News

Can't please all of the people all of the time...

But we're trying. And the good news is, based on results of our recent reader survey, we appear to be pleasing most of the people most of the time. You told us what we need to do to improve -- and we're working on it.

February 5, 2003

While reviewing the results of our recent reader survey, our first ever, I couldn't help but think of the old saw: "You can't please all of the people all of the time."

Consider these responses:

"I'm not really interested in ATM news that goes on in Russia or China or any foreign countries."

"Keep global focus."

"Better UK coverage."

"ATM news from Brazil."

"You can improve the focus on Asia, particularly the Indian subcontinent."

"Since India and China are the fastest-growing ATM markets today, you should have a special focus on these two countries."

"More information about developing countries."

Or these:

"The site appears dominated by larger companies with no room for the small."

"Write stories about members that are smaller, not just your big advertisers."

"New features that brands like Wincor Nixdorf, NCR and Diebold are offering."

"More info on large terminal owners."

"Articles or profiles on mid-size banks in major U.S. cities."

It is always a challenge for us to determine what to cover, compounded by the fact that our readers tend to have different interpretations of what they see on the site. While some have no interest in non-U.S. news, many of our international readers would like to see more stories devoted to the ATM markets in their countries.

While many would like to see more articles devoted to the "smaller guys," just about everyone seems to want to keep up with what the big boys are doing.

The good news is, we seem to be pleasing most of the people most of the time. We got a heartening number of warm-and-fuzzy responses like these:

"I think you do a wonderful job;" "It is just fine. Please keep it up;" Your Web site has just the right content;" "ATMmarketplace is an invaluable tool in my position;" "I have followed ATMmarketplace for about five years now and recommend it as often as I can."

Can you feel the love?

Ann All

One of my favorite reader responses likened us to an ATM. "I look at it the same as a customer that has a variety of financial services at an ATM, but then for me it's a huge ATM with a variety of information that I use to improve services to our customers."

More good news. We were quite pleased that the majority of the 700 respondents to our survey, more than 63 percent, said they used the site at least three times a month. Nearly 60 percent said they are able to find the information they're looking for when they visit the site "most of the time."

Seventy-three percent of you found the site's page load time either "very fast" or "fast." Seventy-four percent found the length of our feature stories "just right" - a stat I've been mentioning again and again to my editorial colleagues here, many of whom like to tease me about my long-windedness.

The most popular features: our twice-weekly e-mail news alerts, cited by 68 percent of respondents; daily news on the home page, 61 percent; and in-depth feature stories, 51 percent.

There were some surprises as well. When we asked which industry segments you were most interested in, banking/financial was the top vote getter with 64 percent. ISOs were some of our earliest and most vocal supporters - perhaps because their activities had been largely ignored by other publications. And anecdotal evidence had led us to believe that they still made up our largest reader segment.

Maybe too many of our ISO readers were out hustling deals to respond to the survey, but it's fair to say that we have a significant number of readers who want to know more about ATM developments in the banking world. We're making an effort to produce more stories relevant to those readers.

In the past few weeks, we've written about deposit automation; the RemoteTeller, a product billed as a bridge between teller and self-service transactions; and financial institutions experimenting with coin acceptance at the ATM as a customer recruitment/retention tool.

We've also written about how large banks such as Fleet Financial and Wells Fargo are experimenting with Web-enabled technology at the ATM, including increased personalization and one-to-one marketing.

We'd like to include more stories relevant to all deployers, such as efforts to improve ATM security and to comply with Triple DES and other regulatory mandates.

Some themes emerged when it came to what you'd like to see more of. Just about everyone was interested in security and compliance with regulations, as mentioned above.

We have written several stories about expected changes to the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), Triple DES and related issues. The unfortunate reality is that we face some of the same issues as our readers in trying to get more information on these topics - vague or inconsistent answers and sometimes confusing explanations. Rest assured that we will soldier on and increase our coverage as the deadlines for meeting these requirements approach.

Sixty-three percent of respondents would like to see more research and statistics. Unlike some other industry publications, we don't produce our own research. While this is something we revisit from time to time, with our small staff it's difficult for us to devote the kind of time we feel it would require to produce accurate data.

While we try to include as much industry research from other sources as we can, our biggest challenge here is that folks who produce such information can generally sell it, at a premium price. Letting us publish it for free cuts into their market. And those who purchase such data are often reluctant to share it for fear of giving up a competitive advantage.

That said, we are making every effort to boost the amount of research and statistics we offer by partnering where possible with third-party researchers who may share at least some of their information.

We also saw requests for more stories on new technology and advanced functionality. We've made an effort to increase our coverage of ATM deployers offering transactions beyond cash dispensing. Again, there is often some reluctance among those doing so to discuss their efforts until they begin to see tangible results. But again, it's our job to hound them until they talk - and believe me, we're working on it.

The biggest single content category respondents want to see more of, with 73 percent of them asking for it: future trends/predictions.

And that's where you can come in. We'd love to hear more from you about what's going on in our industry - and what's coming. My contact information is included with this article. While there seems to be a widespread assumption that we see and hear "everything," I can assure you that that just isn't true. We rely on those of you out there working to make things happen in the ATM industry to help keep us informed.

We would especially welcome case studies, white papers and opinion pieces. If you're interested in providing this kind of content, please let us know.

Finally, I can't tell you how much we appreciate those folks who took the time to answer our survey. It gave me quite a thrill to sift through your responses. While one could make the case that my life is just that dull, a large part of it is the welcome feeling of connecting with readers on some level. Too often, it's easy to feel as if I'm writing in a vacuum. You've helped me realize that nothing could be further from the truth.

Also, our congratulations to John Miller, an ATM sales/service representative with Orlando, Fla.-based Eviss. He is the lucky winner of two passes to the upcoming ATM Industry Association show of his choice. Thanks to the ATMIA for generously providing the passes as an added incentive for taking the time to answer the survey - as if helping us improve the site wasn't enough!

Included In This Story

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ATM Industry Association (ATMIA)

The ATM Industry Association, founded in 1997, is a global non-profit trade association with over 10,500 members in 65 countries. The membership base covers the full range of this worldwide industry comprising over 2.2 million installed ATMs.

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Diebold Nixdorf

As a global technology leader and innovative services provider, Diebold Nixdorf delivers the solutions that enable financial institutions to improve efficiencies, protect assets and better serve consumers.

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