You pack the kids into the car for a trip to the magnificent bastion of cool things that is the Metropolitan Museum of Art and head up the stairs into the formidable façade on Fifth Avenue. You join the queue, and see the very large signs with the menu of admission options — adults, students, seniors, members — and you focus in on the prices posted: $25 for adults and $17 for students.

If you have ever been to the Met, you know that it can be a bit intimidating. You are in this overpowering and overwhelming space where some of the most fantastic sights that you will ever see are already becoming visible all around you. There are throngs of people, and you feel rather small. You inch along, looking at that admission sign and calculating that this is going to cost you over 80 bucks to get in.

But at the very moment that you get to the counter, credit card in hand – Poof! The admission vanishes.

“How much would you like to pay?” the nice and efficient young woman behind the counter asks.

That’s right, she now explains, the admission fee is voluntary. And she stops right there and stares at you. The line behind you is pressing, the sensory overload is palpable, your family is watching anxiously, and it’s an unplanned moment of truth.

“Uh, I’ll pay the suggested amount,” you stammer, stunned and remorseful immediately. You could have stated a more modest amount and not felt, frankly, overcharged in the process. Buyer’s remorse sets in instantaneously. “WHY DID I AGREE TO THAT?” your inner voice cries.

But, those Met folks have one more trick up their sleeve: since I paid so much, I am actually eligible for membership, so please step over to the table and sign up to get your benefits, including future free admission. That clever twist now gets The Met another name in the database and another marketing target. One that The Met has mined impressively since then (but that’s another post).

The Met is not the only institution turning the traditional museum membership model on its head. The Minneapolis Institute of Art offers free membership with the invitation to provide minimal monthly donations. The Hammer Museum at UCLA offers increasingly impressive perks the more you pay for membership, or a full year for free if you visit 12 times over 12 months.

It’s no surprise that museums are looking to spice up their membership models. According to a 2014 report by the Association of Art Museum Directors, memberships, both Individual & Family and Corporate, account for just 8% of art museum revenue, just one percentage point higher than admissions. Could offering membership in exchange for a four pack of tickets, or for free altogether, encourage repeat visits and spending in other parts of the museum? We will be exploring these and other museum membership preferences in an upcoming survey.