Category Archives: Glossary

What it means

A museum’s audience or audiences are those members of the public who are engaged with the museum in any formal or informal capacity at the museum, online with the museum, or in connection with museum-based activities.

The term audience differs from that of the general public, which refers to those who have yet to engage with the museum.

How it’s used

Audience is a term commonly used as shorthand to refer to members of the public. Here, we are distinguishing between those members of the public who are engaged and those who still need to be engaged.

Why it matters

As museums, our primary purpose is to serve our audiences. Understanding who we engage and who we should be engaging with is a critical and necessary ongoing conversation for museums.

Notes

See also Audience Development, Audience Engagement, Audience Journey, Audience Persona, Audience Research, Audience Segmentation

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What it means

Analytics is the critical practice of translating sets of data and information into actionable stories and insights to inform effective decision-making. The first step is to identify quantifiable goals and key performance indicators (KPIs), which are then used to measure success and serve as guideposts for managing and optimizing future actions. It is also helpful in challenging assumptions by providing empirical evidence to support a strategic direction instead of relying on anecdotal information.

Harvard Business School offers a helpful way to categorize the four basic types of analytics organizations typically use: descriptive (reports current performance), diagnostic (articulates the “why” behind data trends), predictive (forecasts trajectory), and prescriptive (plans actionable strategy).

How it’s used

Museum marketing, communications, and audience engagement teams use a combination of some or all of the types of analytics described above, depending on their institutional goals and technological infrastructure.

• Descriptive analytics entails measuring progress against KPIs, such as comparing current visitation numbers or email open rates relative to preset goals.
• Examples of diagnostic analytics include examining seasonality or market trends to explain attendance fluctuations or identifying patterns across compelling email subject lines that prompt high open rates.
• An example of predictive analytics is harnessing behavioral data of customers across digital marketing to identify a target audience or to re-engage those who responded to an advertisement or email.
• Prescriptive analytics might use a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, such as Salesforce, and apply algorithms to assign a value or “score” to different museum audiences in their customer database, based on their touchpoints or interactions throughout their customer journey. (See also Audience Journey.)

Because museums are human-centered institutions, it is important to note that while critical, analytics do not tell the whole story. Qualitative methods of gathering and interpreting data, such as interviews, focus groups, and observational studies, can help provide a fuller picture than analytics alone.

Why it matters

Understanding audiences—both in person and online—at every point of their engagement before, during, and after their museum visit can be powerful in charting the long-term sustainability of a museum—in terms of both mission and revenue.

Data-informed storytelling and communications can be potent guides for decision-making, and the right mix of analytics can help the museum convert its data into actionable insight.

Notes

See also Metrics and Audience Journey

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What it means

Amenities, such as restrooms, coat check, food offerings, and seating, are services or conveniences made available to visitors to meet their visitation, participation, or general usage needs and support a prolonged stay in the museum. Amenities can and should include online services as well.

How it’s used

Amenities are a critical component of meeting the specific needs of our current and future audiences and a key ingredient of a museum’s audience development efforts. Planning for expanded or improved amenities is a necessary element of an effective audience development plan.

For example, a museum that wants to attract and grow a family audience but that does not adjust its amenities to meet the needs of the family audience through family restrooms, stroller parking, food offerings, designated spaces, and related programs will not be able to attract and maintain those audiences and suffers the risk of harming the museum’s reputation as a consequence.

Amenities can also be substantially improved through internal team training and actively collecting and listening to visitor feedback.

Why it matters

Amenities play a critical role in support of the museum experience because they make people more comfortable and thus able to engage more deeply with the museum’s content. Some amenities enhance the museum experience and help prolong a museum stay; if unavailable, they may limit or even prohibit visitation for some people.

What it means

“Giving equitable access to everyone along the continuum of human ability and experience,”* accessibility is an inseparable component of DEAI (Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion) initiatives. Museum accessibility is also covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA, a law that protects people with disabilities from discrimination ensuring greater access, inclusion, and equal opportunity).

How it’s used

As part of approaching museum work with a DEAI lens, accessibility can be applied across every touchpoint anyone has with a museum. From navigating onsite and online spaces to understanding and engaging with what a museum has to offer, accessibility means opening the museum experience up to the widest audience possible.

For museum spaces and experiences onsite and online, this means designing user pathways or offering devices that support a person’s ability to navigate and experience the museum despite visual, mobility, auditory, or cognitive limitations. Examples include but are not limited to providing mobility aids, such as wheelchairs as well as tactile guide paths and visual information in the building, ensuring a website that meets web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) standards, and designing programs for people with hearing or visual impairment.

Marketing, communications, and audience engagement professionals should take every opportunity to produce materials that are as accessible as possible as they help the museum communicate with the public and work with various departments to convey the many ways the museum prioritizes accessibility for all.

Why it matters

If museums exist to engage audiences, we must broaden our concept of diversity to go beyond race, ethnicity, gender, intersectionality, culture, religion, or socio-economic factors to also include all types of physical ability. Accessibility encompasses more than just organizational compliance; it is an opportunity at every department level to create a welcoming environment for people to access experiences at every level and pace.

*From AAM’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusivity and Inclusion page

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