If a museum wants visitors to return frequently, it must understand how to delight, not simply satisfy them. If you don't address this challenge, you may create an unending stream of new visitors who never return.

Knowing what your visitors (and potential visitors) value provides an underlay for understanding how museum programs will be received. Visitors gain value in four basis areas of the museum experience.

1. Programs and exhibits initially attract visitors to the museum's core competencies. Quality counts, as does frequency. The movie changes every few weeks. The symphony has a new program every night. How often does your museum open a new exhibit? Urgency leads to action.

2. Basic support services make the visitor's stay convenient, efficient and effective. Is the museum easy to find? Is parking easy? When I enter the museum, am I easily oriented? Am I greeted warmly? Are there clean, well-stocked restrooms? Can I get a bite to eat? Can I sit comfortably in the galleries when I'm tired? Will a docent give a tour? Can I get an audio tour? Is the museum open when I have free time? Extraordinary programs and exhibitions will attract visitors but may not sufficiently delight them to return unless you take care of creature comfort needs. Orientation, excellent food service, clean bathrooms, quiet retreat spaces, adequate parking, and accessible public transportation all play a role in engaging the visitor and setting them on a course for a return visit.

3. The museum's recovery process refers to the standard way employees recover when a visitor complains or when a failure occurs in the eyes of the customer. Our natural response to a complaint is to do the very opposite of what enables recovery. We tend to explain why the problem is not our fault or belongs in some other part of the organization. The cafeteria always closes at 3:00! At times we blame the visitor and point out why it's the visitor's fault. Good recovery is rare, but powerful. Many people have experienced its power at one of Nordstroms' department stores or at a Lexus auto dealer.

4. Customizing the experience is the final category available to you to delight the visitor. A customized experience can move away from speaking to the visitor, toward speaking with her. The museum monologue turns into a dialogue. The visitor begins to teach the museum more and more about their needs, their situation, what's important to them. The museum can better and better serve the visitor with exactly what they want, when and how they want it. The customized experience is a continuous collaboration, learning and tailoring what and how the museum provides its programs, exhibits, and services. Customization in museums currently occurs for very special visitors. The time has come for museums to begin learning how to provide mass customization to all their visitors. The corporate world is leading the way in this area and reaping the rewards of extraordinary success.

Visitor Satisfaction
The four-part taxonomy of visitor needs above, when evaluated via five levels of satisfaction described below, can help you derive powerful strategies for increasing visitor satisfaction and loyalty.

The table below shows levels of satisfaction gauged against the four ways of creating value. By using this evaluation system, you can begin to see points where improving the quality of exhibits and programs will not improve the visitor's satisfaction level, unless the other three types of customer needs are addressed.