The results are in from the Professional Pest Manager magazine Readers’ Survey 2019. So what do you think about the magazine, what did we do well and what could be improved?
Since our last survey, we’ve implemented a number of changes at Professional Pest Manager magazine. The website has undergone a major upgrade, which includes the searchable library of nearly 1000 articles, and paid subscribers can now access all magazine issues back to 2015. We also launched the Professional Pest Manager Pest E-News.
It’s always important to get feedback and review performance and Professional Pest Manager magazine is no different. We’ve just completed our 2019 Reader Survey, so what did we learn?
Overall rating
Well the good news is that we received an overall rating of 4.25 out of 5, marginally up on last year, with nearly 89% of respondents giving a rating of very good or excellent. There were a couple of readers who rated the magazine as ‘needing improvement’ and one rating it as ‘poor’. These readers gave some useful feedback, and hopefully the content in this article will address some of their questions and concerns.
Favourite segments
Readers were asked to indicate which magazine segments they liked (they could like more than one segment). The results were almost identical to last year – the most liked segment was the product news, followed closely by the termites segment, general news and the feature segments (Figure 1).
This year saw the launch of a lawn care segment in the magazine – identified as a potential growth opportunity for pest managers. Although 30% of readers weren’t interested in lawn care, some 60% of readers found it somewhat or very interesting and useful. This may not remain as a segment in every issue in 2020, but Professional Pest Manager magazine will continue to provide information on lawn care to support those businesses wishing to expand into this area.
Respondents also provided some good ideas on new segments and content and we will be implementing some of these as we progress through 2020.
Printed magazine or online?
Magazine readers continue to show a strong preference for reading the printed magazine, across all age groups, with nearly 70% of respondents indicating they only read the printed version (Figure 2). This mirrors global trends where specialist printed magazines continue to perform well as readers find it easier and more engaging to read a printed magazine. Of course online versions of the magazine are great when you’re on the road and the website’s online library and search function allows readers to find individual articles back to 2015.
Readers continue to spend over two hours reading the magazine, with 85% keeping back issues of the magazine and three quarters of readers revisiting back issues sometimes, often or all the time (Figure 3). These are all good indicators that overall our readers find the content interesting and show the magazine is appreciated as a valued reference material.
How does the magazine work?
Professional Pest Manager magazine is an independently owned magazine and relies on advertiser support and subscriptions.
Although Products and Services News is the most popular segment (73% of respondents identifying the Products and Service News as one of the segments of most interest), there were a couple of comments suggesting there were too many adverts and that the articles were too biased. Hopefully by understanding that it is only through the generous support of our advertisers that we can produce the magazine, those who have raised this concern will appreciate that the inclusion of advertising is necessary.
In terms of bias in the articles, supplier editorials will obviously focus on their products, but our editorial process ensures that all performance claims are supported. In terms of the number of articles from the various suppliers, we welcome all advertising and supporting editorial content. So if you want to see more from a particular supplier, just let them know.
Importantly, the magazine has a target to include at least 50% non-commercial material, to educate our readers on all aspects of pest control. In this regard your subscription fees help us meet this goal. So a big thank to our paid subscribers. We exist to provide information to the industry and your feedback is vital to make sure we provide the information and services you require – we want to be ‘Your Pest Control Knowledge Centre’. In this regard we have some exciting developments for the coming year.
The future
In 2020 Professional Pest Manager will expand its offerings to help technicians on the road and to help owners grow their businesses. We can’t really spill the beans just yet, but we think they’re pretty exciting developments. We’ve listened to your feedback, so we think you’ll like what’s coming. Thanks again for your continued support.
