Digital and Physical Showroom, outperforming the previous supplier
“If a family is really drawn to personalization when they come in and see something on the floor, they’re automatically going to want to know what casket options take personalization, and they’re probably going to be drawn away from the options that don’t accept personalization. It’s nice to be able to present mid-range options more easily to families.” – Brittney Greene
The story of Vaughn Greene Funeral Services illustrates the profound impact that comes from reimagining a selection space with Family Choices® Physical and Digital Showrooms. While the investment required thoughtful planning, the results speak for themselves. By creating a brighter, more welcoming environment, they not only improved the family experience but also strengthened confidence in the decisions being made. In fact, within the first six months, Vaughn Greene saw measurable gains in both revenue and product mix, underscoring how the right environment can influence choices in meaningful ways. Their success shows that when funeral homes invest in modernizing their spaces, they are investing in long-term growth, deeper family trust, and the ability to serve with excellence for years to come.
Partner with Batesville to bring the Family Choices® Physical & Digital Showroom to your funeral home and transform how families explore their options. Scan the QR code or contact your Batesville representative for more information.
