Delivering the Visitor Experience

My new book, Delivering the Visitor Experience delivers a practical guide to creating, managing and developing unforgettable museum experiences.

There hasn’t been too much activity on this website over the last 2 years, and it’s been for a good reason: I’ve been writing a new book, Delivering the Visitor Experience, which is out from Facet Publishing on August 17.

I’m really excited about this book, mainly because it’s the book I wish I’d read when I first started in the museum and heritage sector! Visitor experience has been a long neglected aspect of museum practise, receiving less academic attention than areas such as exhibition design or collections care. Despite this, the quality of the visitor experience is the single biggest factor which will influence visitors returning to your museum, or recommending a visit to friends or family.

It is also the area of museum practise that has undergone the biggest change in the last twenty years. The image of the aged security warder shouting at children to not touch the exhibits has long gone. Now, museum visitors expect teams of friendly, knowledgeable and passionate people ready to engage them with the museum in an interactive and enthusiastic way. Expectations have never been higher, and as they grow, museums must develop the visitor experiences they deliver in order to meet them.

The book is split into three sections; Creating the Visitor Experience, which talks about getting the right team in place, induction and training, and getting back to basics using visitor journey mapping; Managing the Visitor Experience, which covers performance management, crisis management and operational procedures, and finally, Developing the Visitor Experience. In this section, I get to wax lyrical about how we attractions professionals can start to push the visitor experience to the next level, exploring innovation, advocacy, strategic thinking and change management.

Each chapter contains a case study exploring best practice in the sector, and I’m so excited for people to read about all the nuggets of gold I’ve discovered! Writing the book has inspired and reassured me: visitor experience is in great hands. I hope it can do the same for you as well!

Even the most seasoned Visitor Experience professional would take something from this book.

- Yvonne Honeyball, Visitor Experience and Operations Manager, Tate

Mackay doesn’t just give everyone involved in Visitor Experience a voice, she gives us a toolkit on how to do our jobs better.

- Dominic Jones, CEO, Mary Rose Trust

This book is a must read for any Visitor Experience professional.

- Sandra Lynes Timbrell, Director of Visitor Engagement, St. Paul’s Cathedral

You can pre-order the book here. Use the code VISITOR25 to receive 25% off.