On your marks, get set, go!
Frits Polman • jun 9, 2021
Yes! We finally seem to have turned the corner. Museums can reopen their doors in increasing numbers of countries. Visitors can barely wait to visit museums once more, and Guide-ID is ready to share stories with them once more. During the pandemic, we worked to make our entire platform easier to use for existing and new customers. In this blog, I will explain why we are truly worthy of the title ‘world’s easiest audio guide’.
We have a number of years of experience under our belt. As of 2004, as a matter of fact. This means that we have a very good idea of what museums and their visitors want. In 2004, when we started working on multimedia guides, all data showed that small screens distract too much from what visitors really care about: the authentic works of art and buildings. When we switched to audio-only and non-distracting in 2009, the pace of things really picked up.
Rapid and controlled growth
So far, we have completed close to 800 projects in 17 countries! We have also developed a system that both grants us continuous control over all our devices, but also provides valuable insights on the stories that visitors are listening to all over the world. Here’s a fun fact: this amounts to over 423 million stories shared since we launched! We never could have achieved such a large number without investing in working efficiently, continual process improvements, and the monitoring of all that data. Furthermore, we also made a number of mistakes during that period. Thankfully, we learned a lot from those mistakes.
Of course, COVID-19 has had an impact on our company. We have grown rapidly since 2009. With almost all of our clients around the world suddenly being forced to close their doors, we had something to reflect on. But, as I also wrote in earlier blogs, our team is very flexible and always ready to go the extra mile. This was also the case when we were forced to intervene in our costs and expenses. While this was far from a pleasant experience, it was desperately needed for our survival and we are thankful that we managed to keep almost all of our clients. As the CEO, I’m proud of our team – especially when I see and hear that our clients are satisfied with our products and services.
We always achieved rapid but controlled growth, which ensured that we could build a good buffer to address any setbacks. As we’re flexible, we’ll come out of this crisis stronger than we were before it. We’ll be financially strong, with an optimized company process, and lots of new and awesome products!
So far, we have completed close to 800 projects in 17 countries! We have also developed a system that both grants us continuous control over all our devices, but also provides valuable insights on the stories that visitors are listening to all over the world. Here’s a fun fact: this amounts to over 423 million stories shared since we launched! We never could have achieved such a large number without investing in working efficiently, continual process improvements, and the monitoring of all that data. Furthermore, we also made a number of mistakes during that period. Thankfully, we learned a lot from those mistakes.
Of course, COVID-19 has had an impact on our company. We have grown rapidly since 2009. With almost all of our clients around the world suddenly being forced to close their doors, we had something to reflect on. But, as I also wrote in earlier blogs, our team is very flexible and always ready to go the extra mile. This was also the case when we were forced to intervene in our costs and expenses. While this was far from a pleasant experience, it was desperately needed for our survival and we are thankful that we managed to keep almost all of our clients. As the CEO, I’m proud of our team – especially when I see and hear that our clients are satisfied with our products and services.
We always achieved rapid but controlled growth, which ensured that we could build a good buffer to address any setbacks. As we’re flexible, we’ll come out of this crisis stronger than we were before it. We’ll be financially strong, with an optimized company process, and lots of new and awesome products!
Onboarding made super simple
For new clients, we made the onboarding even better than it already was. We can easily import content from a range of systems to our platform. If a client wants to share a story via our mobile website or app, they can do it in no time at all. Or if a client wants to offer their visitors the ultimate experience via Podcatchers, our optimized logistics will ensure that we can deliver the Podcatchers even more quickly. Clients can start with a small set of Podcatchers and then expand on this when they can welcome more visitors. It’s a great option to have during these uncertain times, if we say so ourselves.
We are on hand to help you
I truly hope that museums will soon be filled with visitors again, who we can tell some beautiful stories – the more the better. In as many countries as possible, at as many museums as possible, with as many visitors as possible. Our team has ensured that all of our systems are entirely ready for this. In the past month, we welcomed many new clients to our platform. In addition to always providing rapid delivery, we always discuss what represents the best fit for our clients and their visitors. So please submit your ideas and let us share your stories. You know where to find me...
For new clients, we made the onboarding even better than it already was. We can easily import content from a range of systems to our platform. If a client wants to share a story via our mobile website or app, they can do it in no time at all. Or if a client wants to offer their visitors the ultimate experience via Podcatchers, our optimized logistics will ensure that we can deliver the Podcatchers even more quickly. Clients can start with a small set of Podcatchers and then expand on this when they can welcome more visitors. It’s a great option to have during these uncertain times, if we say so ourselves.
We are on hand to help you
I truly hope that museums will soon be filled with visitors again, who we can tell some beautiful stories – the more the better. In as many countries as possible, at as many museums as possible, with as many visitors as possible. Our team has ensured that all of our systems are entirely ready for this. In the past month, we welcomed many new clients to our platform. In addition to always providing rapid delivery, we always discuss what represents the best fit for our clients and their visitors. So please submit your ideas and let us share your stories. You know where to find me...
List of Services
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Business success means getting up more than you fall down. The Netherlands is yet again covered in a blanket of snow. Cue chaos in the media and on the streets. The national weather agency issues the highest weather alert code, and everyone’s on their guard. Nobody wants to slip. But I take a slightly different view: I know how much there is to learn from slipping up – figuratively. Although the time between falling and getting back on your feet can be quite painful, these are the moments that provide the most valuable lessons.Business success means getting up more than you fall down.
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Building inclusive visitor experiences, where to start? At Guide-ID it’s in our DNA to help our clients tell their stories. Audio guides can open up your museum and make it accessible to all, in ways that you may not yet have considered. Here, we’d like to share with you how we can help you become more inclusive, using the options our audio guides have to offer. Let’s start by sharing the first step towards ‘all-inclusive’ storytelling. When creating an audio guide, start by asking yourself these three easy questions: who, what, where?Building inclusive visitor experiences, where to start?
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Enrich your content with a diversity of perspectives. Connect to your audience by 'speaking their language' in audio tour content. I believe that museums are the mirrors of our society. This is because the collections they display and stories they tell appeal to a diverse audience. When I embarked on my career in the museum sector over 20 years ago, educational services were a hot topic. Museums had begun organizing guided tours and workshops for schools and groups, and placed labels and texts for individual visitors (although these were still often written in technical jargon). This was the point at which museums became even more accessible – you no longer had to be an art expert to understand what an exhibition was about.Enrich your content with a diversity of perspectives. Connect to your audience by 'speaking their language' in audio tour content.
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The In Flanders Fields Museum comes back to life It certainly felt good to see a sign reading ‘FULLY BOOKED’ outside a museum. The In Flanders Fields Museum (IFFM), like many other Belgian museums, sold out during the Easter holidays. The weather and the Belgian travel ban undoubtedly made a difference. Museums, including the IFFM, remarked that many visitors were people who would not normally visit museums.The In Flanders Fields Museum comes back to life
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Customer-driven development - How we use co-creation to optimize our products. At Guide-ID, we’re passionate about technology and culture. Combine these two to create the perfect job. Since 2009, our creative team’s passion – and increasing customer collaboration – has driven constant improvements to the Podcatcher platform.Customer-driven development - How we use co-creation to optimize our products.
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On your marks, get set, go! Yes! We finally seem to have turned the corner. Museums can reopen their doors in increasing numbers of countries. Visitors can barely wait to visit museums once more, and Guide-ID is ready to share stories with them once more. During the pandemic, we worked to make our entire platform easier to use for existing and new customers. In this blog, I will explain why we are truly worthy of the title ‘world’s easiest audio guide’.On your marks, get set, go!