In the last year, visitor services and experience have changed tremendously. For many museums, it became strictly digital for months on end. Many institutions are only opening their doors to visitors a year later. With this incredible change in perspective for museums and visitors, the experience and wow factors have changed. There are new expectations and fresh ideas for immersing visitors in the museum experience and making them feel comfortable from the moment they walk through the door. At NMBL Strategies, we believe that integrating visitor services into the storytelling aspect of the museum is a prime opportunity to improve. Additionally, we have insights from museum staff who have carried their organizations through the pandemic and developed new strategies to wow visitors. Let’s take a look at how these features work to improve the experience for guests at your museum.

Fully Integrate the Museum Story and Visitor Services

Whenever someone visits a museum, the first encounter they have with the staff is at the visitor’s desk. Whether it is to check-in, pick up tickets, or ask where to go, the front desk is the forefront of your organization. With that in mind, it is key to integrate that desk and staff into the storytelling side of the museum. Don’t separate their role from the role of docents, curators, tour guides, and others. By educating your front desk and visitor services staff on the story of the museum, you will better tell that story to visitors. The museum experience starts from the moment visitors walk through the door, don’t let it be interrupted when they get to the front desk. Support your visitor services staff by allowing them to be able to answer questions about and understand the story of the museum. Give them the tools they need to achieve this. They will contribute to the visitors’ experience and immersion into the museum and its story.

Educating visitor services staff on the museum is immersive and rewarding for the staff as well as the museum. Many museums have already begun to take them on tours and give them educational materials to read and engage with. With this information and exposure to the story side of the museum, they can answer questions such as "what is in the _____ exhibit?" rather than just where it is. They can recommend exhibits based on visitors’ interests. Furthermore, when visitors finish a tour and are leaving, they might have a lingering question. Rather than have to seek out another staff member, the visitor services staff can engage with a thoughtful answer, adding to the quality of the visitor experience. No one likes to say “let me go find someone else to answer your question.” It makes the process of getting a question answered tedious for staff and visitors alike. Support your visitors’ services staff and guests alike by expanding the storytelling capacity of your museum.

A quick tip from our CEO, Eric Moraczewski, have some of your visitor services staff join already planned tours being led by your curators and docents, not only will they get a feel for the story of your museum, but they also gain the perspective of questions being asked during a tour. This process also prevents your curators and docents from having to add in extra tours to their already busy schedule.

How does this help transition visitors into the museum experience?

Especially common in small or understaffed museums, there is often overlap when a tour group shows up early. During the pandemic it’s also become an incredibly common practice to allow visitors in through timed ticketing, meaning groups show up prior to their entry time and often ask questions about the experience. Visitors are in the museum, but they are not being exposed to the story. They are just waiting in the lobby or outside for another tour guide to come around. With an educated visitor services staff, they can start an introduction and discuss the museum with these visitors while waiting for the tour guide or entry time. This waiting period is especially common now that museums are reopening with a smaller staff and some visitors are a bit uncomfortable coming to new spaces due to the pandemic.

Even without the pandemic, many museums are small and are staffed by a single front desk staff member. When this is the only contact a visitor will have with a museum, it is essential that they represent the museum and share its story. The front desk is often much more than ticket sales, free maps, and hours. They are the face and voice of the museum for visitors. Many of these staff members are excited about engaging with the museum on the story level and sharing that with visitors. Give them the opportunity to learn and provide them with the tools to represent your organization with pride and your story.

What are other museums doing to wow their guests with visitor Experiences?

We enjoy getting to know what museums are applying to maximize visitor experience, so we spoke to several museums across the country to learn what is wowing their guests. Wowing guests with visitor services doesn’t have to stop with knowing the story.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, especially at the beginning of lockdowns, guests were separated from visitor services. The personal connection built through in-person visits was difficult to come by, and for many, losing that connection was difficult. In order to support the community and offer incredible service, the Florence Griswold Museum stepped up and made a personal connection with their community: “we wrote personal notes to visitors over the first 6 weeks and sent them holiday cards as our way of thanking them for supporting us at such a crucial time. So much goodwill came from those hand-written notes.” This example of going above and beyond to provide visitor services when there were no in-person visitors shows remarkable work and detailed thought from Tammi Flynn, Director of Marketing at the Florence Griswold Museum. This connection when communities were separated definitely produced the wow factor for their guests.

From the Tampa Museum of Art, we learned how rapid adjustment to the world and needs of visitors provided a wow factor for guests during the pandemic: “Additionally, the Tampa Museum of Art partnered with the health experts at Tampa General Hospital early in the COVID-19 pandemic and successfully completed staff training and implemented recommendations to earn the TGH Prevention Response & Outreach seal of approval.” On top of having the right precautions in place, the museum offered free disposables masks for visitors as well as the option to purchase a reusable one. These are the details that made visitors comfortable in a difficult time and prevented any day-ruining mishaps like forgetting a mask at home. When everyone else was confused and visitors felt uncomfortable, the museum quickly pivoted and prepared a top to bottom plan for bringing guests back safely. A sure way to bring visitors back quickly and safely.

What you see here is that employee education becomes more critical than ever before, whether it is an understanding of the exhibits or understanding the proper pandemic protocols. Having your staff completely versed in the story, history, and measures taken by the museum can help provide guests a more well-rounded and comfortable experience that immerses them in the story of the museum from the moment they step through the door. Allowing visitors to feel comfortable asking any staff member for information not only curates a welcoming and engaging visitor experience but it improves the image of your organization as cohesive and dedicated. Museums are built on their story. They are much more than a building full of old stuff. Having a staff that can tell that story completes the visitors’ experience. Make sure your staff member's response is more than "I don't know, I just work at the front desk." Furthermore, building a comprehensive visitor services network that can adjust and innovate as the community needs it is key to consistently providing that wow factor to returning and new guests alike. Museums everywhere are developing their own innovative ways to wow guests. Just remember to always consider new ideas and remain nimble for whatever the world throws at your organization.

Enjoying these insights? NMBL Strategies possesses the experience to guide your museum forward with proven strategies. We’ve overseen museums on four continents and over 20 countries, welcoming over 6.5 million visitors in the process. Reach out to us today or visit our services page to learn what we can offer your organization today.

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