Apenheul: never change a winning concept
Apenheul is a specialized zoo located on the outskirts of Apeldoorn. This beautiful green park is home to 35 different species of apes and monkeys from Africa, South America, and Asia. Apenheul wanted to test a proposed strategic redesign of the park and asked Altuïtion to carry out the Customer Journey “Visit to the Apenheul”, which led to surprising results.Apenheul was founded in 1971 and has had a unique, fixed concept since its early years. Not only do some of the monkeys live freely in the forest where they can walk around among the visitors, but visitors also walk a fixed route along the enclosures as they try to spot the other monkeys and apes. This route is interspersed with exhibitions, play areas, and information stands.
At a certain point, the question arose as to whether this success formula could perhaps use an update. Was the current journey through the park still the most ideal journey to take? Shouldn't the modern, demanding visitor be offered more choices?
Peak-end rule
Apenheul then decided to systematically map the visitor experience, perceptions, and unspoken expectations of a number of classic visitor target groups (families, couples, grandparents with grandchildren, etc.) using the Customer Journey methodology by Altuïtion. "The perspective and context of these target groups were what we wanted to use as a guide for shaping the future experience of a visit to Apenheul," says Susan Fledderus, Marketing & Customer Experience Manager at Apenheul. “We wanted to see how the physical and psychological Customer Journey of these visitors looked, where we had to position the highlights for various groups, routes, and themes, and what we should continue doing and what we can improve. And last but not least, we looked at how we can ensure the peak-end rule.”
Putting someone else in charge
Altuïtion was called in to map this Customer Journey. Fledderus has called the results surprising. “The insights derived from the Customer Journey have resulted in a clear change to the intended strategy and the design of our park. For example, we learned that the squirrel monkeys are a well-timed peak in Apenheul visitors' journey, so that should be left as it is. It also turns out that visitors subconsciously prefer to let us guide them through the park, without always having to look at a map."This Customer Journey also gave Apenheul concrete guidelines at a strategic, tactical, and operational level for further implementing several new 9+ ideas and concepts. “This will enable us to maintain our high number of visitors and high level of customer satisfaction in the years to come," says Fledderus.
