Museums Can’t Be All Things to All People: The Power of Psychographics

The idea that “you can’t be all things to all people” can feel paradoxical. Few people would disagree, but when push comes to shove, it can be hard to fully embrace. Museums, in particular, have a hard time surrendering to this notion because of their desire to be seen as inclusive by providing something for everyone; the need to attract funding, grants, and donations; and an over-reliance on using attendance numbers as markers of success. 

But when museums try to please everyone, they lose touch with their unique organizational identities and risk pandering to a wide public audience with diluted offerings.

Identifying and prioritizing a limited number of specific target audiences gives museums focus, direction, and purpose, preventing them from losing their core identity and increasing the likelihood that they will make a positive difference in their audiences’ lives. (And, of course, people who fall outside those target audiences are still welcome.)

So how can museums identify their specific target audiences?

A simple place to start is demographics. Demographics are characteristics of people that are relatively straightforward and are easy to identify and quantify, including age, residence, race and ethnicity, number of children, and education level. Many museums already identify their target audiences using demographics.

But using demographics alone is limiting. Within a particular demographic, people are incredibly diverse. For instance not all people born between 1981 and 1996 (Millennials) are the same, yet museums often talk about them as if they are. 

Demographics describe who people are but not why they do what they do.  

A more nuanced and dynamic way to think about audiences is by combining demographics with psychographics. Psychographics describe what motivates people, including their interests, values, attitudes, and goals. When you segment audiences by psychographics you identify the deep psychological characteristics people share with one another—like common beliefs and lifestyles—that drive them to make similar decisions. 

An easy way to understand the power of psychographics is this example: Imagine you are tasked with buying a present for a 10-year old girl’s birthday. Without knowing what this girl’s interests and favorite activities are, you will likely buy something generic with wide appeal. She may or may not love the gift.

To see the power of psychographics for museums, let’s look at an example of a museum that has embraced this way of defining their target audiences.

Example: A community-based history museum

This museum had previously identified “families” as a target audience. The problem with this was that while families have many of the same needs (i.e., they want a safe place for their children to spend time), the decisions they make about how and where to spend their time as a family are influenced by a wide range of factors, like lifestyle and interests. 

So, the museum decided to instead target families who share certain psychographics that are most aligned with the museum’s content focus and experiential offerings. 

Notice how their new target audience description combines demographics with psychographics.

Families with children who live in the community surrounding the museum, who value connecting to their community and their community history, who are seeking personal relevance, and want to spend their time in fun, low-cost activities that encourage intergenerational dialogue and community engagement.

You can picture this audience, right? This museum’s family audience is not just any family. It is a particular type of family. The museum can use this description to market and design experiences  in a way that will resonate deeply with this specific audience. 

When museums define their target audiences using psychographics they are painting a clear picture of people whose interests, values, and motivations align with what the museum has to offer and who therefore are most likely to benefit from engaging with the museum (whether they already do or not). Having this clear picture of target audiences—beyond demographics—is key to museums creating experiences that audiences find relevant.