Data in the Art World

All major companies are using data science to produce valuable business insights, but many arts organisations do not prioritise their data.

Understandably, many organisations may not have the time or financial resources to hire full-time staff specialised in data science. However, this means that they are losing potential revenue and customer insights.

Below, we explain the benefits of prioritising data and offer some key suggestions of how you can leverage your data to see growth— both in your customer base and in revenue.

For those that don’t have the resources to create these insights in-house, let The Arts Analyst be your Data Team. We work flexibly on your priorities and budget to take care of all the data analysis. That way, you can focus on the art.

Why should we use data?

Here are some benefits of collecting & analysing data at your arts organisation:

• improve the audience’s experience

• grow your audience & retain them

• increase revenue

• track business KPIs and objectives

• create reports for funding & grants

How is data used?

The benefits listed are probably enticing to most arts organisations. But how do you actually create these impacts? Here are some key data projects that are relevant to arts organisations and can have a positive impact on your organisation.

• Segment audiences based on their behaviours or profile and communicate to them differently.

• Develop forecasting models with machine learning to predict elements related to business objectives or KPIs (attendance, sales, prices, etc.)

• Analyse performance data to assess effectiveness of different efforts (social media, email campaigns, marketing, products) and help prioritise.

• Create regular data dashboards and reports to track business growth and development. These could also be required to fulfil certain funding opportunities.

• Analyse data on current trends and market research to ensure your offering is relevant to your target audience.

• Track audience sentiment and make proactive changes to improve their experience (utilising surveys, third party reviews, and social media feedback).

• Use data insights to lead organisational strategy and make informed business decisions.

Tips & Best Practices

Some final thoughts and tips for those of you looking to incorporate data in your arts organisation…

• Utilise data and predictive modelling to create KPIs and targets based on past performance.

  • Ensure you have regular data reporting to track progress towards these targets.

• Collect relevant data on your audience (in an ethical way) and use this information to customise communications.

  • This creates a curated experience for your audience & allows you to prioritise the most relevant aspects.

• If you are just starting to prioritise data insights, start by utilising data only around your key business objectives.

• It can be easy to get overwhelmed by all the possibilities within the data!

• Use data insights from your audience to proactively improve their experience and fix any areas that are frequently mentioned.

• Ensure data reports and insights are shared widely within the organisation.

  • This helps create a data culture and allows different teams to directly take the insights that are most relevant to them.

Thanks for reading! Let us know if you have any thoughts or questions on using data in your arts organisation.

And if you’re looking for help with a specific problem, get in touch for a free 30 minute consultation discussion with our team.