Ep. 08 — Metrics for Museums
Keeping track of your museum's numbers is so important. In this really short episode, Amy teaches you how to set up a spreadsheet so that you can begin recording your numbers today.
Set up your spreadsheet.
Record metrics every Monday.
Review at the end of each month.
Still staring at a blank screen? Grab a copy of the Museum Metrics Template here: https://www.lovemymuseum.com/metrics
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FREE Resources
Get the Museum Metrics Template: https://www.lovemymuseum.com/metrics
Download the People First Framework Guide for Museums: https://bit.ly/4PSguide_lovemymuseum
Download the Planning Calendar for Museums: https://bit.ly/2024museumcal
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Episode Transcript
[00:00:00]
Keeping track of your museum's numbers is so important. On this really short episode, we're going to set up a spreadsheet so that you can begin recording your numbers today. Yes, like now! Let's get started.
Welcome to the "Love my Museum" podcast. I'm your host, Amy Kehs, and I love museums. I also happen to be a brand strategist and communications expert. Today, we're talking about your museum's numbers and how important it is to record these metrics. It's going to be a really short episode because I want you to remember what I'm saying, and I want you to take action today. Metrics give you the low down on how you're doing, where you're headed and what needs a little extra love at your museum.
[00:01:00]
It's not just about collecting numbers, it's about using them to supercharge your progress at your museum. They can help back you up when you want to create an exhibit based off of a popular program you just had. I know that as a museum expert, you probably have hunches about what will do well at your museum and having the numbers to support those theories can help you justify the new ideas that you're planning. In our planning episode, we talked about how planning is like a roadmap and that you want to make sure that everyone at your museum has the same goals and priorities. Well, if planning is the roadmap, think of metrics as the compass for that map. If you have the numbers to guide you, you're more likely to spend time on things your visitors will be interested in.
[00:02:00]
Here are a couple of examples. You look at your numbers from the last quarter, and you see that out of all of the programs you did, one program had the highest attendance. In fact, you go back and compare it to the whole previous year and it still comes out on top. Well, maybe it's a contender to do a whole exhibit on that topic or maybe you want to bring it back as a regular ongoing program. Now, of course the reverse is true as well. Maybe there's an event that didn't do well that you were considering to be an annual event. What could you change to make it more appealing? Without metrics, it's like trying to navigate that windy road with your eyes closed.
You're just guessing.
So. Where do you start?
[00:03:00]
Where do we begin? First, I want you to set up a spreadsheet. You can start simple. Just please start. I'm going to walk you through it right now. So open up a Google sheet or an Excel document, any kind of spreadsheet. In the left column, I want you to record the date. And then in the other columns for that date, record things like your visitor numbers, social media metrics, website data. You can also record numbers for any revenue streams, like museum memberships or donations, ticket sales, special events, gift shop sales, whatever might apply. You can share the document with your coworkers and have each team member that's responsible for that number fill it in.
So, for example, if you have a gift shop and you have a gift shop manager, that person will be responsible for filling out those numbers.
[00:04:00]
Now at this point, you might be saying, "Amy, I am never going to get my colleagues to go for this. That's okay. Start small. Start with the numbers that you're responsible for. When you show up at a meeting and you have the numbers to back up your recommendations and your ideas, everybody will want to get on board. Second, take your spreadsheet and record your metrics every week on the same day. I recommend Monday mornings. So on Monday morning, everyone that is helping you fill out the spreadsheet goes into the spreadsheet and fills out the numbers for the previous week.
Third, I want you to review your metrics at the end of each month. There may also be some numbers on there that you can only record once a month, like, probably visitor numbers.
[00:05:00]
And so at the end of each month, take a look at those metrics and review them. What worked well? What didn't? Were there any unexpected highs or lows? One of my most popular posts on social media are the posts that I do on the last day of every month, reminding everyone to review your metrics for the month. If you follow me on social media, you may have seen that reminder. So, if you start today, having this benchmark will be a huge advantage as you listen to this podcast and implement the other tips and tricks that I'm going to teach you. You'll be able to see how things are changing three months from now, six months from now, a year from now. Using numbers will simply help you understand what is working and what you can build on. It will help inform your decisions for your museum moving forward.
[00:06:00]
Okay, so let's review. Number one, set up your spreadsheet. Number two, you're going to record your metrics every week on the same day. I recommend Mondays. If you listened to the last episode of the podcast, I gave some hints for how to practice a new habit.
So you could simply put a sticky note on your desk. Or you could create a recurring task in your calendar that reminds you every Monday morning. Okay, so we set up our spreadsheet. We're recording our metrics every week. And we're reviewing our metrics at the end of the month. That doesn't sound too hard does it?
If you're staring at a blank screen, let me give you some more help. You can head to lovemymuseum.com/metrics, and you can download a museum metrics template.
[00:07:00]
The template is in a Google sheet. And so you can either download it as an Excel file or you can make a copy and you can use it as a Google sheet.
Once you have your own copy, customize it to fit your museum. You can change it to your own brand fonts and brand colors. Then set that reminder in your calendar and you're all set to go. And that's it. Keep in touch and let me know how it goes. That's all for today. I'll see you next time.
