The study was managed by an ESTA committee of industry volunteers supplemented by the technical skills and guidance of a well known market research firm, Stiernberg Consulting. The database of customers and specifiers prepared for this study is the most comprehensive and wide-ranging ever used: utilizing its member resources, ESTA assembled the database primarily from manufacturers, dealers and publishers.
Two survey methods were used: several thousand customers and specifiers were reached by e-mail and asked to complete the survey on-line, while several thousand more received mailed surveys. Two separate questionnaires were created by the ESTA committee, one for buyers and specifiers of expendables and another for buyers and specifiers of equipment and systems. The surveys not only asked about buying habits and patterns but also about the customer's demographics, seasonality of budgeting and buying and favorite sources of product information.
The study report will include tabulated answers to all the questions, cross-referenced by markets and other demographics, as well as verbatim comments from the supplemental interviews. The report is scheduled for publication in July and will be available to ESTA members at $250 (for companies with less than 25 employees) and $500 (for companies with 25 or more employees). The report is also available to non-members at $500 or $1,000, depending on the number of employees.
(Lee Baldock)
