IOMA Confirms Need for Instant Knowledge Access

The Institute Of Management And Administration (IOMA), a leader in how-to business information publications recently announced a renewed commitment to online information access for business owners, managers, and students. IOMA's Management Library (www.managementlibrary.com) had been in first stage test mode for a number of months since it opened to the public in November, 1999. Since then, it has seen a steady influx of users who have bought more than a dozen articles at a time, often returning each month for new articles in their subject area.

Using APDI's Largo Web Solutions for Publishers (www.apdi.net), a proprietary document management and e-commerce system, IOMA bet that the material that made it a key player in the world of business management newsletters would do just as well online in the form of separate, pay-per-view articles. And it seems that the bet just might pay off. Currently, there are over 5,300 registered users of the service, and that number grows day by day.

According to the site, articles are priced reasonably at $4.00 apiece. "It was hard to set a price point," says David Foster, president. "We knew our information was invaluable to those who knew IOMA, but we had to leave room for those who hadn't heard of us yet. So we set the price low, hoping to attract a large number of people who would become repeat users." And the strategy seems to be working well. As each month passes, the revenue from online sales of Management Library articles shows significant improvement, but more telling still is the number of people who come back again and again to buy more from the site, sometimes purchasing anywhere from six to 12 articles at a time."

Working closely with programmers and management at APDI, Krish Mandal, the company's Web Director, spent a number of months tailoring Management Library to IOMA's needs. "For a long time, the registration process was a barrier to users," says Mandal. "You had to fill in all sorts of fields just to get in, and that's not what we wanted. After talking with APDI we got something that allows people to put in just their e-mail address and a password, and start searching for articles immediately."

After registering, users can search for specific terms by entering keywords in the search box, or they can look at the various "Publications" that are online, which are separated into subjects like Corporate Accounting; Fraud, Safety and Security; HR, Compensation and Benefits; and more. The search yields article titles with a brief 250-character "abstract" consisting of the first few lines of the article, and a purchase price. Clicking on the article or the purchase button will bring them to the shopping cart where they can add to or subtract from the cart. When users are ready, they can opt to "check out" and input credit card information if they haven't already entered it into their personal information and billing area. If everything is in order, the article is available immediately under the "See Purchases" menu and is available as an Acrobat PDF file (Adobe Acrobat 4.0+ is required; www.adobe.com). The user can click on the link to the article and will see it pop up in the browser window. Articles can be saved and printed for later use.

Management Library is also available as a subscription service, at a cost of $19.95 per user, per month, or alternatively as a yearly subscription. As a subscriber, a user is given access to all of the articles for that time period, and the process is essentially the same. At the end of the subscription, users are sent e-mail by the system to be notified of the impending expiration.

"The vision we have for Management Library," says Foster, "is that it becomes the premier source for online business information. It's really an extension of our free site at www.ioma.com."

About the Institute of Management and Administration (IOMA)

IOMA publishes a broad range of high quality information products for business professionals. Each of its products serves to improve the efficiency of its subscribers, and to enhance the financial performance of the subscribing firm or organization. Over 180,000 top business professionals rely on IOMA publications every month and access its Special Reports and Electronic Services. IOMA is based in New York City's Midtown area, and has a network of editors throughout North America. Phone, fax, and online technology are used to collect data for its newsletters and reports, which guarantees that subscribers receive the information they need in time to make a significant difference in their decision-making strategy.

Contact Krish Mandal at IOMA, 212-244-0360 x248, kmandal@ioma.com.