The BBC website has a great report on the latest Jacob Neilson survey of web usage. Although the research is orientated more towards consumer than b2b, there are several conclusions that can be drawn from it.
I don’t believe that the web has yet managed to get close to replacing all the benefits of print, and with users increasing going direct to the information they wany (generally driven by search engines), the Internet is clearly failing to deliver the same quality of browsing experience that is provided by print magazines. Personally I think that, althogh there will be more electronic delivery of magazines as pdfs or similar formats, the web has not obsoleted the magazine format and shows no sign of doing so in the next few years. In fact the rush to generate more page views from search engines often makes websites less accessible to people who would like to browse for new information.
Just as I try to balance using my car and bicycle to travel to work (the British weather doesn’t encourage me to ride every day!), getting the right marketing mix – which includes balancing online and print magazines is always better than focussing on one activity or channel at the expense of others.
