Ask The Expert

Q How should I define a ‘regular’ attender at our gallery, and how can I actually identify them (we don’t sell tickets) so that I can start some relevant marketing campaigns?’

A Deciding what ‘regular’ means to your organisation is step one. A regular reader of the Guardian probably reads it several times a week, while annual visits to an international theme park would be pretty regular. Get started by establishing what’s normal (another sense of ‘regular’).

Ask and ye shall receive

Try some simple research. Ask a random sample of visitors how often they’ve come to you in the past 12 months, and how often they’ve visited other named museums and galleries. (Bear in mind they might over-estimate to be nice to you or make themselves feel more cultured!) Compare what they say with what’s happening elsewhere. Ask contacts at attractions in your area, or do some desk research. The ‘People & Culture in Scotland’ survey tells us that nearly half of all Scottish city residents had visited museums and galleries in the previous 12 months, and of these around a third had been once, a third twice and a third more often.

Boomerangs and cheerleaders

The happier your visitors are, the more likely they are to come back – and the more they come back, the more likely they are to recommend you. However brilliant your marketing is, it’s pretty hard to beat word-of-mouth. The good news is, this means your visitors are doing your work for you! So while you might be dying to get marketing, start by asking what they think…

Love it, hate it

Unfortunately, dissatisfied people spread the word with the most enthusiasm – damaging your brand and your footfall, not just among their pals but potentially thousands, in words, photos and video, through social media. Get ahead of the game by asking your random sample how likely they are to recommend you, on a score of 0 (not at all) to 10 (extremely likely). You’ll find you have Promoters and Detractors. Only count those who score 9 or 10 as Promoters – and Detractors are anyone scoring up to 6 (past ‘neutral’). Subtracting Detractors from Promoters gives you a ‘Net Promoter Score’, and suggests the size and strength of your fan base. For context, I’m told the much-adored iPhone scores 67%. If your score is negative, don’t even think about marketing until you’ve sorted it out.

Is regular best?

Ah – the old 20:80 rule. Around 80% of your visits and income are likely to come from around 20% of your visitors – so focus on them. This is a useful principle, especially when marketing budgets are tight. But it may not be everything to your organisation. You might want to engage new audiences, reaching possibly small or infrequent groups of new attenders. And if they like it (see above), they’ll be back.

Don’t leave me this way

While you’re quizzing visitors, don’t miss the chance to give them more in-depth feedback forms, and ask for their contact details. We recruit focus groups this way, to build a deeper understanding of the visitor experience, and to grow our marketing databases (which can then be segmented by frequency). Think too about people who ‘regularly attend’ in different ways – your lurkers. They may be reading about you in the press, visiting your website, or following you on Facebook or Twitter. Turn their ghostly presence into something more tangible by giving them plenty of opportunities to sign-up for your irresistible marketing approaches to come.