Location intelligence is the use of geographical data to help you make more informed decisions, from marketing to location planning. Seeing the benefits, and often a return on investment, more companies are using it to inform their business strategies and support their growth plans.
By determining the geospatial data of your stores or outlets, customers, suppliers, competitors, and markets, you can understand the role each one plays in making your firm a success. This detailed insight can then unlock fresh business opportunities, including improving existing sites and finding new ones.
With the increasing growth of smartphones, the Internet of Things, and other interconnected devices, the location component in our data is set to expand even further. It, therefore, stands to reason that the location intelligence market will continue to develop also. It is expected to reach $32.8 billion globally by 2027, according to a study by Grand View Research, Inc.
But why is the location intelligence market so important and are businesses doing enough to take advantage of it? We look at three ways in which it can add value to your company.
Incorrect business locations become a thing of the past
Building new retail stores can run into the millions and sometimes even tens of millions of pounds. Without in-depth research, the cost of getting your next business location wrong could be monumental. This is one of the principal reasons why location intelligence is so valuable.
A geolocation platform helps you see both profitable and unprofitable locations quickly. By comparing your data with local demographics, you can find places your ideal customers are likely to gravitate towards. You can then narrow down a list of sites to look at and ones to discount.
Maximise your marketing spend
There are a wide array of marketing and advertising channels to choose from nowadays, including TV ads, direct mail, PPC, and social media.
Finding the channels your audience responds to is crucial. However, we understand that is not always as easy as it sounds. Companies could be pouring their hard-earned advertising spend straight down the drain by not using geolocation data to their advantage.
Imagine you spend your marketing and advertising budget on billboards but, without detailed insight into local consumer behaviour, you end up placing them in an area where your target audience doesn’t see them. As a result, brand awareness and sales don’t increase as expected.
By using location intelligence software, the story could be different. Looking at your unique data and the local population, you could instantly see key areas to place your out-of-home (OOH) media to create effective geo-targeted campaigns, saving you time and money. Taking the above example, you might see a high proportion of customers drive to your premises after work. Therefore, focusing your marketing on their driving routes could prove profitable.
Optimise your logistics
Logistics is a huge business. Whether it is suppliers providing goods and products to companies or firms delivering straight to customers, balancing the cost, resources, and timings can be enormous.
Therefore, it is important to maximise the efficiency of your deliveries to not only streamline them but save you money. Location intelligence can be a huge component in helping you to achieve this by allowing you to map out and optimise delivery routes that reduce costs.
At Newgrove, we’re experts in location intelligence and have been for more than 25 years. Our advanced location intelligence tool, Periscope®, provides you with a secure, corporate version of Google Maps to enable you to implement the above, and more.
Location intelligence isn’t sector-specific. We work with a broad range of companies, including retail chains to help them boost sales, gym franchises to capitalise their marketing spend, and waste management businesses to improve efficiency.
Want to find out more about how location intelligence can add value to your business? Book your free Periscope® demo.