ABSTRACT

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.

chapter 1|16 pages

The need for change

chapter 2|37 pages

Your visitors and your staff

chapter 3|8 pages

What do they want?

chapter 4|10 pages

Getting them to come back

chapter 5|8 pages

What's in a name? Defining your brand

chapter 6|9 pages

Putting people first

chapter 3|76 pages

Your site

chapter 7|6 pages

Designing an invitation for your guests

chapter 8|6 pages

Dust off your first impression

chapter 9|8 pages

Lost in space

chapter 10|9 pages

From toilets to typefaces

chapter 11|8 pages

Craft your words carefully

chapter 12|10 pages

Fun and the five senses

chapter 13|13 pages

Using your heads

chapter 14|12 pages

Take a bow

chapter section4|17 pages

How to use this book

chapter |15 pages

Instructions and calendar outlines

chapter |34 pages

Exercises and Resources