Marketing Your Museum in Challenging Times

When the economy struggles, most museums and cultural organizations are forced to reevaluate their marketing strategy. Some make the biggest mistake of all and stop marketing altogether. Now more than ever you need sound strategies that attract new audiences, develop new opportunities and increase revenue and resources. The key question you should be asking is: “How do we convince people to engage with our museum during this time of uncertainty?”

Consider these ideas:
- Don't sell what you do
When marketing their institutions, most museums emphasize their offerings or services. That's like looking through the wrong end of a telescope. The fundamental principle of psychological marketing is this: People do not buy what your museum does or offers. People buy from the museum they value and love – one they believe will fulfill their needs like no one else.

Consider offering your members the royal treatment with an exclusive behinds-the-scenes tour of your collections library. They will love having the VIP status and will appreciate that you are catering to them. Although the features of your museum are important, they're primarily a way to convince buyers that your offerings or services will deliver on your promise to satisfy their needs.

- Just a little extra can tip the scales
Buying is always a matter of degree of persuasion. In the minds of your audience there is always a war between “I want it” and “I shouldn't buy it.” When the scales tip the slightest bit toward “I want it,” the buyer reaches for his or her wallet. By giving just a little extra value, such as a small discount to a special event, a free pass members can share with friends or some additional personal service, you can tip the scales in your favor.

- Use positioning to get your audience to buy from you
When fewer people are buying, you must sell to a higher percentage of those people. How? Focus on your distinctive niche. The fastest growing museums are focused on the needs of a specific audience and have aligned their marketing and sales with this theme.

Focus on positioning your museum in relation to your competitors. Always know what your competition is doing and identify the holes in their offerings that you might exploit. Ask yourself, what opportunities does your museum create for its audience that your competitors would have difficulty countering? After all, those whose scales tip over to “I want it” are ready to buy. You want to be the museum with which they engage.

- Treat your members like friends
I’m a member at a number of museums throughout New England, but there is one museum in particular whose director of member services always writes me a short note of thanks each time I renew my membership. It’s a little thing, but I look forward to hearing from her each year. And…I don’t think twice when renewing my membership.

Talking to your members like friends means taking the time to find out more about what they want, why they want it, what they like and don't like and what little extras they would find valuable. This is important information for your marketing and sales team. When you talk to your members like friends, they will be more likely to engage with you and respond in kind. They'll help you see their perspective and understand their needs.

In challenging times, we often draw inward. But this is a time that requires your marketing to reach out, to get inside the minds of your audience and to promise to satisfy the inner needs and wants that drive their buying decisions. You can do this by opening yourself up to new thinking, new ideas and new approaches to marketing.


Share Your Marketing Challenges With Us
How are you convincing people to engage with your museum during these challenging times? Share your strategies and results with us by posting a comment to this blog. We'd love to hear from you!