Collecting and studying data is important to any business, so you know how you are doing and where you have opportunities to improve or grow. But sometimes, it’s difficult to really grasp what the numbers are saying. By placing data in charts or mapping it out, you gain a new perspective and often discover valuable insights. One of our favorite ways to visualize data is with heat maps. Whether we are looking at response data, market penetration, or expansion opportunities, heat maps show our clients which areas they need to target, so they can maximize the impact of their marketing efforts. We can use heat maps for many data analyses, but let’s look at three ways they can help you today.
Where are my responders coming from?
When you run a marketing campaign, it is important to collect and analyze your response data. This data shows you who was targeted and acted on your offer whether they filled out a form or made a purchase. But did you know that response data can show you more than total transactions or how much revenue was generated?
Heat maps allow you to see visually what’s going on with your responders. You can see exactly where your responders are coming from. Are they concentrated in certain zip codes or block groups? Do you have dead zones where absolutely no one responded? Are there any geographical barriers preventing people from easily reaching your store? When you analyze this information more in depth, you will get a better understanding of what areas you should be targeting and maybe which ones you should stop pouring advertising dollars into.
What’s my marketing penetration?
Market penetration studies show you how much you have saturated the market. Do you have room to grow? Market penetration will take your current customers and identify look-a-like prospects in the area. When combined with a heat map, you can see where you have the highest concentration of customers and where you have the greatest opportunity to reach top prospects. Use this information to create strategic marketing plans to target the areas with the most potential and win new customers.
Where should I open a new location?
If you have saturated your current market or are looking to expand, you need to choose your new area carefully. By studying who your customers are and the areas around your current locations, you will get a good idea of what you are looking for. That data can then be placed into a heat map which will provide a clear picture. It will highlight other areas that share similar or identical characteristics as your thriving locations. You can see what cities or parts of town you need to be in as well as which to avoid. This will help you narrow down your search for the perfect location.
Data analyses provide enormously helpful information, but sometimes, you need to view that information in a different format to truly see what’s going on. Heat maps are a great way to plot out the data and give you a new perspective on how to help your business grow.
If you are interested in learning how you can utilize heat maps to enhance your marketing strategy, let’s connect.