Clearly understanding customer and prospect locations, behaviors, and preferences for operations, sales and marketing teams is crucial in driving better engagement and results. Choropleth maps offer an insightful visualization tool to uncover hard-to-see patterns and reveal untapped opportunities from quantitative data.
This post will define choropleth maps, explore what kinds of data they can display, and discuss their pros and cons for sales and marketing use cases.
A choropleth map uses geographic boundaries to plot quantifiable attributes. These geographic areas, such as ZIPs, counties, states, or other regions, are colored or patterned in proportion to a variable shown on the map.
For example, a choropleth map of the United States could color states based on average household income, with darker shades representing higher income levels. This immediate visualization makes comparisons and spotting trends effortless.
You create choropleth maps using geographic information systems (GIS). Data is assigned to a geographic layer, such as state or county boundaries. The mapping program then assigns visual values corresponding to the data values, such as color shades or heatmap intensities. It marries spatial and statistical data to reveal patterns embedded within geography.
Choropleth maps visualize data that has been aggregated and is tied to predefined regions on the map. Some common examples of choropleth map applications include population density, income levels, sales figures, customer concentration, and more. In short, they empower analysts and decision-makers to comprehend patterns in their business metrics quickly.
Before we get to the advantages and limitations, let’s first answer one crucial question: what is the purpose of a choropleth map in the first place? Simply put, choropleth maps aim to visually communicate data that has a geographic component by mapping variable rates or values across an area using color gradients or shades.
Some common applications include:
Choropleth maps' diversity makes them versatile storytelling tools for various strategic business objectives. Let's discuss some key advantages and disadvantages to understand their utility better.
For ops, marketing and sales teams, choropleth maps unlock several compelling benefits compared to tables of numbers alone. Some of the most persuasive choropleth map advantages in sales and marketing include:
The advantages of choropleth maps are plentiful, but it's also essential to understand some of their inherent limitations, as no single report type will perfectly convey all insights. Here are a few limitations of choropleth maps:
Aggregating stats to boundaries results in a loss of location-specific accuracy. However, their trade-off unveils macro trends better than dot distribution maps for quick strategic understanding.
While this level of generalization can still provide insights, in some cases, a dot distribution or pin map may preserve more granular detail than a choropleth map loses.
The predefined geographic partitions that define choropleths, like census tracts or county borders, may not align with natural market seams. Heat mapping, which utilizes kernel density estimation to display graduated symbols according to the density of underlying points, can offer an alternative view of concentrated activity not constrained to rigid borders.
Choropleth maps have the potential to spatially distort data values as they are aggregated to unevenly sized predefined regions. Bubble maps, where circles proportional to data values are placed on a map, can avoid this issue by accurately representing quantities rather than values influenced by boundary geometries.
With a cutting-edge mapping platform like eSpatial, teams can leverage the full choropleth map advantages in sales and marketing through location-based insights without barriers to entry.
Intuitive yet powerful tools for territory mapping software, route optimization, and beyond unlock fresh perspectives through choropleth and specialized thematic visualizations.
Give your sales and marketing strategies an edge with data-driven location intelligence. Explore eSpatial's territory management software to begin seeing your markets with new clarity. Act now to transform latent opportunities into realized results!