For the purposes of this analysis, the statistics I have used cover the period 15 May – 7 August 2010 (12 weeks). In other words, the period of our first three exhibitions. The following charts show the average number of visitors by days of the week and opening hours:
The average number of Gallery visitors per day has been nearly 22 (21.9), with Saturdays the busiest day and Thursdays the least popular day. So why don't we close on a Thursday and open on a Monday instead? Perhaps we should, but there is a strong argument to be made for the Gallery opening for a straight run of days. This is less confusing for potential visitors. Closing on a Monday is not uncommon, but it is something we need to keep under review.
In fact, this is what we did when it came to our opening hours. For the first five weeks we opened 12–6pm, when we decided to change the opening hours to 11am–4pm. Why? Well, the figures speak for themselves. During the first five weeks very few visitors were coming during the period 4–6pm, so we decided to open an hour earlier at 11am and chop the last two hours in the belief that we might be able to catch the 'brunch' trade at the Crocus Café and, as the above chart clearly shows, our hunch appears to have been right.
The attendance at our three exhibitions to date has been as follows:
Opening exhibition (15 May–19 June), 511 visitors over 20 days = 25.5 per day.
'Lenton History' (26 June–10 July), 244 visitors over 11 days = 22.2 per day.
Summer exhibition (17 July–7 August), 272 visitors over 16 days = 17 per day.
Over the 47 open days the Gallery had 1,027 visitors (21.9 per day).
The students starting leaving Lenton in mid-June and by mid-July the schools had broken up and we were into the holiday period, which will continue until mid-September when the students return from their long summer break. Taking these factors into account, I think The Crocus gallery can claim to have had a credible first twelve weeks.
The trouble with presenting statistical information is that it can be presented in many different ways. For example we need to remember that 12 of the 47 days The Crocus gallery was open were Saturdays (more than any other day, because on some of the other days the Gallery was closed for exhibition changeovers and when we couldn't find a volunteer to cover) and that 354 (34.5%) of our 1,027 (100%) visitors came on a Saturday. The averages for opening hours are not based on the same number of days because we were only began opening at 11am on Saturday 26 June and ceased opening 4–6pm on 18 June. From an operational (and funding) point of view, I think overall totals, the number of days open and averages are probably more important than anything else. Put simply, we need to know the best days and times to be open in order to maximise the number of individuals who visit The Crocus Gallery.
Of one thing I am sure. We need to work closely with our next door neighbours, the Crocus Café. Their opening hours and activities clearly impact on The Crocus Gallery in a positive way. Similarly, I hope the Gallery is pulling extra customers into the Café. This may be something they can tell us, by comparing weekly takings for the same period during 2010 with 2009. Together, we should be greater than the sum of our parts — in other words, synergy!
I will do another review in about three months times. I hope you find them of interest. As boring as they may seem, this blog answers the kind of questions would-be funders sometimes ask. If you have any questions, please contact me — Robert.
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