My TechSoup Survey Results

TechSoup's My TechSoup Survey was conducted between March 6 and April 3 of 2006, with a fantastic turnout of 841 respondents.

The survey was designed to better understand My TechSoup subscribers. In particular, we were interested in discovering:

• Why people become My TechSoup subscribers.
• How often My TechSoup users visit and use TechSoup.
• Why people don't join My TechSoup.
• What new services would cause My TechSoup subscribers to visit more often and encourage non–My Techsoup subscribers to join.

Highlights

Who took the survey?

My TechSoup survey respondents* held an array of positions: 15 percent were executive directors, 14.4 percent were IT managers, and 30 percent were high-level managers (meaning executive directors, board members, CEOs, CFOs, presidents, and COOs).

Respondents came primarily from smaller organizations: 59.8 percent had budgets below $1 million, while 22 percent reported budgets below $100,000. This rate is consistent with that of previous TechSoup surveys.

My TechSoup Members

A full 83.3 percent of survey respondents were My TechSoup members; 44 percent have been members for two or more years, while 26.8 percent have been members for less than a year. (This ratio is consistent with that of My TechSoup subscribers.)

At 81.5 percent, members' primary motive for joining My TechSoup was to order donated products. However, many of those who joined for TechSoup Stock products returned for TechSoup content: Of the 78 percent that reported ordering a product less than once a month, 81 percent of said they read a TechSoup article at least once a month. In addition, 51 percent of respondents read a forums posting at least once a month, and 50 percent of respondents research a topic on TechSoup at least once a month.

Non–My TechSoup Members

Of those who participated in the survey, 16.7 percent were not My TechSoup members. The main reason given for not not joining was a lack of familiarity with My TechSoup. Others reported that they were new to TechSoup and had not yet had a chance to register.

Since non–members did not take the time to register, one might assume that they would be less engaged with the site. This does not seem to be the case, however: non-members reported similar activity rates as MyTechSoup subscribers, with 44 percent of respondents indicating that they read TechSoup's By the Cup newsletter at least once a month, 37 percent indicating that they read a forums posting at least once a month, and 50 percent indicating that they read articles at least once a month.

New Services

The survey also sought to discover what types of new services would be of interest to current and potential My TechSoup subscribers. Personalized content seemed to garner the most interest, with over 50 percent of all respondents reporting an interest in an individualized My TechSoup home page. Over 50 percent of respondents also expressed interest in a place to bookmark articles, news stories, worksheets, and forums postings.

Another area of interest was an enhanced ability to interact with other My TechSoup members. Nearly 50 percent of respondents indicated an interest in contacting or interacting with members with similar interests, organizational missions, and challenges.

The Changing Demographic of My TechSoup Subscribers

The demographics of My TechSoup members may be changing. According to this survey, My TechSoup subscribers that joined two or more years ago are more technical: 21.5 percent of those that have been My Techsoup members for two or more years are IT managers, while only 4.6 percent of My TechSoup subscribers who joined within the last six months are IT managers. Of the newer members, most are executive directors or high-level managers.

Veteran My TechSoup subscribers respondents also come from organizations with larger budgets:  61.3 percent of veteran subscribers have budgets of over $1 million, while only 19.4 percent of new subscribers have budgets over $1 million.