Category Archives: Glossary

C, Glossary

Core Values

Posted on by Joyce Kwon

What it means

Core values are a focused set of guiding principles that define your highest organizational aspirations. The organization is stronger when all members honor the core values and apply them in all decisions, large and small. They operate internally and externally; this includes team behavior, colleague interactions, and how the organization interacts with the public.

How it’s used

Core values should be used in critical decisions such as board selection, hiring, training, onboarding, and program selection. They should also be used in day-to-day discussions, planning, and strategic planning as an active tool for all decision-making. Core values can serve as a type of rubric to assess the compatibility of a partnership.

Core values serve as guardrails for everyone, including the board, executive leadership, team members, and volunteers, and they should extend to expected visitor behavior. All members of the organization should take responsibility to uphold and defend the core values. This work should be regarded as part of one’s role and responsibility as a member of the organization.

Core values should address an organization’s highest aspirations rather than reiterate standard nonprofit management practices. Safety and integrity, for example, should not clutter the core values, as these should be regarded as basic prerequisites for continued operation.

Core values must be well defined, easy to understand, and ready to use by everyone involved in the museum; this puts a severe limit on how many core values any museum can reasonably have.

Why it matters

In a world where museums face an increasingly uncertain future, core values serve as critical guardrails and inspiration, protecting the organization from going off the path as it moves toward the achievement of its most aspirational vision.

Core values are a powerful tool in the development, evolution, or maintenance of organizational culture, which is, in turn, a key constraint on organizational strategy. If the culture, and thus the behavior of those inside the organization, is out of alignment with the strategy, the museum’s capacity to execute that strategy will be severely limited.

Notes

See also Purpose Statement (Purpose, Mission, Vision, Values)

Recommends

We recommend using only three core values and to avoid “values soup” with five, six, or more values. A total of three core values allows every member of the organization to keep them all clear in their heads and top-of-mind so that they can make use of them. A large collection of core values, especially those with absent or nebulous definitions, are nearly impossible to use in real-world decision-making. We see this as a significant and very common problem when an organization seeks to activate its core values in service of building a stronger organizational culture, or by extension, executing an organizational strategy.

 

Recent years have witnessed the addition of DEAI to many organizations’ list of core values. This is problematic for at least two reasons: (1) diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion are actually four additional values; and (2) they should, like safety and integrity, be part of the baseline for any museum’s operation today. Reality, however, lags way behind this ideal and so the impetus to add them is understandable. Our recommendation at this time is to include DEAI in the definition of all of a museum’s core values rather than adding them as an appendage.

Glossary, T

Target Audience

Posted on by Joyce Kwon

What it means

A target audience is a group of people with shared demographic and/or psychographic characteristics that the museum has identified for a particular purpose, such as exhibition or program attendance or participation in a survey. Target audiences are often represented by a persona (see Audience Persona) with a name and detailed description, highlighting specific characteristics that are representative of a member of this group.

How it’s used

Consider a marketing campaign for an upcoming project; a broad message targeted to the general public might be seen, but is at risk of being overlooked, whereas a much more focused message that keys in on the needs and interests of a particular audience is likely to be more effective. Well-defined target audiences and research-based knowledge of what these audiences value enhance the museum’s project team’s ability to work together in a more focused manner as they seek to achieve the project’s audience-based goals.

A product, such as an exhibition, is best developed with a target audience in mind. Not doing this means that the target audience defaults to those within the museum instead of an identified external audience. Nothing is truly for everyone, but specific targeting, when done well, can have the effect of energizing the audience most likely to benefit from the program or exhibition. This, in turn, can spark word-of-mouth and thus significantly extend the reach of the museum’s marketing and communication efforts and expand the realized audience beyond the original target.

It should be noted that, in general, new audiences are far more difficult to attract than existing ones and any new target audience will require persistent and sustained effort to develop and maintain.

Why it matters

Target audiences allow the organization and its staff to focus their resources and efforts on an agreed-upon audience or community. This helps to clarify where to advertise, for example, and what aspects of the offer to highlight in the museum’s communications. Deepening a relationship with a target audience requires both focus and consistency, so having too many target audiences can diminish the museum’s ability to deliver its message.

Notes

See also Audience Persona

recommends

Narrowing your target audience will consistently have greater yield than expanding the target. This is a discipline because it is so easy to want things to be for “everyone.”

 

For examples of highly specific targeting and its positive effects, see: You Need a Target: What Makes a Marketing Plan Strategic?

 

For a deeper look at the difference between audience-centric product design and internally focused product design, see: Curatorial vs. Marketing

F, Glossary

Free

Posted on by Joyce Kwon

What it means

Free means eliminating the price for a museum offering, program, or initiative (e.g., “The program is free to attend” or “Admission to the museum is free”).

Free can have significant benefits to the public, the organization, and the community. When costs are removed for the audience, accessibility improves; however, it is important to recognize that for the organization, free comes with unavoidable costs and consumption of the organization’s resources. It is also important to acknowledge that there are hidden costs of participation for the audience as well (e.g., transportation, parking, food, or even opportunity cost of what else could be done with one’s time).

How it’s used

A museum can offer programs or admission for free on a periodic or permanent basis to support the museum’s mission or for marketing purposes.

Permanently free admissions or program offerings can also have the potential to reduce perceived value, commitment to attendance, and/or reduce the amount of time a visitor spends at an exhibition or event.

Free is not a substitute for direct invitations to a particular community to visit or attend. The museum should not assume that being free is sufficient as an invitation to participate, especially for minority or traditionally underserved communities.

Why it matters

Free admission or free programming is an important tool to increase access, particularly local community access to the museum and its programs.

For the public as well as the staff, it is important to communicate the value the offer brings despite its being free. Furthermore, appropriate public recognition should be given to the supporters that made free admission or programming possible.

Recommends

See: Museums and Race

Glossary, W

Word-of-Mouth

Posted on by Joyce Kwon

What it means

We all tell stories. Word-of-mouth is shorthand for the stories told about your museum or its products out in the marketplace. These stories can be positive or negative. They are generally regarded as the most reliable and powerful types of information a person can receive regarding your museum and its offerings. Organic social media operates as a kind of word–of-mouth. Online reviews are also a closely related form of storytelling and have a similar effect.

How it’s used

Word-of-mouth is the result of every component of the experience and thus, the responsibility of every function in the museum (see also brand equity). Marketing, communications, and audience engagement play a role in setting the stage for word-of-mouth, but fundamentally, it is driven by product quality (e.g., exhibitions and programs) and lived experience. Extremely good experiences encourage positive word-of-mouth. Modestly good experiences typically do not. Negative experiences, even mildly negative ones, encourage negative word-of-mouth. This range of response to an experience is important because negative stories carry more weight than positive ones.

Why it matters

Word-of-mouth is arguably the most powerful marketing mechanism because it can drive behavior. Because it is rooted in storytelling, it has always been with us, and in a world that is oversaturated with marketing, the first-person story or testimonial given to you by someone you know and trust overrides almost any other message. This power is the origin of such widely used tools as the Net Promoter Score. For a museum, the same dynamic is at play. What people are saying about you and your products (e.g., a special exhibition) is often the strongest determining factor for a person’s choice to attend or not.

Recommends

See: If you satisfy your customers you fail.

Glossary, W

Wellness/Well-Being

Posted on by Joyce Kwon

What it means

The National Wellness Institute (NWI) defines “wellness as an active process through which people become aware of, and make choices toward, a more successful existence.” And wellness can be understood against various dimensions, including the spiritual, emotional, mental/intellectual, social/relational, environmental, and physical.

Today, it is not uncommon for businesses, organizations, and academic institutions to consider additional dimensions or wellness-based elements for their institutions. Whether the organization thinks about wellness using the six dimensions from NWI or an expanded menu, wellness offers a deeper and more holistic view of a person’s health and well-being, moving away from one singular vantage point, for example physical health, to other considerations such as social connections, relationships, or spirituality.

Wellness for museums inspires a fuller, more complete view and understanding of their staff, audience, and community.
As noted by the International Audience Engagement Network (IAE), “museums have an active role to play in responding to and sustaining the various wellness needs of our communities.”

How it’s used

Wellness can be considered both a mindset and a framework for museums, assisting them in engaging and understanding their staff and volunteers, audiences, and the communities the museum serves.

The wellness mindset provides the museum with an expanded understanding, moving from a singular consideration to a pluralistic one. An example of the wellness mindset might encourage the museum to consider the negative impact of loneliness during the pandemic on individuals and their relationships with their friends, family, and neighbors (social). Looking at another dimension, people’s fitness activities were also forced to change during the pandemic (physical). In considering yet another dimension, many were no longer able to attend religious activities at their houses of worship (spiritual).

The wellness framework allows the organization to consider, plan for, and where possible, address an expanded range of needs for museum staff and volunteers, audiences, and community. A wellness framework encourages the museum to expand its offerings and create opportunities for group participation so that the individual can socialize with family and friends (social). The museum could include the step counts for its exhibitions (physical). In considering the religious needs of its audiences (spiritual), the museum might consider altering its food options.

The IAE provides a wellness-based framework for museums to further assist them in planning and addressing their staff, audience, and community’s holistic needs.

Why it matters

A wellness mindset and framework provides the museum and its staff with an expanded view of the needs of staff, audiences, and communities. Putting a wellness framework into practice can make people feel nourished and more satisfied with their museum experience, thus encouraging greater visitation and engagement. Wellness moves the discussion beyond the primary consideration of common touchpoints to a broader perspective of each group’s holistic needs and motivations. This allows the museum to better plan, engage with, and meet those needs and expectations.

Glossary, V

Visitor Experience

Posted on by Joyce Kwon

What it means

Visitor experience is the interactions a person has with the museum that form and inform their feelings about it. Visitor experience starts well before a visitor walks into the museum, but once a visitor does walk in, it is the cumulative effect of every interaction from ticketing and security to food offerings and the quality of interpretation. Visitor experience is delivered by the building, its contents, and all of its frontline employees and volunteers. It is also affected by external circumstances, such as the weather or what’s happening in the surrounding community.

While the visitor experience usually applies only to the physical, the same considerations apply to user experience (i.e., any digital experiences that the museum offers).

How it’s used

While visitor experience is highly subjective and individualized, and is affected by some elements that are beyond the control of the museum, it is a critical consideration that should be at the heart of team planning and design for all public-facing aspects of a museum’s offer. It can be measured using tools such as net promoter surveys, spot interviews, observation studies, or even having those normally behind the scenes, such as curators, walk the floor and observe how people take in what is on offer.

Why it matters

An excellent visitor experience is essential for positive word-of-mouth. The enthusiasm of the story a visitor tells after a visit, or how they share the experience with their network, is a key determinant of higher or lower attendance and brand building. Visitation can and should be kickstarted via marketing and communications, but it is visitor experience that determines if the attendance numbers escalate or fall off as an exhibition or program runs its course.

Notes

See also Wellness/Well-Being

Glossary, S

Social Media

Posted on by Joyce Kwon

What it means

Social media refers to a museum’s owned digital media channels for building community, cultivating a respectful space for dialogue, and leveraging content to support a museum’s mission, strategy, and audience-building goals.

When used with strategic creativity and authenticity, social media can be a powerful platform for amplifying a museum’s voice, personality, and social impact.

How it’s used

Social media is an indispensable part of a strategic marketing communications mix, requiring dedicated resources. Platforms come and go with the ability to make and break organizational reputations, and therefore, require constant management and investment.

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, and Pinterest are just some of the popular platforms used by museums to engage, connect, and grow their fans and followers. Location-based online communities such as TripAdvisor, Yelp, and Google Business also provide opportunities for audiences to share and rate museum experiences, and these platforms can also make valuable additions to an organization’s social media mix. When planning your social media strategy, it is important to recognize that different communities are on different platforms and they engage differently according to the characteristics of each platform.

An important aspect of this work is monitoring, listening to, and sharing content created by others (user-generated content).

Museums benefit from having social media guidelines, establishing clear rules and parameters for how users—referring to both the public and employees—should use and engage with the organization’s social platforms. This helps balance transparency and freedom of speech with cultivating a respectful community space online, just as a museum would uphold in its physical spaces onsite.

Why it matters

Social media helps to humanize an institution. It gives an accessible voice to an otherwise possibly intimidating organization, creating a direct line of communication between a museum and the people it serves.

Breaking geographical and cultural barriers, social media allows for a range of conversations—from fun quips and rapport-building to customer service and dispelling misinformation—to happen in real-time.

Leveraged strategically, social media can be a powerful way to grow long-term trust, relationships, and loyalty with audiences.

Glossary, P

Purpose Statement

Posted on by Joyce Kwon

What it means

A purpose statement (purpose, mission, vision, values) is a declarative and specific statement of why the museum exists. Because museums exist to serve audiences, the purpose statement must also clarify its specific commitment to its community and audiences. A museum’s purpose statement is the foundation for its mission and vision statements.

Our outline of the most common strategic tools is as follows:
Purpose: Why we exist
Mission: The means by which we will achieve our purpose
Vision: The future we wish to bring into being
Values: The principles we will abide by as we seek to achieve our purpose

How it’s used

Clarity and simplicity are essential characteristics of an effective purpose statement. A museum’s purpose statement must be known and understood by all those within the organization so that they can actively work to align with it.

Purpose and mission are often used interchangeably, but purpose answers the question of “why,” and mission defines how or what an organization will do to accomplish its purpose. Purpose and vision are also sometimes used interchangeably and have some overlap. When defining both the purpose and the vision is deemed overly complex, our recommendation is to prioritize purpose because of its greater capacity for immediate guidance. Doing all the things outlined in the mission in service of its purpose will enable the museum to advance toward its vision.

An organization’s core values, or values system, are the ethics that guide the organization as it works to carry out its mission and achieve its purpose. Core values should be complementary to an organization’s purpose.

While not common in the museum sector, a purpose statement is a standard tool in the for-profit and nonprofit communities.

Why it matters

In an ever-changing world, how a museum and its stakeholders decide what to do and what not to do is crucial, but not always easy to ask and answer. Where do we turn to as individuals, employees, and as organizations when difficult questions arise? A museum’s purpose statement is invaluable at such moments because it ensures that every employee can see if their work is aligned with and contributing to the museum’s purpose.

Example

For reference, we include the purpose and mission statements of the International Audience Engagement group. See https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/international-audience-engagement-network-iae/

Our purpose is to create a museum culture centered around audiences.

Our mission is to create a global network of museum leaders in audience engagement committed to advancing the public value of museums through supporting an authentic internal and external focus on the audience experience.

Notes

See also Core Values

Recommends

See: The Importance of a Small Set of Core Values