the art of telling art

Museums and Visitors: experience analysis10 case studies

IBM Business Consulting Services®

the artof telling art

*“Driven by increasingly intense competition in an ever-more global marketplace,leading brands are focusing on improving the end-to-end customer experience asa basis for establishing competitive differentiation, boosting revenues and winningcustomer loyalty”

IBM Institute of Business Value 2003

“A radical opposition between assets-work of art and assets-experience would beout of place. Also in the most traditional museums spaces devoted to experiencewidens thanks to the modification of the media-mix used for communication.”

Peppino Ortoleva

“We attend museums not because we love painters but because we love ourselves.”

Jackob Burckhardt

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which oneshave to be kept”

Scott Adams

“The most successful museums offer a variety of experiences concerning different segments of public, and reflecting different visitors’ needs”

Neil e Philip Kotler

“Experience is not what happens to a man; it is what a man does with whathappens to him”

Aldous Huxley

*i n d e xForeword .................................................................................... VII

Introduction ................................................................................ 1

Chapter 1 Sector Analysis ...................................................... 7

Demand analysisHow free time is spent?Offering evolution10 sample museums

Chapter 2 Profiles and Scenarios ........................................... 25

Chapter 3 Customer Experience Evaluation............................... 43

Chapter 4 Trends e Best Practices .......................................... 67

Museum and BrandOffering EvolutionTechnologies and Innovative Channels

Chapter 5 Conclusion ............................................................ 85

Appendix ................................................................................... 89

Bibliography .............................................................................. 93

*fo r ewo r d

Defining solutions stimulating innovation has always been the IBM mission. Every day we approach

different companies in terms of sector and business size, to which we provide our best capabilities and

technologies. Once our purpose was to support our clients’ business with powerful computer infrastructures,

today we fully aim at helping them create new ideas and approaches to encourage efficiency, growth,

competitiveness and profits.

Nowadays the game is no longer about the technology available, but above all about knowledge and

expertise. A good technological infrastructure can make a company more productive, however growth and

profitability challenges need a transformation affecting business models, processes and people. To perform

such a change it is necessary to have a deep understanding of the company, its competitive profile, its

sector dynamics and its culture.

The ability to turn this business trend into projects, thanks to on-the-edge competences and instruments, is

the reason why we participate in the most important Italian and international companies’ transformation.

Generally, it is also our strength in sectors not strictly related to enterprises, where a great potential for

progress can be unleashed.

IBM strongly believes in its role of “innovation engine” towards all society actors. It takes part in the

creation of an eco-system that is functional to the development and competitiveness of the Country system.

This affects both enterprises and the non-profit world, where the IBM commitment is reinforced by the

Fondazione IBM Italy's activity supporting schools, culture and disability.

These represent some of the fields where the relationship between enterprise and “sociality” can be a mutual

source of enrichment. The challenge is to invest in this common heritage, making knowledge and

competence exchange a normal procedure.

Our study, focusing on museums’ reality, is to be considered as an example of this exchange. It provides new

keys to look into the relationship between organization and its public and, consequently, to provide new

development opportunities of service enhancement.

This work denotes that methodologies usually applied in the business field can be extended, in the same

profitable way, to other sectors apparently distant.

Andrea Pontremoli

General Manager IBM Italy, Greece, Israel & Turke

VII

*fo r ewo r d

The emotion that we feel through contact with a work of art consists of many

factors: personal sensibility, educational level, momentary mood. Nonetheless,

enjoying a work of art also depends on its condition and availability. A visit to

a museum - with all its steps, beginning with the decision to make it - is always

a powerful experience. It is tied to the context, and it forms the framework

where you can taste the emotions invoked by contact with art and culture.

The step-by-step analysis of this experience can help to identify those elements

that affect the visitor’s perception, It also provides useful directions to decision-

makers and experts.

The art of telling art. But not only. The title of this study evokes, in the broad

sense, the capability of an organization to plan and offer services, focusing its

attention on how to establish a mutually satisfying relationship with the user.

This study was developed by professionals from the Centre for IBM e-Business

Innovation. It focuses on the experience of the relationship between people, be

they customers, users or visitors of a museum or specific organizations such as

companies or public and cultural institutions. The visitors’ experience in some of

the most important museums in the world is analysed through a detailed recon-

struction of their own relationship with the musuem's interaction channels.

Therefore, the object of this study is how the “customer experience” is seen as

the general result of the interactions between the costumer/user/visitor and the

organization and its products and services.

A key idea is that museums, as organizations that maintain and preserve the cul-

tural heritage and enhance possible forms of communication, can be studied with

the same tools that are used for company services and which consider efficiencies

for customers’ needs.

Some explanations are useful to help the reader understand the aim of the report.

IX

First of all, the authors are aware that the museums studied do not represent

the whole sector, which is composed of various elements in terms of cultural

heritage, dimensions, locations and availability of resources. Therefore, it

cannot make any generalizations. On the other hand, the detailed analysis of

particular cases can lead other institutions outside of these ten museums to

come to important conclusions.

The report has been developed with methodologies usually applied to the com-

pany sector. For instance, the segmentation of customer, the identification of

development scenarios and the language used - typically “managerial” - appear,

at first sight, strange to the museum sector. This does not mean that a cultural

institution reduces its complexity by applying company management principles

as an overall solution. The richness of the elements belonging to a museum

require crucial competences and resources that cannot be replaced.

Nevertheless, I believe that facilitating the relationship between two different

cultures would be an interesting input and an opportunity for a linkage between

the world of the company and the museum sector.

The report does not intentionally deal with topics such as the policies of fund-

raising, the evolution of institutions in accordance with the legal system, the

museum’s role in the maintenance and preservation of the cultural heritage, and

so on. These topics are so complex that we cannot cover them here. In addition,

the report does not aim to combine results on “user’s experience” with the crite-

ria (whether economic or cultural) used to evaluate museums’ income, nor does

it attempt to identify which models of museums’ management should be desira-

ble (whether public/private cooperation or cultural institutions’ estates).

This work should be considered as a contribution to knowledge from those who

study, experiment and make innovative solutions for customers in different indu-

stry sectors. It is an opportunity for confrontation between decision-makers and

sector experts. A better understanding of the factors that lead to a satisfactory

X

fo r ewo r d

*museum visit experience provides useful information to help improve the quality

of communication channels and services for visitors and to help apply targeted

strategies for different kinds of customers..

IBM (active in our Country also with the support of the Fondazione IBM Italy)

has always shared its competences and international experience, especially

from our worldwide Research Centres, with the world of art and culture.

As a matter of fact, the cultural sector, with all its extraordinary complexity and

richness, provides continuous input in order to apply IBM’s technology solutions

to different environments with various needs and challenges. This is particularly

true for those museums that have evolved into organizations that also enable the

cultural development of a community.

In brief, the experience of museum visitors is the framework of this study, and

the study is enriched by the various competences that IBM consultants can

provide to the museum sector.

Angelo Failla

Director of Fondazione IBM Italia

XI

fo r ewo r d

1

1

i n t r o d u c t i o n

Scenario: companies and consumers divided

Customer Experience:what the companies think

C U S T O M E R E X P E R I E N C E .Does it matter?

Driven by increasingly intense competition in an ever-more global marketplace, leading brands are

focusing on improving the end-to-end customer experience as a basis for establishing competitive

differentiation, boosting revenues and winning customer loyalty

IBM Institute of Business Value 2003

One of the main characteristics of the actual competitive scenario is the distance between companies,

that try to improve the relation with the final consumer, and the customers, that are more and more

demanding and less loyal. The key to an understanding of this phenomenon is the Customer

Experience (encompassing all aspects of the end-user’s interaction with the company, its services,

and its products.).

Customer Experience is an issue at the top of the minds of senior executives: according to a study con-

ducted by the IBM Institute of Business Value1, 85% of senior business leaders believe they could

increase customer loyalty and market share by focusing their organization on integrated Customer

Experience strategies and implementation.

However it is difficult to undertake: because of organizational issues (who is the owner of this pro-

blem, affecting different functions and channels) and difficulty in finding the right competencies

(spanning from strategy to marketing and communication, not to mention the technology side).

Forrester support this vision, according to a November 20032 research report, 92% of US executives

rank an integrated customer view as critical or very important, but only 38% do it.

1 IBM Institute of Business Value 20032 Forrester research 2003, IBM data

elaboration.

the art of telling art

How do we frame the Customer Experience issue for the top executives of our customers?

Basically, by analyzing 4 key elements:

2

Framework of the Customer Experience

Managment

How to assess the Customer Experience

Relation

Value Perception

Company User

Value Realization

CustomerExperience

Value Proposition

Value Expectation

1. Value Expectation – It Derives from customer wants and needs, previous experiences, company

communication and word-of-mouth. Understanding key attributes of the different targeted

segments and design scenario of interactions between customers/company is a major step to analy-

zing value expectations;

2. Value Proposition - It defines a company’s strategy in terms of the unique mix of product, price,

place, services, and image. Value propositions change over time and should address value expec-

tations of profitable targeted segments;

3. Value Perception - It is the customer evaluation of all of the benefits and costs of interacting with

the company, compared to alternatives;

4. Value Realization - It is the outcome of the relationship between company and customer, and can

be measured in terms of market share, wallet share and customer profitability.

Through the lens of Customer Experience, we can read and analyze where misalignment results in

lower than expected Value Realization:

• Companies can leverage Customer Experience Management in order to understand customer wants

and needs, and design a consistent Value Proposition to satisfy them;

• Customer Experience translates the value proposition of the company into value perceived by the

client. Customer Experience can either amplify or reduce the value proposition effort; therefore

Customer Experience must be designed and managed across different channels and moments-of-

truth.

Therefore, we need to analyze Customer Experience in an analytic and accurate way, through:

• Channels: physical store, web, contact center, mail, kiosks, catalogue, etc.;

IBM Business Consulting Services


1• Touch-points: interactions at which the relationship between the customer and the company beco-

me concrete and real;

• Moments of Truth (MOT): the essential moments in which interactions occurs between the user

and the company. They are strategic moments to which a customer gives highest importance, and

on which a user decides whether to continue or end their relationship with the company;

• Irritant: promises a company makes, or user expectations that have not been fulfilled causing fru-

stration to the customer. They do not have the same importance of MOT but they contribute to the

creation of the offering’s global perception;

• Value drivers: each interaction channel has its value drivers, that are: ease of use, contents and

services offered, performances and trust ability. Furthermore customers evaluate how different

channels are integrated and brand values are communicated.

Nowadays consumers interact dynamically with companies through different channels. For instance:

banks - where increasingly demanding clients handle cleverly with the location, web and call centre,

and they face up to heterogeneous realities; airlines - which use low cost sale channels and offer their

services by means of agencies, airports, transports, and so on. In summary, all the different channels

that affect the client’s life cycle (from the Customer Acquisition to Customer Care).

The goal is to support key decision-makers within companies answering key questions:

1. How can I address and improve Customer Experience’s value driver to increase market share, wal-

let share and customer profitability?

2. What are the user profiles and the interaction scenarios that I must satisfy? Which services do I

have to offer? Through which channel?

3. Am I the same brand no matter where my customer finds me?

This report aims at evaluating:

• how Customer Experience thematics can be declined in the museum sector, characterized by strong

dynamics and interesting potentialities (some not yet expressed);

• Customer Experience on a sample of 10 museums3 (5 Italian and 5 international). The considera-

tions that drove this choice were:

1. focus on the Italian sector but international, far-reaching work;

2. institutions importance in terms of visitor numbers;

3. geographical localization and representation.

The choice is subjective and partial; that was due to restrict the scope of our analysis.

3 key questions to managingdirectors

3the art of telling art

3 10 museums:- Galleria Borghese- Galleria degli Uffizi- Museo Archeologico di Napoli- Museo Egizio- Pinacoteca di Brera- The British Museum- The Metropolitan Museum of Art- Musée du Louvre- Museo Nacional del Prado- The museum of Cycladic Art


The study is ordered as follows:

Chapter 1

The study starts with sector analysis to:

• identify market dynamics, players and trends

• identify key demand attributes of 10 museums analyzed

• understand the offering structure in terms of services and channels used

Chapter 2

The study continues by dealing with the Demand Analysis in order to:

• identify specific profiles of museum users

• define, for each profile, its needs and expectations

• highlight the way each profile interacts with the museum through three different stages: pre-visit,

visit and post visit.

4

Company UserCustomer

ExperienceValue Expectation

Value Perception

Value Realization

Value Proposition



Value Perception

Value Realization

Value Proposition



1Chapter 3

For each of the 10 museums analyzed, IBM consultants experienced the interaction scenarios and

assessed 5 channels with their specific value drivers.

The Customer Experience has been evaluated, for each museum, by comparing the user’s Value

Perception and the museum’s Value Proposition.

Chapter 4

The trend and best practice analysis provides guidelines and directions to identify opportunities that

can be found in the following areas:

• communications

• innovative services

• technology

These aim at improving Customer Experience and, potentially, Value Realization for the museum.

5



Value Perception

Value Realization

Value Proposition



Value Perception

Value Realization

Value Proposition



7

1

1 *Demand features

How free time is spent

Museums’offerings

10 sample museums

Sector analysis

1chapter Sector analysis

8

1. Sector analysis

A radical opposition between assets-work of art and assets-experience would be out of place. Also in the

most traditional museums spaces devoted to experience widens thanks to the modification of the media-

mix used for communication

Peppino Ortoleva

The museum sector is determined by strong dynamics factors (economic, social, institutional)

that recently have affected offering evolution. The most relevant phenomena are:

• on the demand side, the rise of cultural level, the increase of available income and greater atten-

tion paid to spending quality free time, increase cultural consumptions. Furthermore, the expe-

rience, expectations and needs of visits to museums have grown in terms of the information pro-

vided and presentation;

• on the offering side, the little interest of public institutions in financing museum activities and the

modified legislative system (e.g. in Italy, the Law Ronchey for paying extra services offered to the

public) have increased the competition for finding financial sponsorship in the private sector;

• on the public institutions side, the request for making museums a key focal point for recovering

urban areas, and catalysts for social and economic regional development, significantly impacting

income and employment.

In brief, this is the the museum sector’s current situation. Considering these external factors,

museums are using management models, borrowed from the private enterprise, in order to enrich their

offering. These can be defined by:

• the use of technological factors, such as digitalization systems of cultural heritage, multimedia

systems, 3D interactive design, and so on. Also considering the Web as an information and com-

munication channel to reach a wider and varied audience;

• a longer value chain, and the development of extra services, which complement the core offering

of the collection exhibition;

• the adoption of marketing strategies on different communication channels.


Characteristics of change

Factors leading the change

The main sector features, which will be examined in the next paragraphs, can be summarized as

follows (Table 1.1):


Sector • Fragmentation and wide range of subjects• Museum systems, borrowings, exhibit exchanges• Offering evolution

Suppliers • Private dealers, art dealers, private collections• Other museum institutions

Demand • High differentiation in terms of cultural and socio-demographic characteristics

Substitutors • Educational and cultural activities (archeological sites, historical monuments,cinemas, theatres, concerts)

• Activities for mass media uses• Recreational, sports, and voluntary activities

Complementors4 • Tourism sector: hotels, airlines, restaurants, tourist offices• Museum associations• Added-value services suppliers (booking online, catering, cloakroom) • Media (television, newspapers, magazines)

Players Features

Obviously the sector is more wide-ranging. In the international view, there exists a case of services

offering excellence and new technology use. In the museum sector, Italy has a prominent position due

to its wide and rich cultural heritage. Hence, new trends are flourishing in which cultural heritage

represents a valuable social and economic resource..

1.1 Demand features

A rapid progress has recently affected the museum sector.

The major changes, regarding both the level and type of demand, rely on:

• “cultural” maturity level;

• combination of working time and leisure time;

• expectations for cultural contents;

• exploitation of the cultural heritage.

Moreover, the offering is evolving in order to improve visitor experience and fulfil every user segment

needs.

1

Demand development

Table 1.1Museum sector features

4 Players belonging to other sectors(not directly involved in themuseum activities such as the collection management), whomake the museum offering morecomplete and/or suitable to themarket.


10

One of the most important demand features is the extreme segmentation that depends on different,

equally important, variables in order to understand how to satisfy visitor’s expectations:

• socio-demographic variables (age, race, income, education, religion);

• psychological and behavioural variables (personal aptitude to recreational and cultural activities);

• aptitude to spending;

• Quality and way of spending free time.

In 2003 Doxa research5 revealed that the majority of museum visitors have a high-level of education:

45% of graduates visited at least one museum in the last year. (Chart 1-a).


Behaviours by education

Behaviours by age

5 Doxa, Gli italiani e il patrimonioculturale, 2003,http://www.doxa.it/italiano/nuoveindagini/beni_culturali.pdfJanuary 2003.

Chart 1-a Behaviours by

education

Chart 1-b Behaviours by age

Yes, this year Yes, 1 to 3 years ago Yes, more then 3 years ago No / do not remember

Yes, this year Yes, 1 to 3 years ago Yes, more then 3 years ago No / do not remember

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

6% 12% 39% 43%

18% 26% 37% 19%

29% 32% 25% 14%

45% 37% 12% 6%

Elementary school degree or none

Have you visited a museum recently?

Middle school degree

High school degree

University degree

Age is another significant variable. To note that the elderly have been left out from using all museum

services: only 12% of people aged over 54 visited a museum in the last year. (Chart 1-b).

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

12% 37% 34%

23% 31% 31% 15%

29% 30% 25% 16%

Over 54 years old

Have you visited a museum recently?

Between 54 - 35

Between 15-34

17%

Doxa source 2003

Doxa source 2003

1Below there is a description of the most important user segments in the museum sector:

Families with children: this segment is especially considered for a demographic reason (about

57.5% of Italian families have children6); families are influenced by their children in how to spend

free time: children that could become potential visitors.

The main aspect is the method they use for performing the visit, which is quite different from a group

or an adult couple visit: family members talk, communicate, and share feelings.

For instance, specific tours for children, in a sort of didactic laboratory, making their visit much more

interesting and entertaining.

Students: this segment has the highest rate of participation7, although it represents a smaller portion

of museum attendance (about 16% of all visits paid by the Italian population8), because of the low per-

centage in the total population (less than 9.9% in Italy9). On the other hand, museums should seem

attractive: students are motivated to the visit if they can learn while enjoying themselves (edutainment

is the term meaning what young people wish to get from the visit). Hence, not only the inner areas and

the shortest-route settings play a central role to stimulate the experience, but also a guide can be a

way of making the visit instructive and enthralling.

The elderly: in Italy, they represent a significant part of the entire population (25.6%10), but they con-

stitute only 12.4%11 of the museum visitors. Despite a great availability of free time (6 hours a day on

average12), they have a modest rate of visits. (13% of the over-60s go to a museum or an exhibition at

least once a year13). Costs, poor information and limited mobility are the main inhibitor factors to the

visit. The most important incentive considered is the free entrance which focuses the attention to the

visitor; information is perceived as an improvement to the visit itself, above all it is more accepted if

it anticipates the visit itself.

Associations to which the elderly belong are relevant interlocutors of this segment.

This macro-segmentation is not at all exhaustive, but it gives interesting elements which we will deal

with in Chapter 2.


3 user segments: families, students, the elderly

6 ISTAT, 14° Censimento dellaPopolazione 2001,http://www.istat.it/Popolazion/index.htm, January 2004.

7 In Italy more than 45% of the students aged between 11 and 19go to a museum or an exhibition atleast once a year. ISTAT, AnnuarioStatistico Italiano, 2003.

8 ISTAT, ibid.9 ISTAT, ibid.10 ISTAT, ibid.11 ISTAT, ibid.12 Bollo A., Il pubblico dei musei:

questo sconosciuto, 2002.13 ISTAT, ibid.


12

1.2 How free time is spent

It is commonly noted that visiting a museum occurs during leisure time. There are different ways to

approach the visit. Generally, how free time is spent can be classified in terms of:

• cultural activities (cinemas, theatres, concerts);

• mass media utilization;

• recreational, sports, and voluntary activities14.

Museums keep up with different competitors in the recreational, cultural and educational offering

market.

According to the 2003 ISTAT data15, it is possible to define three essential dimensions, which place

museums (along with exhibitions) in comparison with other free time activities (theatre, cinema, con-

certs, discos, sport events) - Chart 1-c:

• amount of audience per activity (x-axis);

• expense in percentage per activity (y-axis);

• per head expense in € per service (sphere size).


expe

nse

per a

ctiv

ity (%

)

number of audience per activity (%)

ISTAT source 2003 on 2001 data - IBM study

sports events(22.4)

40.0%

35.0%

30.0%

25.0%

20.0%

15.0%

10.0%

5.0%

0.0%0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0%

theatre(40.4)

cinema(21.7)

concerts and discos(25.2)

As a result, museums are the least practised activity during free time. Therefore, the expenses incur-

red are of medium-low level (though the admission is free in some museums and for particular kinds

of visitors).

To upgrade its position (see the shifting in Chart 1-c), the museum should:

• activate strategies to attract more visitors, to reduce the time users dedicate to other activities;

• enlarge the range of extra services offered to visitors, in order to raise per head expenses and, con-

sequently, the total expense for this kind of use.

Free time spending

14 Nowadays volontary service isdeveloping continuously: increa-sing portions of population spendmore and more of their free timein this activity.

15 C.f.r. ISTAT, op. cit..

Chart 1-c Museum’s

position in the free timespending in Italy

museums and exhibitions

(3.0)

The study on the last five years16 Italian visit trends shows a big growth in the frequency of both visits

and expenses. (Table 1.2).

This large rise in expense would be especially due to extra service uses, lately developed (as seen in

paragraph 1.3).


CAGR* audience 1998-2002 1.1% 1.2% 3.3% 1.3% 0.7% 1.4%

CAGR expense 1997-2001 2.4% 3.5% 2.6% N.d. -2. 6% 1.5%

Museums/ Cinema Theatre Concerts/ Sports TOTExhibitions discos events

* Compounded Annual Growth Rate

Outside the Italian borders, a European Committee Survey17 shows that EU citizens also prefer to go

to the cinema, as their main free time activity. Visiting a local museum is positioned in third place

after sports events, and before concerts and theatres. (Chart 1-d).

Theatre

Concerts

Museums/Exhibitions

Sports events

Cinema

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%

audience partecipation per activity (%)

EUROSTAT 2002 source - IBM Study

1Growth in visitors and expenses

16 ISTAT, ibid.

17 EUROSTAT, Europeans Participationin Cultural Activities, 2002http://europa.eu.int/comm/public_opinion/archives/special.htm.

Table 1.2Visit and expense trendsof the italian audience1997 - 2002

Figura 1-dMuseum’s position in free time spent in the European Union

Sweden

Denmark

United Kindom

Finland

Netherlands

Germany

European Union

Austria

France

Italy

Spain

Ireland

Belgium

Portugal

Greece


14

1.3 Museums’ offerings

Over recent years, museums’ offerings have noticeably increased. In fact, museums are turning from

conservative institutions into supply service industries.

Museums now offer:

• subsidiary services for the visit to enhance visitor experience (visits to restoration or research

laboratories, practical arts and crafts exhibitions, thematical events, conferences and lectures);

• extra services for the welcome and orientation of visitors (pre-visit didactic services, electronic

kiosks for studying in depth), refreshments and shopping.


0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

attending (%)

Eurobarometer 2001 Source

52,0%

46,0%

42,0%

38,0%

32,0%

30,0%

30,0%

30,0%

24,0%

23,0%

22,0%

21,0%

18,0%

16,0%

14,0%

Furthermore, a 2001 survey, conducted on a sample of 14 European countries about museum atten-

dance, revealed that the percentage of Italian visitors was under the European average (23% against

30%18 , see Chart 1-e).

Chart 1-ePercentage

of European populationattending museums

18 Il settore cultura nei grandi comuniitaliani, 2003 http://www.romaeconomia.it/files/CulturaPARTE%20I.pdf.

All of these services not only make visitors’ satisfaction levels higher, they also play a valuable role

in communicantions and brand promotion. Finally, they represent a source of extra income for the

museum. The following table shows data19, related to 2002 and compared to 2001, on some museums’

incomes obtained by extra services, and on the number of visitors using them. (Table 1.3).


Collection

Succursal services

Courses and workshop Research services

Conferences Social events

ShowsPanels

Texts

Catalogues

Brochures Legend

Multimedia devices

Bookshop

Internal and external structure

Location

Space disposal

Audio-guides

Rest areas

Guided visitsPubs

and restaurants

Pre-visiteducation

Informationservice

Environment

Representingitems

Extra services

Audio-guide 647 2,079 3.2 4,4% 3,0% 17,9%

Bookshop 1,981 17,651 8.9 13.3% 7,7% 0.4%

Coffe shop 930 4,318 4.6 6,3% -7,7% -0,4%

Restaurant 68 977 14.4 0,5% -11,7% -0,7%

Pre-sales 2,918 2,997 1.0 19,6% -1.1% 0.0%

Guided visits 627 1,793 2.9 4.2% 6.3% 4.2%

Extra Services Income 29,815

Museums total income 60,657

No Visitors Revenue Cost per Fruition No Visitors Revenue(K€) person (€) rate 2002/2001 2002/2001

(% ontotal visitors)

1

19 Touring Club Italiano,L’annuario della cultura 2004, T.C. I.

Chart 1-fMuseum offering composition

Table 1.3Extra services income


16

The table reveals that in 2002 visitors mostly used the advance sale (19% of total visitors) and shop-

ped at bookstores (13.3%).

Restaurants represented the most significant expense, although it was a service less used and decrea-

sing in 2001, both in terms of turnover (-0.7%) and usage (-11.7%).

The next diagram displays the revenue distribution from tickets and extra services (Chart 1-g)20.

Generally, more than 49% of museums’ and archaeological areas’ revenues are due to extra services.


Bookshop 29%

Extraservicesrevenue 49%

Ticketsales 51%

Coffe shop 7%

Pre-sale 5%

Audio-guide 3%

Guided visits 3%

Restaurant 2%

The chart shows that incomes from shops and bookstores constitute the majority (29%) of 2002 total

turnover, corresponding to 59% of the extra services revenue.

The following tables sum up the study on the importance of channels and services in the museum

offering.

Channels represent how museums interact with users: a museum activates channels to provide its

services to users during the whole interaction process (from pre-visit, to visit, up to post-visit phase).

The users decide what channel best fits their goals in the interaction process with the museum.

Services are the offering a museum can propose to attract visitors and make their experience comfor-

table and entertaining.

Two leading factors have been taken into account to assess the importance of channels and services:

• the channel/service opportunity to contribute to museum revenue;

• the potential improvement of user experience.

20 Touring Club italiano, op.cit.

Figura 1-gRevenue distribution


Channel Importance Rationale

1Table 1.4Museum main channels

Location The place in which collections are exhibited.

Web Area on the Internet that supplies up-to-date information on the museum,collections and facilities; it provides services for booking, shopping and community onli ne; it enables remote users to explore virtual collections and online exhibitions through images and interactive multimedia applications.

Audio-guida Device that supplies extra information on the collections; it enables users to personalize the visit by thematical tours (by masterpieces, historical periods,authors, and so on); it integrates audio to text, images and animations.

Multimedia Devices that allows contextualization and in-depth analysis of exhibits so as to enrich the visit.

Call Center It conveys information on museum access and facilities (opening time, ticket fares, discounts, and so on); it addresses enquiries to specific and skilled personnel; it can allow ticket and tour guide bookings

.E-mail It provides personal contact between visitor and museum;

it allows both to send information requests and to receive various documentation; it is easy, quick and free; it can be seen as a complementary for information searching both to the Web and Call Centre channels

Postal service It sends information requests and receives brochures, invitations, newsletters,and so on.

Services Importance Rationale

Legend Low High

Table 1.5Museums Main Services

On-line booking Functionality that allows online tickets and guided tours booking, reducing waiting time at the museum ticket office.

Information desk Desk where visitors can ask for information on museum structures, activities and facilities; it can be located in many contanct points according to user segment (groups, students, disabled people, and so on).

Bookshop Place where visitors can buy a wide range of items (books, videos, stationery,scarves, T-shirts, jewellery, works of art, and so on) in relation to museum.

Bar Place where a visitor can have something to eat and drink.

Group visit It enables groups of users (friends/families/associations) to share their visit experience, sometimes benefiting from discounts or special terms; it offers, if requested, an individual guide who personalizes the tour, improves the group's knowledge, encourages discussion, makes the experience more enjoyable.

Specialist visit This visit qualifies and personalizes the tour through direct experts contact;it combines in-depth contents with subjective elements of interpretation and communication

Membership It offers special terms and benefits (free admission, discounts on catalogue items,special events, previews, shows, etc.); it can be distinguished by user levels and typologies (frequent visitors, donors, supporters, etc.). It creates a lasting relationship between visitor and museum.

Video room Room where visitors can deepen the visit experience, by consulting support materials (historical documents, reconstructions, and so on).

Library Added value services mostly for scholars and amateurs.


18IBM Business Consulting Services

1.4 10 sample museums

A short description of the 5 Italian museums and the 5 foreign museums is given below.

Galleria Borghese http://www.galleriaborghese.it/borghese/it/default.htm

Cardinal Scipione Borghese wanted it to be built at the beginning of 1600. Inspired by 16th century

style, the villa soon hosted a great and rich collection, whose masterpieces are today known all over

Europe. The most important core of the gallery is represented by sculptures as expressions of Ancient,

Renaissance and Contemporary art, evoking a new Golden Era.

Galleria degli Uffizi http://www.uffizi.firenze.it/welcome.htm

Commissioned by Cosimo I around the middle of the 16th century, the Uffizi Palace was designed by

Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574), painter and architect at the Medici court. The original purpose of the

building was to host the thirteen Magistratures or Uffizi. From the beginning however, the Medici set

aside certain rooms on the third floor to house the finest works from their collections. Two centuries

later, thanks to the generosity of the last heir of the family, Anna Maria Luisa, their collection beca-

me permanent public property. In addition to Florentine paintings, the museum houses works mostly

from the Renaissance period.

Museo Archeologico di Napoli http://www.archeona.arti.beniculturali.it/sanc_it/mann/home.html

Founded in the second half of the 18th century by Ferdinando di Borbone, it brought together two

separate royal collections: one in the palace of Capodimonte, the other in the Museo Ercolanese in

Portici. Today it is one of the Italian richest archeological museums with its extraordinary collection

of Greco-Roman and Egyptian works.

Museo Egizio http://www.museitorino.it/museoegizio

It is one of the most important museums of Egyptology in the world after Cairo. Its history is traced at

the beginning of the XVII century, when the Savoia acquired the Table of Isis illustrating the goddess

Isis. The first nucleus of the collection dates back to the XVIII century, when botanist Vitaliano Donati

first brought to Italy the statues recovered from an expedition on the Nile Valley. The current collection

houses outstanding documents of religious and funeral traditions and everyday life.

Pinacoteca di Brera http://www.brera.beniculturali.it/pinacoteca/index.php

Founded in 1776, the Pinacoteca is located, along with the Braidense National Library and the Fine

Art Academy, in the beautiful Palazzo Brera. In the Pinacoteca gallery, there are works by masters of

the Lombard and Venetian schools, and masterpieces of XIX century painting and modern art.


1The British Museum http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/

The idea of the collector Sir Hans Sloane established in 1759 by the Act of Parliament, the British

Museum is the oldest, and one of the largest museums in the world. Its collections represent two thou-

sand years of world history, from prehistory to modern times.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art http://www.metmuseum.org/

The Museum was founded by a group of American businessmen, artists, and thinkers in 1870. Its

development was mostly due to great private collections gathered in the XIX century (ancient pain-

tings, impressionist works, decorative arts, Asian pieces). The Metropolitan is the biggest art museum

of Northern America and one of the most famous in the world. The collection is centered particularly

on the XIX French art section, which shows the development of art in France from Romaticism to the

Avant-garde, focusing on Impressionist works.

Musée du Louvre http://www.louvre.fr

Established in 1793 during the French Revolution, the Louvre is now the most important and estee-

med museum of France and of the whole world. The first pieces collected date to François I (XVI cen-

tury), and the collection grew thanks to donations obtained during the Napoleonic Wars. The exhibits

cover the entire history of art: form the beginning of ancient cultures up to the first half of XIX cen-

tury.

Museo Nacional del Prado http://museoprado.mcu.es/home.html

By Joseph I Bonaparte, the museum was established during the reign of Ferdinand VII in 1819. The

collections reflected the patronage of the Royal family of Spain: they consisted of works of Queen

Isabel II, Charles V, Philip II and Philip IV. The Prado was founded as a museum of paintings, in fact,

today it is the first art gallery of Spain. Apart from Spanish works, there are paintings from Flemish

and Dutch art, and by Italian, French, German, English painters.

The Museum of Cycladic Art http://www.cycaldic.gr

It was founded in 1986 from the collection of Greek antiquities belonging to Nicholas and Dolly

Goulandris. It is devoted to the study and promotion of ancient Greek art. The collections are divided

into two main areas: the Cycladic objects and the Ancient Greek ones. The former consist of artefacts,

such as sculptures, pottery, and metal ware discovered in the Cycladic islands; the latter include arte-

facts from the Bronze Age to the Late Roman period. The most significant examples are represented

by: pottery, terracotta figurines, sculpture, jewellery, and a good collection of coins.


The most important data about the sector analysis of the 10 museums is displayed in the following

tables


I Official website, http://www.galleriaborghese.it/borghese/it/default.htm, marzo 2004.II Official website, http://www.uffizi.firenze.it/welcome.htm, marzo 2004.III Official website, http://www.archeona.arti.beniculturali.it/sanc_it/mann/home.html, marzo 2004.IV Official website, http://www.museitorino.it/museoegizio, gennaio 2004.V Official website, http://www.brera.beniculturali.it/pinacoteca/index.php, marzo 2004.VI Touring Club Italiano, L'annuario della Cultura 2004, TCI, 2004.VII “Indagine annuale sull’affluenza dei visitatori nei musei italiani di maggior interesse turistico 2003”, http://www.touringclub.it/ricerca/dossier.asp?area=dossier,

gennaio 2004.VIII Percetage value derived from the 2002 twenty most visited museums in Italy. Visitors number from 1 to 13 comes from L'annuario della Cultura 2004, TCI, 2004;

from 14 to 20 from “Indagine annuale sull’affluenza dei visitatori nei musei italiani di maggior interesse turistico 2003”,http://www.touringclub.it/ricerca/dossier.asp?area=dossier, gennaio 2004.

n.a. Not available.

Galleria Galleria Museo Museo PinacotecaBorghese degli Uffizi Archeologico Egizio di Brera

Location

Timetable

Fares

Visitors(last year available)

Visitors(preceding year)

Growth

Visitors (last 4 years)

CAGR(1998-2002)

Income(ultimo anno disponibile)

Ticket sales(last year available)

% Tickets on total income

Income(preceding year)

Income growth %

Relative marhet share(No of visitors to first20 national museums)

No of membership

Table 1.6Italian museum data

Roma, PiazzaleScipione Borghese I

8:30 – 19:30Monday closed I

€ 8,50€ 5,25 discount

<18 >65 freemust book € 2,00 I

400.065 VI

2002

415.581 VI

2001

- 3,7%

511.449 VII

1998

-5,5%

€ 1.789.986 VI

2002

n.a.

n.a.

€ 1.782.615 VI

2001

0,4%

5,7% VIII

2002

n.a.

Firenze, Loggiato degli Uffizi, 6 II

8:15 – 19:00Monday closed II

€ 8,00 € 4,00 discount <18 >65 free II

1.489.452 VI

2002

1.489.024 VI

2001

0,03%

1.495.498 VII

1998

-0,1%

€ 7.738.231 VI

2002

n.a.

n.a.

€ 7.494.948 VI

2001

3,2%

21% VIII

2002

n.a.

Napoli, Piazza Museo, 19 III

9:00 - 20:00Tuesday closed III

€ 6,50€ 3,25 discount <18 >65 free III

320.052 VI

2002

315.949 VI

2001

1,3%

256.123 VII

1998

4,5%

€ 1.050.542 VI

2002

n.a.

n.a.

€ 996.756 VI

2001

5,4%

4,6% VIII

2002

n.a.

Torino, via Accademiadelle Scienze, 6 IV

9:00 - 19:30Tuesday closed IV

€ 6,50€ 3,00 discount <18 >65 free IV

295.952 VI

2002

293.572 VI

2001

0,8%

413.696 VII

1998

-6,1%

€ 750.483 VI

2002

n.a.

n.a.

€ 711.770 VI

2001

5,4%

4,2% VIII

2002

n.a.

Milano,via Brera, 28 V

9:00 - 19:15Tuesday closed V

€ 5,00€ 2,50 discount <18 >65 free V

187.927 VII

2002

192.870 VII

2001

-2,6%

213.007 VII

1998

-2,5%

n.a.

n.a.

n.a.

n.a.

2,7%

2,7% VIII

2002

974 V


1The British Metropolitan Musée Museo Nacional Museum of

Museum Museum of Art du Louvre del Prado Cycladic Art

IX Official website, www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk, marzo 2004.X Official website, http://www.metmuseum.org/home.asp, marzo 2004.XI Official website, www.louvre.fr, marzo 2004.XII Official website, http://museoprado.mcu.es/home.html, marzo 2004.XIII Official website: www.cycaldic.gr, marzo 2004.XIV http://www.guidestar.org/index.jsp, gennaio 2004.XV http://www.staruk.org.ukXVI “Más visitantes en el Prado”, http://www.telentrada.com/CDA/TelEntrada/Noticias/Fichas/ficha_noticia/0,2119,2a1b4c5dfgh6985ijkl,00.html, January 2004.XVII “Las Cifras de la Cultura en Espana 2002”, http://wwwn.mec.es/mecd/jsp/plantilla.jsp?id=41&area=estadisticas, January 2004.XVIII “Città Visibili Città Vivibili - I servizi nelle metropoli europee”, http://www.romaeconomia.net/files/cittavivibili.php, January 2004.XIX Percentage value derived from the 2002 ten most visited museums in the United Kingdom, http://www.staruk.org.uk, January 2004.XX Percentage value derived from the 1999 twenty most visited museums in the USA, in IAMDSI, Art Museums and the Public 2001, January 2004.XXI Percentage value derived from the 2001 five most visited museums in France, "Newsletter Supplement International Museums Statistics", www.nationalmuseums.org.uk, January 2004.XXII “Memoria de Actividades 2002”, http://www.amigosmuseoprado.org/interior.asp?mp=1&ms=5&mt=28, January 2004.

Table 1.7International museum data

Location

Timetable

Fares

Visitors(last year available)

Visitors(preceding year)

Growth

Visitors (4 anni prima)

CAGR(4 years)

Income(last year available)

Ticket sales(last year available)

% Tickets on total income

Income(preceding year)

Income growth %

Relative market share(in N° di visitatori, relativa ai primi 20 musei nazionali)

No of membership

The British MuseumLondon, GreatRussul street IX

10:00 – 17:30 Saturday Wednesday;

10:00 20:30 Thurday Friday IX

Free entrance IX

4.623.500 IX

2003

4.813.000 IX

2002

- 3,9%

5,460,537 IX

1999

-3,3%

€ 91.972.414 XV

2003

n.a.

n.a.

€ 88.691.983 XV

2002

3,7%

18% XIX

2002

15.234 IX

New York, 1000 Fifth Avenue X

10:00 – 17:30;09:30 – 21:00 Friday SaturdayMonday closed X

Offering suggested$ 12,00

$ 7,00 students andold people X

4.200.000 XIV

2002

5.300.000 XIV

2001

-20,8%

n.a.

n.a.

€ 195.531.655 XIV

2002

€ 11.376.668 XIV

2002

5,8%

€ 198.626.872 XIV

2001

-1,6%

20% XX

2002

n.d.

Paris,Cour Napoléon XI

9:30 – 18:00:9.10 – 21:45

Monday WednesdayTuesday closed XI

€ 8,50€ 6,00 evening

<18 years old, notemployed 5 couriersfor disabled free XI

5.707.559 XI

2002

5.093.280 XI

2001

12,1%

5.729.000 XI

1998

-0,1%

€ 90.380.000 XI

2002

€ 1.110.000 XI

2002

1,2%

€ 84.770.000 XI

2001

3,8%

50% XXI

2002

550.846 XI

Madrid, Paseo delPrado s/n 28014

9:00 – 19:00;9:00 – 14:00

Tuesday Saturday XII

€ 3,01€ 1,50 eveningSunday free XII

2.318.515 XVI

2003

1.630.378 XVI

2002

42,2%

n.a.

n.a.

€ 20.378.658 XVIII

2001

€ 2.592.165 XVIII

2001

12,7%

n.a.

n.a.

n.a.

4.602 XXII

Athens, 4 NeophitouDouka

10:00 – 16:00;10:00 – 15:00

Saturday;Tuesday and Sunday

closed XIII

€ 3,50

€ 1,80 discount XIII

n.a.

n.a.

n.a.

n.a.

n.a.

n.a.

n.a.

n.a.

n.a.

n.a.

n.a.

n.a.



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The following table highlights which channels and services are available in the 10 museums.

SERV

ICES

CHAN

NELS

Location � � � � � � � � � �

Web � � � � � � � � � �

Audio-guide � � � � � � � � � �

Postazioni multimediali � � � � � � � � � �

Call Center � � � � � � � � � �

E-mail � � � � � � � � � �

Postal Service � � � � � � � � � �

Booking on-line � � � � � � � � � �

Information Desk � � � � � � � � � �

Bookshop � � � � � � � � � �

Bar � � � � � � � � � �

Group visits � � � � � � � � � �

Specialist visits � � � � � � � � � �

Membership card � � � � � � � � � �

Video room � � � � � � � � � �

Library � � � � � � � � � �

Legend � Available/Used � Unavailable/Not used

Table 1.8Channels and services

available in the 10 museums

25

2

2 *Profiles and Scenarios

2chapter Profiles and scenarios

26

2. Profiles e Scenarios

We attend museums not because we love painters but because we love ourselves

Jacob Burckhardt

From the data collected in the sector analysis about demand features and, particularly, demand seg-

mentation, five user profiles have been defined.

Each profile has diverse needs when approaching the museum and the museum has different intere-

sts in acquiring new customer segments:

• young people, because they could potentially become frequent visitors

• the elderly, because they have a lot of free time during the week, not only at the weekends

• foreign tourists, because they can increase awareness of the museum abroad.

Consequently, the museum has to be equipped and competent in order to fulfil various needs from

international and multichannel environments.

Profiles do not intend to represent the whole museum audience, but they highlight the wishes and

needs of some user segments, in order to understand the user global experience in the museum.

Five profiles have been chosen according to those issues: a family, students (one disabled), the

elderly, a teacher, a manager.

Profile

These describe all user groups’ macro-features: demographical, attitudinal, behavioral and geo-

graphical. Each profile also highlights needs, goals, expectations and time constraints.

Scenario

This depicts the interaction of the user described in the profile section with the museum, in different

channels and in subsequent moments: from museum offering awareness (pre-visit), to benefiting from

services (visit), ending with the maintenance of the client relationship (post-visit).

The scenario is described both by text and by a chart in order to emphasize the user’s path through

different channels, the Moments of Truth, and the Irritants.

Moment of Truth

MOT, in short, are the essential moments in which interactions occurs between the user and the

museum. They are strategic moments to which the user gives highest importance, and on which the

user decides whether to continue or end their relationship with the museum.

MOT mainly affects the pre-visit and the visit itself; as a matter of fact, they can cause either the suc-

cess or the failure of the experience. MOT are particularly relevant for users approaching the museum

for the first time.


The elements analysed to understand

users' expectations

Irritants

Irritants can be promises a museum makes, or user expectations that have not been fulfilled causing

frustration to the visitor. They are responsible for the overall perception of museum offerings, impro-

ving or worsening visitor experience.

Irritants affect mostly the visit and the post-visit; they can define whether the user wants to continue

or end their relationship with the museum. So they can preclude a visitor to from becoming a retai-

ned user.

The analysis

Every user profile shows a complete experience of the museum (pre-visit, visit, post-visit) through dif-

ferent channels (Location, Web, Call Center, Audio-guide, E-mail).

During the profile path, MOT are defined and located (temporally and channel impacted). Afterwards

Irritants are defined in the same way.

These criteria will be discussed later to assess the correspondence between each museum and users’

needs.

Starting from the profiles and scenarios analysis, supported by the data from the sector analysis

(Chapter 1), it is possible to outline the essential features of the Value Expectation.

In the following pages, 5 profiles and scenarios are presented.


Relation



Value Perception

Value Realization

Value Proposition

2


28

Scenario 1 - The Rossi family

The Rossi family is composed of 4 people: father, mother, and two children. The father is a manager

of a small mechanical company. The mother is a part-time worker in the services area. Both children

go to school: the youngest, Andrea, is 8 years old and attends the third year of primary school; Giulia

is 14 years old and attends the first year of high school. The Rossi have been using a computer for 5

years. The parents use it to shop online and e-mail, while their kids perform school research. The

speed connection is 56Kb. It takes about 2 hours for the Rossi to get to the town by car, where there

is an important and famous museum.

Time

The family has a strict amount of time available for extra activities. In fact, Sundays have become high

expectation days for everyone.

The time dedicated to visit the museum is about 3 hours.

Goals

To organize and pay a visit to the neighbouring city’s museum.

To enjoy the day together.

The parents want to see some masterpieces that, for several reasons, they have never had time to view.

The kids want to enjoy themselves as well as learning.

Basics

The parents think it is necessary to buy the tickets before getting to the museum, because their chil-

dren are not so patient to queue.

Andrea and Giulia want the visit to fit their young-age needs, enjoying themselves and increasing

their knowledge.

At the end of the visit, the whole family wants to find a nice cafeteria where they can rest and eat and

drink something.


Chart 2-a The Rossi’s visit

experience

PRE-VISIT

� Web

� Call Center

@ E-mail

� Location

� Audio-guide

Activity

MOT

Irritants

Searching for theOfficial web site

Searching for information(timetable, parking,

guided tour for children)

Tickets and guided toursbooking Car park

Low site visibility (web address and/orplacement on search

engines)

Museum phone number

available

Information on carparks or cafeteria

unavailable

Information onopening times

Guided tours for childrenavailable Tickets and visit booking

Waiting time to pick up

booked tickets

Before the visit

The mother access the Internetweb to get some information about the museum.

She types www.museumname.xx and:

1. finds the museum site

2. does not find the museum site irritant

If 2, she types www.google.com and searches for “museum name”. The museum official website is

listed # (over the 10th irritant). She finds information on the opening hours MOT, on the guided tour ser-

vice targeted for children MOT, on a car park near the museum (if no informationirritant), on a cafeteria

inside the building (if no information irritant).

If she cannot find any information, she searches web for the museum phone number and calls the Call

Centre call center. If she can not find the phone number irritant, she calls an information center and gets the

right number of the Call Centre call center.

The family shares the information and chooses when to go.

So the mother books web/call center the tickets MOT for the day chosen and the guided tour MOT (if they can-

not book these tickets, the family choose an alternative activity).

The visit

The day of the visit arrives. After having parked their car, the family gets to the ticket officelocation

and queue to pick up the tickets previously booked MOT. They look for a cloakroom for their coats (if

none, closed, or to be paid irritant).

They reach the area for the childrens tour, they check out if the guided tours start time matches with

their reservation (if it is delayed or they need to wait for a long time irritant ) and start the visit.

After the visit

After two hours, Giulia wants a fruit juice and Andrea is hungry. They get to the museum cafeteria MOT

and spend half an hour there.

Gulia asks her mother if they can go to the museum bookshop (if none or closed irritant) because she

wants to buy a book about the works of art she has seen.


POST- VISITVISIT

Pick up booked tickets

CìSearching forcloakroom

Searching forcafeteria inside the

museum

Searching for children book at the BookshopGuided tour

Cloackroom unavailable,closed or charges fee

Delay or long time waiting for the guided tour

Bookshop unavailable or closed

Cafeteria inside themuseum available

2Channels: location, web, callcenter, audio-guide, e-mail.

MOT: the essential momentsin which interaction occursbetween the user and themuseum. They are strategicmoments to which the userattaches importance, and onwhich they decides whetherto go on or end with the relationship.

Irritants: they can be promises a museum makes,or user expectations thathave not been met causingfrustration to the visitor.They are responsible for theoverall perception of themuseum offering.

Activity

MOT

Irritant


30

Scenario 2 - Students: Michele and Andrea (disabled)

Michele and Andrea are friends since high school, and now they attend the University of Architecture

in a large town, where a famous museum is located.

Both of them are 23. As all students, they still live with their families and do not owe any money, apart

from a monthly wage.

Andrea is disabled and wheelchair bound. For their trips, they can use the car of Michele’s mother.

The students remember that they paid a quick visit to the museum during a school trip, without having

ever seen all the works exhibited.

Time

Michele and Andrea have a lesson timetable that is very flexible. Apart from the examination session,

they have a lot of free time for their hobbies.

They decide to spend a whole afternoon (3-4 hours) visiting the museum.

Goals

To perform an instructive visit.

To learn in a pleasant way as much information as possible about the works of art.

Basics

Michele wants to make sure that the museum allows Andrea to visit quietly, without obstacles and any

embarrassment due to his disability.


Chart 2-b Michele ed Andrea’s

visit experience

PRE-VISIT

� Web

� Call Center

@ E-mail

� Location

� Audio-guide

Activity

MOT

Irritants

Serching for museum information

Searching for informatiom on accessibility

Tickets and guided tourbooking Car parks

Booking unavailable

Opening times info available

Information on disabled access

Long time waiting to pickedup booked tickets


Before the visit

After looking at the Internet web to find out the museum opening hours MOT and accessibility issues for

the disabled MOT, Michele wants to make sure that what he read is reliable. He finds the museum

phone number and calls up call center to ask information about the disabled access MOT.

He also wants to knowcall center whether it is possible to book web/call center the admission tickets

(if not possible irritant).

The visit

Michele and Andrea travel to the museum location in Michele’s mother’s car. After parking, Michele

picks up the booked tickets (if he has to wait for a long time irritant), or he queues with Andrea at the

desk reserved for the disabled (if none or closed irritant). They want a guided tour to fully appreciate all

the collection aspects. Michele buys these tickets too (if queue irritant), he tells Andrea to meet him at

the cafeteria and looks for the guided tour start time (if they have to wait more than an hour irritant they

decide to begin the visit on their own). During the visit, Andrea reads the captions concerning the

works of art, assessing the information accessibility MOT (if not updated, unclear, not very exhaustive

or qualitatively poor irritant). He also uses the services for the disabled (toilet, lifts, etc.) MOT.

After the visit

At the end of the visit, Michele is enthusiastic about the works of art he’s just seen and asks how to

become a member of the museum (if not possible or not available irritant), in order to receive informa-

tion on events, temporary exhibitions, conventions and discounts.

POST-VISITVISIT

Booked ticketspick up

Guided tours tickets purchased

Subscription to museum’s Membership club Guided tours

Desk for the disabled closed or unavailable

Queue to purchase and/or long time to wait

for guided tour

Not updated, readable,exhaustive

informative cards

Unavailable subscription to a museim’s

Membership club

Masterpieces infoaccessibility

Available infrastructures and services suitable

for the disabled


MOT: the essential momentsin which interaction occursbetween the user and themuseum. They are strategicmoments to which the userattaches importance, and onwhich they decides whether togo on or end with the relationship.

Irritants: they can be promises a museum makes,or user expectations that havenot been met causing frustra-tion to the visitor.They are responsible for theoverall perception of themuseum offering.

Activity

MOT

Irritant


32

Scenario 3 - The elderly: Giovanni and Anna

Giovanni and Anna are two retired teachers. They live in a small town and are both fond of art, rea-

ding, and painting.

They organize with a couple of friends a day-long visit to a museum close to their town. They prefer

to travel there by train.

Time

Both Giovanni and Anna are retired, so they have lot of free time for their interests.

They can spend the whole morning (3-4 hours) visiting the museum.

Goals

To have a nice and interesting day without getting too tired; to visit the museum and eat in a typical

restaurant suggested by a friend of theirs.

To find a stimulating environment of temporary exhibits, in order to return visit every three months.

Basics

Clear and exhaustive information on the exhibits.

The rooms not too crowded and equipped with benches to have some rest, as one of them requires it.


Chart 2-c Giovanni and Anna’s

visit experience

PRE-VISIT

� Web

� Call Center

@ E-mail

� Location

� Audio-guide

Activity

MOT

Irritants

Searching foropening times Tickets purchase

Information on opening times

No special terms availableLong time waiting to buy tickets

Before the visit

Giovanni finds a chapter about museums in a guide book on the cultural heritage of his region. So he

proposes a museum visit to his wife and some friends. The book describes the main works and it

informs them about the building address and the public transports to get there. Anna calls up call center

to be sure about the opening hours.

Once they reach the town by train, they take the public transport as shown in Giovanni’s guide book.

They get off at the right stop, suggested by the driver. Finally they arrive at the museum location where

they check out the opening times MOT.

The visit

Once at ticket office location, they queue irritant and, at their turn, ask what special terms (if noneirritant) are

offered for the over 60s.

They leave their coats in the cloakroom (if none, closed or to be paidi rritant), they also want to use an

audio-guide audio-guide (if none irritant ) to help them with the visit. They begin listening to the audio-guide

(if low quality audio irritant, if not exhaustive irritant, if impossible to choose a theme tour: periods/authorsirritant, if hard to usei rritant). Halfway through the visit, they decide to interrupt the tour because Anna

is a bit tired and they look for a bench MOT to rest for a few minutes. In the room they stop, Giovanni’s

eye is caught by a certain painting. He reads all the information concerning the work of art (accessi-

bility MOT and clearness MOT), but he is not very satisfied, so he asks additional questions to the room

personnel (if none or unrecognizable irritant , if not expert irritant).

After the visit

At the end of the visit, they go to the bookshop (if none or closed irritant). Here Anna looks for the bio-

graphy of an artist and Giovanni for a picture to give to his grandchildren.


POST-VISITVISIT

Cloackroom research

Visit throughaudio-guide

Searching forBookshop

Searching for benches

to rest

Cloackroomunavailable/closed/charges

fee

No audio-guide renting

Impossible to choose a theme tour with audio-guide; audio-guide not exhaustive,

low quality audio, hard to use

Bookshop closed or unavailable

Informationaccessibility on art works

Available and clearinformation on art works

Benches availablesinside the museum




Activity

MOT

Irritant

Museum staffunrecognisable,unavailable, poor

competence


34

Scenario 4 - A teacher and her students

Marta is 37 and teaches Arts Education at a secondary school in a small town. It takes about four-hours

to drive to the nearest museum. Marta introduced some notions about restoration during her lessons.

She wants to set up a visit to a museum with her second year students (13 years old on average).

She decides to contact the Call Centre to fix the visit.

Time

Marta arranges a day-long school trip. The visit to the museum is supposed to start in the late mor-

ning; in the afternoon a restoration lesson should be taken.

Goals

To have a nice and interesting visit for her students in order to raise their interest in the arts and

cultural heritage of the region.

At the end of the visit, to attend a restoration lesson to experience what the students have learnt in

recent months at school.

Basics

To gather all the required information to encourage the students and their parents to participate in the

school visit.

To book the admission tickets and a guide who supports Marta during the visit.


Chart 2-dMarta and

her students’ visit experience

PRE-VISIT

� Web

� Call Center

@ E-mail

� Location

� Audio-guide

Activity

MOT

Irritants

Searching for opening times info,groups special terms, guided tour,

restoration lessonTickets purchase

Information onopening times

No cash desk for groupavailable

No groups special terms available

Impossible to set uprestoration lessons

Receiving informativebrochure

Children activitiesavailable

Booking andarrangement

Tickets and guidedtour booking

Before the visit

Marta contacts the museum by phone call center, and gets information about the opening times MOT to set

up the visit. She wants to know if there are special terms for groups (if none irritant ). She asks for an

informative museum brochure MOT (paper or multimedia). She inquires about a guided tour service for

their studentsMOT and if she can organize a restoration lesson (if not possibleirritant ).

Finally she asks if it is possible to book the ticketsMOT and the guided tourMOT in advance.

The visit

The day of the trip, all the class travels to the museum location. Marta queues MOT at the ticket office to

pick up the tickets (if none dedicated to groups irritant).

Marta asks the guide where to find the cloakroom (if none, closed or to be paid irritant) so that the stu-

dents can leave their bags and coats.

Marta follows the guided tour along with their students and parents. They are accompanied to the

room where the restoration lesson takes place.

After the visit

At the end of the visit, Marta takes her students to the cafeteria before leaving the museum MOT. She

also asks if the students can join a “club for young friends of the museum” (if not possible irritant), so

that they can get information on future activities.


POST-VISITVISIT

Searching forcloakroom

Guided tours anddidactic activities

Subscription toMuseum’s

Membership club

Cloakroomunavailable/closed/

charges fee

Museum childrenMembership Club

unavailable

Bar/cafeteria inside the museum

Waiting time to pick up booked tickets

Searching forbar/cafeteria




Activity

MOT

Irritant


36

Scenario 5 - A manager

Mark Harris is a young manager aged 33. He graduated in Economics, and for several years he has

been working in a multinational company headquartered in Berlin. He travels a lot for work and his

weekends are often busy, too. In two weeks he will go to a country where he does not know the main

language. At his destination there is a world famous museum. Mark checks his electronic agenda to

make sure that he will have a couple of free hours, between the various meetings, to visit the museum.

Time

Mark has very little time to spend for himself and his hobbies, because of his full-time job.

The visit is supposed to last 2 hours, from 2.30 pm to 4.30 pm. At 5 pm Mark has a scheduled mee-

ting, so he cannot stay any longer at the museum.

Goals

To see the museum’s main works in the established timing (max 1,5 h)

To do the guided tour in his mother tongue (with a personal guide or an audio-guide) so as to learn as

much as possible.

To buy the museum catalogue.

Basics

To get information via e-mail paying attention to the timing.

To do the visit efficiently with no delay.


Chart 2-e Mark’s visit experience

PRE-VISIT

� Web

� Call Center

@ E-mail

� Location

� Audio-guide

Activity

MOT

Irritants

Searching for museum information

(masterpieces, openingtimes, etc.)

Pick up booked tickets and searching for visit

support materials

Information onmasterpieces in

foreign languages

Foreign languages museummap unavailable

Low site visibility (web address and/or list position in search engines)

No tour with fixed timeduration

Opening times infoAnswer to e-mailenquires within 8

working days

Sending e-mail to set up avisit (information and

booking)

Tickets booking andguided tour

(or audio-guide)

Before the visit

Mark searches for the museum’s official website web. First, he edits www.museumname.xx (if not easy

to reach irritant); then, he searches for the web site address on a search engine (if the museum is low

positioned irritant) to make sure what the main works are MOT.

Mark e-mails the museum to get information on opening times MOT. He explains his needs and, parti-

cularly, his short time available. He says e-mail that he will be in town in two weeks and he needs an

answer very soon, within 8 working days MOT.

He wants to book a ticket MOT and a guide that will conduct the visit in his language MOT, or an audio-

guide MOT which describes the main exhibits in about 1,5 hour (if not possible irritant): from 3.00 pm to

4.30 pm. Once he has received the answer, Mark considers if the information is coherent and com-

plete.

The visit

Mark travels to the museum by taxi. He queues at the ticket office location to pick up his ticketMOT.

As he awaits the guided tour to begin, he looks for a museum map in his language (if not available irri-

tant) which shows where the main masterpieces are located. He starts the guided tour with the guide or

the audio-guide, and while listening (if it has a bad quality irritant), he reads the works captions in his

language (if no captions irritant, no removable cards irritant, no boards irritant available). If he uses an audio-

guide, he chooses a tour concerning the museum's masterpieces (if not possibleirritant).

After the visit

Mark enters the bookshop MOT and asks the assistant (in his own language) for the museum catalogue

(if published in his language irritant). He pays by credit card (if not possible irritant). Before leaving the

museum, he stops at the cafeteria (if none or closed irritant) for a quick snack, because the visit went on

too long.


POST-VISITVISIT

Foreign languageguided tour

(or audio-guide)

Searching forcafeteria

Audio-guide low audio quality

No/closedbar/cafeteria inside

the museum

Bookshop opening

No captions, removablecards, informative boards

in foreign languages

No museum catalogue in foreign languages, paymentby credit card unavailable

Waiting time to pick up booked tickets

Searching forbookshop

Impossibility tofollows specific and

personal tours




Activity

MOT

Irritant



Fam

ily

Stud

ents

Eld

erly

Teac

her

Man

ager

The following tables sum up the Moments of Truth and the Irritants of every scenario.

It also shows the user profiles affected by each MOT and Irritants and the channel on which the sin-

gle MOT and Irritant could be available or activated.

Table 2.1Scenarios’

Moments of Truth

SCENARIOSMOMENT OF TRUTH CHANNELS

Pre-visit

Information on opening times � � Web� � � Call Center

� Location� E-mail

Information on disabled access � Web� Call Center

Informative brochure dispatch � Call Center

Answer to e-mail enquiries within 8 working days � E-mail

Information on masterpieces in different languages � Web

Guided tour specifically for children � Web� � Call Center

Ticket booking � Web� � Call Center

� E-mail

Childrens guided tour booking � Web� � Call Center

Foreign language guided tour booking � E-mail

Audio-guide booking � E-mail

Visit

Waiting time to collect tickets � � � Location

Works of art information accessibility � � Location

Information availability and clearness � Location

Services for the disabled � Location

Benches inside the museum � Location

Post-visit

Bar/cafeteria inside the museum � � Location

Bookshop open � Location


Fam

ily

Stud

ents

Eld

erly

Teac

her

Man

ager

SCENARIOSIRRITANTS CHANNELS

2Table 2.2Scenarios’ Irritants

Pre-visit

Bad site visibility: address � � Web

Bad list position in search engines � � Web

No museum phone number available � Web

No information on car parks available � Web� Call Center

No information on bar/cafeteria available � Web� Call Center

No special terms for groups � Call Center

No specific lessons to attend � Call Center

No ticket booking � Web� Call Center

No tour with fixed time duration � E-mail

Visit

No/closed desk for the disabled � Location

No desk for groups � Location

No/closed/paid cloakroom � � � Location

Long time queuing to buy tickets � � Location

Long time waiting to pick up booked tickets � Location

Delay or long time waiting for the guided tour � � Location

Informative cards not updated, readable, exhaustive � Location

No special terms for users segments � Location

Unclear recognition of the museum satff � Location

Not satisfying competence of the museum staff � Location

No captions in foreign languages � Location

Assenza di schede mobili in lingua � Location

No removable cards in foreign languages � Location

No museum map in foreign languages � Location

No informative boards in foreign languages � Audio-guide

Impossibility of renting audio-guide � � Audio-guide

No audio-guide specific tours � � Audio-guide

Bassa qualità del sonoro dell'audioguida � � Audio-guide

Audio-guide contents incomplete � Audio-guide

Post-visit

No/closed bookshop � � Location

Museum membership unavailable � Location

Museum childrens membership unavailable � Location

Museum catalogue in foreign languages unavailable � Location

Payment by credit card unavailable � Location

No/closed bar/cafeteria inside the museum � Location

3

3 *41

Customer ExperienceEvaluation

3chapter Customer Experience Evaluation

42

3. Customer Experience Evaluation

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones have to be kept

Scott Adams

The analysis conducted on the 10 museums has considered 5 channels:

• Location: is the physical place where the user can perform the visit, see the collections, get

information and use the available services;

• Web: is the institutional presence of the museum on the Internet;

• Call Center: is the phone contact between user and museum, through operators or IVR

(Interactive Voice Response);

• E-mail: allows individual contact between user and museum, through the electronic mailing

system;

• Audio-guide: is the device used to get information while the visit is taking place.

The evaluation of all channels depends on the specific indicators analysis (value drivers). Each value

driver is the result of an assessment of different parameters21. The number of these parameters, per

every value driver and channel, is listed below:

The channel evaluation scale, as well as value drivers’ in each channel, ranges from 0/10 minimum

(existing channel but not used) to 10/10 maximum (excellent channel).

Each channel has been given a different rating grade according to their importance in the museum sector:

• Location 55%

• Web 20%

• Call Center 15%

• Audio-guide 7%

• E-mail 3%

The percentages (or weights) are related to the paragraph 1.3, and the values have been determined

by our experts.

All the values are shown in a chart that illustrates the channels evaluation for each museum.

To facilitate an immediate comparison, two additional data are shown:


Channels value driver / No parameters per value driver Tot.

21 In Appendix the parametersdetails per channels and value drivers

Table 3.1Value drivers

Location Information 6 Space 6 Services 6 Offering 5 Performance 5 28

Web Usability 5 Functionality 5 Visibility 5 Security 5 Performance 2 22

Call Center Usability 5 Functionality 5 Performance 4 13

E-mail Usability 5 Functionality 5 Performance 4 13

Audio-guide Usability 5 Functionality 5 Performance 4 13

87 parameters in total.


• the average weighted value on the 5 channels: this defines a numerical value of the museum’s

Value Perception, calculated using the formula below:

Value Perception = [(Location 0,55) + (Web x 0,20) + (Call Center x 0,15) + (Audio-guide x 0,07) + (E-mail x 0,03)]

• the channel average value weighted up by the 10 museums: this defines the position of the

other players and the market average value.

At the same time, another analysis is carried out to reveal the user’s satisfaction grade. It concerns the MOT

(Moments of Truth) and the activation of the Irritants for all defined profiles (family, students, the elderly, tea-

cher, manager). During the interaction with the museum, each profile satisfies a certain percentage of its MOT

as well as activating a certain percentage of its Irritants. In order to get an overall value for the user's sati-

sfaction, every MOT fulfilled is weighted 1,25 and every Irritants not activated is weighted 0,75.

The datum obtained (computed by all MOT and Irritants composing the scenario) determines the overall sati-

sfaction grade that the profile obtains by interacting with the museum: it represents the Value Proposition.

In other words, the Value Proposition22 is evaluated using this formula:

Value Proposition = [(MOT x 1,25) + (1- Irritant) x 0,75] / 2

The results of the analysis conducted on the 10 museums are shown on the following pages.

Every museum card sums up the evaluation of all museums’ channels and gives details of Location

and Web - the most remarkable channels.

3

Museum Visitor

Chart 3-aGuideline to chartsPondered average of all

channels for eachmuseum

Normal rating of thechannel for eachmuseum

Average value of alldata of the 10musemsi

2.0 7.15.8

22 The weightening of MOT andIrritants element defines thehistogram of the profile satisfac-tion grade (see the followingpages).

Location

Web

Call Center

Audio-guide

E-mail

0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0

7.15.8

Relation

Value Perception

Company User

Value Realization

CustomerExperience

Value Proposition

Value Expectation

9.0

2.1

Web www.galleriaborghese.it/borghese/it/

Average Web 3.6

Information

Space

Services

Offerings

Performance

0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0

7.8

6.1

7.2

5.5

8.2

Usability

Functionality

Visibility

Security

Performance

0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0

Galleria Borghese

Location

Location

Web

Call Center

Audio-guide

E-mail

Weighted average 5.7

GalleriaBorghese

Customer

0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0

6.8

4.7

4.7

3.4

5.6

6.9

3.6

6.9

4.4

• Information is always available, both general (timetable, fares, maps) and specific (captions, boards, cards).

• Space is an average value because of room personnel low availability andgood competence to answer visitor’s specific questions.

• Service management turns out to be excellent (information desk,bookshop and cafeteria). There is also a didactic laboratory where children can experience the contact with a work of art.

• Offerings are excellent thanks to guided tours and multi-language availability.

• The site reveals a lack of usability. Users cannot identify Gallery contentsbecause of some interface problems: element positioning in the pages,improper design. Moreover, navigation labels continually move about.

• The site is not very functional. No search or personalization is possible.Information is available in Italian and English. Booking service (compul-sory) is the only functionality offered.

• Web address is easily to find, but it has a low visibility level.Therefore, somesearch engines reveal it by the artist's name, works or collections. No gene-ral or geographical key words are recognized..

Average Location 6.9



NOT AVAILABLE

1.8

1,5

3.4

• The Location gets a good result, slightly over the average of the 10 museums. The Gallery shows complete and sati-

sfying information, offerings and services.

• The Galleria Borghese Web section is part of the Polo Museale Romano (city public museums responsible board) web-

site. It displays some information on the museum. Contents and functionalities do not turn out to be suitable for the

institution’s importance.

• The Call Centre, though it uses IVR (Interactive Voice Response), does not always offer functionalities appropriate

to convey the information requested by the users.

• The Audio-guide is an effective support to the visit. Contents are clear and complete, and it is possible to choose the

description by room and work of art..

• The E-mail is not directly managed by the Galleria, but it refers to the Polo Museale Romano. This channel has been

tested by sending some requests to which no response occurred.

Mot/Irritants: Value Proposition • The Family and the Teacher, because of the impossibility of booking thevisit for the children, could decide for an alternative activity. The other MOTare always satisfied.

• The Students experience the lack of attention to the disabled: a museumfloor is totally inaccessible.

• The Elderly fulfil most of their MOT, while some Irritants are activated,such as informative caption readability and room personnel competence,making the visit less satisfactory.

• The Manager chooses an alternative activity to the visit because he recei-ves no answer to his email (essential MOT to set up the visit in the reque-sted time). Even if he had booked through other channels and gone to themuseum, he would have not been able to use the Audio-guide servicebecause of his short time available. Therefore, there is no specific routefor the masterpieces, the information is not always translated and thebrochures are only available in two languages.Average MOT satisfied 69%

Average Irritants activated 27%Average Value Proposition 71%


3

Family

Students

Elderly

Teacher

Manager

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

80%

75%

83%

71%

17%

17%

17%

30%

56%38%

Galleria degli Uffizi

Location

Location

Web

Call Center

Audio-guide

E-mail



Customer

0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0

6.8

4.7

4.7

3.4

5.6

5.3

4.3

4.8

3.6

• The general Information is always available, detailed and clear, while thespecific is vague and inaccurate.

• Space is less satisfying, because of the lack of museum signage androom personnel.

• Services turn out to be good. They range over an information desk, apanoramic-view bar, a well-stocked bookshop.

• Offerings obtain a low value on the average because of little functionali-ties available. The museum provides no guided tours, so the visitor hasto contact an external agency. These agencies are not easy to find becau-se they are not promoted by the museum itself.

• Performances are excellent only in the case of booking; otherwise a longwaiting time is experienced.

• The site Usability reveals some problems with content and design. TheHome Page does not show what the site offers. The layout elements andtexts are out of proportion and force the user to scroll the page.

• The site, available in Italian and English, has no on-line services: it is notpossible to book or buy anything. No personalization is possible, and theworks description seems too essential. Moreover, the search engine,although present, does not work.

• The web site address is adequate and easy to remember. Nevertheless,it has a low visibility because no result is shown by using general keywords.




Information

Space

Services

Offerings

Performance

0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0

6.1

3.3

3.8

5.7

7.3

Web www.uffizi.firenze.it

Average Web 4.3

Usability

Functionality

Visibility

Security

Performance

0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0

NOT AVAILABLE

4.8

1.2

2.0

9.0

4.7

Average MOT satisfied 66%Average Irritants activated 26%Average Value Proposition 69%

• The multichannel analysis reveals that the Location has the highest values. Some of the services are particularly

excellent: bookshop and refreshments.

• The Website is mainly informative (timetable, works, history, news). It offers neither significant functionalities nor a

sufficient usability level.

• The Call Centre, to which all the Florence museums refer, is lacking in organization. Too much time before contac-

ting an operator goes by. The information is also incomplete.

• The Audio-guide is under the average. Its functionalities are inefficient because there is no specific tour description

(by theme, historical period, or artist).

• The E-mail has been tested by sending several requests to which no response occurred.

Mot/Irritants: Value Proposition • The Family faces problems both during the pre-visit (lack of informationon the Internet) and the visit (lack of tours and activities for children).

• The Students satisfy most of their MOT, as a matter of fact the museumturns out to be accessible to the disabled.

• The Elderly fulfil all their MOT. Nevertheless the visit experience wouldhave been better, if the room personnel (in terms of number of peopleand their recognizability) and the performances (waiting time to buy thetickets) had been improved.

• The Teacher does not activate any Irritants. However, she has problemssetting up the visit for her students, because the Call Centre does notconvey specific information on guided tours for children.

• The Manager chooses an alternative activity, because he receives noanswer to his email. Even though he wanted to perform the visit anyhow,he would not get the information he needs in his own language, apartfrom very few works.


Family

Students

Elderly

Teacher

Manager

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

60%

75%

100%

57%

33%

17%

0%

30%

50%38%

3

Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli

Location

Location

Web

Call Center

Audio-guide

E-mail


MuseoArcheologico

Nazionale di Napoli

Customer

0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0

6.8

4.7

4.7

5.6

3.4

4.3

3.4

5.8

4.9

• Information is not always available and the contents not satisfactory (forexample, many work captions are missing).

• Space receives a low value due to the lack of route signs. Moreover, roompersonnel are not available and cannot handle visitors' inquiries.

• Services turn out to be suitable and accurate. The museum provides aninformation desk and a bookshop, nevertheless there is no library. Allrooms are accessible to every kind of visitors (the disabled, the elderlyand children).

• Museum’s Offerings are positioned below the average. There is no restspace (with chairs or benches) along the route. The frequency of the gui-ded tour service is not fully satisfactory. A positive aspect is the visit to theSecret Cabinet which is supported by an archaeologist.

• Usability analysis shows some issues in content use. Navigation items donot always correspond to the name sections, so that the user does notknow where he is positioned inside the web site. Texts are not immedia-tely accessible to the user who has to scroll over the page. If a Collectionarea icon is clicked, several pop-ups come out and fully cover the screen.

• The only site functionality is the online ticketing. Works are displayed inthe "routes" section where there is some information on the availableroutes, the rooms and the works. However no search engine is present.It is not possible to change the language (Italian or English) from theHome Page but it is necessary to go to another site.

• The visibility is poor because of the address is too long and also hard toremember.




Web www.archeona.arti.beniculturali.it/sanc it/mann/home.html

Average Web 3.4

Information

Space

Services

Offerings

Performance

0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0

3.2

3.2

5.0

3.6

6.4

Usability

Functionality

Visibility

Security

Performance

0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0

3.8

1.4

1.0

9.0

1.7

NOT AVAILABLE

• The Location is under the average. The analysis reveals some lacks of information (few and inefficient) and space

(inaccurate rooms) categories.

• The Web offers mainly informative contents. Usability and functionality obtain very low values.

• The Call Centre reaches a higher value than the average of the 10 museums. Information is exhaustive and relevant

according to the requests.

• The Audio-guide is a well managed channel. It describes to the visitors the archaeological excavations and all the

pieces discovered and then exhibited. However, there is no option for different routes (by theme or historical period).

• The E-mail has been tested by sending several requests to which no response occurred.

Mot/Irritants: Value Proposition • The Family faces problems regarding poor information on the Internetand the lack of tours and activities for children.

• The Students have no accessibility problems to sort out, but they are sli-ghtly disappointed by the information quality and completeness.

• The Elderly have an agreeable visit thanks to the audio-guide support. Butthey experience poor contact with room personnel; also, they do not findreadable and clear work captions. There are no proper rest spaces: ben-ches are used to define routes and visitors rows.

• The Teacher finds some of her MOT satisfied, even though she has to sortout some problems with performances. There is no desk for groups, nobar/cafeteria inside the museum where students can end up their visit.

• The Manager chooses an alternative activity, because he receives noanswer to his email. Even if he was able to perform the visit, he wouldnot get the information he needs in his own language, except for veryfew works. The only positive thing is the audio-guide (available in 5 lan-guages) as support to convey all contents concerning the archaeologicalmuseum.



Family

Students

Elderly

Teacher

Manager

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

50%

56%

80%

57%

33%

67%

50%

40%

56%25%

3

Museo Egizio di Torino

Location

Location

Web

Call Center

Audio-guide

E-mail


Museo Egizio di

TorinoCustomer

0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0

6.8

4.7

4.7

5.6

3.4

5.4

3.6

7.5

4.7

• Information is very satisfactory. It covers both general (timetable, fares,maps) and specific (captions, boards, cards) issues.

• Space is very accurate both in rooms and route signage. The first floor ofthe museum is refurbished: it offers a new exhibition itinerary whichenhances the collections in a modern way. Nevertheless, room person-nel are not always present and cannot handle visitors' inquiries.

• Services are sufficient but there is no cloakroom, cafeteria or library.The visitor can not make use of the audio-guide service because no per-sonnel are available to help.

• Offerings turn out to be adequate: for example, there is a good guidedtour service. However, not all the information is translated in more thanone language and no one can convey it properly to visitors.

• The site usability reveals some problems with content and design.The Home Page catches the user's eye with suitable colours and images.The different styles and interface changes make the navigation hard.

• The site does not provide a lot of functionalities, because it is designedto inform the user about the museum and its contacts. Even thoughthere is the online ticket booking and buying, the area dedicated to theseservices is under construction.Therefore, a Call centre number and emailaddress are provided to resolve the problem.

• The site address, though not immediate, is of course easy to find andremember. The site is not listed in the search engines because of itstechnical features. Hence, there is no result from any kind of search.




Web www.museitorino.it/museoegizio

Average Web 3.6

Information

Space

Services

Offerings

Performance

0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0

6.4

5.8

5.6

4.6

4.5

Usability

Functionality

Visibility

Security

Performance

0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0

5.0

1.0

2.3

8.0

1.2

NOT AVAILABLE

• The Location is positioned slightly under the average: information and services values are good. It must be noted that

the analysis was conducted while the building was being restored, so that it concerns only the new available rooms.

• The official Website (www.museoegizio.org) is at present unreachable because it is being re-designed. So an alterna-

tive site has been considered: it has been suggested by the Call Centre (www.museitorino.it/index.html). Contents

and functionalities of this site are insufficient.

• The Call Centre obtains average values, because information is relevant to user's requests. It is also possible to get

all the data given by the operator via email.

• Audio-guide has not been tested because the office was always closed whenever a visit occurred.

• The E-mail is an adequate channel. It supports quickly and completely every visitor's request (general questions

about the museum as well as news about services, events and exhibitions).

Mot/Irritants: Value Proposition • The Family finds some problems in setting up the visit, because of little andpoor information on the website. Nevertheless, they can get what is neces-sary to plan a good visit.

• The Students find the museum accessible and experience a satisfactoryvisit. All contents is complete and updated.

• The Elderly have the majority of their MOT fulfilled. However, they noticethe lack of rest spaces along the route, and that they cannot use theaudio-guide service.

• The Teacher has most of her MOT satisfied, even though there is nobar/cafeteria inside the museum where students can end their visit.

• The Manager has fulfilled many of his MOT: by the email he receivescomplete information within his deadline. During the visit, he cannotalways find descriptions in his own language and cannot use the audio-guide service.


Average Mot satisfied 83%Average Irritants activated 42%Average Value Proposition 74%

Family

Students

Elderly

Teacher

Manager

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

70%

88%

83%

86%

33%

33%

17%

70%

56%88%

3

Pinacoteca di Brera

Location

Location

Web

Call Center

Audio-guide

E-mail


Pinacoteca di Brera

Customer

0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0

6.8

4.7

4.7

5.6

3.4

5.7

4.2

7.3

5.0

5.0

• Information is always available and easy to find. But cards and captionscontents are not always updated, and sometimes there is no correspon-dence between the room, the work of art and the exhibit cards.

• Space turns out to be unsatisfactory. It lacks route signs and room per-sonnel are insufficient and incompetent.

• Services reach an excellent point: a well-stocked bookshop, an informa-tion desk, special terms and didactic activities.

• Museum’s Offerings consist of: guided tours, not directly managed bythe Pinacoteca, but by subsidiary agencies; didactic activities providedby the association Amici di Brera. To be noted the disposition, alongthe visit route, of a restoration laboratory visible to public.

• The analysis reveals that contents is exhaustive, while navigation is ratherhard to perform. The Home Page is well structured and always updated.

• The user sometimes gets lost while surfing the site due to the lack ofpositioning signs, and the poor legibility of link and search engine fontsize.

• The site offers as functionalities a search engine by work, artist and cata-logue number. In the work cards, every image can be displayed at fullscreen, even though descriptions are lacking content. There are no sub-scription or personalisation systems.

• As for the visibility, the address is not very clear and it is also hard to findusing search engines by different key words.




Web www.brera.beniculturali.it/pinacoteca/

Average Web 4.2

Information

Space

Services

Offerings

Performance

0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0

5.8

4.6

4.9

4.5

8.5

Usability

Functionality

Visibility

Security

Performance

0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0

6.0

2.0

2.1

10.0

1.1

• The Location has a good placement. The Pinacoteca offers a wide range of basic services (group visits, didactic acti-

vities for children, restoration laboratories, etc.).

• The site belongs to the general network of the Ministero Italiano dei Beni Culturali. The Web is exploited partially:

well structured contents (search by works, detailed information on the museum, collection and artists), but inefficient

usability and few functionalities.

• The Call Centre, supported by the IRV (Interactive Voice Response), reaches a medium value as for the average. The

user is generally satisfied by the interaction with this channel: all responses given are exhaustive and pertinent.

• The Audio-guide is clear and complete. It informs the visitors about the main works, but there is no theme-route

option (by subjects, historical period) only the room description.

• The E-mail is used clearly and on time to answer user’s requests.

Mot/Irritants: Value Proposition The analysis reveals that the visit on the whole is satisfying for all the 5scenarios.

• The Family gets all the information necessary during the pre-visit boththrough the Web and the Call Centre channels. They notice the lack ofactivities for children and rest spaces.

• The Students have all their accessibility problems sorted out. They arenot satisfied with the general and extra information on the works of art.

• The Elderly have all their MOT fulfilled: rest spaces along the route and easeof use of the Audio-guide.They notice that room personnel are sometimesmissing and unrecognisable.

• The Teacher has most of her MOT satisfied. Even though there is no cafe-teria or special terms for groups, she can enjoy a guided tour and appre-ciate the restoration laboratory in one of the rooms.

• The Manager satisfies most of his MOT. He receives an answer to his E-mail on time; he can use either the guided tour service or the Audio-guide, both in his own language.



Family

Students

Elderly

Teacher

Manager

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

70%

78%

83%

86%

33%

33%

30%

56%88%

50%

3

The British Museum

Location

Location

Web

Call Center

Audio-guide

E-mail


The BritishMuseum

Customer

0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0

6.8

4.7

4.7

5.6

3.4

8.1

7.0

6.9

6.1

4.9

• Information (both general on opening times and specific on single workor collections) is easy to find. Nevertheless, cards and captions contentsare not always updated as well as the displayed materials.

• Space is very accurate both in the rooms and in the route signage. Roompersonnel are almost always available and recognizable, and they arecapable to support visitors' inquiries.

• The analysis reveals that Services are excellent. These range over infor-mation desks, ticket offices, membership promotion for every kind ofvisitors (children, students and the elderly), didactic activities and book-shops. The most significant datum is the free admission to the perma-nent collection.

• The Offering value rises over the average. The museum provides guidedtours with a wide range of options: multi-language visits, tours for chil-dren or for the deaf. However, new multimedia technologies are notemployed to enhance the visit experience.

• The British Museum website is available in 5 languages, though theEnglish version, our sample, is more accurate and complete. Usability hasa high value. Navigation is always clear and simple. Design is neat andplain. Users notice the richness of contents and they can perform theirtasks easily.

• The site offers valuable contents such as: a whole section for children,and an easy and complete search function. It is possible to access direc-tly by Web the museum's ticketing service and bookshop.

• Visibility reveals a good placement of the site address in the search engi-ne, though work and collection key words are not indexed. The addressturns out to be vague due to the lack of alternative addresses.




Web www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk

Average Web 7.0

Information

Space

Services

Offerings

Performance

0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0

8.0

8.7

7.4

6.9

9.4

Usability

Functionality

Visibility

Security

Performance

0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0

8.8

6.4

2.8

10.0

6.8

• The Location reaches high values. The quality of Information, Space and Services are particularly noted.

• The Web channel is much important and it gets a high grade of usability and functionality. Contents offered is very

accurate and detailed. The section dedicated to children is carefully managed. Here it is possible to play by inte-

racting with the works of art.

• The Call Centre, yet supported by the IVR (Interactive Voice Response), is a neglected channel. The operators are

not always capable of fulfilling user's requests. To note the difficulty of interaction in languages different from

English.

• The Audio-guide has several functions of use. It is possible to explore the museum according to different navigation

modalities (by theme, history and geography). Contents is rich and coherent to the works the collection exhibits.

• The museum replies to visitor's requests by using the E-mail service. Content as well as form and tone of answers

are more than satisfactory.

Mot/Irritants: Value Proposition The analysis carried out through the 5 scenarios reveals that the visit isalways positive and often over any kind of user's expectations.

In all the Scenarios, the MOT are always satisfied, and the Irritants arenot activated.

• The Family sets up the visit in a very detailed way through the supportof both the Web and the Call Centre. They can also involve children fromthis stage on, by suggesting surfing the site sections dedicated to them..

• The Students have all their MOT fulfilled. Their visit is totally satisfactorythanks to accurate information and adequate instruments, provided byboth the Internet and the location.

• The Elderly interact with room personnel, always available, recognizableand competent. The Audio-guide is complete and offers the option ofchoosing what description route to listen to.

• The Teacher can easily set up her school trip. At the museum, she canmake use of a complete and efficient educational service, which puts thestudents in contact with the works of art.

• The Manager gets an exhaustive and punctual answer to his E-mail (alsoin languages different from English). He can make use of either a perso-nal guide or an audio-guide to complete his visit in the expected time.



Family

Students

Elderly

Teacher

Manager

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

8%

0%

0%

0%

19%100%

3

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Location

Location

Web

Call Center

Audio-guide

E-mail


TheMetropolitan

Museum of Art

Customer

0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0

6.8

4.7

4.7

5.6

3.4

8.1

7.8

9.0

3.3

5.6

• Information takes up an excellent position, due to the fact that it is alwaysavailable and easy to find. Board and caption contents are also satisfac-tory.

• Space reaches a good value too thanks to the high accuracy of roomsand route signage. Room personnel are always available and recogniza-ble, and they prove to be competent.

• All Services are well arranged. They consist of an information desk,a ticket office, several boutiques and bookshops, restaurants and barswithin the museum. To note the excellent exploitation of post-sale services.

• Offerings are on average values. The museum provides guided tours forgroups and children. There are multimedia locations (kiosks) but none ofthem supports the visit with multimedia guide (PDA).

• The usability data shows a clear, rich and well structured site. From theHome Page, the user immediately detects all the page contents. Designis appropriate: the use of colours is agreeable and sober, and helpsaccomplish the tasks.

• The site is available in English, but the general information is translatedinto 6 languages. Several criteria are employed to afford the navigationand searching.There is an area dedicated to personalization; another onespecific for children and a last for online shopping. To note the sectiondevoted to the disabled and their specific routes.

• As for visibility, the museum address is always placed at the very firstpositions of the search engines, by inserting both general and specifickey words. The address is also clear, immediate and easy to remember.




Web www.metmuseum.org

Average Web 7.8

Information

Space

Services

Offerings

Performance

0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0

8.1

8.7

6.2

7.9

10.0

Usability

Functionality

Visibility

Security

Performance

0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0

9.6

6.2

4.8

10

8.3

• The Location obtains high values, because the user is always satisfied with their visit. Space and Services are the

most relevant categories.

• The Web channel is very important and gets a high rate. As for the British Museum, contents, personalization featu-

res and advanced services (eg childrens area) are top level.

• The Audio-guide is the strong point of the museum: it is characterized by a high grade of usability and several func-

tionalities. The navigation is well structured and it provides several different route descriptions tours to select (e.g.

by theme, historical period, etc.) by work or room.

• The Call Centre, supported by IVR (Interactive Voice Response), turns out to be over the average. The operators

reveal capabilities to fulfil user’s requests.

• The responses given by the E-mail channel are poor in information, and the tone seems inadequate to the institution

represented.

Mot/Irritants: Value Proposition • The Family sets up their visit in a very detailed way through the supportof either the Call Centre or the effective website. The latter allows perso-nalization of the visit route according to the family’s needs. At themuseum, every member of the family easily find the information requi-red and they all are supported by a guide.

• The Students have all the accessibility problems sorted out. Their visitappears satisfying thanks to the accuracy of the information. At last, theyend their experience by subscribing to the museum association.

• The Elderly experience a satisfying visit because of the support of roompersonnel and Audio-guide service.

• The Teacher can easily set up her school trip. At the museum, she canuse a complete and efficient educational service.

• The Manager fulfills all of his MOT. He receives a clear and exhaustiveanswer on time, to his e-mail. But during his visit, he notices some diffi-culty finding information in languages different from English.


Average MOT satisfied 94%Average Irritant activated 5%Average Value Proposition 94%

Family

Students

Elderly

Teacher

Manager

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

0%

0%

0%

0%

88%25%

3

Musée du Louvre

Location

Location

Web

Call Center

Audio-guide

E-mail


Musée du louvre

Customer

0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0

6.8

4.7

4.7

5.6

3.4

9.0

6.2

8.7

4.7

5.4

• Space reveals the high accuracy of rooms and route signage. Also, roompersonnel are always available and recognizable, and they prove to becompetent.

• Services, all well arranged, consist of an information desk, a ticket office,several boutiques and bookshops, restaurants and bars within themuseum.

• The Offerings along with the Performances categories reach a more thansatisfactory level. The museum provides guided tours in different lan-guages and multimedia devices to support the visit.

• In spite of the large volume of visitors to the museum, Performances arevery high. To facilitate admission to the museum, in addition to the stan-dard cash desks, there are a great number of automatic ticketing machi-nes.

• From the usability point of view, there are some problems with the navi-gation bar. The users enjoy surfing the site because they find, for exam-ple, a personal album section in which they can collect their favouriteworks, or create in advance their own visit route.

• The strong point of the site lies in the management of a huge amount ofcontents (97% of works), whose functions are enhanced by an efficientsearch engine: Atlas. It is possible to shop online and book tickets fromsubsidiary sites. The works of art are well described and available at fullscreen image mode.

• The site address is clear and it can be reached from different aliases. Thesearch engine placement shows a positive outcome if specific or geo-graphic key words are inserted, but not through general ones.

Avarage Location 9.0



Web www.louvre.fr

Average Web 6.2

Information

Space

Services

Offerings

Performance

0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0

8.8

9.5

8.3

9.3

9.1

Usability

Functionality

Visibility

Security

Performance

0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0

7.6

4.8

3.2

9.5

5.9

• The museum has got an excellent Location, especially in regards to Information, Space and Services.

• The Web channel gets a high grade of usability. Contents offered is very accurate and detailed. Thanks to the site

search engine, the user can consult all the works in the catalogue and select them, in order to set up a personalized

visit.

• The Call Centre operators satisfy user’s requests, and the feedback timing has always been in accordance with user’s

expectations.

• The Audio-guide has a high level of usability and very rich functionalities. It is possible to select different routes

(e.g. by theme or historical period) and choose the description by room or work. Moreover, contents is rich and cohe-

rent to the works exhibit.

• The E-mail channel seems to be the least used by the museum. In fact, contents is poor in information and the tone

is not adequate to the institution represented.

Mot/Irritants: Value Proposition • The Family, in spite of museum’s size, can easily set up their visit throu-gh the effective website. It is possible to view the favourite works byusing the search engine in order to arrange a personal visit route. Thereis also an educational service for children

• The Students have all their MOT fulfilled. Their visit is totally satisfactorythanks to accurate information and adequate instruments to supporttheir knowledge.

• The Elderly can rely on the room personnel, always available, recogniza-ble and competent. The Audio-guide is clear and complete.

• The Teacher can easily set up her school trip, by using a complete andefficient educational service. She will find all the information she sear-ches for simply through the call centre.

• The Manager is the only scenario that does not have all the MOT sati-sfied. However overall the visit is satisfactory and, in spite of the greatnumber of collections, he can see all the masterpieces by using themulti-language guide service.



Family

Students

Elderly

Teacher

Manager

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

0%

0%

0%

0%

19%88%

3

Museo Nacional del Prado

Location

Location

Web

Call Center

Audio-guide

E-mail


MuseoNacional del Prado

Customer

0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0

6.8

4.7

4.7

5.6

3.4

7.5

2.5

6.1

6.9

4.1

• The museum excels in Information, always available and easy to find. Itcovers both general (timetable, fares, maps) and specific (captions,boards, cards) issues to visitors’ disposal.

• Space is also important: both the rooms and the route signs are veryaccurate. Room personnel, though not always available, is are proactiveand competent.

• The analysis reveals that the museum’s Services are excellent. Theyrange over an information desk, a ticket office, a bookshop, and anindoor restaurant.

• The Offerings provide guided tours for groups and classes, and free lec-tures about artists and/or works of art. The museum offers multimediadevices (kiosks or PDA) as support to the visit.

• The analysis reveals two different kinds of layout, due to the redesign ofthe site. As for usability, it is hard to navigate the site, especially in theVisitas section. Navigation bar is almost unrecognisable, and there are nosupports, such as a search engine, a map site or a help function.

• The site contents (available in Spanish and English) are predominantlyinformative. On the whole, there is neither interaction nor functionality,such as e-commerce or personalization.

• The assessment of the site address is good. Although the visibility isaffected by the poor outcome of search engines, both with general andgeographical or specific key words.




Web www.museoprado.es

Average Web 2.5

Information

Space

Services

Offerings

Performance

0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0

8.1

7.3

5.8

7.1

9.1

Usability

Functionality

Visibility

Security

Performance

0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0

4.8

1.2

1.5

0.0

5.1

• The Location shows values over the average. In particular, the quality of Information and Services is high.

• The museum’s site belongs to the Spanish Cultural Ministry’s network. The Web is mainly an informative channel.

Moreover, there are some problems with usability (poor contents), design and performance.

• In the Call Centre channel, operators do not seem to be very efficient in supporting the user. The information con-

veyed has not always been complete.

• The Audio-guide offers good contents and is easy to use, but it lacks of functionalities (it is possible to access

descriptions only by single works of art).

• The museum makes good use of the E-mail channel to comply with the users’ request. Content as well as form and

tone of answers are more than satisfactory.

Mot/Irritants: Value Proposition • The Family experiences some difficulty both during the pre-visit (poorinformation website) and the visit (lack of routes and activities for chil-dren).

• The Students have all the accessibility problems solved. Their visit is fullysatisfying thanks to the accurate information.

• The Elderly have all their MOT fulfilled. Room personnel, though notalways available, are recognizable and competent. The Audio-guide isclear and complete.

• The Teacher can easily set up her school trip, by using a complete andefficient educational service. She will find all the information she sear-ches for simply through the call centre.

• The Manager satisfies many of his MOT: by E-mail he receives completeinformation. During the visit, he can choose between the good audio-guide or the guided tour. Descriptions of the works are not available in hisown language. Furthermore, he has to pay only by cash.



Family

Students

Elderly

Teacher

Manager

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

60%

88%

100%

100%

25%

33%

40%

88%

17%

31%

3

Museum of Cycladic Art

Location

Location

Web

Call Center

Audio-guide

E-mail


Museum ofCycladic Art Customer

0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0

6.8

4.7

4.7

5.6

3.4

7.2

4.3

4.6

• Information is available and complete so that visitors know what theyneed. They cover both general (timetable, fares, maps) and specific (cap-tions, boards, cards) issues.

• Space appears very accurate regarding both rooms and route signage.Nonetheless, the room personnel are not always available and someti-mes they can not handle visitors’ inquiries.

• Services are the second most exploited museum's category.These rangeover an information desk, special terms for the elderly, didactic activities,a bookshop, and a cafeteria within the museum.

• Offerings’ results are more than satisfactory. The museum provides gui-ded tours only in Greek; for other languages it has to contact privateagencies. Furthermore, the visitor can consult the multimedia locationsplaced in the museum.

• Usability analysis reveals a good design and a clear page structure.Contents are well arranged, and the navigation is simple and efficient,even if there are no support elements such as a map or a search. Theanimation of the introduction seems to be too long.

• The site, available in Greek and English, provides little functionality: thereare no personalization choices and work descriptions. The bookshopsection does not actually allow online buying, but provides only a down-loadable cash order in PDF format, to be filled in and faxed.

• Though not reachable by other aliases, the address site is intuitive, easyto remember and recognizable. Nonetheless, the site is not yet indexedin any search engines, neither by general, geographical or specific keywords.




Web www.cycladic.gr

Average Web 4.3

Usability

Functionality

Visibility

Security

Performance

0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0

7.8

7.2

7.1

6.8

7.3

Usabilità

Funzionalità

Visibilità

Sicurezza

Performance

0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0

6.2

1.2

1.3

9.0

3.6

NOT AVAILABLE

NOT AVAILABLE

• The Location has average values. Services and Offerings are the most relevant categories.

• The museum uses the Web channel to inform rather than to communicate and interact with the users. There are no

particular functionality available, even though site usability is sufficient and has an accurate design.

• The Call Centre appears a channel less structured. Nonetheless, if the users contact the right operator, they can

receive satisfactory support.

• There is no Audio-guide service for the permanent collection. It is only available for the temporary exhibitions.

• The E-mail has been tested by sending several requests to which no responses occurred.

Mot/Irritants: Value Proposition • The Family deals with several problems with the visit arrangement.Their difficulties concern the lack of routes and activities for children,and the impossibility of booking the visit.

• The Students note that the museum is accessible for the disabled, and allthe information is clear and complete.

• The Elderly have all their MOT fulfilled (information on works, rest spa-ces), but they notice the lack of an audio-guide service in order to betterappreciate the visit.

• The Teacher experiences a satisfying visit both for herself and her stu-dents. Nevertheless, she can not make use of any educational services,but she receives an information kit which she can prepare to conduct per-sonally during the visit

• The Manager chooses an alternative activity to the visit because he recei-ves no answer to his e-mail. Even though he wanted to pay the visit, hewould not be able to make use of a guided tour in his language or anaudio-guide service, because these are not offered by the museum.



Family

Students

Elderly

Teacher

Manager

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

30%

75%

100%

71%

17%

0%

33%

60%

25%50%

3


64

Analysis Summary

All the data collected is now summarized in an overall vision.

As discussed at the beginning of this chapter, Customer Experience Evaluation can be determined by

the combination of Value Perception and Value Proposition data: both values assess the way the

museum has built its relationship with the user and how the user perceives it.

The results are displayed in the Customer Experience Matrix (Chart 3-b):

• in the x-axis, the average value, weighted on all channels, scored by each museum (the mea-

sure of the user’s perception of the museum’s services through different channels - Value

Perception).

• in the y-axis, the weighted average value (in %) of the MOT and the Irritants for each museum

(the measure of how the museum’s Value Proposition sets to fulfil users' needs and expecta-

tions).

In the chart three different areas can be revealed:

• Leader: museums that are examples of excellence for both user perception and offering qua-

lity - producing a very rich and rewarding Customer Experience;

• Follower: museums that offer a satisfying Customer Experience, while areas need to be pro-

perly developed, both on the offering side, with some enhancements, and on the user percep-

tion side, with aimed improvements;

• Laggard: museums that could improve, both their offering quality and the way they distribute it.


Relation

Value Perception

Company User

Value Realization

CustomerExperience

Value Proposition

Value Expectation

The study does not aim to create a ranking list: all the institutions selected have a great reputation

world-wide, dependent on their highest value.

Nevertheless, it is interesting to put together all the data to provide a summary of the analysis.

According to the factors discussed so far and the subjects we will introduce in Chapter 4, the museum

institutions can exploit this matrix to improve in some critical areas, working on their potentialities.


100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0% 10% 30% 50% 70% 90%

Leader

Follower

Laggard

Value Perception (%)

Val

ue P

ropo

sitio

n (%

)

100.0%

90.0%

80.0%

70.0%

60.0%

50.0%

40.0%30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Value Perception (%)

Val

ue P

ropo

sitio

n (%

)

Louvre

Metropolitan Museum

British Museum

Prado

Galleria Borghese

Cycladic Museum

Museo Archeologico


Museo Egizio

3Chart 3-bCustomer ExperienceMatrix

Chart 3-cMuseums’ placement in the Customer Experience Matrix

Pinacoteca di Brera

4

4 *Trend and Best Practices

Museum and brand

Offering evolution

Innovative tecnologies and channels

67

4chapter Trend and Best Practices

68

4. Trend e Best Practices

The most successful museums offer a variety of experiences concerning different segments of public,

and reflecting different visitors’ needs

Neil e Philip Kotler

This chapter outlines, without aiming to be a complete and exhaustive study, the new trends concer-

ning museum sector development and significant experiences.

The overall view of international trends and best practices interweaves with the methodological fra-

mework of Customer Experience:

• overall improvement of visitor experience (which can be gained by a Value Proposition enhance-

ment and a refinement of all interaction channels);

• increase all main indexes of museum sector performance, both for a single institution and for an

aggregate level:

- how free time is spent (as a sector pointer, in competition with other entertainment/recreation

activities);

- number of visitors;

- income from subsidiary services;

- Customer Lifetime Value (referring to two main variables: visitor expense and lifetime rela-

tionship with customer).

There are three main areas of interest, that cohere with our discussions in Chapter 1:

1. 1. Communications: museum and brand

Brand appeal to visitors, development strategies, partnership and cooperation.


Relation

Value Perception

Company User

Value Realization

CustomerExperience

Value Proposition

Value Expectation

Addressing Custumer Experience

to improve results


2. Innovative Services: offering evolution

Value chain enlargement, improvement of extra services for user needs.

3. Technology: innovative technologies and channels

By adopting innovative technologies to activate new interaction channels, the user experience

improves and the Value Proposition differentiated.

4.1 Museum and brand

Brand concept is often strongly connected with commercial products and services. It has little to do

with culture, or, in most cases, social values of consumers being improved by culture. So the question

has to be asked: “is it possible to have a brand concept for museums?”. The cultural field is beco-

ming more and more competitive globally. Museums always look for new works, new artists and new

temporary or touring exhibitions. They also need the best architects to design new spaces to exhibit

works, new sponsors for events, the increase of visitors to encourage additional sponsorship, new exhi-

bitions and so on. The brand becomes part of this endless cycle. As with all kinds of entities in rela-

tion to society, museums do not follow different rules from those of commercial brands. To attract, visit

after visit, as many visitors and sponsors as possible, museums respect brand rules. So uniqueness,

differentiation and values are to be unconditionally declared. Brand and communication policies are

the principles of identity, clearness, promise, message, and - of course - design.

The creation of a brand policy does not only involve showing a logo on a brochure. Instead, it means

creating an emotional experience based on social values. Visitors do not go (or at least did no lon-

ger) to a museum only to see a work or an exhibition, but they participate in a social event. The whole

museum is involved in this event: the works exhibited, the people working there and their helpfulness

(or rudeness), the architecture splendour (or its inaccessibility), the clearness of signs (or their illegi-

bility), merchandise available (or not requested), a cup of coffee to enjoy during the visit (or not even

an automatic machine to quench your thirst). Brand is found in every contact channel: a voice on the

phone, the tone of an invitation, a brochure, the tickets’ paper quality, the response’s timeliness and

completeness.

Therefore, the museum brand is the reference, the evidence and the sign which helps - in this case

the visitor - to recognize it world-wide. The Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA) is an

example. In 1966, the acronym was coined showing that doubtful small “o” which grew in importan-

ce during the 1980s and up to 1990s. Today, after eight months of work and testing, the new logo takes

shape: an ultra conservative and minimal restyle, almost undetectable, reveals a return to the origi-

nal font (the Franklin). A typical manoeuvring that, usually, concerns important food or car compa-

nies. And we are still talking about museums. Furthermore, there was a similar example when the

Tate Gallery in London had to be re-launched: the revamp turned the sober exhibitions into an art

4

Scenario: “could a brand concept exist in the museum sector?”

Brand: the glue of experience, the source of expectation


70

experience, not only a gallery but a social space, where visitors see the works as well as meeting each

other, have something to drink, and thinking. Attendance increased in a year from 2.5 million to over

5 million people, beating the British Museum and the National Gallery. Most of all, it moved the

Tate into a ‘must visit’ experience becoming a leading tourist destination in London.

The Guggenheim is another successful example, as discussed in the following case study. According

to Solomon R. Guggenheim’s principles of authority and the mission called “temple of the spirit”, the

Guggenheim brand has turned into a project of art marketing. This element embeds the wider

Foundation's strategy of internationalisation. The Guggenheim in Bilbao represents, behind the

museum, the pride of the whole region: ambition, uniqueness, difference and desire merged together,

and attempted this experience overseas. Unfortunately a brand, however influential, is not enough. In

less than a year since launching, the Guggenheim in Las Vegas it is temporarily shut down until “some

future time” (for at least as long as this report will be published). Why? Because such a brand expe-

rience, in a context of one attraction among many attractions, has not awakened anyone’s interest.

The opposite situation is taking place in Bilbao where a partnership development has realized co-

branding policies, in capturing the attention of the wider public, developing brand awareness and

increasing visibility in the mass media.

There are different partnership formulas affecting the brand: agreements with public corporations,

museum networks for collection exchanges, alliances with the economic world, ranging over financial

support, non money contributions (equipments, services, management expertise), and long running

partnerships.

4.1.1 The brand principles

In order to explore the museum brand “behaviour”, the study is based on the Brand Dynamicstm

Pyramid (table 4.1) which defines brand establishing aptitudes in regards to customers.

The museum brand analysis process seems hard to complete because there are no brands to comment

on or compare. In other words, there exists no brand policy - excluding the MET and the British

Museum examples. All that is done regards strictly the names, the relationship with the host city as

the only source of differentiation. From this point of view, their uniqueness is to be “that museum, in

that town “or” housing that work”.

The lack of brand policy evidently affects the brand awareness research for the museums involved in

our study during March 2004. The survey has been conducted by administering a questionnaire via

e-mail to a sample of 125 men and women, aged from 30 to 55, high education, and living in Italy.

One of the questions listed was: “which are the first 3 museums that come into your mind? and it was

associated with 10 cities.


Presence:It implies that the consumer

has an understanding of what the brand promises,

to the extent of accepting it or not.

Relevance:To be acceptable the

consumer has to feel thatthe brand could meet

their needs (prices, values,perceived image, etc.).

If not, that brand remains at the Presence level.

Performance:To get to the next level,

the brand has to be "used","led", "eaten", "visited",

and to respect the promises made.

Advantage:To be lasting the brand

has to find a competitive advantage not necessarilytied to the product, but to

the emotional appeal.

Bonding:The more a consumer

is attached to the brand,the more other brands

are excluded from consumers’ scenario.

Consumers tied to a brandare inclined to buy

that brand 10 times morethan brands at the bottom

of the pyramid.

Bonding

Advantage

Performance

Relevance

Presence

high

Fidelityattitude

low

Table 4.1The BrandDynamicstm

pyramid

4• New York: MoMA and MET are quoted as “top of mind” from 50% of interviewees. Next is the

Guggenheim with 24%. The rest are indistinctly fragmented.

• Paris reveals the Louvre’s monopoly with almost 90% of interviewees.

• Madrid: the Prado is spontaneously mentioned by 64% of participants.

• Athens: the National Museum (of archaeology) is quoted from 20% of interviewees. Next the

Acropolis (whose full name is not cited) and the Parthenos (actually an archaeological site) with

a score ranging from 16% to 12%.

• London: the British Museum (36%) and the National Gallery (28%) emerge from several attrac-

tions hardly achieving 4%. The Tate Gallery comes fourth .

• Milan: the Pinacoteca di Brera is the most spontaneously quoted museum (36% of the sample)

The Castello Sforzesco (with no other reference) appears from 20% of quotations, the Poldi

Pezzoli Museum is 8%. Other quotations are not over 4%.

• Rome: the Vatican Museums are the most mentioned with 56%. The Galleria Borghese is quo-

ted by 16% of interviewees. Other quotations (MACRO, Arte Moderna, etc.) are not over 4%.

• Florence: the city is synonymous with the Uffizi: 76% of the sample spontaneously mentioned it.

The other relevant answer is Pitti Palace.

• Naples: Capodimonte is mentioned from over 35% of interviewees, while the National Museum

is quoted by 12%.

• Turin: is strongly associated with the Egyptian Museum, cited by over 60% of the sample.

The study reveals that Paris, Madrid, and Florence have a univocal bond between museums and

cities. A museum’s city and name are brought together to form a brand tag-line (Paris, the city of the

Louvre and the Eiffel Tower - Florence and the Uffizi). Of course, the importance and the content

(as well as the excellent work promoting the grandeur of the Louvre) are the mere elements that make

the museum become an attraction among the other tourist symbols of the city, and so a reason for visi-

ting, as well as the international perception and fame. But what if the Louvre should move to

Fontaibleu? Who suffers most: the city or the museum? This is where the “museum brand” value gets

mixed up. Few interviewees can mention a work housed in the Prado, an experience, or even a ver-

bal or graphic sign strictly referring to the museum. This is the same for most of the museums in our

study. The association is simply based on a name implication. Madrid and the Prado are an insepa-

rable group, as a quotation shown in a book. Madrid, for example, is not mentioned by other sponta-

neous quotations. As well as Milan, Rome, Naples, and Athens, where archaeological sites or single

exhibitions of unknown museums get mixed up. This could critically show how less has been done to

build a brand image in regards to the host city’s effect of attraction.

Turin is different: the museum, apart from the others, is characterized by the adjective “Egyptian”;

but the exception is limited only to the name. As discussed before, the brand-driven approach differs

in the MoMA and the MET and partly in the British Museum. They are integrated in the city’s struc-

ture, but they are mentioned precisely as specific entities - brand-museum-place-uniqueness - whose

mission, name, and design are clear. They are primarily the brand and the name, before being the host

city. Of course, the adjective “British” helps build a brand policy: “it is English, it is valuable”.


Study outcomes:italian museums

Data explanation

Study outcomes:foreign museums


72

However it should not be confused with the great work done on the brand. The British Museum has

a well defined placement shown in its tag-line: “illuminating world cultures”. This is a mission evi-

dently promised to the visitors through the brand presentation. It can establish - as seen with the

MoMA and the MET - a one-to-one relation based on the museum quality, its reliability towards

markets, its commitment towards culture and every single visitor. A brand that is easy to become fond

of, in which it is easy to believe, and for which it is spontaneous to pay a visit again.

The pyramid of brands

Among the ten museums of our study, the MET and the British Museum are the only ones reaching

the Bonding level of the Brand Dynamicstm Pyramid. This level means the brand attachment (the rea-

son why they have a brand, sic). These museums stimulate the return, the faithfulness, the word of

mouth, the spreading of the brand name; even though they do not exclude any other brand from their

scenario (the competitive purpose of a museum is to create a clear experience with the brand). To

us, the Louvre approaches the Advantage level, while the other seven museums remain at the

Performance level - only if the visit has been really required and successful - or at the Relevance

level. These museums could hardly establish a more lasting relationship with their public, if they

made no use of brand policy and museum exploitment logic.


4


The Internationalisation strategy of the Foundation Solomon R.Guggenheim. The Guggenheim in Bilbao

Inaugurated in Bilbao in 1997, the Guggenheim Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art

(designed by the famous architect Frank Gehry) caught global interest because the attendance

rose to 1.36 million visitors in the opening year and 850.000 in 2002. The extensive exhibition

spaces (24,000 square meters of plant area, the double of the Parisian Beaubourg) houses in

rotation the prestigious collections of the Foundation Guggenheim and a stable group of Spanish

and Basque works.

The creation of this museum was part of a large plan of land development. In 1990s, the local

authorities allocated enormous resources for art and technology in order to retrain and renew

the city.

Today, the Guggenheim, with its greatness, defines the traits of the Basque region and its capi-

tal Bilbao. In fact, it has become a world-class destination for cultural tourism, as well as the

pride of the local inhabitants. Considered as the engine of economic development (occupations,

revenue, tax receipts), the museum provides fame and credibility to the city authorities, and

attracts local and foreign visitors thanks to its strong co-branding policy. The partnership with

the Basque government for museum management is part of the strategic plan of the Guggenheim

Foundation’s international development. The aim is to enlarge the range of visitors and to pro-

vide financial resources, during a period of decline in public financing and private donations.

The presence on an international scale of the Foundation is essentially due to four points:

• ownership of high quality collections,

• promotion of prestigious and modern architectures,

• strong brand,

• expert personnel.

The director Thomas Krens proposed a marked entrepreneurship management which enabled the

Guggenheim to be innovative in its image. The internationalisation policy revolutionized all the

competitive rules in the museum sector. Moreover, an accurate brand policy and offering diffe-

rentiation towards works belonging to architecture, design and new media, was added to this type

of management.

Today, the Foundation is the centre of a constellation of satellite-museums, located in New York

(1959 and 1992), Venice (1979), Bilbao (1997), Berlin (1997), Las Vegas (2001), which:

• reach a wider and more varied public audience;

• develop brand reputation and recognition;

Case Study [1]*

• increase the museum’s visibility and mass media attention.

The agreements drawn up to today ensure the Foundation controls the core activities:

• planning of the touring exhibitions between the branches;

• preservation and development activities for the collections;

• communication and global branding activities (every exhibition is conceived in terms of

global impact rather than local);

• planning products and subsidiary services (e.g. merchandising).

While the decentralized activities are:

• local communication activities (e.g. the press, RP);

• Guggenheim brand product marketing;

• installation of works.

The temporary closure of the Guggenheim in Las Vegas has not compromised the Foundation’s

innovative strategy of internationalisation, which now is more careful with social factors. In 2003

the Foundation signed an agreement with the Brazilian authorities to build a Guggenheim museum

in Rio de Janeiro, designed by the famous French architect Jean Nouvel.

Case Study [2]

Beyond the Sponsorship. The partnership between the MetropolitanArt Museum in New York and Alamo Rent a Car Inc.23

In 1994 the MET inaugurated the American Impressionism and Realism: The Painting of Modern

Life 1855-1915, a selection of 80 works by artists born or resident in the United States, depicting

national places and landscapes. After the first stop in New York, the tour exhibition moved in

1995 to Forth Worth, Texas, then Denver and Los Angeles.

It was realized by an innovative cultural sponsorship agreement signed by the MET in association

with Alamo Rent a Car Inc.24

With a vast range of cultural and commercial offerings, the MET and Alamo motivated visitors to

continue and enrich the experience of their visit far beyond the museum’s walls. In fact, people

are invited to leave the museum location and start a journey to discover the real landmark repre-

sented in the exhibits. Every work was associated with a real place (square, bar, village, etc.) or

something that symbolized it.

In particular:

• all visitors received an informative brochure about the exhibition and a discount car-ren-



*

23 Quoted in Selbach G., Les muséesd’art américains: une industrie cul-turelle, L’Harmattan, Paris, 2000.

24 Alamo is the third largest discountcar rental company in the UnitedStates, after Hertz and Avis, with1,5 millions travellers a year, 102locations in the US and Canada,and more 400 in Europe andSouthern America. The companymission is to offer experiences oftravel with high values and lowcosts for free time.


tal coupon for themselves and their family; and if they bought something in the MET sto-

res, they would obtain a further discount;

• with the admission ticket all visitors received the guide My Impressions, A Travel Guide,

that describes works as well as places and explains how to get there including maps;

• thanks to the guide and coupon, all visitors could benefit from additional information and

promotions of hotels, restaurants, services in agreement with Alamo.

The innovative marketing activities carried out by Alamo Rent a Car Inc. considerably changed

the relationship and balance between cultural institutions and private sponsor in art sponsor-

ships.

The formula agreed with Alamo let the Metropolitan Art Museum in New York:

• run the exhibition by getting a 3 million dollar donation;

• increase revenue, receiving 5% of the total income of cars rented with the coupon promo-

tion (the same benefit for museums partners for the exhibition);

• growth in awareness among the public in the four cities hosting the exhibition, and among

a segment of privileged public fond of travelling.

Alamo in partnership with the MET wanted to:

• improve its image by associating with an esteemed museum;

• grow in brand awareness;

• enhance the Americanism of its image;

• integrate the collaboration of its marketing and communication activities;

• reach the museum public segment and promote travelling by car to discover the Country.

A similar agreement was signed by Alamo with the Association for African American Heritage

Preservation (NAAAHP), to provide voyage routes towards Afro-American historical sites: a seg-

ment growing heavily in the National Tourism Market.

4

4.2 Offering evolution

In recent years, the museum offering has been developed and broadened, by introducing many

subsidiary and extra services. The classical role of preservation and exhibition of works of art has

evolved.

Today museums’ Value Proposition derives from:

• a constant updating and enhancement of the existing offering quality (rooms restoration, tem-

porary exhibitions planning, collaboration with other museums, opening time extension, tran-

sport services, multiple pricing);

• a constant monitoring and improvement of structures and extra services offered (information,

audio-guides, guided tours, visit orientation, rest spaces, refreshments, etc.);

• a constant development of various and innovative programmes and subsidiary services (cour-

ses and laboratories, research services, social events, meetings, shows, etc.);

and its purpose is to:

• increase the availability and level of hospitality towards users in order to enrich their

Customer Experience;

• create loyal visitors and repeat revenue;

• attract new segments of non-frequent museum visiting public.

Segmentation and development activities set structures, programmes and specific services for dif-

ferent segments of the public (children, young people, the elderly, families, tourists, members,

local community, etc.).25 Many of the innovative services reveal the same purpose: to customize

visitor experience.

By referring to the framework of services shown in paragraph 1.3, the most innovative extra ser-

vices are:

• Visit orientation: mailing service, by post or e-mail, of informative support material and

didactic kits in order to help the potential visitors plan their visit in advance.

• Information service: brochures, leaflets or booklets available by type of visit and activity,

and in paper or multimedia format (visits for group, family, the deaf, recreational activities,

didactic programmes, library guide, etc.). They help the visitor to both have an understan-

ding of museum offerings and select their own visit tour and programme.

• Guided tours: wide range of visits by type of visitors (classes, children, groups, experts, com-

pany employees, the deaf, the blind), by theme tours (museum’s masterpiecies, temporary



The current composition of Value Proposition

25 The main museum user segmen-tation techniques are: socio-demographic analysis (gender,age, education, social class), geo-graphical analysis (residence,distance from the museum, workplace, etc.), psychographic analy-sis (perceptions, behaviours,competences, etc.), life styleanalysis. Visitors can also be seg-mented by visit experience featu-res (length, tour, purpose, groupcomposition, etc.).

Most innovative extra services

exhibitions, historical periods or artistic currents), by length, in order to meet audience’s seve-

ral needs.

• Rest spaces: resting space planning and design in a modern or specific style, full of books and

multimedia works, in order to give visitors somewhere to relax.

• Refreshment services: bars, cafeterias, self-service and exclusive restaurants designed for

different types of user (fast vs. silver service).

• Merchandising services:

- Increase in types of outlet (bookshop, souvenirs & guides shop, children’s shop, exhibit

shop, etc.).

- Wide range of products (books, videos, stationery, scarves, T-shirts, jewellery, art objects

and designs, etc.);

- Geographical presence with more outlets (museums, city centres, airports, stations, etc.);

- Post-sale activities with a self customer-care service in order to let consumers submit com-

plaints or requests;

- Communications activities (newsletters, e-mails) for news updates, monthly products, tem-

porary exhibition merchandising, etc.;

- Membership activities: client card with discounts, privileged offerings, partner’s offering,

higher purchasing speed.

The more innovative subsidiary services are:

• Conferences, courses and laboratories:

- description of courses / laboratories / demonstrations / series of conferences / discussions

for different segments of the public (e.g. the elderly during the week, families and children

during the week-ends, young couples during the evening, summer courses for students and

foreign tourists);

- company lunchtime programmes: specific range of offerings for companies choosing didac-

tic or recreational activities as benefits for their personnel;

- courses for collectors, laboratories for experts, scholars and researchers;

- didactic activities strictly related to schools: courses for teachers, museum staff participa-

ting in classes, common definition of learning objectives, publication of guides for tea-

chers, students as assistants, trainees and volunteers.

- training courses for museum staff to offer information and development (lectures of art and

history, public speaking, foreign languages, speaking techniques, etc.).

• Social events: planning of events, meetings, clubs to increase chances of interaction between

different segments of the public: dinners/concerts/readings for members, for charity, or for


4

Most innovative services


78

companies; birthday parties for children; soirées dedicated to artists, etc.

• Shows:

- plays, films, music along with additional programmes to enlarge the offering and attract

more local visitors. In doing so, the museum role turns from a mere exhibition space into

a cultural centre, dynamic and lively;

- planning and promotion of temporary exhibitions where art, music, theatre, cinema, and

gastronomy are intermixed.

The study of innovative services has provided evidence that membership cards for museums can be

very useful to build and manage different kinds of members: frequent visitors (e.g. families, stu-

dents), “friends of the museum” (e.g. donors, supporters) who actively contribute to the museum

accounts.

Cards, as retention instruments, offer different benefit packages (free entrance, discounts on cata-

logue products, special events, previews, shows) according to every kind of membership. They crea-

te a lasting relationship and an active participation to museum’s proposals, maximizing profits.

Recently, new membership cards have been introduced, such as smart or bar code cards. They

allow the creation of a customers’ database that can be used for personal marketing management

policy.

Case Study [3]

Didactic programmes for the British Museum’s schools. Explorer Packs.

The British Museum Education Department offers a wide range of learning experiences at diffe-

rent levels (courses, practical laboratories, workshops, lectures, on-line resources, meetings,

publications, certifications), for different segments of the public (adults, families, teachers, stu-

dents of various subjects: civilization, peoples, geographical areas, disciplines). The didactic ser-

vice helps the teacher set up the visit in the most efficient way, turning the students' experience

into a real exploration.

In particular, the Explorer Pack programme provides an exploratory kit to classes. The packs

include activity cards, objects and samples of materials, photographs to evoke the habits, customs,

and traditions of ancient civilizations present in the museum gallery. Currently, four Explorer

Packs are available: Eating and drinking in Roman Britain, Celebrating Athena's birthday,

Materials of ancient Egypt, Anglo-Saxons.


*

Every exploration programme is composed of three stages:

1. Pre-visit activity: the service provides a training session before beginning the visit supported

by the website Children’s COMPASS,26 suitable for users aged from 7 to 11.

2. Visit: students interact personally with the sessions proposed so that they can play a primary role

in the visit experience. After a general discussion, children are introduced by the museum staff

to a group or game activity, in which they can learn names, recognize and use objects, materials,

clothes, and instruments. The visit ends up with a final class talk about their activities. The ses-

sion lasts 45 minutes for 35 students.

3. Post-visit activity: the museum staff end the visit in classrooms, by showing notice boards with

photographs and drawings, role games or performances, additional research, etc. to allow them

to deepen knowledge in the classroom after the visit experience.

The Explorer Pack also provides a training session for teachers after the visit. They have to attend

a one hour course to learn how to use the packs and self-direct other sessions with classes.

4.3 Innovative technologies and channels

Nowadays museums make a major use of technological and multichannel approaches to manage

the interaction with different segments of their visitors, in order to improve the visit experience

and evaluation.

Museums employ technological resources by combining three main factors:

• increase in performances and restrained costs for technological products;

• ease of connection to the Internet and increase of access due to innovative and competitive

market pushes;

• user acceptance of new media and approaches to technological product functionalities (com-

puters, digital cameras, interactive TVs, home Internet appliances, web radios, mp3 players,

laptops, consoles).

Museums, adopting innovative interaction technologies and channels, increase the experience

value perceived by the visitor because:

• they provide new ways of showing works of art, complementary to the visit itself, also availa-

ble for diagnostic and restoration purposes (image manipulation and points of view impossible

in reality);

• they create interaction programmes enabling the visitor to discover their primary role in the

visit experience;


4

26 COMPASS COMPASS is an on-linedatabase featuring around 5,000objects and works of art. Eachobject featured is illustrated withhigh quality images, specific texts,links and maps. In the special chil-dren’s section, Children’s COMPASSoffers an educational interactive andmultimedia service especially for 7-11 year old.

Main factors

• they embody animations, texts and images in only one learning experience with multi-langua-

ge options;

• they create adaptable narrations, personalized and easily assimilated by the user;

• they offer multimedia assets contextual to the user experience and employment of the space.

User’s movements are monitored to develop a range of services and information;

• it is possible to design personal web pages protected by password, accessible from every com-

puter station, where the visitor-user files their own information and selection of works;

• they can arrange information according to the employment channel;

• they provide different levels of use according to user's knowledge of technology.

By adopting different channels and technologies, the museum’s Value Proposition leads its offe-

rings towards innovative and differentiated views. From the traditional function of housing and

exhibiting, the museum role turns to the creation and development of innovative contents, in order

to enhance its artistic heritage value.

The museum’s main offerings areas and the available technologies/channels are listed below:

• Offering products extension: multimedia publications such as CD-ROMs, videos, software,

interactive devices to explore the museum’s artistic heritage.

• New services creation: informative multimedia locations; digital guides to enrich and perso-

nalize the user’s real visit by virtual tours and contextual information on the works.

• Offering Diversification: multimedia centres for teaching and entertainment, workshops, e-

learning sessions, in order to change the museum into a research laboratory of interdiscipli-

nary teaching for the different segments of public (children, teenagers, the elderly, teachers,

researchers, experts).

• Global reach: websites to convey up-to-date information on the museum, its collections and

activities. An example of the most innovative websites are online museums complementary to

the “real” ones:

- development of online exhibitions consisting of digital image displays of non-exhibited

works, or environment reconstruction inaccessible to public;

- promotion of multimedia works of art developed ad hoc for the web;

- transformation of the museum in a place awakening creativity and imagination: the user

can explore virtually - the museum rooms, online collections and exhibitions, through high

quality images and interactive and multimedia applications;

- webcasting live events in the museum about restoration activities or events (e.g. inaugura-

tions, conferences, etc.).

The additional services increase the contact points with the visitor-user: online booking, online

shopping, personal web pages for members, online donations, communities, and so on.



Advantages for the user: experience improvement

Advantages for the museum : Value Proposition

differentiation

• Understanding of public segments: data management systems to manage information belon-

ging to different channels, in order to profile and segment groups of virtual and real visitors.

• Relationship extension: Customer Relationship Management models to dynamically adapt

the offerings to the Value Expectations of different segments of the public, by customizing

interfaces, information and channels. The main communication forms are: e-mails, newslet-

ters, sms, characterized by a high level of feedback and personalization.

Case Study [4]

The Eternal Egypt Project “www.eternalegypt.org”

The Eternal Egypt project is a three-year partnership between IBM and the Egyptian Ministries

of Culture. It represents the only case of innovative technology application to the cultural herita-

ge. The project embodies the most important sites, findings and historical periods of 5000 years

of Egyptian culture in a multimedia and interactive experience. A huge and rich database is used

for filing animations, 360° views, 3D scans and high resolution images.

A complex content management system allows the creation of personal narrations, by setting the

information stored in the database according to the channel (digital guide, cell phone, web). So the

visitor can have textual, visual or audio information on works and history.

The project consists of three components:

• The museum inside the walls: to enrich and personalize the visit experience inside the Cairo

museum, handheld Digital Guides were produced. They go beyond traditional audio-only devi-

ces to offer in-depth texts, images and animations to increase understanding of the artefacts

found in the museum. Digital Guides enable visitors to take themed tours of the museum or to

explore it by room, artefact or picture. At the end of the tour, the visitor receives a sort of per-

sonal catalogue - print summary - of the visit, covering the main works and rooms. Audio nar-

ration for the Digital Guide is available in three languages: English, French and Arabic and is

based on synthetically-generated text-to-speech technology.

• The museum outside the walls: the second component of the project is the mobile access

guided tours of the Temple of Luxor and the Pyramids of Giza, enabling visitors to access the

information available through their cell phones while touring various locations. The techno-

logy allows visitors to take established tours or to download information while they are visiting

the location.

• The museum without walls: the centrepiece of the project is the Eternal Egypt Web Site -


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http://www.eternalegypt.org/ - which includes high-resolution images and three-dimensional

reconstructions of the Egyptian antiquities, as well as virtually-reconstructed environments,

360 degree images, and panoramic views of present-day Egypt captured by web cameras at

such locations as Karnak Temple in Luxor and Qait Bey in Alexandria. The web site functions

permit visitors to explore the complex relationships between the objects, places and charac-

ters of Egypt’s past. It is available in English, French and Arabic, with audio narration on

demand.

This joint employment of digital guides, cell phones and the website enables the museum to col-

lect information on visitors’ profiles and their preferences for virtual or real tours (movements,

duration, visit purposes, etc.). Moreover, the museum can extend its relationship life cycle throu-

gh the follow-up generation with a single visitor.

Museum personnel make a first follow-up by e-mailing the personal electronic catalogue of the

visit experience, and by inviting the user to consult the post-visit section of the Eternal Egypt web-

site, to get in-depth information about the previous visit as well as to be updated with all the

museum news.

Case Study [5]

Hermitage Museum Project “www.hermitagemuseum.org”

This ambitious project, a partnership between IBM and the State Hermitage Museum in St.

Petersburg created a digital archive of the museum’s extensive collections. It consisted of more

than 3 million works, from prehistoric to Oriental and European Art. In particular, the projects

provided the Image Creation Studio (ICS), which permitted Hermitage staff, featured by the IBM

Centre in Yorktown Heights (USA), to scan its holdings and produce the digital images in 2D and

3D with high-resolution.

Applications enabling visitor-users to explore the Hermitage cultural heritage are:

• Education and Technology Center, created to provide an educational, interactive and mul-

timedia service to the visitors - especially children - through images supported by narrations,

quizzes and games.

• Visitor Information Kiosks, allows visitors to have an understanding of the museum through two

types of tours: the pre-selected tours, special exhibition, and the option for visitors to map out custo-

mized tours to particular art objects, collections, or halls and to receive a printout to guide them.


*

• Website http://www.hermitagemuseum.org, created to allow global users to view high-reso-

lution images of the works, and to perform a cultural and aesthetic learning experience. The

website is divided into two parts:

- the static part, “Collection Highlights”, consisting of 1500 pages with collection descrip-

tions, as a sort of art catalogue which reflects the museum structure;

- the dynamic part, “Digital Collection”, representing a true digital library of paintings,

sculpture, pottery, china, jewellery, cloth, coins and archaeological finds. The site features

a searchable database for different categories of works of art. The search can be performed

by the “artist’s name” or “work title”; by visual layout (shape and colour), so as to view the

works sharing the same chromatic palette; by artist, style, country, or artistic technique.

The outcome provides a high-resolution image, zooming feature and in-depth information

about the work.

All the pieces stored in the web site are protected against virtual theft with the IBM

Watermarking System, which is the invisible digital signature to avoid image forging. The site is

available in Russian and English. More than 100 people - professionals, web designers, experts -

participated in the planning and realization of the site.

“www.hermitagemuseum.org” won many awards. For example, it received Advanced Imaging

magazine’s “Solution of the Year Award” for digital photography; it was voted “Best Site Overall”,

by the Museums and the Web 2000 conference; it also received the “Russian Internet Academy’s

Grand Prix award” for best over-all website in Russia.


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5

5 *Conclusion

5chapter Conclusion

86

5. Conclusion

Experience is not what happens to a man; it is what a man does with what happens to him

Aldous Huxley

Customer Experience issues have been discussed for museums. This sector has not been selected by

chance: its characteristics, extreme dynamics and potential make it very interesting for who deals with

different realities.

Our analysis framework has been successfully applied to other contexts - companies and public admi-

nistrations - in which customer importance and quality of the relationship - from acquisition to post-

sale service - are the major success factors.

Customer Experience is certainly one of the main priorities for company management priorities. In

fact, the customers’ relationship is functional to profitable growth (market share and wallet share).

To successfully challenge customer centricity, it is necessary to follow a path of three main points:

1. To understand customers:

• What are the different segments of users?

• What are their needs (known or unknown)?

• What are the macro-features leading their purchasing behaviours?

• What are the typical scenarios through which users interact with the company?

• What services and/or information do they think there is in the various channels used to inte-

ract with the company?

2. To develop an offering suitable to the reference market:

• What products and services fulfil the needs of each segment of users?

• How to customize them in order to satisfy users’ needs, or at least segments’?


Relation

Company User

Value Perception

Value Realization

CustomerExperience

Value Expectation

Value Proposition

Customers

Offering

• Through what channels they can be provided? All channels indefinitely or a mixture of chan-

nels/products/services?

• How to convey the customer value?

3. To drive as best as possible the offering on all channels used:

• facilitating access and use of all interaction channels;

• define a coherently with the strategy what products, services and information in every channel;

• efficiently replying to all customers’ requests;

• making channel-to-channel passage transparent and “painless”;

• communicate the values in unique way through a brand strategy well defined on all different

channels.

These three points are strictly related to companies' success, which can be measured in terms of:

Wallet Share:

• Average expenditure per customer

• Reduction of price sensitivity

• Average revenue increase per transaction

• New purchases numbers per customer

• Repeated purchases numbers per customer

• Customer lifetime

Market Share:

• Increase of new customers

• Reduction of prospect customers lost in the selection phase for purchase alternatives

Profitability:

• Decrease of new customer acquisition costs

• Decrease of retention costs

• Decrease of complaint management costs

The artistic museum sector, through users’ segmentation, detailed Customer Experience analysis and

studies of cases of excellence, can be considered as a concrete example that the IBM approach to the

customer relationship management can bring value.


5

Channels

Outcomes

89

a p p e n d i xMethodology

The objective of our analysis has been to highlight the museum sector’s situation regarding Customer

Experience issues. In order to set up the study, a sample of museums has been selected. The consi-

derations that drove this choice are:

1. focus on the Italian sector but international, far-reaching work

2. institutions importance in terms of visitor numbers

3. geographical localization and representativeness

The analysis has involved 5 Italian museums, 4 in Europe and 1 in the USA. The choice is somewhat

subjective and partial; due to the restricted scope of our analysis.

The sector analysis has determined the reference context, as well as the information on actors, dyna-

mics and trends. In particular, the demand analysis has outlined five possible profiles concerning the

museums’ public (marked by different needs and requests in approaching a visit). It should be under-

lined that the profiles defined do not represent the entire visitor typologies. For example: experts, who

dedicate their work to museum research and management. Of course, it is clear that many others are

missing. However, we believe that the profiles examined constitute a significant sample, considering

the time constraint for our analysis.

For each profile, an interaction scenario has been defined through five main services channels (Web,

Call Centre, E-mail, Location, Audio-guide). Different Moments of Truth and Irritants affecting the

user experience have also been outlined. We have identified for each channel a different weighting,

compared to the others and the relative value drivers, along with their parameters to assess the mul-

tichannel museum experience.

Each channel has been evaluated by specific value drivers:

• Location has been assessed on:

- Information: general (timetable, fares, maps) and specific (captions, informative boards,

tours) information availability, coherence, updates, consistency, state of maintenance.

- Space: quality of museum spaces in terms of cleanliness, accessibility, internal signs, rest spa-

ces, room personnel's presence and expertise.

- Services: extra services such as refreshments, cloakroom, bookshop, library; specific services

for particular visitors (e.g. children, the elderly, etc.).

- Offerings: guided tours, multimedia devices/locations, material availability in foreign lan-

guages.

- Performances: assessment of queue time for buying tickets or other issues, number of total cash

desks, desks specific for particular visitors (groups, the disabled, etc.).


90

• Web has been assessed on:

- Usability: content quality and disclosure offered by models, ease and immediacy of use, user

support.

- Functionality: navigation, personalization, e-commerce services (online ticketing, book-

shop, etc.), simple and advanced search tools.

- Visibility: website address (URL) analysis, site placement in search engines, position outco-

me by general (country, city, museum) or specific (museum name, collections) key words.

- Security: communication efficiency as for security level provided, assessment of legal requi-

rements for personal data treatment, appeal to hackers , access control modalities.

- Performance: objects numbers and dimension analysis, response time and page download

throughout the day.

- Accessibility: site accessibility assessment according to W3C directions, that is the possibi-

lity to reach and use information whatever the obstacles are (physical, mental, cultural, social).

• Call Center has been assessed on:

- Usability: analysis of operator response in terms of competence, helpfulness and proactive

behaviour, assessment of IVR navigation path.

- Functionality: presence of an alternative channel to get information or call-back service,

choice, through IVR, of the language.

- Performance: response/waiting time assessment, number of passages to reach the correct

operator.

• E-mail has been assessed on:

- Usability: analysis of response completeness, clearness, readability, format assessment, con-

sistency as for request.

- Functionality: response personalization assessment, references (links) to other channels as

requested.

- Performance: response time assessment, e-mail size.

• Audio-guide has been assessed on:

- Usability: audio quality and content comprehensiveness and clarity analysis.

- Functionality: route options available, descriptions by work or room, multi-language options

to listen to information.

- Performance: type of audio-guide available (earphone or headphone), waiting time listening

assessment.

The Value drivers’ parameters, Moments of Truth satisfaction and Irritants activation have been asses-

sed through the Expert Analysis Method. Our expert consultants in Italy and around the world have

personally experienced the scenarios and gathered the assessments of all parameters.


a p p e n d i x

The parameters analysis has revealed how each museum has structured its offering, while the

Moments of Truth and Irritants analysis has shown the offering level perceived by users. The collec-

tion of these results has allowed us to create a global picture of museums positions from a Customer

Experience point of view.


a p p e n d i x

5Bibliography

AAVV, Innovative Arts Marketing, Ruth Rentschler, Melbourne, 2002.

Bollo A., Solima L., I Musei e le imprese. Indagine sui servizi di accoglienza nei musei statali italiani,

Electa, Napoli, 2002.

ISTAT, Annuario Statistico Italiano, 2003.

Kotler N., Kotler P., Marketing dei musei. Obiettivi, traguardi, risorse, Edizioni di Comunità, Torino,

2001.

Mori (a cura di), Visitors to museums and galleries in the UK, The Council for Museums, Archives and

Libraries, London, 2001.

Poli F., Il Sistema dell’arte contemporanea. Produzione artistica, mercato, musei, Editori Laterza,

Roma, 2003.

Runyard Sue, The Museum Marketing Handbook, Museum and Gallery Commission, London, 1994.

Selbach G., Les musées d’art américains: une industrie culturelle, L’Harmattan, Paris, 2000.

Solima L., Il pubblico dei musei. Indagine sulla comunicazione nei musei statali italiani, Gangemi

Editore, Roma, 2000.

Solima L., La gestione imprenditoriale dei musei, CEDAM, Padova, 1998.

Touring Club Italiano, L'annuario della Cultura 2004, TCI, 2004.

Touring Club Italiano, Indagine annuale sull'affluenza dei visitatori nei musei italiani di maggior inte-

resse turistico, TCI, Milano, 2001.

Zan L., Conservazione e innovazione nei musei italiani. Management e processi di cambiamento, ETAS

Libri, Milano, 1999.


experience

5* 10 museums analyzed in 6 countries: Italy, France, Greece, Spain,

Great Britain, USA

* 14 key indicators analyzed for each museum

* 5 user profiles and scenarios developed, 17 Moments of Truth and

34 Irritants defined

* 20 value drivers on 5 interaction channels, a total of 87 parameters:

• Location: 5 value drivers, 28 parameters

• Web: 6 value drivers, 22 parameters

• Call Center: 3 value drivers, 13 parameters

• Audioguida: 3 value drivers, 13 parameters

• E-mail: 3 value drivers, 11 parameters

* min 4 max 8 expert analysis developed for each museum, a total of

53 expert analysis

* museum brand awareness analysis completed for 10 worldwide cities, on

125 Italian participants

* 5 case studies analyzed to define examples of excellence all over the world

* more than 20 consultants worldwide involved during February and

March 2004

This study has been conducted by the consultants of the Centre for

IBM e-business Innovation, part of Business Consulting

Services, with the support of Fondazione IBM Italia.

Business Consulting Services is the IBM department which designs and provides innovative solutions to

customers, using the best industry competencies and technologies.

Centres for IBM e-business Innovation are a global network planning in-depth solutions on demand, and

supporting customers to set strategies, to design and implement solutions. They aim at:

• improving Customer Experience and maximizing digital channel initiatives value;

• facilitating access to important information, competencies and applications in relation to speci-

fic profiles and ultimate user needs;

• aligning business strategies with channels used in the interaction between customer and com-

pany, in order to maximize market share, wallet share and customer profitability.

Customer Experience, as intended by our consultants, is a point of excellence for all companies

competing in services quality and customer relations.

Centre for IBM e-business Innovation

IBM Business Consulting ServicesIBM Global Services

Via Tolmezzo, 15 - 20132 Milanoibm.com/services/it/innovation

Produced in Italy10-04All Rights Reserved

IBM and the IBM logo are registred trademarks or trademarks of InternationalBusiness Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both.

All other registred trademarks, trademarksand service marks are the property oftheir respective owners.

References in this publication to IBM products and services do not imply that IBM intends to make them available in all countries in which IBM operates.

© Copyright IBM Corporation 2004

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