|
Green Sheet Scores High Marks
|
|
W
So, on to the results.
Our survey results show that 78% of respondents read every single issue of
The Green Sheet every two weeks. An
additional 20% admitted that business keeps them hopping and they are not
able to read every issue, but they read most issues. So, that means that
98% of GS readers read almost every issue. This is on par with last
year’s result of 97%.
Not only do our readers read their Green
Sheet issues, they keep them for reference. Sixty-two percent hold on to
every back issue for future use. Another 23% keep most of their issues,
so, again, we have a successful figure of 85% of respondents holding on to
most or all of their issues for future reference. In fact, 87% of our
readers share their Green Sheet issues with colleagues and associates, up
from 81% in last year’s survey.
We were happy to see that the GSQ, more
than 10 years junior to The Green Sheet, is read just as thoroughly, and
the information is as valuable to our readers as the data in The Green
Sheet. As evidence, 73% of our readers read every single GSQ issue while
18% more read most of them, which means that 91% of our readers hang on
every word of the GSQ, which is up from 89% last year. And, not only do
they read it, 80% hold on to most of their issues for the purposes of
industry information, up from 78% last year. Of those 55% who retain every
single issue. 70% of survey respondents share their GSQ issues with
associates and colleagues, which is an increase from the 64% figure of
last year’s survey.
When The Green Sheet and GSQ are considered in tandem, 87% of our readers report reading almost
every word we print! On the issue of retaining and consulting back issues
for reference, 91% of our readers consult their GS
and GSQ back issue for educational and informational purposes. In that
same vein, 71% use those issues in business presentations. Hand in hand
with that figure is the fact that 97% of respondents recommend both The
Green Sheet and GSQ to associates.
Moving on to specific aspects of The
Green Sheet and GSQ, we are pleased to know that 82% rate the quality of
writing in our publications as being very good to excellent. This is up
from last year’s response of 76%. Another issue we queried readers about
is the page layout and graphic design of The Green Sheet and GSQ. We are
pleased that 96% feel that our production staff is doing a good to
excellent job, a three point increase from last year. We also want to know
how our topics and writing meet the needs of our readers, therefore, we
asked our readers how the level of writing in The Green Sheet and
GSQ, suits their needs. A full 91% of respondents told us that they feel
the level of data is “just right.”
Delving into that topic further, we broke down our inquiries into the
types of information provided in The
Green Sheet and GSQ, and how useful the information and data is to our
readers’ businesses. Where the editorial comment articles are concerned,
92% told us that they find this information useful to essential, again an
increase from the 90% of last year.
Articles and topics covered in The Green
Sheet publications can be broken down into six categories: Financial
Services Acquisitions, Internet Commerce, ISO opportunities, POS Trends,
Resource Guide, and Sales Tips. Last year, respondents felt that POS
trends and equipment articles were the most useful, followed by the
Resource Guide, Sales Tips, Financial Service Acquisitions, and a
three-way tie for general banking info, Internet commerce, and ISO
opportunities. This year, the break down is slightly different, but POS
trends and equipment is still first, followed by The Resource Guide,
Internet Commerce Tools and Development, Financial Service Acquisitions,
and a tie between Sales Tips and ISO Opportunities.
As was the case with last year’s survey, we found that The
Green Sheet paper version has an entirely different audience than The
Green Sheet online. Last year, 68% of our print readers had not accessed
The Green Sheet Online in the last 30 days. This year, as the Internet
becomes more commonplace, that number decreased to 61%, which proves to us
that our print and online readers are two separate audiences. To further
drive the point home, a full 49% of respondents do not use online
resources at all, which is a peculiar increase from the 43% of last
year’s survey.
ISOs have taken advantage of the free ISO Web sites. Sixty-two percent
report that it has been useful or essential to their business efforts. For
those ISOs who have not taken advantage of this service yet, go to http://www.greensheet.com
to set up your free ISO Web site. In that same vein, only 8 % have placed
an ad on The Green Sheet Online, down from
12% last year. For those who wish to take advantage of this free service,
visit http://www.greensheet.com to post your free ad.
When it comes to advertising with The
Green Sheet publications, if you’re one of the many on the waiting list
for ad space in The Green Sheet and GSQ, the answer to our advertising
questions will not surprise you. Half of our respondents have contacted a
company because they advertised in GSQ. And, 67% of respondents have
contacted a Resource Guide advertiser, based on their Resource Guide
listing. Finally, 74% of respondents reported that they have contacted a
company based on the ad they saw in The Green Sheet.
As many readers know, the main reason we ask our subscribers to complete
the annual readership questionnaire is to find out who our readers are and
what’s on their minds. It was not surprising to find that 78% of our
readers classify themselves as an ISO (up from 73% last year). Twenty-four
percent are equipment vendors, which is a significant increase from the 8%
of last year. Eighteen percent are e-commerce providers, which is
significant since we did not even have that category last year. Eleven
percent of Green Sheet readers are
merchant bank providers, 11% sell software (again, a category we did not
have last year), and card issuing banks pull up the rear with 2%. But,
that 2% is significant when it is ranked up against the 0% of last year.
As far as what types of products and services our readers rep for, the
number of Green Sheet readers
representing AMEX, bankcard services, check drafting, check guarantee and
verification went down while debit, Internet service, and Web site
providers went up. We also added a few categories that were not included
in last year’s questionnaire, including smart cards (11%), software (a
whopping 60%), and e-commerce, which received a considerable response of
55%. If you haven’t heard it enough, e-commerce is “where it’s
at.” We
also asked our readers to tell us about their prospecting and sales
methods. The old standbys, such as telesales and telemarketing, remained
constant. Autodial computer systems went down from 9% to 5%. Surprisingly,
broadcast e-mail went down from 10% to 6%. Our guess is this is due to
“Spam backlash.” Direct mail and door-to-door, perennial favorites at
approximately 50% each, remained relatively constant. Internet marketing
had the biggest jump, from 28% to 35%. Of course, customer referral is the
resource used most by our readers at 80%, a slight increase over last
year.
Another popular sales prospecting method is attending industry trade shows
and seminars. These events can lead to sales and are also great
educational opportunities. We are happy to see that so many of our readers
take advantage of these resources. If you are reading this at the ETA
show, you are among the 27% of our readers who have attended an ETA show
in the last 12 months. Forty-nine percent attended a Bank Administration
Institute event, 27% took in a Treasury Management Association event, and
The National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA) attracted 58% of
The Green Sheet and GSQ readers.
The numbers are healthy, but could be better. This could be due to fees,
timing, or locations. These are the factors The Green Sheet Inc.,
considered when planning the five Green Sheet seminars to take place this
year. (Cost is $95, call 800-757-4441 for more information.)
As always, The Green Sheet, Inc., asks our readers to identify problems
and trends in the financial services industry. Not surprisingly, in our
1998 survey, 23% cited Y2K compliance as a significant problem. When the
same question was posed in 1999, just 10% were concerned. Our readers are
also less worried about tax compliance than they were last year, but they
have growing concerns about finding qualified reps (51%), the decline in
service providers (19%), and the cost of sales (38%). Regarding changes in
the market, you would have to be living in a cave (a cave without a
wireless modem that is) to not know that Internet business growth was
cited as the most significant change. Last year 29% of respondents felt
that the Web was the biggest area of change, this year that number more
than doubled to 65%. Technology in general, finding quality reps, and cost
of sales were also cited as significant changes.
Again, we thank you, our readers, for taking the time to share your
opinions and views with us. And please, if you have a thought to share,
don’t wait for the next survey—go to the ISO forum at http://www.greensheet.com
or e-mail greenshttx@aol.com and share your opinions with your peers and
colleagues.
© Copyright
1995-2000 |
