Lessons from Spotify and Netflix: How Museums Can Use Data to Improve the Visitor Experience
Introduction
In today's digital landscape, data represents a fundamental resource for any cultural institution that wants to improve the visitor experience and innovate museum management. Two entertainment giants, Spotify and Netflix, have shown how the strategic use of data can transform audience interaction, making it more engaging and personalized. But what can museums learn from these platforms? How can they leverage data to attract visitors, increase engagement and build audience loyalty?
In this article, we will explore the best museum marketing and data management strategies, drawing inspiration from Spotify and Netflix, and provide concrete examples of how museums can apply these lessons to innovate the visit experience.
1. Personalization: creating tailor-made visit routes
Spotify and Netflix have revolutionized their respective industries thanks to their ability to offer personalized content. Spotify, for example, creates playlists such as "Discover Weekly" based on users' musical tastes, while Netflix suggests movies and TV series based on viewing preferences.
Lesson for museums:
Museums can adopt a similar approach by using data collected through innovative digital solutions such as amuseapp. With the information collected, museums can create personalized routes aligned with visitors' tastes and interests.
2. Data analysis: optimizing museum management
Netflix and Spotify don't just collect data, they analyze it in depth to understand user behavior and preferences. Netflix, for example, knows exactly what time of day a user prefers to watch a TV series, how much time they spend on each episode, and whether they're doing something else at the same time. Indeed, today most Netflix users watch TV series and movies on the platform while doing other activities, such as household chores, scrolling through social media, or making lunch. And Netflix knows it. This has influenced script writing, which increasingly takes this viewing mode into account. In short: characters have to explicitly state their actions and intentions, to accommodate distracted viewers who might treat the films as background noise.
Lesson for museums:
Museums can implement efficient, intuitive data monitoring and analysis systems like the amuseapp dashboard.
This allows museums (and cultural venues in general) to efficiently and intuitively visualize:
- the number of daily and weekly visits, with trends and comparisons against the previous period;
- the languages most used, to better understand the museum's international audience;
- the most visited points of interest, to optimize routes and improve the visitor experience;
- the average visit duration, to understand the level of audience engagement;
- feedback and visitor satisfaction, by monitoring responses to end-of-visit questionnaires;
- the trend in purchases and donations, to assess the effectiveness of monetization strategies.
With this information, museums can optimize the visit experience, for example by redistributing crowd flow or creating additional, more engaging content for less-visited works.
3. Dynamic and interactive content: enriching the visit experience
Netflix constantly updates its catalogue with new content, keeping users' interest alive. Spotify, on the other hand, uses push notifications to inform users about new albums or concerts.
Lesson for museums:
Museums can leverage technology to create dynamic and interactive content. For example, they could send push notifications to visitors who have downloaded the museum's app, informing them about new exhibitions or special events. Museums could also arrange for a historical figure in person to accompany visitors throughout the visit thanks to deep-fake technology (you'll find an example at the very end of this section). Or they could offer visitors a chatbot acting as a virtual guide capable of answering all visitors' questions in real time (you can find an example here).
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4. Loyalty: building a long-term relationship
Spotify and Netflix have developed loyalty strategies that go beyond simply offering content. Spotify, for example, creates a sense of belonging through collaborative playlists, exclusive events for premium users, not to mention the now-iconic year-end Spotify Wrapped.
Lesson for museums:
Museums, too, can build a long-term relationship with visitors. How? By creating personalized membership programs, offering ticket discounts or exclusive access to special events or temporary exhibitions based on visitor preferences. Another strategy is to send personalized newsletters with educational content, trivia or in-depth material related to the works the visitor has shown appreciation for.
5. Experimentation and innovation: embracing new technologies
Spotify and Netflix are known for their ability to constantly experiment and innovate. Spotify has introduced features such as personalized podcasts, while Netflix has experimented with interactive content formats such as "Black Mirror: Bandersnatch".
Lesson for museums:
In a museum context, introducing technological innovation is often a complex path, full of challenges and resistance. However, if museums adopted a more proactive approach, open to experimentation, they could discover extraordinary new possibilities. This is especially true in Italy, where art and culture represent one of the richest and most fascinating heritages in the world. By collaborating with cutting-edge technology providers such as amuseapp, museums could bring innovative experiences to life, capable of showcasing the past through the opportunities of the present.
Case study:
The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) in Washington, D.C. developed an AI-powered audio guide to improve the visitor experience in its modern and contemporary art galleries, reopened in September 2023. The goal was to make the museum more accessible, engaging and interactive, increasing audience diversity and reducing the need for physical devices. The guide had 35,000 users in the first three months, with a 25% return rate and strong engagement from younger visitors. The project's success led SAAM to plan new features, including augmented reality (AR) experiences and planning tools for the entire city of Washington, D.C.
Conclusion
Leveraging data to create unforgettable, personalized experiences
Spotify and Netflix have shown that data is not just numbers, but powerful tools for creating personalized, engaging experiences. Museums have the opportunity to embrace these lessons to transform the visit into a dynamic, interactive and memorable experience.
By using data intelligently, museums can not only attract new visitors, but also build a deeper, more lasting relationship with their audience. In an era where experience and personalization are everything, the museums that manage to adapt and innovate will be the ones that leave a lasting mark on visitors' minds and hearts.
amuseapp: the digital revolution for cultural venues
amuseapp is much more than a simple audio guide: it is an innovative digital platform that transforms the visitor experience and helps museums increase revenue.
Personalized itineraries with Artificial Intelligence. Unlike traditional audio guides, amuseapp uses artificial intelligence to create tailored routes based on the needs of each visitor: children, people with sensory disabilities, experts, students and many other groups.
Accessibility in 30 languages. Today only 20% of museums offer content in more than two languages. With amuseapp, cultural venues can break down this barrier, automatically generating text and audio in 30 languages and making cultural heritage accessible to everyone, everywhere.
A real-time virtual tour-guide chatbot. Thanks to a customized chatbot, amuseapp offers visitors a virtual guide that is always available, able to answer their questions and enrich the visit experience.
Simple and secure donation collection. With amuseapp, cultural venues can collect donations directly through the app, quickly, securely and intuitively.
Feedback for continuous improvement. amuseapp makes it possible to collect visitors' opinions about their visit experience, providing valuable data to optimize services.
Available as an app or web app. amuseapp's web app lets visitors access the museum's digital content without downloading any application. amuseapp's mobile app is designed to offer a more advanced, customizable experience. By downloading it from the official stores, visitors can benefit from extra features.
One solution, many benefits. With amuseapp, cultural venues can offer an innovative, inclusive and interactive experience, while also improving their sustainability model.
Learn more about amuseapp.
