Creating Great Visitor Experiences

Museums, libraries, parks and other cultural institutions today face the daunting task of attracting visitors who have almost limitless choices for education and entertainment. What gets them through your front door and coming back again and again? In the commercial world, some businesses stand apart from their competition and profit by providing sophisticated, meaningful, and memorable customer experiences. In this practical, user-friendly guide, Stephanie Weaver translates these methods to non-profit organizations. She introduces readers to the latest thinking and research on consumer behavior, branding, leisure studies, and staff training. She offers an eight-step process to evaluate how the visitors view you, from before they arrive at the front door until after they leave. Exercises in each chapter allow the institution to put this self-examination into practice and find new ways of attracting and retaining visitors. Replete with examples from the business and museum world alike, as well as the medical, retail, hospitality, and tourism industries, filled with resources for further exploration, "Creating Great Visitor Experiences" is a vital resource for administrators, trustees, and front line staff alike.

Reviews:
'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

Author Biography:
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.

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