Business Model, the Museum?

Yes, the museum is what this provocative and commonsensical article from Harvard Business Weekly suggests as a model for business, advice which applies equally well for nonprofit leaders.

An excerpt.

“At first blush, the consumer appeal of a business like Groupon seems pretty obvious. The popular deal-of-the-day Internet start-up sells vouchers to restaurants, spas, and other local businesses at major markdowns--and who wouldn't want to score a 100-dollar sports massage for 50 bucks?

“But Harvard Business School's Ray Weaver says that what Groupon is up to is much more sophisticated than just offering 50 percent-off coupons. Groupon, along with companies like Apple, Facebook, and Progressive Insurance, is a leading example of firms that are thinking about customers in a new way—much like how a museum curator orchestrates the experience of patrons. Weaver, an assistant professor in the Marketing Unitat HBS, believes that part of Groupon's success is borne of the careful way the company presents wares to its customers: providing a very limited amount of choices at a time, along with a brief, engaging description of each offering.

“To that end, Weaver is exploring the idea that many consumer-centric web-based businesses would benefit from acting more like museum curators.

"Many museums have enormous collections, so the possibilities are nearly endless," he says. "And most museum patrons don't know anywhere nearly enough to make these decisions on their own, and even if they were armed with some relevant information, most don't have the time or inclination to pore over it. So while we sometimes think that particular curators have missed the mark, in general we understand the role and appreciate that an expert who functions as our decision-making proxy makes for a much better museum-going experience."

“Weaver argues that web-based businesses would benefit from such expert curators. On the web, options for products, services, and information are virtually endless, too. It's daunting for customers, and there's an increasing body of academic research showing that the public responds positively to limited choices. (For instance, a recent paper demonstrated that smaller menus are generally preferable to big ones.”