Creating Great Visitor Experiences: A Guide for Museums, Parks, Zoos, Gardens & Libraries

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.

Table of Contents:
The need for change* Chapter 1: Competing in an experience-driven world* Chapter 2: The bear on the bicycle: the customer experience defined* 2 Your customers and your staff* Chapter 3: What do they want?* Chapter 4: Getting them to come back* Chapter 5: What's in a name? Defining your brand* Chapter 6: Putting people first* Your siteBreaking it down: 8 steps to a better visitor experience* Chapter 7: 1: Invitation-Designing for your guests * Chapter 8: 2: Welcome-Dust off your first impression* Chapter 9: 3: Orientation-Lost in space * Chapter 10: 4: Comfort-From toilets to typefaces* Chapter 11: 5: Communication-Craft your words carefully* Chapter 12: 6: Sensation-Fun and the five senses* Chapter 13: 7: Common Sense-Using your head* Chapter 14: 8: Finale-Take a bow* How to use this book* Instructions & calendar outlines* Exercises and Resources

About the Author :
Stephanie Weaver is a consultant to commercial and non-profit organizations on marketing, branding, and the customer experience, and creator of the concept EXPERIENCEology(t). With a background in film and public health, she has spent over fifteen years developing programs, exhibitions, special events, and conducting visitor studies at major museums, including the Chicago Children's Museum, Chicago Botanic Garden, and San Diego Zoo. She is principal in the firm Experienceology, which works with businesses to create memorable customer experiences.

Review :
'I highly recommend this book. Not that I could fully mine its wisdom in the short time I've owned it, but I think it is excellent. It is simple and direct, and does not take years and years of customer service training to understand. It is grounded in sound theory about how museums, zoos, and other attractions actually work and how guests interact with those places (and each other in those places). Most importantly, the author approaches the entire work from the viewpoint of guests. I know that sounds simple, but her approach disarms some of the traditional barriers to building great guest service by framing the entire book the way she does. The book is oriented toward action, versus often unfruitful and empty intellectual exercises. It is by far one of the best works on the subject I've seen.' Ken Bubp, Chief Operating Officer, Conner Prairie Museum, Fishers, IN 'Stephanie Weaver has created a practical guide to help readers systematically assess and support the visitor experience-prior to them walking through the front door and after they leave. She also tackles the museum field's million dollar question-how to get visitors to return.' Lynn Dierking, Institute for Learning Innovation 'Building on years of experience in the field as well as cutting edge economic and customer research, Stephanie Weaver has crafted a practical, friendly process to help institutions improve their visitors' experiences. This book is valuable for training emerging professionals and students on the importance of the visitor experience. Every public service professional who cares about doing a better job should keep a copy of this book handy.' Marjorie Schwarzer, Museum Studies, JFK University 'Overall, Creating Great Visitor Experiences offers terrific practical advice with myriad illustrations ranging from the Holocaust Museum to Starbucks to the South Bark Dog Wash. This is a wonderful book that will inspire you to more intentionally create vivid, meaningful, and rewarding visitor experiences. Your visitors will be grateful for changes you make, and your organization will benefit through increased popularity of your site and increased revenue generation.' Larry Beck, Ph.D., The Interpreter