INTRODUCTION

I am seeking responses from museum managers to results of  primary
research which I conducted last summer concerning social values and
the marketing of science museum memberships.  The remainder of this
post comprises a brief summary of the study followed by a few
questions for possible discussion.

SUMMARY

To study the social values of science museum members, a prominent
science museum in the U.S. Pacific region was chosen as the research
site.  Additionally, a telephone survey instrument was developed which
included the List of Values (LOV), which measured respondents  value
systems.  The LOV has been used since 1976 in studies across multiple
disciplines, including psychology and marketing (see references which
follow).

A random sample of 600 members of the museum was generated.  The
sample was reduced to 530 potential respondents, of which 281 provided
usable responses, which made for a response rate of 53%.

Statistical analysis revealed modest support for the idea that science
museum members espouse value systems which differ from those of the
general public.  Specifically, a significantly larger proportion of
members endorsed fun-enjoyment-excitement as their top value compared
to two comparison groups.  The comparison groups had been described in
prior published studies (see references which follow).  One such group
comprised respondents from the general U.S. population; the other,
respondents from the U.S. Pacific region.


QUESTIONS FOR POSSIBLE DISCUSSION

1.  If a museum especially appeals to members who rate
fun-enjoyment-excitement highly, what are the implications for
marketing, designing exhibits, fundraising, etc.?

2.  Are there advantages to promoting science museum membership by
segmenting the market based on social values, rather than, say,
demographics?  How about a similar strategy for other kinds of
museums?

3.  All things being equal, will visitors who experience a museum as a
values-satisfier be more inclined to purchase a membership there than
at a museum he/she does *not* experience as a values-satisfier?

4.  Are there practical ways to identify members of values-based
segments in the event a marketing director seeks to position a a
museum as a values-satisfier?

5.  In my experience the relationship between social values and
visitor behavior is rarely discussed?  Is this true in your experience
too?

I welcome discussion of these and any other questions.

NOTE:  If you're the type who likes detail, I will be happy to mail
you a more detailed summary of the study.  To receive it, just e-mail
me at [log in to unmask]  Please specify your preference for either a DOS
text file or MS Word file.


REFERENCES

Kahle, L. R. (Ed.).  (1983).  _Social values and social change_.  New
York: Praeger Books.

Kahle, L. R.  (1986).  The nine nations of North America and the value
basis of geographic segmentation.  _Journal of marketing_, 50(2),
37-47.

Kahle, L. R., Poulos, B., & Sukhdial, A.  (1988).  Changes in social
values in the United States during the past decade.  _Journal of
advertising research_, February/March, 35-41.

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JAMES W. REVAK   Indpendent Market Research
San Diego, CA   [log in to unmask]
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