This post is an advertorial written by an organization that serves the museum field. The views, opinions, and positions expressed by the authors and those providing comments are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or positions of AAM or its employees.

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Staying ahead of industry trends is essential in an ever-changing arts and culture landscape. To steer your organization through uncertainty, you may consult benchmark reports, informational webinars, your professional network and conferences.

This aggregate data shows how your organization compares to your peers and offers guidance for the years ahead. However, though these industry insights are powerful on their own, harnessing data unique to your organization and its community enriches the big picture. Your data allows you to zoom into day-to-day decision-making with clarity.

Fortunately, there’s likely no shortage of valuable information about your museum and its audiences. How guests discover your venue, their preplanning, their on-site experiences and even their post-visit reflections all combine as chapters in your data story.

But is your organization truly data-driven? Sometimes the sheer volume of data feels overwhelming to manage. Perhaps your data is housed across multiple systems that don’t speak to one another or require manual upkeep. If you face staff turnover, you might struggle to retain institutional knowledge for effectively gathering and using your visitor data. Specific departments may engage with data-driven practices more than others. Or you might have excellent processes for collecting and storing data, but analyzing it and taking action feel out of reach.

If any of these challenges resonate with you, you’re not alone. Yet, overcoming them is key to unlocking creative solutions to today’s funding challenges and changing audience behaviors.  Here are three strategies museums use to increase visitor engagement, make better choices and remove guesswork.

Create a unified view of your visitor insights

To make the most of your data, you need to centralize it. Insights become actionable when you’re able to evaluate customer touchpoints across every department. Suddenly, silos dissipate, teams gain transparency and every question is more easily answered.

Pittsburgh’s August Wilson African American Cultural Center uses Tessitura to manage data from various programs, spanning visual art, live music, theatre and festivals. Tessitura gives the center a unified ticketing, fundraising, membership and customer relationship management (CRM) solution.

“We’re able to build our own organizational data all in one software,” said Abigail Sarnacki, Director of Ticketing and Guest Services. “It really helps us keep building, learning and growing. It’s amazing.”

National Museums Scotland also benefits from capturing disparate data in Tessitura. “Previously, we were on a lot of different systems, with a lot of data in different places. It couldn’t be looked at as a whole,” said Tom Clarke, the CRM and Ticketing Manager. “But people are very excited when we show them data now.”

Interconnected insights emerge. Now, you know not only when someone last visited but also what email led them to buy a ticket. You can easily see previous donations or ask if guests want to renew their membership when they walk through your door.

That’s why the Metropolitan Museum of Art uses Tessitura “for everything,” according to Senior Business Intelligence Analyst Elizabeth Warren. “It’s the centerpiece in how we’re organizing data and communicating with our donors and our patrons at large,” she said. “It’s been an amazing tool in the long term.”

Look at the big picture

When you zoom out from individual customer data, you can identify broader trends in your organization to aid programming choices, guide efficiencies and streamline your operations. How successful was a specific exhibition or related program? What do guests purchase from the gift shop or the cafe? And how did your marketing campaigns drive these results?

The Courtauld Institute of Art in London uses its Tessitura CRM insights to aid programming discussions. “The data is really important to us, and I think it’s going to become more important for planning future exhibitions,” said Sian Morris, Courtauld’s Executive and Special Projects Assistant. “The more data we have, the more useful it is. Now we’ve been open for a few years, so we can compare exhibitions — which ones have performed better than others, the revenue and the types of people who are coming. All this information could support business in the future.”

Museum Wales’ Enterprises team uses Tessitura to track food and beverage sales and inform on-the-ground decisions. According to Ffion Williams-Cormany, the museum’s CRM and Ticketing Officer, “I’m able to provide [the cafe] with an overview of how our afternoon teas or Sunday lunches are selling — all these crucial food and beverage items. So, they can look at those any day to see who’s coming and what dietary requirements they have.”

Make your data actionable

Imagine all this information at your fingertips. Now, picture the power in easily visualizing and sharing it with key stakeholders throughout your museum.

At National Museums Scotland, that means the ability to report more meaningfully on revenue. “Now, we have a dashboard that not only gives [our team] the data they need but also formats it in a completely readable way,” Tom Clarke said. “It has the question there and the answer beneath it, rather than having a huge spreadsheet to decipher. So, from a reporting point of view, it’s been amazing.”

Bonus: Enlist a partner

When it comes to your key visitor data, there’s usually no shortage of information. The trick is harnessing it to your advantage. The right technology partner can help.

Tessitura offers one transactional platform to power your entire customer journey, with equally strong functionality across all business-critical areas. Plus, Tessitura is more than a vendor — we’re a true partner with an unwavering commitment to and deep understanding of your needs. As the only nonprofit technology company dedicated to serving arts and culture organizations, we invest 100% in your success. Visit our website  to learn more and to read other success stories.

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About Tessitura

We are Tessitura, a nonprofit technology company dedicated to helping arts and culture organizations thrive.

CRM lies at the heart of our mission and our secure technology platform. Ticketing works hand-in-hand with fundraising, membership, marketing, education and front of house. Intuitive tools help reduce uncertainty and turn data into insights. And features such as frictionless payments, digital ticketing and integrated e-commerce help build a sustainable and accessible future. With Tessitura, organizations can achieve their goals with ease.

We work with more than 800 organizations in 10 countries. Our staff provide 24/7 support and offer guidance to grow revenue and engagement. For more information, please visit www.tessitura.com.