Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Leverus Annual Internet Survey for Associations and Non-profit Organizations:
The state of the Internet 2004
2
Goals of Session
• Trends in Internet Usage
• Focus on Communications where Appropriate
• Compare your Internet Usage with Others
3
Communications and the Web
• Web is pervasive to Association Sector
• Communications goals vary from organization to organization - Audience varies - Members, General Public, Government Relations, etc.
• Communications managers often have responsibility for the entire website
4
What the survey covers
1. Demographic Profile of Respondents
2. Website Planning
3. Website Maintenance
4. Website Budgeting
5. Web Design and Site Architecture
6. Website Usage (Organization Objectives & Services)
7. Website Communications
8. Source of Revenue
9. Website Hosting
10. NPO Internal Technology Usage
5
Who was Surveyed?
• More than 2000 Not-for-Profit Organizations directly invited to participate by e-mail
• Notification Placed in Newsletters of Related Groups – e.g. Canadian Fundraiser eNews, Charity Village, ePhilanthropy, CSAE
6
Respondent Profile
• 163 Respondents
• Majority from Ontario (About 50%)
• 22% of Respondents from U.S.
• 3% from other countries
7
Respondents: Type of Organization
0
10
20
30
40
Professional Industry PublicInterest
SocialAwareness
Charitable Others
% o
f R
esp
on
den
ts
8
Respondents: Staff Size
0
5
10
15
20
25
<1 1 2 3 to 5 6 to 10 11 to20
21 to30
>30
% o
f R
esp
on
den
ts
9
Number of Years Had a Website
0
10
20
30
40N
ow
ebsi
te
<1 y
ear 1 2 3 4 5 6
>6
Years
%ag
e R
esp
on
den
ts
10
% of Members with Internet Access
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Don't know <25% 26% to 50% 51% to 75% >75%
% o
f R
esp
on
den
ts
11
Website/Strategic Planning
• NPO’s are strategically planning their websites
• Plans are often prepared in-house
• Follow-up evaluation of websites is limited but improving
• Web traffic could be higher
12
Internet Strategy as part of overall strategic planning?
Yes65%
No35%
13
If strategy, who develops?
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
In House External Combination
% o
f R
esp
on
den
ts
14
Integration of Web Strategy and Communications Strategy
• Inextricably linked
• Web is a tool to be used with Communications Strategy
• Communications Strategy is only one part of a broader Web Strategy
15
How often review web traffic?
0
10
20
30
40
50
Never Ocassionally Daily Weekly Monthly Annually
% o
f R
esp
on
den
ts
2003 2002
16
Visitors per month
0
10
20
30
40
50
<1 1 to 2.5 2.5 to 5 5 to 10 10 to 20 20 to 30 30 to 50
Thousands
% o
f R
esp
on
den
ts
17
Website Maintenance
• Content upload policies are limited
• Organizations are taking ownership of posting their content
• Many organizations have some in-house html capacity
• Self-admin capabilities are growing
18
How decide whether info is posted to the web?
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Ad-hoc Informal Guidelines Formal Guidelines
% o
f R
esp
on
den
ts
2003 2002
19
Who posts new content?
0
20
40
60
80
External In House Combination
% o
f R
esp
on
den
ts
2003 2002
20
How is content posted?*
0
20
40
60
Not sure Externalcompany
In House (htmleditor)
In House (selfmanaged
interfaces)
Other
% o
f R
esp
on
den
ts
2003 2002
*Note: More than one method may be used.
21
Self-Administration Tools
• Empower associations to control their own content
• Allow for quick updating and editing
• Negate web programming knowledge
22
Newsletter: User Side
23
Newsletter: Administrator
24
Has your organization’s staff received any web-related training?
Yes60%
No40%
25
If yes, what type of training?
0
10
20
30
40
50
Basic InternetUsage
Html Other
% r
esp
on
den
ts
26
How many hours per month are devoted to supporting and maintaining your organization’s website?
0
10
20
30
<1 1 to 2 3 to 5 6 to 10 11 to 20 21 to 30 >30
% o
f Res
pond
ents
2003 2002
27
Website Budgeting
• Majority of organizations have a specific budget allocation for Web
• Web budget remains relatively low for many organizations
28
Do you allocate, on an annual basis, a specific budget amount for the Internet?
Yes67%
No33%
29
What percentage of your total budget is spent on Internet related costs?
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
<1% 1 to 3 % 4 to 5 % 6 to 10% >10%
% o
f R
es
po
nd
en
ts
2003 2002
30
In total, what amount per year does your organization collectively spend on web hosting, external web support, Internal web staff and related Internet costs?
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
0 to 5 K 5 to 10K
10 to 20K
20 to 30K
30 to 40K
40 to 50K
50 to 75K
Morethan 75
K
% o
f R
esp
on
den
ts
31
Web Design and Site Architecture
• Almost as many respondents unsatisfied with current web design as satisfied
• Many organizations feel their websites are easy to navigate
• Most organizations plan on re-designing their websites
32
How satisfied are you with your website’s current design?
0
10
20
30
40
50
Veryunsatisfied
Somewhatunsatisfied
Satisfied Very satisfied
% o
f R
esp
on
den
ts
33
In your opinion, is your website easy to navigate
0
10
20
30
40
50
Not easy Some whateasy
Easy Very easy
% o
f R
esp
on
den
ts
34
In the past two years has your organization re-designed its website?
0
20
40
60
80
Yes No Current site is lessthan 2 years
% o
f R
es
po
nd
en
ts
35
Has your organization ever re-designed its website?
Yes81%
No19%
36
In the next year do you expect your organization will re-design the website?
Yes60%
No40%
37
In the next three years do you expect your organization will re-design the website?
Yes80%
No20%
38
The Home Page
• Most valuable “Real Estate”
• Projects a feel and image to a visitor
• Navigation
• Dynamic Features
• First Introduction to Organization
39
Sample Home Page 1
40
Sample Home Page 2
41
Website Usage (Organization Objectives and Services)
• Consensus that websites are important for achieving organization objectives
• Mixed view of effectiveness in contributing to achieving overall objectives
• Websites are primarily used to deliver services• Most organizations plan on adding new interactive
services to their website
42
Please rate how important you feel your website is for contributing to the success of achieving overall organizational objectives.
0
10
20
30
40
50
Not Important SomewhatImportant
Important Very Important
% o
f R
esp
on
den
ts
2003 2002
43
Please rate how effectively you feel your website contributes to the success of your organization in meeting its overall objectives.
0
10
20
30
40
50
Not effective Somewhateffective
Effective Very effective
% o
f R
esp
on
den
ts
44
Please indicate how important (if applicable) the use of the web is for achieving the objectives that relate to your organization.
0 1 2 3 4
Generating Non-Dues Revenue
Increasing Membership
More effective use of staff time
Enhancing international presence of organization
Increasing profile for members
Cost Reductions - printing, mail, fax, etc.
Increasing profile for NPO issues
Reducing traditional communication costs
Increasing NPO credibility
Providing value added member services
Timely communication
Establishing organization presence as a key source forrelated information
3.4 24.2 37.2 35.3
3.4 24.2 37.2 35.3
45
Which of the following “typical” Association or Not-for-profit services are conducted on-line?
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
Industry/Sector Directory
Surveying
Member Registration
Publication sales
Conference/tradeshow registration
Member directory
Educational opportunities/training
% of Respondents
46
Website is Used For?
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Create non-dues revenues Perform operationalactivities/administration
Deliver member services
% o
f R
esp
on
den
ts
47
Which of the following interactive features does your organization use on its website?
0 20 40 60 80
Polls
Customized products
Collaborative environment
List servers
E-commerce
Discussion boards
Surveys
Job board
Members only section
Online directories
Web forms
Event calendar
% of Respondents
48
Does your organization plan to add any interactive web services to your website in the next year?
Yes66%
No34%
49
Does your organization plan to add any interactive web services to your website in the next three years?
Yes82%
No18%
50
Are your organization’s website and database capabilities integrated?
Yes31%
No69%
51
Website Communications
• NPO’s are migrating more communications to the web
• Most communications produced by Associations are available on the web
• Lack of resources remains largest barrier to communications on the web
52
How is information disseminated by your organization?
Print9%
Web3%
Combination88%
Print10%
Web1%
Combination89%
2003 2002
53
Print Media vs. Web Media
• Portable• Tactile• Appeals to a particular
Audience• Printing can be
expensive• Mailing and labelling
costs• Involves substantive
preparation time
• Must be viewed on a computer or PDA
• May not print well• Some prefer to not
have to read paper• Relatively inexpensive• Interactive• Multi-media• Can disseminate
quickly
54
What communication tools does the association produce and distribute to the general public? Please indicate which communications your organization produces and which are on the web.
0
20
40
60
80
100
Newsletters Advocacy Issue Briefs InformationBrochures
AnnualReports
Facts andFigures
% o
f R
esp
on
den
ts
Produce
On Web
55
Sample: HTML Newsletter
56
Perceived barriers to communication on the Internet
0 10 20 30 40
Others
Members not on the Net
Perception of impact
Apathy
Lack of Resources
% of Respondents
2003 2002
57
Web as Source of Revenue
• Most feel that web advertising will remain steady or grow
58
Web Advertising?
Yes25%
No75%
59
Type of Web Advertising
0 5 10 15 20
Job Boards
Directory Listings
Website Sponsors
TradeshowSponsors
Banner Ads
% of Respondents
60
Future of Online Advertising (next two years)
0
20
40
60
Grow Quickly Grow Slowly RemainSteady
Decrease
61
Website Hosting
• Microsoft products are most popular platforms for hosting
• Most NPO websites reside with an Internet Service Provider (ISP)
• Hosting costs are highly variable
62
On what platform is your website hosted?
0
10
20
30
Linux Novell Unix Win 98 Win2000
Win NT WindowsServer2003
Other
% o
f R
esp
on
den
ts
63
Who hosts your website?
0
20
40
60
80
ISP (virtualhosting)
Co-located atISP
In HouseManaged
Server
Others
% o
f R
esp
on
den
ts
64
Monthly Hosting Fees
• 25% of respondents pay $15 or less
• 50% pay $50 or less
• 25% pay $200 or more
• 10% pay $500 or more
65
Internal Technology Usage
• MS Access is most popular database used
• High speed connection to Internet is common
• Internet Explorer is most often used web browser
66
Current connection to the Internet
0
10
20
30
40
28.8Modem
56.6Modem
ISDN xDSL Cable T1 T3 Others
67
Web Browsers
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Internet Explorer
Other
% of Respondents
68
Databases
0 10 20 30 40 50
No Database
Dbase
FileMaker Pro
MS Access
MSSQL
MySQL
Oracle
Paradox
Other
% of Respondents
69
Overall Emerging Trends
• In-house management of websites• Website are becoming a primary tool for
communications• Interactive technologies that create a more
dynamic feel to website are being adopted• Recognition of need for good design and
navigation
70
Concluding Comments
• NPO’s identify their websites as important• If you build it - will people come… and keep coming – (low
traffic, lack of constant evaluation)• Technology is being adopted by many organizations…but
slowly (budget and staff constraints, limited in-house knowledge of how technology can aid organization effectiveness)
• Resource restrictions limit the capability of NPO’s to fully exploit the opportunities of the Internet
• Web is identified as a critical tool by most organizations, yet few have a strategic process for managing content on the website
71
Questions for Consideration?
• Have I identified my web audience?• When was the last time you evaluated your web traffic…and acted on
the results?• Who prepared the strategic plan? Do you need some outside help?• What are your policies regarding content on the web? Does everyone
know what to upload? When? Who has approval rights?• Do you have an established budget for the web?• How does your budget for the web compare with the budget for other
communication and services vehicles?• Why do people visit your site – Content? Services?• Are your hosting fees market competitive?• How effectively do you think your website contributes to your
organization’s success?• What services are you running on the web? Off the web? Can they be
migrated to the web (in some capacity?)
72
Leverus Inc.
• Questions regarding session, electronic documents, suggestion for next year’s survey?
• www.leverus.com
