WORKING WITH JJMC / STORE ANALYSIS
Museum Store Analysis: Audit and Growth Blueprint
Expert Strategy - Store Specific - Cost Effective
Sales flat? A big opening ahead? Not sure what to fix first? Store Analysis is a customized, in-depth look at your store, benchmarked against your peers and set out as a clear plan your team can act on. It is built for all mission-based retail: museums, cultural centers, historic sites, aquariums, zoos and more.
Start with the Retail Health Audit, which shows where your store stands. The Strategic Growth Blueprint builds on the Audit to show what to do about it. Take the Audit on its own, or add the Blueprint for the full plan. Each report includes a one-hour conversation with Jin.
Every report is prepared by Jin Jo Garton, with 30 years of museum retail experience. See her past clients and featured project success stories.
STEP ONE: THE DIAGNOSIS
Retail Health Audit
$600
- Strengths and weaknesses across every functional area of store operations
- Your numbers compared with museum store benchmarks and best practices
- Results organized by the Museum Store Business Funnel
- Written for museum leadership and store staff alike
- One-hour review session with Jin
STEP TWO: THE PLAN, BUILT ON YOUR AUDIT
Strategic Growth Blueprint
$600
- Uses your Audit findings as its starting point
- Strategies chosen for your store, your goals and your team, from a library of 142
- Ranked by biggest opportunity and quickest win
- Every strategy tagged by who does the work
- A 90-day launch sequence
- One-hour review session with Jin
Audit and Blueprint together: $1,000
($200 less than buying them separately)
Discuss Your Store
A brief, no-obligation conversation. No sales pitch.
How It Works
Your part is simple (Step 1). Then we do the rest until we review together in Step 5.
1You Share the BasicsYOUR PART
Short Survey
Store profile, strengths, challenges, goals
Store profile, strengths, challenges, goals
Store Photos (phone is fine)
Layout, size, entrance, fixtures, merchandising, signage
Layout, size, entrance, fixtures, merchandising, signage
A Few POS Reports
Key sales and inventory summaries
Key sales and inventory summaries
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OUR PART
2
Checked Against Our Knowledge Base
300+ industry and best-practice sources, built on decades of museum retail experience. It covers every functional area of a store, and your report evaluates each one.
3
The Audit Shows Where You Stand
Strengths and weaknesses against benchmarks and best practices, written for both leadership and store staff.
4
The Blueprint Sets Priorities
The Business Funnel ranks the biggest opportunities and quickest wins. Each strategy is tagged by who does the work.
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5We Review It TogetherTOGETHER
A one-hour, one-on-one session with Jin for each report. We refine the action plan, with no obligation to go further.
Why Museums Choose a Store Analysis
Tailored to Your Store
Specific to your store. Built from your survey, photos and sales data, and it answers the questions you told us matter most
Benchmarked. See how you compare with peer museum stores and with best practice
A person behind it. Every report is prepared by Jin Jo and walked through with you in a one-hour session
Easy to Act On
Prioritized. You see what to do first, not a long list of ideas
Clear on who does what. Tags show what your team can do, where guidance helps, and where to bring in experience
A shared starting point. Leadership and store staff work from the same facts, which helps when you are making the case for budget
Cost Savings
Affordable. A fraction of the cost of a traditional consulting engagement
Lowers the cost of help you add later. A consultant starts with a plan, so you pay only for the work that needs expertise
Speed and Low Risk
Fast. Ready sooner than a traditional engagement, which matters with an opening, busy season or reopening on the calendar
Low risk. Start with the Audit. No long contract and no ongoing commitment
A Good Time to Do This
A new exhibit or major opening is comingBusy season is around the cornerReopening after a renovation, or planning oneA new store manager is startingChoosing a POS system, fixtures or a layoutSales are flat and you are not sure whyYou need facts for a budget conversation
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What Do I Need to Provide?
A short survey, store photos or a video walk-through, and a few POS reports. We tell you exactly which reports, and help if your system makes it hard.
A short survey, store photos or a video walk-through, and a few POS reports. We tell you exactly which reports, and help if your system makes it hard.
What If I Do Not Have Much Data?
Send what you have. The analysis tells you what is missing and why it matters.
Send what you have. The analysis tells you what is missing and why it matters.
How Long Does It Take?
Once we have all your information, a week or less, and often sooner. It can run a bit longer if we need a follow-up answer or an extra POS report to get the most accurate results.
Once we have all your information, a week or less, and often sooner. It can run a bit longer if we need a follow-up answer or an extra POS report to get the most accurate results.
Can I Get the Blueprint Without the Audit?
No. The Blueprint is built from your Audit findings, so the Audit comes first. Many museums take both together, which saves $200.
No. The Blueprint is built from your Audit findings, so the Audit comes first. Many museums take both together, which saves $200.
Is the Blueprint Useful If I Do Not Hire You Afterward?
Yes. It is built so your own team can carry it out.
Yes. It is built so your own team can carry it out.
What Kinds of Stores Is This For?
All mission-based retail: museums, cultural centers, historic sites, aquariums, zoos and other mission-driven stores.
All mission-based retail: museums, cultural centers, historic sites, aquariums, zoos and other mission-driven stores.
Do Museums Usually Just Do the Reports, or Work with JJMC as Well?
Both. The Audit and Blueprint are designed to help mission-based retailers with tight budgets improve quickly on their own. But there are situations where working with JJMC on some steps makes sense, such as when current staff are not experienced with key steps, or when you want to speed up your timeline. Either way, these analyses clarify strategy and lower costs. See Consulting Approaches for the ways we can work together.
Both. The Audit and Blueprint are designed to help mission-based retailers with tight budgets improve quickly on their own. But there are situations where working with JJMC on some steps makes sense, such as when current staff are not experienced with key steps, or when you want to speed up your timeline. Either way, these analyses clarify strategy and lower costs. See Consulting Approaches for the ways we can work together.
Is My Store's Data Kept Private?
We take confidentiality seriously. Your information is used only to prepare your analysis, and neither your source materials nor your report are distributed outside JJMC.
We take confidentiality seriously. Your information is used only to prepare your analysis, and neither your source materials nor your report are distributed outside JJMC.
What Are Functional Areas?
Functional areas are the 11 main and 80+ secondary areas of running a museum store. Your Audit evaluates each one, and your Blueprint gives you strategies for the ones that matter most.
The Functional Areas We Evaluate
Every part of how a museum store runs, from the floor plan to the leadership behind it.
1 Store Design & Flow
Lighting and atmosphere · Fixtures · ADA compliance · Cash wrap · Entry zone · Traffic paths · Dwell time · Queue design · Storage and office
2 Visual Storytelling
Display planning · Window dressing · Signage and graphics · Exhibit-to-product linkage · Interpretive retail design · Multisensory merchandising · "Instagrammable" moments
3 Technology & POS Integration
POS and hardware · Inventory software · Data exports · KPI dashboards · Real-time sales monitoring · Customer data systems
4 Merchandise Planning
Mission-margin balance · Purchasing · Custom products · Price-point balance · Assortment architecture · Private label · Mission alignment
5 Inventory Management
Slow movers · COGS and margin · Vendor and artist sourcing · Open-to-buy planning · Turn targets · Dead stock
6 Financial Performance
Sales history · Industry benchmarks · Policies and procedures · Online sales · Margin by category · Sales per square foot · GMROI
7 Marketing & Engagement
VIP and corporate programs · Online presence · Audience segments · Entrance-to-store flow · Events · Tour groups · School groups
8 Staffing & Training
Product knowledge · Sales techniques · Staffing levels · Soft-selling scripts · Upsell training · Volunteers · Incentives
9 Customer Lifecycle & Relationships
Data capture · Email and text marketing · Membership behavior · Repeat-buyer pathways · Segmentation · Loyalty · Post-visit engagement
10 Omnichannel & Digital Commerce
E-commerce platform · Buy online, pick up in store · Online vs. in-store items · Shipping and fulfillment · Marketplaces · Digital merchandising
11 Retail Business Leadership & Ownership
Industry trends · Operating models · Decision-making · Reflection and learning · Strategic planning · Sustainable ownership
A Glimpse of the Strategies
See how findings turn into specific, doable steps.
The Museum Store Business Funnel in Action
Our library holds 142 strategies across the Funnel's six steps, from the visitors you start with to the margin you keep. Most work on more than one step, so a single change can lift several numbers at once. We use the Funnel to rank your biggest opportunities and quickest wins.
This is a highly summarized sample of strategies we might suggest for a client based on their Audit. Each actual report is 25 to 35 pages of in-depth analysis, with the reasoning behind every conclusion and actionable steps to guide your next moves.
◆ Staff-Led (your team executes)◆◆ Collaborative (we guide your team)◆◆◆ JJMC-Led (we execute with your input)
Step 01 Museum Visitors Store has limited influence
◆ Optimize Digital Footprint, SEO and Social Media
◆◆ Member-to-Shopper Conversion
◆◆◆ Strategic Data Capture
Step 02 Capture Rate
◆ Frictionless Entryways
◆◆ Pre-Entry Visual Teasers
◆◆◆ In-Museum Wayfinding
Step 03 Conversion Rate
◆ Point-of-Sale Optimization
◆◆ Sales Training Frameworks
◆◆◆ Category Zoning and Visual Merchandising
Step 04 Average Sale
◆ Impulse Merchandise Placement
◆◆ Sales Coaching and Upsell Training
◆◆◆ Assortment Price Architecture
Step 05 Number of Sales
◆ Exclusive Member Previews
◆◆ Localized Loyalty Initiatives
◆◆◆ POS-to-CRM Integration
Step 06 Margin
◆ Optimize Markup and Markdown Strategy
◆◆ Strategic Consignment Contracts
◆◆◆ Custom and Private Labeling
Ready to Talk About Your Store?
Discuss Your Store
A brief, no-obligation conversation.