Shownotes
In this episode, Amy explores the real secret to increasing museum attendance, and it’s not about one-time visits. It’s about building loyalty. Drawing on a heartwarming story from her own life and offering actionable advice from her ebook, Amy guides listeners through how museums can become places where visitors feel known, valued, and eager to return. She shares how to map the visitor life cycle and offers a practical prompt to help museums move from chasing numbers to building lasting relationships.
This is part of Amy’s Summer Book Club series based on her free ebook, “Getting Visitors Through Your Museum’s Doors: Building Connection in a Noisy World.”
Links from the Episode:
- Download a free copy of the ebook: www.lovemymuseum.com/ebook
- Listen to the rest of the series: https://www.lovemymuseum.com/podcast/summerbookclub
More Free Resources for Museums:
About the host:
Amy Kehs is a brand strategist and communications expert for museums. She has owned Kehs Communications since 2000 and has worked for the most renowned and well-loved museums in Washington, D.C. Her goal is to ensure that museums thrive into the next century and she hopes people will come to love museums as much as she does. Her proven process sets up proactive communication habits for museums, cultivating relationships with visitors who will want to return and bring a friend. Want to talk more? Click this link to book a call.
Transcripts
Today on the podcast we're talking about what it really takes to turn
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:first time visitors into loyal fans.
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:If you want your museum to be the
place where everybody knows your name.
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:Then Let's get started.
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:Hello and welcome to the
Love My Museum podcast.
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:I am your host, Amy
Keys, and I love museums.
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:I'm also a brand strategist
and communications expert for
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:museums, and I've been working
in museums for over 30 years now.
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:I decided that I've learned a lot in
those 30 years, and I have a lot to share.
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:So I wrote an ebook for museums.
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:My new book is called Getting
Visitors Through Your Museum's
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:Doors, building Connection in
a Noisy World, and it's free.
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:You can download it on my website@www.love
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:my museum.com/ebook.
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:This summer, I'm doing a summer
book club series here on the
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:podcast and also on my email list.
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:And in the summer book club
series, we will walk through
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:the big ideas inside the book.
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:Each biweekly podcast episode,
we'll focus on one theme or strategy
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:And on those in between weeks, I'll send
you an email with a quick action step or
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:more support to keep the momentum going.
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:I really hope that the ebook, the podcast,
and the email series work together to
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:help you increase attendance deeper,
those connections that you have with
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:your visitors, and strengthen your
museum's presence in your community.
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:If you're just tuning in, welcome,
you can start right here, or you can
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:go back to listen to the last episode
to hear how this all got started.
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:And again, if you haven't
downloaded the ebook yet, don't
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:forget to grab your free copy.
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:Okay, so today's topic is one of my
absolute favorites because it is the one
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:that shifts your mindset from chasing
numbers to building real connection.
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:Let's be honest, it feels really
good when someone visits your
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:museum for the first time, right?
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:You see a bump in numbers, maybe you
hear some compliments on the way out,
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:and it's just really fun to watch a
new visitor as they navigate your space
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:and discover things for the first time.
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:But what about six months later?
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:Did they come back?
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:Did they sign up for a newsletter?
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:Did they tell a friend?
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:This is the challenge that so
many museums face visitors come
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:once and then they disappear.
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:And that's why I really want museums
to not only ask how do we get more
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:visitors, I want you to add a yes and.
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:To the end of that statement, how do we
get more visitors through our museum's
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:doors and love the experience so much that
they come back and they bring a friend?
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:Because that is what creates
long-term sustainability that takes
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:your museum to the next level,
where you go from surviving to
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:thriving into the next century.
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:That's my goal for my
clients, for my business.
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:And honestly, in addition to my children,
that's what I want my legacy to be.
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:Your museum needs to be
more than a destination.
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:It needs to become a part
of your visitors' lives.
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:So let me tell you a quick story
from the ebook that explains what
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:this kind of connection feels like.
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:And so when my kids were little,
every Saturday we'd go to the
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:same local restaurant for dinner.
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:It was kind of the kid version
of the Cheers bar in the TV show.
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:And like the song says,
everybody knows your name.
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:And we always sat in the same section.
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:And our waitress's name was Tabitha.
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:Tabitha knew us.
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:She knew what drinks my kids liked.
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:Sometimes our drinks were
already waiting on the table.
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:When we arrived, she brought them
their paper menus and their crayons.
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:She asked about their week.
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:She noticed them.
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:She made my kids feel like VIPs.
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:And so when we had company in town,
like if their grandparents came to
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:visit, they would ask us, can we please
take them to our favorite restaurant?
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:They felt like they were showing
off their place, and that's
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:what you want for your museum.
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:That feeling of, this is our place.
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:We belong here, let's bring someone else.
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:Loyalty is built with
that sense of belonging.
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:And there's real data behind this too.
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:A 5% increase in customer retention can
lead to up to a 95% increase in revenue.
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:Now, you're not selling smoothies,
you're asking people to spend their
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:most valuable resource their time,
but the principle is the same.
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:Loyalty pays off.
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:A loyal visitor comes back, they
bring their friend, they buy the
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:t-shirt, they sign up for a membership,
they make a donation, they tell
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:their friends, and this energy
creates strong community connection.
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:When someone feels like your museum
knows them, welcomes them, remembers
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:them, they are far more likely to return.
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:This doesn't require a huge staff or
a major system or a big budget, but
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:it does start with simple intentional
actions and consistent habits.
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:So for this summer series,
these podcast episodes are.
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:Going, well, I'm going to
try to make them short.
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:So let's get right into your action item
for the week, and that is to map out your
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:visitor life cycle, because I want you
to start thinking about the different
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:touch points that you have with visitors.
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:Think about that full visitor journey,
the the full journey that a visitor
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:takes from the first time they
hear about you to the visit itself.
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:I.
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:Put yourself in a visitor's shoes
and go beyond the visit itself.
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:What happens afterwards?
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:Here are a few questions to think
about for your brainstorming session.
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:Ask, how do they find you?
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:What's their first impression
online and in person?
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:Do they feel seen while they are there?
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:What happens after they leave?
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:What is your museum's why?
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:And are you communicating that?
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:And after you've done some of this
brainstorming, I want you to look
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:at your list and look for one small
thing that you could work to improve.
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:Could your front desk staff
have a welcome script?
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:Could you send a short follow up email
a few days after they have visited?
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:Could you offer a simple,
what's one thing you love today?
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:Card near the exit I.
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:Even thinking about how you stay
in touch with them after they
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:leave and put that system in place.
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:Remember that loyalty comes
from connection and consistency.
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:You want your museum to feel like
the kind of place where everybody
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:knows your name or at least where
people feel noticed and appreciated.
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:That's all for today's episode.
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:I promised you it would be short.
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:Thank you so much for listening.
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:If you haven't already downloaded
the ebook, please go do that now.
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:The link is in the show notes, or you
can go to www.lovemymuseum.com/ebook
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:when you download the book.
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:You'll be added to my email list and
every Tuesday this summer, you'll
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:get an email to give you more support
as we work our way through the book.
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:On the next episode, we'll be talking
more about becoming a community museum.
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:I.
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:That's also one of my favorites.
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:Until then, I hope you can start shifting
your mindset and start looking at every
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:first time visitor as the beginning of a
relationship and not a single transaction.
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:Okay, that's it for today.
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:I'll talk to you soon.
