By Thomas A. Parmalee
Many funeral professionals underestimate how early and how often families engage digitally before making a decision.
“The journey doesn’t begin at the point of need — it often starts months or years earlier,” said Courtney Gould Miller, who recently joined Homesteaders Life Company as its chief growth officer – a new job created especially for her – in January.
“Every digital interaction shapes trust,” Gould Miller said. “Families are assessing clarity, credibility and alignment with their values long before they ever pick up the phone. Funeral homes that understand and invest in that full journey are better positioned to grow.”
That type of insight positions Gould Miller to make an immediate impact at Homesteaders. She shared the news on LinkedIn shortly after Homesteaders issued a news release announcing her hiring and Tribute Technology issued its own news release on its realignment, noting that it is pursuing “a more unified go-to-market organization designed to strengthen alignment across marketing, sales, customer success, and partnerships — all with a shared focus on elevating the customer experience.”
In her post on LinkedIn, she said, “After four transformative years building Tribute Technology into the force it is today, I’m stepping into a new chapter as chief growth officer at Homesteaders Life Company.”
She continued, “At Tribute, we accomplished what many said couldn’t be done. We launched a unified brand from multiple acquisitions. Built an account management team that puts customers first. Centered product innovation around what funeral homes truly need, informed by their feedback with a Customer Advisory Board. And we brought MKJ Marketing — my family’s legacy — into the technology future while preserving everything that made it special.”
She went on to thank the amazing leaders she’s worked alongside at Tribute Technology and noted that CEO Craig Greenseid has asked her to stay on as an adviser.
“Now at Homesteaders, we have the opportunity to build on the foundation of an ecosystem that strengthens every aspect of funeral service,” she added. “Steve Shaffer (president, CEO and board chair at Homesteaders) and Nick Gerhart (chief operating officer at Homesteaders) are people who understand that business success comes from genuinely caring about the profession we serve, and that shows through in every way. I am honored to join a company with over 100 years of delivering on promises and innovating into the future.”
While some transitions feel like endings, she said this one “feels like everything has been preparing me for what’s next.”
Focusing on Growth
As to what she perceives as “growth” at Homesteaders, its defined first and foremost by long-term strength and service, not short-term volume, she said.
“As a mutual company, Homesteaders exists to serve funeral homes and the families they support, and that perspective shapes how we think about growth,” she said.
“For funeral homes, growth today means building relevance and trust over time. It means investing in relationships before a moment of need, creating consistent experiences and meeting families where they are, and that’s increasingly through digital channels. Growth in our profession is about stewardship. The firms that will thrive are those that combine strong values with modern tools and a long-term view.”
Asked about the role she’s filling at Homesteaders, she said, “My initial focus will be on listening and learning — spending time with Homesteaders’ team, our funeral home partners and our portfolio companies to understand where we can best support growth.”
She continued, “From there, priorities will include strengthening digital consumer journeys for preneed, supporting funeral homes’ long-term growth strategies and ensuring our investments and partnerships align with Homesteaders’ mission as a mutual company. Growth works best when it’s collaborative and mission driven.”
A Family Legacy
By joining Homesteaders, Gould Miller is continuing to write her family’s legacy, which has been defined by its dedicated service to the deathcare profession – one that began long before she joined Tribute Technology.
Her parents, Marilyn Jones Gould and Glenn H. Gould III, started MKJ Marketing in 1982 as a specialized marketing agency serving deathcare professionals, including funeral homes, cemeteries, and industry vendors. Over the years, it has expanded its services to focus on market research, advertising, custom digital marketing, training programs, and website development tailored to the deathcare profession and has amassed thousands of clients across North America through its data-driven marketing strategies and industry-specific expertise.
Much of its success is due to the energy and acumen of Gould Miller’s parents, who have cultivated strong professional relationships and positioned the company as a trusted partner for deathcare professionals over their decades of involvement in the profession.
An attorney who earned law degrees from Tsinghua University and the University of California, Los Angeles, Gould Miller served in private practice for several years before joining the family firm as chief strategy officer and an owner in 2016, helping to orchestrate its sale to Tribute Technology in 2022.
According to MKJ’s website, “This partnership is built on a shared commitment to innovation, compassion, and meaningful support for funeral professionals. By combining MKJ’s deep marketing expertise with Tribute Technology’s best-in-class website platform and management software, we’re helping funeral homes thrive in today’s digital-first world.”
When she was at Tribute, Gould Miller played a “key role in bridging the two organizations, driving the connection between strategy, technology, and service to ensure both MKJ and Tribute Technology clients receive thoughtful solutions that truly make an impact,” according to MKJ’s website.
The acquisition of MKJ was a critical piece of a broader consolidation of funeral-tech and marketing services under the Tribute umbrella — a portfolio that also includes other software and service brands serving the profession. The company has acquired or strategically partnered with firms such as SRS Computing, Funeral Innovations, Frazer Consultants, AdPerfect, CFS, Funeral Tech and Frontrunner Professional.
In October 2020, Providence Equity reportedly sold a majority stake of Tribute Technology to the Carlyle Group and Vista Equity for what is indicated as “north of $1 billion,” according to published reports. Providence Equity still has a minority stake in the business.
MKJ has continued to operate as a premier partner within Tribute Technology’s ecosystem since it was acquired, leveraging Tribute’s technology stack for websites, management software, personalization products, payment processing and digital experience tools.
After the acquisition, Gould Miller served in various key roles at Tribute Technology, with her husband, Isaac, formerly the chief operating officer and legal counsel at MKJ, having once served the company in key roles such as director of marketing services and vice president operations, software services, before leaving the company in November 2024. He’s now an attorney with Baron and Budd.
Energized for the Future
After four years at Tribute Technology and a total of almost 10 years total including her time at MKJ Marketing, Gould Miller called her experience “amazing.” She added, “I’m really proud of the work we did.”
As chief growth officer at Homesteaders, she will lead many of the company’s digital and marketing technology initiatives. “It is really an ecosystem, as there are so many different areas Homesteaders has invested into,” she said.
The position is a new one that will focus on growth, she said.
“How do we take what is here and improve in all the various ways we can grow?” she asked. “Some of that involves marketing at its core, but it’s also about whether we are meeting the needs of our customers – and who is our ideal customer? How can we raise awareness of certain products? Can we be bringing in AI or technology to create efficiency and further the breadth of a product or service? It will be a cross functional role, similar to what I did at Tribute.”
Indeed, Gould Miller’s expertise in working across departments to get things done will be a priority for her as she joins Homesteaders – and was no doubt a key reason the company hired her in the first place.
“That is where I bring the most value – working in a strategic role that looks at opportunities and challenges,” she said.
As she moves forward, she has the full support of her parents and family as she gears up to make a life-changing move from Nashville, Tennessee, to Des Moines, Iowa, with her husband and two girls, ages 7 and 10.
While working remotely may have been a possibility, she never seriously entertained such a notion.
Working as part of a collaborative team and in person “is where the best marketing happens,” she said. “Not just marketing, but getting into questions like, ‘How do we accelerate the business’ and ‘How do we solve problems?”
One reason she was so comfortable joining Homesteaders is her connection to Shaffer.
“He has worked with MKJ Marketing and my parents for over 20 years,” she said. “We have a longstanding relationship, and he has always been a mentor to me.”
But that personal relationship is only one piece of why she’s so bullish about taking on her new role.
“Homesteaders is a well-respected company in our profession, with over 100 years of trust among funeral homes and families,” she observed. “They have a wonderful culture, and I have many friends there, including, of course, Steve Shaffer, whom I have known for the last 10 years. Their identity as a mutual company was a major factor for me. There is a clear commitment to doing what’s right for funeral homes over the long term, not just short-term outcomes. That connects deeply with how I’ve approached my work throughout my career.”
She continued, “What excites me most is the opportunity to help advance digital innovation in preneed planning in a way that genuinely supports funeral professionals and families. Homesteaders has the trust, scale and stability to lead meaningful progress across the preneed ecosystem, and to do so with integrity and respect for the profession.”
Since she will continue as an adviser at Tribute Technology, Gould Miller may have the opportunity to work on a number of initiatives the two companies already have in place together.
“Initially, we started with an integration with Elevia and our marketing services,” Gould Miller said, in explaining the relationship between the two companies. “Tribute Technology has its Lead Logic system, which allows people to create digital, automated campaigns to generate preneed leads.”
At the National Funeral Directors Association convention in Chicago, Tribute Technology announced that “funeral directors will be able to view and connect Homesteaders policies directly within Tribute Management Software.”
Moreover, Homesteaders has sponsored Tribute Technology events and has provided experts to speak at them, furthering its mission to educate funeral professionals, she said.
“I would say that both Homesteaders and Tribute are focused on how we create leads for funeral homes – both preneed and at need – and how do we sustain that business at the best cost possible – in ways that support the funeral home brand,” Gould Miller said. “That is another area where we have teamed up and where we have worked week to week: how to generate leads more efficiently and effectively for the funeral home. All of that will continue, but I will move to the Homesteaders side of that initiative.”
Gould Miller’s duties as president of commercial markets at Tribute will be shared among other members of Tribute’s executive team, she said.
A Profession Filled with Opportunities
Gould Miller is excited to be joining a company that has a long tradition of emphasizing digital innovation across the funeral service ecosystem – especially in terms of prearranging.
“Meaningful digital innovation for funeral homes is about supporting conversations, not replacing them,” she observed. “It means giving families accessible, educational ways to learn about preneed planning, often long before they’re ready to speak with someone directly.”
In practice, that means providing families with clear digital touchpoints and thoughtful follow-up – and giving funeral homes the tools they need to stay connected to families over time, she said. “When done well, digital innovation makes preneed more approachable, more human and more in line with how families actually make decisions today,” she said.
She’s looking forward to helping funeral homes address some of the contradictions between how the public wants to interface with funeral homes and what they often find.
“The biggest disconnect is that families often want to explore and understand their options privately and digitally first, while the profession has traditionally required a higher level of readiness before engagement,” she said. “Families are looking for education, clarity and reassurance — not pressure. There is a real opportunity to create preneed experiences that feel accessible and supportive, and that naturally lead into trusted relationships with local funeral homes. Bridging that gap will be critical to future growth.”
She’s poised to help funeral homes overcome many of the problems they face largely because she’s had a front-row seat seeing them fall short.
“One of the most common mistakes I saw was treating growth as tactical instead of strategic, investing in marketing or technology without clear ownership or long-term alignment,” she said. “The most successful firms were disciplined and intentional. They invested consistently in their digital presence, trained their teams, followed up thoughtfully and stayed focused on serving families well. They viewed growth as a system, not a campaign, and they were willing to evolve without losing their identity. They also tracked results to know if it was working.”
Over the next five years, digital expectations, the continued growth of preneed planning and consolidation within the profession will have a significant impact on funeral service, Gould Miller said.
“The funeral homes that succeed will be those that combine modern digital engagement with strong personal service, and that approach growth as stewardship of both their business and their community,” she said.
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