1994 Members' Survey

Introduction

The Survey of Members was an important achievement for the 1994 Committee. Many things have changed since the last survey in 1990. As the preliminary results show, the survey gathered some very useful information. This will help the new Committee to plan for our future and to market the group.

Over 2,000 members replied and I want to thank each and every one of you for making time to do this. I also want to thank the many volunteers who helped with preparing forms and keying data. In addition I want to acknowledge those in the Office who managed the flow of survey forms.

To assist in analysing results, I have convened a sub-Committee which includes Ash Nallawalla and Gary Taig, with advice from Ross Parkhowell (see Article below).

At the time of writing, about 300 forms were still being coded. Nevertheless, the broad trends are clear and we are taking this opportunity to report back to members before Christmas.

One of the challenges for any Committee is to develop and manage a range of services relevant to the diverse needs and interests of members. The survey is intended to help the 1995 Committee to continue meeting this challenge.

I plan to have a further report ready for the new Committee in December. The new Committee will also be able to consider in detail the many comments made by members on survey forms.

Colin Lovitt
President

This is a preliminary report back to members from the survey conducted by mail during September and October 1994. This report relates to 1,684 responses which were coded by volunteers and analysed using a FoxPro data base developed by Gary Taig.

The survey was conducted for two reasons. To help the Committee in planning services and to assist in marketing of Melbourne PC.

Membership

Where do our members come from? Although the media (14%) and venues (22%) like the PC Show play a role in attracting new members, one third first heard about the group through friends and relatives. Personal referral is a powerful agent and we can all play a part in 'marketing' Melbourne PC.

Nearly one quarter of those replying had been members for less than one year! While encouraging for the Group, this influx of new members underscores the importance of ensuring a warm welcome and a thorough introduction to Group services and activities.

Respondents were asked to identify what would have helped them to get more out of services and activities. Figure 1 records the suggestions of those who could remember what it was like being a new member.

The suggestions fall into three groups. Some highlight the way many of us prefer to learn new things in a 'social' setting (for example, a 'buddy' or 'mentor' scheme; and having more local venues for meetings). Some suggestions highlight the need new members have for a 'map' of Melb PC (for example 'orientation' training or leaflets describing activities of the Group). In addition, some members requested specific information which would help them to act. Examples of 'action' information were 'BBS Help Screens' and leaflets about buying equipment.

Prowess of members

Melb PC has a diverse membership which requires diverse services and activities. About half of those replying regarded themselves as 'reasonably competent' in their use of computers. However Melb PC needs to continue providing services beyond this core group of 'competent' users. About one quarter of those responding were 'power' users and another quarter felt they needed some help or were 'novices'.

I think it is significant that the proportions of members on each level of 'prowess' has remained virtually the same since the last survey in 1990. In analysing the survey, we plan to consider how each 'prowess' group gets value from Melb PC's activities and services. We plan to consider the extent to which the mix of members reflects the services available.

We also need to consider the impact of change. Technology is changing all the time, requiring members continually to develop new skills to operate effectively. We plan to assess the possible impact of change on each 'prowess' group. In particular we want to consider how Melb PC can respond to the changing demands upon novices.

Membership Fee

Members' views about Melb PC's membership fee give us one simple measure of the value of the Group. Nearly sixty per cent of those responding thought their annual Membership Fee was excellent value compared with the benefits they received. Only 4 per cent thought the fee was too costly given the benefits they received. Even though this was a small group, we need to think about what we can do to 'add value' for these members. In particular we plan to analyse returns from those members who use only one or two of the Group's services.

We want to identify what we could do to encourage members to use more services and get greater value from their membership fee.

Services and Activities

The survey sought information about 14 services and activities. PC Update is clearly the Group's flagship, with a 97 per cent usage rate. About half of those responding had used the Bulletin Board (files and messages) and the Dial Help service. Even the least used services had usage rates of over 20 per cent - for example, the First Aid Lines (22%), sale of shareware at meetings (23%) and sale of blank diskettes (26%).

Taking average figures for all of those responding, PC Update and BBS Files had a high value and a high usage rate. Relative to these services, the First Aid Lines, the Sale of Blank Disks and the Sale of Shareware at Meetings had a lower value and a lower usage rate.

Summarising the relationship between the quality of services and their use. Again these are average figures for all of those responding. Four services had a high level of use and were judged to be of high quality - PC Update, BBS Files, BBS Messages and the Dial Help Service.

PC Update

Members gave their general endorsement to PC Update. Two thirds of those responding felt that the balance of articles catered for all levels of experience. The remaining members wanted more articles for either beginners, experienced or 'power' users. Further analysis of the figures will go into the detail of members' comments and will attempt to identify which groups of members seem to be getting value from what aspects of the magazine.

Bulletin Board

In 1990 about one third of members reported using the Bulletin Board (BBS). By 1994 over half of those responding had used the BBS in the past year. Of these users, about three quarters thought the quality of service was very high or excellent.

Figure 4 compares the 1990 and 1994 survey results. In each survey there was a spread of use. In each survey the most common frequency of using the Board was weekly or fortnightly (i.e. 2-5 times per month).

There was also a core of members who connected with the BBS more than ten times a month. This figure is significant because the proportion of frequent callers has risen from 7 per cent in 1990 to 18 per cent in 1994. Based upon the figures extracted so far, these frequent callers may account for nearly half the calls currently being made to the Board.

In 1994 the most common modem speeds were 14400 and 2400 bps. The October modem offer to members can be expected to boost the proportion of high speed (14.4 and 28.8 bps) modems to well above 50 per cent, making for more efficient use of the Board.

Further analysis of the figures will focus upon un-met demand in three areas. Firstly around 6 per cent of members have access to a modem but do not use the Board: we need to look closely at their reasons. Secondly, around 11 per cent of non-users said they did not know how to use a modem: we need to identify whether training or some other program would assist these members. Thirdly we need to focus upon the Group's connection with the Internet: 7 per cent of those responding already subscribed through Melb PC; 13 per cent planned to subscribe; and almost half wanted further information before making plans.

Monthly Meetings

About 500 members attend each Monthly Meeting. Because they are major events requiring a lot of organizing, it is worth asking who benefits? Is it the same 500 members each time? The survey indicates that Monthly Meetings attract a cross section of members. We estimate that the 43 per cent of respondents who had attended a Monthly Meeting in the past year represent some 3,000 members.

While Monthly Meetings are not the most highly valued of the Group's activities, it is clear that members are getting value from particular segments of Meetings and further analysis will focus upon trying to make all segments as relevant as possible.

Computers and Equipment

In 1990 the most common computers were PC/XTs with up to 40 MB hard disks and up to 640 kB of RAM. As you might expect, the 1994 survey shows a different pattern. In 1994 the most common computers were 386 and 486 machines with 8 meg of RAM and 245 MB hard disks. Around two thirds of personal and business machines were using DOS 6 or Windows.

Demographics

We can expect dramatic changes to Melb PC's demographic profile with the anticipated introduction of family memberships. This would provide an opportunity to redress the gender imbalance (93 per cent male in 1990 and 1994). It would also change the age profile of the group - only 8 per cent of those responding were aged under 30 years! With 18 per cent currently aged 60 years or more, the Committee will have its work cut out maintaining diverse and relevant services as more younger people join.

Reprinted from the December 1994 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia