Delivering an animal-based visitor experience that stands out

When the lemurs didn’t want to come out to play it was down to the giraffes to deliver a long-awaited animal experience. Hands being licked by a slightly reluctant giraffe wasn't what we'd ordered, but this was service recovery at play.

The truth is, we wanted to feed lemurs and the attraction didn’t need to be in that position. Really I know nothing about what gets a lemur out of bed, but even I could tell that it wasn't set up for success on a cold, wet winter's day.

As we drove home we contemplated our day and what we needed from any zoo or wildlife park to make a great visitor experience. And we have a lot of knowledge in this area thanks to an 11-year-old who’s passionate about animals and our conversation reinforced that getting it right isn’t difficult but it can make a huge difference.

Understanding visitor needs. Good old Maslow and his hierarchy of needs - easy parking, clean loos, great orientation, good food - it does make a difference if you get this right.

Visitor-first customer service. You understand what audiences want, treat everyone as an individual and know how your team makes a difference to their day. It goes beyond words - it’s warmth, care, humour, curiosity - it can be the difference between a good and great day.

Managing expectations is key. If the experience is ‘feeding a lemur’, that’s what it needs to be, subject to animals being animals of course! Where it works brilliantly is through clear pre-visit communication that manages expectations, a warm and welcoming introduction on-site and a thought-through plan for the ‘what ifs’.

Delivering the unexpected is a bonus. This is a big factor in creating a memorable visitor experience that drives word of mouth and return visits. In our experience of zoos and wildlife parks, that’s often delivered by animal behaviours that are facilitated through enrichment, close-up views, interactive elements that are fun and educational and being able to talk to staff and volunteers.

Great programming and theming that runs across the site. So, not Marvel super heroes in a zoo! But discovering the animal heroes. Using the creatures people can see and telling those stories - thinking about our innate sense of curiosity by raising and answering the questions. The Provoke, Relate, Reveal interpretation theory is really worth following.

A commercial offer that makes people want to spend. You don’t need a shop crammed full of the same old stock that every other zoo has. Be as different and as unique as you can within the financial model you have, but continue to reveal the site story through the commercial offer. Many people want a souvenir, but this is a discretionary spend and it has to feel special.

There’s lots of no-nos of course - interactives that don’t work, unclean anything, over-reliance on interpretation boards, poor footpaths, expensive add-ons… I could go on. But the reality is that there is a real pressure to stand out from the crowd. Value for money is essential and trust is key.

We weren’t necessarily disappointed last week, but neither were we surprised or delighted which are key elements of a great visitor experience. We concluded we wouldn’t return. It just didn't win our hearts and that’s a shame.