1. AIM Visitor Verdict
Introducing a FREE visitor
experience benchmarking
service to improve resilience

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AIM Visitor Verdict: In a nutshell
Free visitor survey service for up
to 150 independent museums
Service provided by AIM in association with its
survey partner, BDRC Continental
Especially designed for independent museums
Results for your museum anonymously
benchmarked against similar museums
Taking best practice from the existing ALVA Visitor
Experience Benchmarking Survey
100% funded by Arts Council England for first two
years; designed to be sustainable at low cost
thereafter

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How can AIM Visitor
Verdict help me?

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AIM Visitor Verdict helps independent museums become
more resilient. Your benchmarked survey results can…..
Lend weight to funding bids
Help to attract and retain sponsors / investors
Help improve the Visitor Experience
• Learn from ‘best in class’
• Prioritise areas for improvement
• Identify what is delivered very well
• Guide staff training and suppliers
Inform marketing and communications messages and strategy
Inform admissions and other pricing decisions
Raise standards across the sector by sharing best practice and experiences

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Why do I need to benchmark my visitor survey results?
How am I performing compared with other
museums similar to mine?
Are my results strong or weak and on which
visit aspects?
Which of these visit aspects most influence the
overall visitor experience?
Which are the most important to get right?
Visitor research in isolation often leaves
two unanswered questions

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Benchmarking helps to answer these questions
Benchmarking helps you prioritise
your investment: money and time
“The key is not to prioritise
what's on your schedule,
but to schedule your
priorities.”
Stephen Covey

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How does AIM Visitor
Verdict work?

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Museums collect visitor email addresses*
A user-friendly online system (no need for on-site interviewers!)
The Process
Museums upload these contacts to a secure
website periodically*
Survey invites automatically sent out by email
Results available to you privately, online
(using passwords) in chart form.
Versus benchmarks - size, type, free/paid etc.
* Guidance notes are provided to you on how to do this

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What areas will the survey cover?
What are their motivations
for visiting you and needs
when they get there?
Which communications
channels influenced them?
Why are they here?
Age & gender
Children with them? How old?
Where do they come from?
Socio–economic status
How often do they visit you?
Who are our visitors?
Over 40 ratings questions, covering a
comprehensive range of visit dimensions:
Overall enjoyment, value, recommendation
Operations / service:
incl. secondary spend
Interaction:
staff, interpretation, learning etc.
Emotional:
atmosphere, social, relaxing etc.
What do they think of their experience?
Do they visit / purchase
in your shop or catering
facilities?
What is their average
(secondary) spend?
What do they do in your museum?

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You will receive practical support
Guidance pack
• Email collecting practicalities and advice
• Online report interpretation
Ongoing support
• Technical
• Interpretation advice
Shared Practice Event
What can participating museums learn from the
benchmarking exercise?
• What are the critical visit aspects?
• How can we become more resilient?

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What next?

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AIM Visitor Verdict: Schedule
Express interest and sign up
period (150 spaces)
Until end July
By early September
October
Guidance packs to museums
Service Launch

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For further information
+44 (0) 20 7400 0381
+44 (0) 7980 712563
steve.mills@bdrc-continental.com
Steve Mills
Director BDRC Continental
+44 (0) 1460 75222
+44 (0) 78 333 666 24
henleymanor@btinternet.com
aimadmin@aim-museums.co.uk
Sam Hunt
Head ‘AIM Visitor Verdict’
Amy Davies
Research Manager, BDRC Continental
+44 (0) 20 7400 0382
amy.davies@bdrc-continental.com

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The Vision
‘AIM Visitor Verdict’
is the No.1 aspirational visitor survey
model for independent museums
The most
relevant
survey content
The best
application of
insight
Foundation
for all visitor
research