The must-have data to understand museum visitors.

Data has become a staple in today’s digital world. Collecting it and analyzing it is a pillar in any digital marketing strategy. Even Google has published multiple articles about the importance of data-driven marketing.

However, the obsession with data comes at a price and has become a challenge for marketers in different fields. It’s important to note that not all collected data is relevant, which is where lies the real challenge. Marketers need to identify the necessary elements that will drive growth. They should be able to ask the right questions to obtain the answers that will help create a specific and measurable strategy. So, sorting the sometimes cluttering data is a form of art curation where only the most relevant, beautiful data is guarded.

Usually, two types of data exist: quantitative data and qualitative data. The former allows us to collect information about visitors simply by knowing the language they speak on their apps, the countries they’re from…etc. These information gives us a clear idea of their identities and gives us a better understanding of their background and surroundings.

Qualitative data gives us a much deeper understanding of visitors and allows us not only to identify them but also understand their behavioral pattern and intents. Among these information, we can find data about the duration of time they remain at a certain POI (point of interest), their favorite art pieces, the pieces they snubbed…

This data gives us a better understand to target actions and optimise visitors’ experiences by anticipating needs and preferences.

That’s why we believe giving more attention to visitors’ behaviors and intentions than their demographics is crucial. Understanding how users navigate and experience the app will ultimately help in avoiding unnecessary updates and measure the performances of different functionalities.

Here at smArtapps, we give a range of data to our clients depending on their desires and strategies. From detailed information to shallow one, many find it useful to have more insight. Here are a few examples :

• Number of downloads (by language and by store country), which is divided into two subcategories :

1- iOS downloads (done on Apple devices such as iPhones and iPads)

2- Android downloads (done on Samsung, Huawei, Google devices…etc.).

This data allows us to measure the popularity of your app, countries with the most downloads (which eventually shows visitors’ origins : locals vs. foreigners.) Furthermore, it shows numbers of download per operating system.

• Users ratings : anything from stars rating to comments and feedbacks on mobile stores.

Direct feedback from your users after their visit can be a helpful way to improve user experience by assessing the information and work on whatever can be improved (accessibility, information, content, cleanliness…etc.)

• Generated revenue : some applications can be purchased directly on the stores or have in-app purchases within them, meaning only parts of the apps’ functionalities are free.

This information shows if/how visitors are interested in your app and its paid functionalities. Noticing the evolution of profits can help adapt the pricing strategy of your app. Furthermore, purchases vary with time, within iOS or Android users which can indicate who’s most likely to buy your content. Make sure to adapt the strategy to maximize profit and offer a unique experience with high-quality content and performance.

Other types of data can offer a more detailed look into users needs, behaviors and preferences. This data is unique to your space and clients. Here are some examples of in-depth data smArtapps can give :

• Frequency of visits to specific media or content: whether it’s an audio bit, an image or a short video, we can identify the content that’s most engaging and appealing for visitors which indicates what types of medias are to be prioritized in future updates of the app.
• Session duration : how much did visitors spend on your app? Was it a shortstop of 1 minute? 10 minutes? A half hour? The more users spend time on your platform, the better it is because it demonstrates engagement with the app. Retaining users can become a measurable ROI (return on investment.) If visitors spend considerable time on the app, think of new ways to develop your already-successful strategy. If users barely use it, don’t get discouraged ! Try adding new functionalities and content that is only accessible on the app to promote exclusivity and encourage downloads.
• Most visited POIs : this data show what art pieces are being frequented the most, the time spent on them and the frequency of visits. It also shows what pieces aren’t attracting as many visitors. Whether you’d like to know how many people visited a particular art piece or the number of times a single visitor was interested, this extremely useful and detailed information presents golden insights about behaviors and can go as far as helping you anticipate what kind of art is the most sought after in your museum/space. From developing the space to creating new engaging functions such as filtered selfies or quizzes and games, being creative here is the only solution as the options are limitless to promote not-so-popular POIs and keep the momentum around the successful ones.

Finally, creating a simple app to attract visitors is no longer viable as users get more digitally savvy and raise expectations every day. The seamless engaging experience they’re looking for within a museum is the best they could hope for to complete their visit. Hence, analyzing data to understand behaviors and anticipate their needs by adapting the app with time is crucial in keeping momentum and engagement alive within your audience.

For more information on data collection and analysis, our team would be the perfect expert to give you a personalized benchmark of what would work for you and what wouldn’t. Shoot an email to Céline Cauderlier (cc@smartapps.fr), who’ll answer all your questions. Don’t wait any longer and start mining that precious information as soon as possible!

*All collected data on smArtapps products and/or platforms respect the process instructed by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR.)