News

Survey says...

We've asked what you think about ATMmarketplace.com. Here are the results of our research and how we're responding.

January 22, 2002

Tom Harper is president of NetWorld Alliance, which operates ATMmarketplace.com, KIOSKmarketplace.com and kiosks.org. He is co-founder of the ATM Industry Association (ATMIA), founder of the ATM Advertising Council, and the founding publisher of ATMmagazine.com.

We recently surveyed more than 4,000 registered users about their experience with ATMmarketplace.com. We asked them the following questions:

• What do you like most about the site?
• What do you like least?
• Is there anything we can do to improve navigation throughout the site?
• General comments

We received 249 responses, or 6.2 percent, which is a better-than-average return compared to a typical survey (1-2 percent is considered good). Many of the respondents took the time to offer suggestions and personal remarks, for which we're grateful.

Here's the breakdown:

This data is by no means comprehensive – only the top four responses in each category are listed. Other interesting points:

• Our U.S.-based members want more U.S. news – readers outside the U.S. want more global coverage
• One person admitted he likes all the banners, saying they help him find new vendors!
• Many want the "old" ATMmagazine classifieds back
• Stats are a popular request

What we're doing to the site

Over the past few weeks we've been working on a master plan of changes for ATMmarketplace.com. The following rank highest on our list of priorities. Most will be duplicated on KIOSKmarketplace.com.

Improve navigation– We're designing a new masthead, simplifying our site search engine and prominently displaying links to popular areas so you can find important information faster.

Bring back the "old" classifieds – While the new product showcase format is getting a lot of use, popular demand has persuaded us to re-introduce the famed classified section (from the good ol' ATMmagazine.com days). We'll be launching a bigger and better version in the next few weeks.

Simplify the RFQ area – We'll be combining our RFQ section with the classifieds and drastically simplifying the whole process. Self-service tutorials will walk you through it.

Upgrade the discussion boards – Lately we've seen plentiful postings in this area of the site. Humor, boldness, and conflict – it's all there, like a virtual soap opera. The new software version will not allow anonymous postings and will offer more powerful options for your messages.

Improve and simplify e-mails news alerts – In the coming months watch for news alerts that are much easier on the eye and simpler to use.

Sorry, the banners have to stay – Advertising revenue is the only way we can give you a free subscription! We are, however, adding a printer-friendly function on all the articles so your inkjet doesn't run out of color every time you print a story.

Expand news coverage – More non-U.S. international news is on the way, with research data, market overviews and case studies. Our news organization will be diving into the global ATM market on a regular basis. We're hiring more staff and freelancers to handle the increasing volume of ATM news flooding our wires.

We've got a lot to do, and thanks to your feedback we feel like we're on the right track. If you'd like to offer further suggestions, I'm just an e-mail away.

As of this writing there are nearly 7,000 registered users on ATMmarketplace.com. The average number of new registrations tops 1,200 each month. We're doing more than 2.5 million hits and a few hundred thousand page views monthly and those numbers continue to climb every month.

On the horizon are lots of enhancements and features for ATMmarketplace.com. We're on the lookout for freelance writers and sales reps in the world's major markets. We're investing in corporate expansion and, on the technical side, we're weeks away from putting the sites on faster, more reliable and secure servers.

Overall we hope to deliver a more satisfying Web experience as you do business in the ATM world. Thanks to you and our advertisers we'll continue to add value to your free subscription.