As we embark on our ninth year of publication, we felt it was time to conduct a survey of our readers to make sure we’re hitting our marks. We would like to share some of the results with you here.
• 73 percent of respondents rated the quality of Gear Solutions’ editorial content “above” or “well above” average as compared to other industry publications.
• 93 percent rated the magazine’s technical articles as being “very useful” or “useful,” with similar numbers for other features such as the company profile, Q&A, columns, marketplace, and the news and product sections.
• More than 70 percent of respondents find the search engine on the Gear Solutions Web site—where everything we’ve published is available for download, with no strings attached—to be comprehensive and useful.
• In terms of job function, the majority of respondents were in the “design/research/development” category, followed by “manufacturing production,” “manufacturing engineering,” and “purchasing.”
• Responding to the question “What actions have you taken as a result of reading an ad/article/feature/news release/profile/column in Gear Solutions magazine?” the top answer was “discussed ad/article with others” followed by “visited the company’s Web site” and “saved ad/article for future reference.”
• When asked “Where does your company find ideas about adopting gear manufacturing advancements?” more than 70 percent of respondents answered “Gear Solutions magazine.”
• Given the opportunity to make general comments, responses included: Your magazine is above average, always worth reading; Gear Solutions magazine is a good resource for the latest events in gear manufacturing, and it also has very good technical articles which are educational in nature; Very valuable information, good work, thank you!; Gear Solutions is an excellent magazine that is helping us in a great way; I am very pleased with the quality and quantity of information provided in Gear Solutions, and; Very informative magazine, keep it up, love all the latest technological advances.
Of the 30 questions developed, many help us to understand the makeup of our audience and their needs as Gear Solutions continues to evolve, both in print and online. As an example, when asked “What factors are presenting the most challenges for your operations?” the hands-down top response was “skilled workforce.” We have already acted on this input, developing a new jobs listing function for our Web site that will launch soon, with additional services in the works.
Gear Solutions magazine is published by Media Solutions, Inc. (MSI), which also produces Wind Systems magazine and various custom publications. To learn more about MSI go to www.msimktg.com. The Web site for Wind Systems is www.windsystemsmag.com, and www.gearsolutions.com for Gear Solutions.
