Creating Great Visitor Experiences

Museum and other non-profit professionals have begun to realize that the complete visitor experience is the key to repeat attendance, successful fundraising, and building audience loyalty. Taking lessons learned by successful experience-shapers in the for-profit world, Stephanie Weaver distills this knowledge for museums and other organizations which depend on visitor satisfaction for success. Is your institution welcoming? Are the bathrooms clean? Does the staff communicate well? Are there enough places to sit? These practical matters may mean more to creating a loyal following than any exhibit or program the institution develops. Weaver breaks the visitor experience down to 8 steps and provides practical guidance to museums and related institutions on how to create optimal visitor experiences for each of them. In a workshop-like format, she uses multiple examples, exercises, and resource links to walk the reader through the process. The need for change* Chapter 1: Competing in an experience-driven world* Chapter 2: The bear on the bicycle: the customer experience defined* 2 Your customers and your staff* Chapter 3: What do they want?* Chapter 4: Getting them to come back* Chapter 5: What's in a name? Defining your brand* Chapter 6: Putting people first* Your siteBreaking it down: 8 steps to a better visitor experience* Chapter 7: 1: Invitation-Designing for your guests * Chapter 8: 2: Welcome-Dust off your first impression* Chapter 9: 3: Orientation-Lost in space * Chapter 10: 4: Comfort-From toilets to typefaces* Chapter 11: 5: Communication-Craft your words carefully* Chapter 12: 6: Sensation-Fun and the five senses* Chapter 13: 7: Common Sense-Using your head* Chapter 14: 8: Finale-Take a bow* How to use this book* Instructions & calendar outlines* Exercises and Resources