We are all using at least one mapping software on a daily basis – Google Maps. Google Maps are the leading software helping us navigate in space and making travel and our everyday business so much easier.
But, what is mapping software, in general? How does it work and what can it be used for? You are nowhere to find out.
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Aside from data security, reading and presenting your data is the most important part of understanding the data you have collected. Mapping software is a way of turning your data into interactive maps that you can use to either analyze or show to others in a simple way.
This software is an easy way to structure big data from formats such as CRM, ERP, or Microsoft Excel sheets. By mapping out your big chunks of data, you can easily get an overview of your project and see connections that you would otherwise oversee.
Even if we connect maps with geographics, different types of data can be mapped in practice.
What kind of data can be mapped?
As we have mentioned before, the most common example of mapping software is geographical, and the most popular one is Google Maps, for sure. However, you can map out nearly any type of simple or complex data and create interactive maps that will optimize your processes.
Mapping can be used for your business. If you are researching your competitors, for example, you are probably collecting a lot of information about them, and categorizing it in a meaningful way. After saving all that info in one place, mapping software can help you see the connections between categories, tags, and features of the information you have collected. This way, you can gain a better understanding of their business model, marketing campaigns, key actions, and so much more.
Maps can also often be helpful in your personal life. In psychology, mind maps are used for self-evaluation and self-reflection. With a mind map template, you can easily discover more about yourself, your priorities, and your internal values.
Best ways to use mapping software for your business
As we have mentioned earlier, maps can be of great use when analyzing your competitors. At the same time, they are proven useful to understand your audience better and improve your business strategy.
Here are some of the best ways mapping software can benefit your business.
Researching demographics
Your audience is growing and it is not always easy to track where your visitors and customers are coming from. This is why maps can be a great visual tool to help you understand where your business is performing well, and where it might need improvements.
From there, it is up to you to decide whether you would like to focus harder on the areas where you have good results or invest more resources into reaching new target groups.
Guidance for your HR
Another way of using maps in your internal business operations is to analyze the performances of your teams around the globe (wherever your business might be located).
Maps can offer you a bird view of which teams are doing really well and in which fields you might want to consider finding more manpower and employing new staff.
Analyzing your business performance
When it comes to sales and making a profit, your sales teams must keep a good balance of satisfying your regular clients while scooping the field for new ones.
In a mapped view, you can get a grip on which teams are making good progress, which ones are doing excellent, and what are those who need extra help. Optimizing profit, at the end of the day, is your main goal. Thus, organizing your employees in sales to maximize their impact is very valuable to every business.
What kind of mapping software would you need?
There are many different mapping software solutions available, with various features and functionalities, available for purchase or rent, cloud-based, with prices that can vary quite a bit.
The main question of which software to use will depend greatly on the needs of your business. For example, if you are collecting data about your audiences via implementing id-sources.json, and storing this data as Excel or CSV, you need a map that can read different types of data you store in your spreadsheets and visualize it in a simple way so that your employees can read it without spending hours to analyze it.
Overall, you will always have two solutions. You can either find an already available solution and implement it in your processes,
OR
You can create your own. In case you did not find the kind of mapping software that responds to all your needs, or you might want to take a step further from what is offered in the market, you can develop the solution yourself.
Tailor-made software is usually an elegant way to optimize the workflow, scale your business, and strengthen your partnerships. For example, if you need software that makes nice interactive maps presentation, the program you develop can be branded and recognizable by your collaborators and your investors at all times.
Even though it sounds like a great investment, developing software can be quite expensive, especially for businesses that do not have an in-house IT development team. In this case, a good option for you could be to outsource this task to a remote team of developers, or an agency. If you are looking for the best value, consider outsourcing software development to Mexico, to get the best quality and a solid price.
To wrap up
Mapping software can be a rather useful tool for many aspects of your business. It can both help you strengthen your internal operations, and improve your odds of scaling your business and emerging into new markets.
You have probably already used a sort of mapping to understand some of the demographic data about the visitors of your website, for example. We hope that this article helped you understand that different types of mapping software can be used for so much more.