Opinion: SBJ subscriber survey reveals sophisticated group

I’m talking about the dedicated readers of Springfield Business Journal.

I’m talking about the nearly 25 percent of subscribers who responded to SBJ’s latest readership survey – those who told us they were the business owners and decision makers in southwest Missouri and had household net worths of $1 million or more.

I’m talking about you and the company you keep as a reader of SBJ.

How do I know this? SBJ mailed about 800 surveys to subscribers, and more than 200 were returned, starting the very next day. I’m told that’s a phenomenal return in the survey arena. Thank you to all who responded and helped SBJ update the demographics of our readers, as we do every few years.

The makeup of an SBJ reader

• About two-thirds of subscribers are male and more than three-fourths are married. More than half of SBJ’s readers are ages 35–54, and 93 percent are homeowners.

• In the personal finances realm, 27 percent held a household net worth of at least $1 million, followed by 23 percent with between $200,000 and $499,999. Exactly 60 percent of respondents claimed more than $100,000 in total household income before taxes in 2005, and nearly 50 percent showed investment portfolios of $200,000 or more.

• Specific to their lines of business, 41 percent of readers are owners or partners and 22 percent are presidents or CEOs. Each is responsible for purchasing all kinds of business items: 69 percent buy office equipment, furniture or supplies, 64 percent purchase advertising, 58 percent spend on copying and printing services, and 57 percent acquire computer hardware, software or networking.

Of the representative companies, 37 percent gross more than $1 million a year, and most – 36 percent – have fewer than five employees. The next highest percentage – 22 percent – employs six to 20. These are small businesses at work.

However, these companies are proceeding cautiously, as less than a third plan to expand or relocate this year.

Interestingly, almost 80 percent of respondents’ companies have a Web site, yet only 41 percent generate revenue from it.

• Specific to their relationship with SBJ, more than half read their copy at the office, and almost all pass it around to another colleague. This stat always splits us. It’s gratifying to see that the information is valuable enough to pass around, but it’s irksome because we want each reader to have a personal subscription.

Most subscribers – 44 percent – have subscribed for two-to-five years, and 98 percent plan to renew.

I’ll end on that high note.

Eric Olson is Springfield Business Journal editor. He may be reached at eolson@sbj.net.

Next week: Editor Eric Olson discusses how SBJ uses this information, and he responds to a few write-in comments.