With so much data today contained in CRMs and other data solutions software, you might ask, why mapping data matters at all?
As discussed in a previous post, data is growing faster ever. Not long ago, before the abundance of CRMs and analytics software, finding quality data was difficult, as it was hard to gather. Now, with the advancement of technology, it’s much easier for organizations to quickly obtain vast amounts of data. However, finding that quality data can still be as much of a problem today. Instead of the lack of data being the problem, it’s now too much data.
Data visualization can be a huge asset in filtering through the noise in your data. But there can be many forms of data visualization tools from videos and infographics to mapping. From a sales point of view, mapping data is one of the most powerful forms of data visualization that can be used by sales teams and sales managers. Mapping data is sometimes overlooked today. After all, businesses have all their data stored in the cloud, databases, CRMs, or spreadsheets and many visualize this data already through charts and graphs. However, most sales data today contains location information within it, whether that’s a customer’s address or a sales territory. This makes it the perfect type of data to be suited for a map.
Mapping sales territories
A territory is an area that’s assigned to a sales or service person to manage. You can’t get a sense of the scale of a territory by viewing it through text or graphs, so it makes sense to map a sales territory. There’s no better way to view a territory than on a map.
Nearly all sales teams work within territories. A territory map of your sales data provides you with a variety of data at a glance. For example, in the territory map below, you can see the high performing territories at a glance. Using the legend, you can quickly switch between Q1 and Q2, highlight the locations of leads and prospects, the nearest airports to each, and even the density of accounts. Try it out for youreself:
View a larger version of Territory Performance 2015 created with eSpatial mapping software.
Identify gaps and respond quickly
Mapping your sales makes your data look good, but also makes your team’s job easier and faster. You need to know where customers, leads and prospects are based to be able to identify patterns, plan routes and more.
Applications of mapping software include using a radius map, which takes two sets of data and lets you focus on their spatial relationship. They’re particularly suited to showing gaps in the market or where there are too many resources being used (Find out more about radius maps here).
By mapping customers, field sales teams can quickly see their closest customers and plan the most efficient route between them (find out more about route optimization here). Data visualization through these types of maps can be extremely revealing and point out relationships and connections that wouldn’t have been possible from spreadsheets.
These are just some of the reasons why mapping your data matters. Visualizing data helps your company find, understand, and share quality data. Applications are also proven to save time, money and improve the performance of your business.
Data visualization in minutes
Maps showing your spreadsheet data can be set up in minutes and used in meeting or for client presentations. Find out how to turn your Excel spreadsheet into a map.
For more tips on data visualization and why mapping matters in today’s business world, download our eBook “Drowning in Data: Bring Insights to the surface with Data Visualization”