The Economist commented back in 2017 that oil is no longer the most valuable commodity, data is. Since then, the phrase ‘data is the new oil’ has been bounded around.
When you think about how much data we use daily, both commercially and personally, it’s plausible that it is becoming the biggest resource on the planet. IBM found that in 2020, everyone on the globe created 1.7MB every second. It has also been estimated that by 2025, 463 exabytes of data (one exabyte is equal to one billion gigabytes) will be created every day globally – which is the equivalent of 212,765,957 DVDs a day.
But why is data so important?
It’s valuable for businesses because it allows you to understand your customers better – what they’re buying, and what they’re not buying, when they make purchases, what email marketing they’re opening and links they’re clicking on. This can then drive customer loyalty and, ultimately, retention to grow your business organically.
As a consumer, it can provide you with a more personalised experience. For example, Netflix suggests movies and TV programmes it thinks you might like based on what you’ve already watched. Around 75% of Netflix users pick films and shows that are recommended to them by the streaming service’s AI.
So, if everyone is generating data, and most businesses are collecting data, how do you know how to see the wood from the trees?
Location intelligence can show the whole picture
The majority of data has a location component – the place where you work, the train stations you travelled from and to, where you made a mobile phone call from, your internet connection. In fact, 82% of all data is location based.
If you’ve got spreadsheet after spreadsheet of analytics but don’t know how to turn it into meaningful solutions, location intelligence could be the missing cog. It can help you reveal the valuable insight within your data to allow you to make considered business decisions that are right for your brand.
What can location intelligence do in practice?
Location data can be incredibly powerful for businesses. However, data is only as good was what you do with it. Just like driving a car, it needs fuel to run, and you need to know how to get to your destination.
If data is the new oil, then location intelligence is the new engine. It can drive your business forward and help you think and act more strategically. The list of what location intelligence can do for your company is vast. To show it in action, we’ve got three examples:
1. Set yourself up for success with a new site
If you want to expand your business, location intelligence software can help you understand the full potential of a site. It allows you to analyse the people that live and work nearby – as they could be your first customers and the key to making your new premises a hit.
Determining the number of workers vs residents in the vicinity could help you decide if it’s the right location for your brand. If you have a sandwich shop, an area with a high volume of workers is likely to be a sweet spot. Whereas, if you own a furniture store, somewhere with a greater number of residents could be more profitable.
2. Customer actions click into place
With basic data you can understand what your clients are buying, but location intelligence goes deeper. With the right software, like Periscope® from Newgrove, you can understand your customers behaviours and to what extent the area plays a part, including how far they will travel to use your services and their journey to and from home and how this affects their buying habits.
3. See the lay of the land
Whether you already occupy a site or are looking to open new premises in a specific region, with location intelligence software you can analyse its companies and citizens to give you a broader view.
This then provides you with insight into the local population, the nature of companies and the most popular businesses and attractions in the area. You can also see how villages, towns and cities are changing, whether that’s in terms of demographics, housing, or transport options. You can then decide how to target your marketing to generate sales in your existing location or whether a new site is best for your business to expand.
Staying ahead of the curve
Data is constantly evolving. With Periscope®, you get the best of both worlds – we’re leading experts in location intelligence with 25 years’ experience and we’re making investments into the latest data.
Each new dataset we introduce is available to our clients at no extra cost, as we believe in providing them with the most up to date and relevant information. In February alone, we introduce several new data streams, including:
- Retail centre boundaries – a pioneering resource, showing the location of over 6k UK shopping centres
- Detailed local market expenditure – with 12 different categories from food and drink to clothing and footwear, analyse everything your target consumers buy
- Classification of workplace locations – Helping you understand where your customers work, whether that’s in a big city, the suburbs, or a rural area and why that matters
At Newgrove, we’re here to help you make sense of your data, so you can use it to your advantage and make clear cut business decisions. To hear more about Periscope® or our upcoming datasets, please book a free demonstration. Alternatively, you can email us on info@newgrove.com or call +44 (0)20 3397 4711.