Museum Audience Insight

Technology and Museums

It defied expectations.  Younger adults are supposed to be in love with technology, right?  It is practically the air they breathe. 

 

Yet our data showed something completely different. 

 

At outdoor history museums (OHM), people under thirty were the least likely to want the sites interpreted utilizing technology.  People over seventy were the most likely to seek out technology.  In fact, people over seventy were 4.5 times more likely to prefer audio tours over young adults under thirty.

 

We were surprised, and we thought it might be a fluke, simply because we were talking about technology in historic settings.  Perhaps the dissonance was putting people off.

 

But then we asked the same question in our study of Connecticut Cultural Consumers, which included Core Visitors to a variety of museums, and we found the same thing. 

Take a look at the results from both studies, below:

How can this be? 

We believe a few things are going on here.  It is important to keep in mind, however, that not a single age group is that enthused with technology in the museum.  But we should also note that we have not asked this question in science museums exclusively, and if we did we suspect that technology would be more accepted in that setting than in history, art, and children’s museums. 

 

So why do older respondents embrace technology more enthusiastically than younger respondents?  We believe there are two reasons.  First, older respondents are more likely to report difficulty hearing speakers and guides, while audio tours typically have clear-spoken narrators, the audio is directed in the ear, and the volume can be controlled.  Similarly, narrators in video productions are also clear speakers, and closed captioning assists those with hearing difficulties as well. 

 

Second, we are picking up signs that sometimes young adults, who are plugged in for so much of their lives, need a break from technology, and museums can provide that break.  Young parents are seeking to get their children away from screens and in more active play at children’s museums or in an educational (and fun) environment at other types of museums.    

 

Does this mean doing away with technology in a museum?  Not necessarily.  Sometimes technology is a fantastic tool for learning and engagement (such as the fantastic dining table in the European Decorative Arts galleries at the Detroit Institute of Arts – I am in absolute raptures over it).  Yet our audiences are telling us that, overall, they want museums to be doing what they do best: sharing real and authentic experiences through objects, art, science, and nature.  And most museums do not have to rely heavily on the latest technology to do that. 

We would love to hear your thoughts.  Simply click on “comments” below.  (If you are reading this from your e-mail subscription to the blog, please go to our blog's website to add a comment.)

Gaming, Museums, and the Future

The future.  Right now it may look a bit scary, with museums reporting layoffs, cutbacks.  

 

Yet the future is also incredibly exciting.  And we think museums can benefit from the changes the future will bring.  

 

AAM’s Center for the Future of Museums (CFM) is helping museums think about the challenges, and opportunities, of the future.  And they are doing so in some very creative ways.

 

Last month, CFM hosted a provocative, and thought-provoking, lecture by game designer and researcher Jane McGonigal on “Gaming the Future of Museums.”  They are hosting a free webcast of her presentation:

 

Gaming the Future of Museums

 Wednesday, January 28  

1:00 EST/10:00 PST

Click HERE to learn more from CFM and to register

We have seen this presentation, and you won’t want to miss it.

 

 

CFM has also asked us to gaze into our crystal ball and think about the future as well.  It has been mind boggling, fun, and challenging to do so!  And we would love to share what we found.  So join us for our next Museum Conversation:

 

Museums and Society 2034:  Trends and Potential Futures

Monday, February 9

1:00 EST / 10:00 PST

            RSVP to Susie Wilkening at Susie (at) reachadvisors (dot) com

            Space is limited, so RSVP quickly!

 

To download our white paper Museums and Society 2034, go to CFM’s website at http://www.futureofmuseums.org/reading/publications/.  

 

There will be a lot more coming about museums and the future.  Stay tuned . . .

More Questions, Thoughts on Museums and Customer Service

By now, you have heard it a few times.  In our research of over 30,000 Core Visitors to museums only one in ten think the staff really cares about them.  

 

Last week we hosted a Museum Conversation on customer service to delve into why customer service is important, and what we can do to better serve visitors to museums.  We were joined by two fantastic panelists:  Cindy Solomon, a customer service guru with Solomon and Associates, and Paul Orselli, Chief Instigator at POW!

 

(During the call, Cindy offered to share with listeners her myths on customer service, as well as additional questions.  Unfortunately, her spam blocker appears to have automatically deleted a handful of these e-mails.  If you did e-mail her, please try again as she does not want to be unresponsive!  Want a copy of her myths?  E-mail Cindy at cindy (at) cindysolomon (dot) com.)

 

We fielded a ton of questions on the call, and there were many excellent questions we did not get to.  To address them, we are including them below, and over the next few days we will tackle as many of them as we can.  And if you have some thoughts on any of the questions, feel free to click on “comments” at the bottom of this post and share what you do (for those of you reading this via e-mail subscription, please go to our blog at http://reachadvisors.typepad.com to add comments).

 

Staff:

• Please discuss the issue of museums shifting their thinking to consider themselves as service organizations.  How do you characterize the pressures to do this?  How do you see it manifesting?
• What are some recommendations for communicating museum guidelines and "rules" in a service-friendly way? What is an example of a mindset that can be communicated to security officers ... so instead of the job description being "protect the art" what should we communicate to protection officers their responsibility is so that they have that service in the forefront of their mind?
• I'm eager to know if volunteers were considered "staff" in regards to the survey.  Was there a difference in perception when it came to paid staff versus volunteers or did visitors view them both in the same light?
  
  • Response from Susie:  Generally, visitors do not distinguish between paid and unpaid staff when it comes to customer service.  If they are treated rudely by a volunteer, it makes just as much a difference to their experience as if it was a staff member.    
• What advice can you share for getting buy-in from the curatorial side of the museum?  What arguments are effective to explain how the content work of the museum relates to issues of customer service/visitor experience?  Can you share examples of how the frontline staff has enlisted the assistance of curatorial folks? 
• You mentioned on the call measures for evaluating job candidates re: customer service – specifically that some focus on the % of time the candidate smiles.  I once read that Biltmore will only hire guides who smile upon the first introduction. If the candidate does not, the interview politely continues but always ends in “no thanks.”  Any other ideas that you have?

Visitor amenities, perceptions, and motivations:

• How do the panelists assess service and evaluate the visitor/customer experience?  Are there any surprising or particularly powerful lessons that they have learned doing this?
• Can you speak more about the interesting parallel here with enthusiasm/passion and good customer service, and enthusiasm and the perception of authenticity.
• Any suggestions to help average parents enjoy their visit more, especially when their primary motivation is for their kids?  Could be as simple as extra benches for parents to rest, or as complex as trying to get parents more engaged in exhibits and science content.  We talk a lot about reaching adult audiences at ASTC ... I'd like to start with these visitors, who are after all, adults who just happen to be with their kids!
• How do the panelists understand and describe the way that service fits into the question of visitor satisfaction in the museum context?

Learning from others (or, not reinventing the wheel):

• I know that the non-profit world learns a lot from the commercial world re: service and satisfaction.  Is there anything that museums (npo's) can teach the private sector?
• Can the panelists recommend any research/articles on service and visitor satisfaction (their own or other's work)?
• What professional journals do the panelists feel do a good job of reporting on visitor/customer research as it relates to the service/experience industry (travel, attractions, museums, cultural sites, etc.)?
  

If you have any thoughts or questions on customer service, feel free to click on “comments,” below, and add to the conversation!

Museums and Civics

As part of my life pre-dating Reach Advisors, I used to get asked every four years or so if I would take some time off to help produce someone’s presidential campaign announcement event or help manage some of their campaign tours.  Last night, I was like many Americans watching a TV event, We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial. 

Thinking back to what I learned on the campaign trail, and meshing that with stuff we see in our research today, I wanted to toss out a few quick observations:

• On the surface, this was a big rock concert, the first one to top the We are the World concert 24 years ago.  But the Obama event producers did a remarkable job at turning this entertainment event into a massive American civics lesson.

• The event did quite a job at helping Americans relate to four overarching themes:

1. How the past provides America with strength to confront the future
2. How the arts are an unstoppable force for expressing a conscience and vision for America
3. How the American populace creates a stunning mosaic when stepping back to view the big picture
4. How a call to the greater good isn’t a sacrifice, but an achievable aspiration

• What the Obama campaign did remarkably effectively over the past 23 months was tap into a latent desire for the majority American voters to connect with those points. For many, this is a brand new feeling, morning in America.  But how new are these points, really?  Aren’t those points pretty much what many museums have done for a long time, often against the tide, well before it was cool? 

• American attitudes and sentiment are clearly shifting, perhaps becoming more receptive than ever to the message and missions of many museums.  Perhaps we could be entering the golden years for museums.  But that will take more than hope.  It will take the kind of clarity, consistency, and community-minded inspiration that many Americans are now getting used to hearing from the incoming president. 

Can museums serve as a physical outlet for the resurgence in civic interests, now that the campaigns are behind us?  Perhaps it’s time to remind our communities that museums are here for them, now more than ever.

- James    

"Why Should We Care?": Museum Conversation

It is a stunning result.  Overall, in our studies of 31,000 museum-going visitors, only 1 in 10 respondents feel that the staff at their local museums really cares about them.  Combined, it is 10.74%, to be exact.  And this is from our Core Visitors, who support and visit regularly. 

These results have instigated some interesting discussions on our blog, so much so that we are hosting a free Museum Conversation today on the subject:

Why Should We Care?
Museums and Customer Service
Friday, January 16, 2009
1:00 EST / 10:00 PST
Special Guest:  Cindy Solomon, Customer Service Guru, Solomon & Associates
Guest Discussant:  Paul Orselli, Chief Instigator, POW!

Of our blog readers, Paul was one of many with particularly strong views in the dialog on this topic, so we have invited him to join the dialog to continue his instigation before we open up the lines for questions and comments from call participants.

Only 5 spots are left in today's FREE conference call session.  To snag a spot, please e-mail Susie Wilkening at susie (at) reachadvisors (dot) com.

And if you have questions you want to submit to the conversation, simply click on “comments” below.  (If you are reading this from your e-mail subscription to the blog, please go to our blog's website to add a comment.)

"I want to try stuff, too!": Adults and Science Museums

Picture a typical science museum on a busy Saturday.  It is probably filled with highly-engaged children and their families.   But what about those parents and caregivers with the children?  And those adults without children?  Are they engaged? 

 

In our recent study of science museum visitors, we delved into the engagement of adults.  We found that only a third of respondents felt the museum made them, as adults, feel better informed about current science issues, while half said sometimes.  The remainder said no, it did not.

 

When we examined these respondents, we found that those who said yes were generally more engaged with the museum.  They were more curious about science, more positive about the museum, joined for more philanthropic reasons, and were much more likely to say the museum met their needs. 

 

In contrast, those who said no were less engaged with the museum, less curious about science, and more negative about the museum.  They were only half as likely to say the museum was very important to their community as those who said yes, and only 9% of them said that the museum met their needs.  (Those who said "somewhat" generally fell in the middle on these questions.)

 

So, like we recently explored with moms, the engagement of adults, as well as children, is very important to science museums.  But how do you do this?  In a follow-up question, we asked. 

 

For some adults, their own engagement was a new idea.  As one respondent noted, “I didn't realize one of the goals of the science center was to enlighten adults.”

 

But most adults were receptive to, or actively desired, adult content.  They want “More adult only programs” and they want time in the museum without children.  We saw several comments that echoed the frustration expressed this one:  “More grownup time. I get tired of kids who think they can cut in front of you just because you're an adult. I want to try stuff, too!”

 

They also want exhibits to be layered with content meant for them.  “Have more exhibits that work on adult interests and have the information more adult stated. There are times that I have felt as though I were being treated to a 'See Jane Run' explanation of theory.”

 

There was a very strong desire for current events in the science museum.  A large number of respondents asked for help understanding the science behind the headlines, such as:  “There aren’t any exhibits about new & emerging technology or new areas of science. I only ever hear about that stuff on TV. I would LOVE to hear about it from the museum.” 

 

Other frequent comments were focused on the actual visitor experience.  Representative comments include “place benches generously,“ “better coffee,” and “free parking!”

           

Additionally, there were a significant number of comments about the noise of the science museum.  As one mother said, “As it is now, we can barely hear ourselves think and the whole experience gives me a headache. I dread when my son wants to go and I put it off as long as I can,” while another noted “I want to come to the Science Center, but I can't abide the noise . . .”  

 

While engaging adults at science museums is clearly important, doing so takes thoughtful layering of content and programming, making the visit more amenable to them (even if that means installing noise-abatement devices!), and, for some, overcoming a perception that science museums are just for kids. 

 

We would love to hear how your museum successfully engages adults, or even how you reduce noise.  To share your stories, simply click on “comments” below.  (If you are reading this from your e-mail subscription to the blog, please go to our blog's website to add a comment.)

The Challenge of Moms

Moms are a tough audience.  They come to museums in large numbers, and with certain expectations.

Yet when we analyze the data from our major studies of museum visitors, we find that while moms in their thirties and forties are, overall, the largest audience segment visiting museums, we also find that they are the least satisfied segment as well.

Most likely to visit.  Least satisfied.  Let's step back and consider this.

Museum-visitor moms in their thirties and forties are primarily parents of pre-school to middle-school age children.  They are very well educated, when compared to the general population, and thus tended to postpone child-rearing.  They are also relatively affluent when compared to the general population. 

But despite their relative affluence, these moms tend to be highly budget-minded.  They tend to be more likely to join to pay for services they (and their families) have received, or to save money, than they are to contribute for more philanthropic reasons, such as to improve the museum. 

In our studies, moms are also the least satisfied audience segment, as illustrated by the graph below:

Yet they visit museums a lot, visiting their local museums multiple times a year.  Why?  Primary reasons given are family time, for learning opportunities for their children, and because their children like to visit. 
 
What is missing here? 
 
Mom's interests.

Overwhelmingly, when we look at the responses of moms in all of our studies, it has become clear that the primary drivers for museum visitation are the education, entertainment, and engagement of her children.  In the written-in comments from moms, moms rarely use words like "I" or "me," but instead use "we" and "my family."  Mom's interests, and engagement, tend not to be on the agenda. 
 
Moms are coming in large numbers, yet they are the most dissatisfied audience of all.  What gives?

When we began to analyze the responses of moms in our recent science museums and Connecticut surveys it became clear that there were two types of moms responding.  One group of moms who believe that visiting museums is an important thing to do for their children.  The other group are moms who believe that too, but these moms are also curious, omnivorous cultural consumers who love going to museums.  And when we compared the responses from these two different groups of moms, we found huge differences in their attitudes and their visitation patterns at museums.

The curious moms overwhelmingly fall into the category we call "Museum Advocates."  They love museums and value what they have to offer to them, their children, and their communities.  These moms tend to be more likely to support the museum for philanthropic reasons than the other moms, are much more positive about the museum, and are 50% more likely to say that their needs are met.  Finally, these moms visit a much wider variety of museums with their children, from science museums to art museums to history-based museums, etc.

The moms who visit primarily for their children overwhelmingly fall into the category we call "Core Visitors."  These moms tend to choose from a smaller variety of museums that moms perceive to be more age-appropriate for their children, namely museums that are highly hands-on, such as science centers and children's museums.  These moms tend to cycle in and cycle out of museums based on that perceived age appropriateness, and some types of museums are visited rarely, if at all. 

Because the focus of these moms is so much on the needs of their children, it seems as if Core Visitor moms make themselves second class visitors at museums.  It is not something that museums do to moms, but something they do to themselves.  And since Core Visitor moms are less likely to be engaged with the museum themselves, the fear is that their lack of engagement, and interest, subconsciously rubs off on their children, who then stop asking to come to the museum, breaking the museum-going habit.  And that is something we cannot afford. 

Instead, museums have a tough nut to crack:  engaging moms by layering on content for her in a way that clearly does not detract from the engagement of her children.

This is a topic that we are obsessing about at Reach Advisors.  When we analyze the two different types of moms, there are no significant demographic differences.  They have similar education levels, education levels, etc.  Yet their engagement levels, and their attitudes and visitation patterns, are very different. 

Of the handful of differences that we noticed, there is one we will flag in this email (with more to come in future discussions and research).  While almost all moms tell us that hands-on activities are primary attractions for their visits, the curious, engaged moms are much more likely to also mention narrative and story-telling, saying things like "telling with a good story is key."  That is a path of inquiry we are anxious to explore further as we continue our research to discover more about the differences in these two groups of moms, and the implications for developing more Museum Advocates.

As we plan additional research on moms, and Museum Advocates, we would love to hear from you what questions this data raises.  What do you want to know more about?  Is there anything you disagree with?  To share your thoughts and questions click on "comments," below. 

Data from Connecticut comes from the Reach Advisors study of Connecticut Cultural Consumers,

funded by the Connecticut Humanities Council and Connecticut Landmarks.

 

A Thank You Note to Write Home About

I am pretty jaded when it comes to fundraising appeals . . . and to gift acknowledgements.  I have written more than my share of both during my career.  And my husband and I try to give as generously as we can to a number of organizations.

So it is not often when I am impressed by either.  Yet I was pretty darn gob-smacked by the recent thank you note I received from WalkBoston (it came with a more formal gift acknowledgement).  So impressed I had to scan the thing and share it.

OK, here is why I was so impressed:

1 - The note is handwritten.  By the Executive Director.  Not just a note scribbled on the top of a form letter (though that is noted and appreciated as well).  But an actual separate piece of paper with a full note on it.  This made it personal. 

2 - It invites me to become involved immediately.  Not by giving more money (getting hit up again in the same envelope as a thank you is a pet peeve).  No.  They want me to get involved in their advocacy efforts.  They want ME, not just my money.

3 - They are already asking me for my feedback.  They want to know what is on my mind . . . and what I think is important for them to look into.  Not only do they want ME, they want MY OPINION!

4 - They sent me a nifty guide book.  Which I was not expecting and was surprised and delighted by.  (AAM also recently surprised and delighted me with a sticker for our car that says Support America's Museums.  We are not car sticker/bumper sticker people, but it is SO going on the station wagon whether my husband likes it or not!)  Kudos to both WalkBoston and AAM for giving me unexpected warm fuzzies.

5 - They invite me to a specific program.  Warmly. 

My husband was the one who wanted us to make a contribution to WalkBoston, and I happily went along with it.  But now I really want to know more about it and feel a hundered, maybe a thousand times better about our gift, and the organization, because this note made it personal.  And gave me warm fuzzies. 

How much time did it take Wendy Landman, the Executive Director of WalkBoston to write this?  Maybe two minutes.  The impact?  At a minimum, an easy renewal.  But likely a couple of advocates and long-term supporters.

Has a thank you note ever bowled you over?  Or are there ways you try to create personal connections like WalkBoston did?  We would love to hear about it!  To share your stories, simply click on “comments” below.  (If you are reading this from your e-mail subscription to the blog, please go to our blog's website to add a comment.)

- Susie

Guided Tours: A Polarizing Interpretation Method

We at Reach Advisors have mixed feelings about guided tours.  We have had awful tour experiences--and amazing ones. 

 

Turns out, respondents to two of our recent surveys feel similarly.  When we asked visitors to outdoor history museums and Connecticut organizations to tell us how they preferred to experience museums and historic sites, they were split on the value of guided tours.  Forty-five percent of respondents to both surveys selected guided tours as an experience preference . . . the rest did not. 

 

A closer look at the results of our Connecticut Cultural Consumers survey (conducted on behalf of Connecticut Landmarks, funded by the Connecticut Humanities Council) sheds light on why people do, or do not, enjoy guided tours.  When asked their thoughts, respondents used strong, emotive language, and that language underscored how polarizing guided tours are as an interpretation method. 

 

• Participants felt “trapped,” “controlled,” “pressured,” … or “stimulated.” 
• Other visitors on tours were “annoying,” “distracting,” … or “insightful.” 
• Guides were “monotonous,” “condescending,” “insipid,” “intimidating,” … or “passionate,” “smart,” and “articulate.” 
• Tours are “dumbed down,” “too structured,” “boring,” … or “fun” and “enriching.”

 

Respondents who do enjoy guided tours liked them for a number of reasons.  Primarily, they enjoyed the in-depth information that they received on tours.  Other reasons that appeared repeatedly include:  the personal connection that a tour guide offered; the stories, anecdotes, and little-known facts that they learned; and the efficiency of tours, which they felt packed in information in a short time.

 

On the flip side, respondents who do not enjoy guided tours primarily cited a desire to go at their own pace.  As one respondent asked forthrightly, “If I don't need a guide to watch TV or go to a football game or to an art museum, why do I need a guide to see a historic house museum?” 

 

Additional reasons included:  the uneven quality of the guides; crowds; their children, whose needs didn’t mesh well with the structured format of tours; annoyances of other visitors; and valuing solitary and quiet communal experiences above group interactions. 

 

Who among our respondents demonstrated a preference for guided tours, and who did not?  Stay tuned . . .

 

In the meantime, we would love to hear your thoughts and questions about this post.  To share or ask questions, click on “comments” below.  (If you are reading this from your e-mail subscription to the blog, please go to our blog's website to add a comment.)