Think of your cultural or educational organization as a kind of magnet. You need to be powerfully “attractive” to draw people through whatever barriers exist and bring them into deeper levels of affiliation over time.

Customize this diagram:
performing arts
higher ed
museums
other nonprofits

Of course, the names for those audiences differ across sectors. If you work at a university, you probably think about prospective applicants, current students, and alumni. If you work in a museum, you’re probably concerned with the general public (locals and tourists), visitors, members, and donors. In the performing arts, you’re helping non-attenders become single ticket buyers then subscribers and (hopefully) donors.

But the idea is the same. Each level is a crucial link in your audience development chain, and each audience can supply you with vital insights. You just need to know how to bring them into the conversation—which is where Slover Linett comes in.

Read more about our research process.