Amy:
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Keeping track of your museum's numbers is so important.
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On this really short episode, we're
going to set up a spreadsheet so that you
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can begin recording your numbers today.
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Yes, like now!
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Let's get started.
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Welcome to the "Love my Museum" podcast.
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I'm your host, Amy Kehs,
and I love museums.
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I also happen to be a brand
strategist and communications expert.
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Today, we're talking about your
museum's numbers and how important
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it is to record these metrics.
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It's going to be a really short
episode because I want you to
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remember what I'm saying, and I
want you to take action today.
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Metrics give you the low down on how
you're doing, where you're headed and what
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needs a little extra love at your museum.
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It's not just about collecting numbers,
it's about using them to supercharge
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your progress at your museum.
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They can help back you up when you
want to create an exhibit based off
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of a popular program you just had.
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I know that as a museum expert,
you probably have hunches about
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what will do well at your museum
and having the numbers to support
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those theories can help you justify
the new ideas that you're planning.
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In our planning episode, we talked
about how planning is like a
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roadmap and that you want to make
sure that everyone at your museum
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has the same goals and priorities.
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Well, if planning is the roadmap, think
of metrics as the compass for that map.
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If you have the numbers to guide you,
you're more likely to spend time on things
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your visitors will be interested in.
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Here are a couple of examples.
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You look at your numbers from the
last quarter, and you see that out
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of all of the programs you did, one
program had the highest attendance.
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In fact, you go back and compare
it to the whole previous year
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and it still comes out on top.
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Well, maybe it's a contender to
do a whole exhibit on that topic
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or maybe you want to bring it
back as a regular ongoing program.
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Now, of course the
reverse is true as well.
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Maybe there's an event that
didn't do well that you were
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considering to be an annual event.
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What could you change to
make it more appealing?
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Without metrics, it's like
trying to navigate that windy
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road with your eyes closed.
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You're just guessing.
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So.
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Where do you start?
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Where do we begin?
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First, I want you to set up a spreadsheet.
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You can start simple.
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Just please start.
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I'm going to walk you
through it right now.
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So open up a Google sheet or an Excel
document, any kind of spreadsheet.
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In the left column, I want
you to record the date.
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And then in the other columns
for that date, record things
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like your visitor numbers, social
media metrics, website data.
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You can also record numbers for
any revenue streams, like museum
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memberships or donations, ticket
sales, special events, gift shop
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sales, whatever might apply.
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You can share the document with your
coworkers and have each team member that's
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responsible for that number fill it in.
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So, for example, if you have a gift
shop and you have a gift shop manager,
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that person will be responsible
for filling out those numbers.
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Now at this point, you might be
saying, "Amy, I am never going to
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get my colleagues to go for this.
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That's okay.
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Start small.
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Start with the numbers that
you're responsible for.
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When you show up at a meeting and
you have the numbers to back up
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your recommendations and your ideas,
everybody will want to get on board.
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Second, take your spreadsheet and record
your metrics every week on the same day.
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I recommend Monday mornings.
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So on Monday morning, everyone that is
helping you fill out the spreadsheet
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goes into the spreadsheet and fills
out the numbers for the previous week.
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Third, I want you to review your
metrics at the end of each month.
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There may also be some numbers on
there that you can only record once a
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month, like, probably visitor numbers.
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And so at the end of each month, take a
look at those metrics and review them.
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What worked well?
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What didn't?
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Were there any unexpected highs or lows?
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One of my most popular posts on social
media are the posts that I do on the last
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day of every month, reminding everyone
to review your metrics for the month.
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If you follow me on social media,
you may have seen that reminder.
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So, if you start today, having this
benchmark will be a huge advantage
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as you listen to this podcast
and implement the other tips and
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tricks that I'm going to teach you.
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You'll be able to see how things are
changing three months from now, six
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months from now, a year from now.
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Using numbers will simply help
you understand what is working
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and what you can build on.
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It will help inform your decisions
for your museum moving forward.
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Okay, so let's review.
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Number one, set up your spreadsheet.
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Number two, you're going to record your
metrics every week on the same day.
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I recommend Mondays.
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If you listened to the last episode
of the podcast, I gave some hints
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for how to practice a new habit.
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So you could simply put a
sticky note on your desk.
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Or you could create a recurring
task in your calendar that
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reminds you every Monday morning.
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Okay, so we set up our spreadsheet.
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We're recording our metrics every week.
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And we're reviewing our metrics
at the end of the month.
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That doesn't sound too hard does it?
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If you're staring at a blank screen,
let me give you some more help.
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You can head to lovemymuseum.com/metrics,
and you can download a
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museum metrics template.
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The template is in a Google sheet.
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And so you can either download it as
an Excel file or you can make a copy
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and you can use it as a Google sheet.
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Once you have your own copy,
customize it to fit your museum.
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You can change it to your own
brand fonts and brand colors.
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Then set that reminder in your
calendar and you're all set to go.
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And that's it.
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Keep in touch and let me know how it goes.
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That's all for today.
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I'll see you next time.
