understanding what motivates visitors to your garden and ...€¦ · motivation and values relating...

Who are your visitors? Understanding what motivates visitors to your garden and

meeting their needs

Stephen Speer Manager Visitor Experience

Who are your visitors?

Function of botanic gardens

Visitor surveys

Market segmentation

o Personal identity driven motivation

o Culture Segments

Botanic gardens sector specific segmentation tool ?

AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL BOTANIC GARDENS 3

Function of botanic gardens

i. Collect plants and grow them for public display

ii. Plant science and conservation

iii. Education and learning

iv. A place of recreation and leisure


Botanic gardens have a strong visitor focus

“We aim to ensure the gardens experience is positive

and authentic, leaving visitors feeling encouraged and

infused with enthusiasm”

• Major leisure activity competing with other leisure activities

• Annually 6.8 million (37%) of Australian population visit a botanic garden

We strive to attract more visitors and ensure they have a rewarding experience

Visitor satisfaction surveys assist us report on visitor satisfaction


What do you know about your visitors?

Visitor surveys and visitor profiles


Demographic based visitor profiles

Australian National Botanic Gardens’

visitors

• 60% female, 40% male

• High proportion of older visitors (50

years plus)

• High proportion of visitors attending

without children

• 60% are local residence

• Primary activities undertaken during

visit – recreation/walk, visit café and

view plants

Helen


Ref: www.fortune.com/2016/03/27/netflix-predicts-taste/

. . .


One size doesn’t fit all –

Not all visitors are the same

We need a better approach to segmenting our visitors

The key is what you base your segments on

Ref: Morris

Hargreaves

McIntyre


Market segmentation


What is segmentation?

Is the breaking down of a particular market or group of people into

distinct groups that behave in a similar ways or have similar needs

But who are we

segmenting and how? Ref: Morris

Hargreaves

McIntyre


Benefits of segmentation

Cost and effectiveness

• Helps us better spend marketing budget as targeting only particular groups

• Develop programs and products to meet needs of target groups and establishing

stronger relationships with them


Who are we segmenting?

Market segmentation – segment whole population to find most likely to visit you

or use your products. Who are the best bets?

Customer segmentation – look at only your customers and segment them on

basis of what you know or want to know about them.


Visitor’s identity-related needs


What motivates a person to visit and how do

they engage with a museum (botanic garden)?

‘Museums as leisure opportunities become

matched to people’s identity related needs and

desires’ Dr John H Falk

Ref: John H Falk, identity related needs


Motivators for visiting museums/ botanic

gardens

In theory visitors could posses an infinite number of identity-related

visit motivators - BUT

John Falk defines 5 motivation types amongst museum visitors

1. The Explorer

2. The Facilitator

3. The Experience Seeker

4. The Professional / Hobbyist

5. The Recharger


Motivators for visiting museums 1. The Explorer – visit because it interests them and appeals to their curiosity.

Visitors expect to find something that will grab their attention and fuel their

learning.

“ I wanted to learn about what plants I can grow in my garden that don’t need much water”

2. The Facilitator – visitors who are socially motivated. They visit in order to

satisfy the needs and desires of someone they care about rather than just

themselves.

“ I (came) to give my kids a chance to see the lizards in the gardens... It is a good way to spend

time with the family in a non-commercial way. They always learn so much”

3. The Experience Seeker – visitors motivated because they perceive the

museum as an important destination. Satisfaction derived from having been

there and done that. “We visiting from out-of-town and someone told us this place just opened and it’s really neat”


Motivators for visiting museums

4. The Professional/Hobbyists – visitors feel a close tie with the museum

content and their professional or hobbyist passions. Motivated by desire to

satisfy a specific content-related objective

“I’m starting to put together a saltwater reef tank, so I have a lot of interest in marine life. I’m hoping

to pick up some ideas”

5. The Recharger – visitors seeking a physical, intellectual and emotional

recharge in a beautiful, refreshing environment. See museum as refuge from

the work-a-day world.

“I like art museums. They are so quiet and relaxing, so different than the noise and clutter of the

rest of the city”


Implications for practice

• Not measuring a visitors identity, such as gender, nationality etc, but the

ways identity related needs influence why people visit museums.

• These needs can change between visits.

• Focussed on how people view and use a museum.

• Not unique to museum goers. Can adapt to botanic gardens.

• Do people perceive botanic gardens as a place to satisfy these needs?

We need to be able to help people fulfil these needs in the garden.


Culture Segments


Culture Segments

• International segmentation system

for the arts, culture, heritage and

leisure

• Based on cultural audiences’

cultural values and beliefs

• Covers the whole market and not

just those who already come

Contact: Alexa Magladry, Sydney


Attitudes to risk

Ref: Culture Segments – Morris Hargreaves McIntyre What is your Culture Segment?


Culture Segments - Focus on Families

Ref: Culture Segments – Morris Hargreaves McIntyre


Prioritising the segments

Identified four segments as having potential for engaging with botanic gardens.

Essence Expression Affirmation Enrichment Stimulation Release Perspective Entertainment

Formal and

landscape gardens 96% 94% 93% 89% 90% 77% 83% 60%

Animal sanctuaries

or nature reserves 99% 98% 98% 95% 98% 92% 92% 83%

Zoos or Safari Parks 98% 98% 98% 94% 98% 95% 94% 90%

Been ever or interested in going

Source: Audience Atlas Australia– Morris Hargreaves McIntyre


Communicating with the Segments Key messages



• Like experiences to be authentic

• Looking for interactive experiences they

can participate in

• Visual learners

• Like to feel part of a community, so highlight

opportunities to participate

• Don’t need to be first to now but love to

share, so when they do find out they tell

everyone


Culture Segments Targeting the Expression segment


Culture Segments Targeting the Expression segment


Culture Segments Targeting the Expression, Essence and Enrichment segments

A work in progress


Culture Segments

Which segments visit our

annual summer concerts –

and the Gardens?


A sector specific segmentation tool

across botanic gardens?


Non demographic marketing across

botanic gardens

1. Not all people are the same. They have different attitudes,

motivation and values relating to plants and botanic

gardens.

2. These individual attitudes, motivation and values shape an

individual’s behaviour.

3. Segmentation supports marketing in an efficient and cost

effective manner.


Non demographic marketing across

botanic gardens

Everyone is doing it – or should be doing it

Is a botanic garden sector specific segmentation tool a possibility - for use

by all BGANZ members?

Questions Stephen Speer

[email protected]

Who are your visitors? Understanding what motivates visitors to your garden and meeting their needs


Culture Segments


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