Expansion Planning Using Heat Maps

Problem: Need to Transform New Product Success into New Market Opportunities

ABC Furniture manufacturing manufactures and distributes furniture through show rooms across the Eastern USA. The ABC reclining chair profits have proved to be significant and the company is interested in developing the market further. The best way to accomplish this is to either build showrooms or partner with showrooms in underserved areas.

Solution: Visualize Sales with MBO Heat Map - Find ZIP Codes for Growth

ABC uses Map Business Online to graphically display where sales most often occur, and by omission, where they do not occur at all. The MBO ZIP code layer is turned on and color coded to reflect ZIP codes with the highest Median Income per Population, a ratio calculation. These rust red colored ZIP codes should be the best target areas for growth.

Next, a dataset of 2016 recliner sales by outlet address is imported into MBO and turned into a Heat Map layer. The brighter blue hot spots reflect areas of intense sales, the cooler darker spots show less sales, and again by omission, reflect areas with no sales that are under consideration for better representation.

How to Create a Retail Sales Heat Map

1. Make sure your data records have at least two columns. One column for location and a second column with numeric data describing your subject – in this case, sales of recliners
2. Import your location or address based dataset into Map Business Online
3. Click the Heat Map Button on the Master Toolbar
4. Select your target data set and make sure the numeric data column is selected
5. Choose an appropriate color scheme and an intensity setting
6. Process your heat map

To display the heat map against a demographic scheme:

1. Turn on the ZIP code layer
2. In Map & Data, hover over the ZIP code layer and click the Edit Gear. Choose Manage Calculated Data Columns. Add a Data Column, name it, and pick the operation parameters – Overall Population/High Med Income
3. Use the Color Code Map button, accessing your Calculated Data option (from 2) and color code ZIP codes to best reflect your target market

Your best ZIP codes for new showrooms supporting new sales opportunities will be ZIP codes with optimum demographics and no sales activity, and nearby ZIP codes with optimum demographics close to areas with maximum sales activity, perhaps within a specific drive time distance of existing stores – for example an hour’s drive away.

Here’s a video describing the Heat Map Retail Planning Process outlined above.

Learn How Our Customers are Succeeding with Map Business Online

"I have had the pleasure of using MapBusinessOnline for the past 5 years and it is an excellent and affordable tool for my clients. I am a franchise consultant, and many of my clients are just starting to get into franchising. The first main question many of them have is they don’t know the demographics around their current location, so they don’t know how to create territories for their franchisees. I am able to easily utilize MapBusinessOnline to draw a prototype territory around their existing location, do a deep dive into the many different demographics that MapBusinessOnline offers, and help the client determine the basics of their new territories, including mileage, population, household count, purchasing habits and age distributions. This tool has been so helpful that many of our clients obtain their own accounts as they begin to sell franchises and grow their business. Thank you, MapBusinessOnline, for providing such a helpful tool that is affordable and easy to use!"

Colette Bell
Director of Business Development
SMB Franchise Advisors

---

This leading national footwear brand manufacturer uses Map Business Online to conduct retail coverage assessments nationwide. They loved MBO’s ability to provide both street level detail and USA wide high level views of points-of-sale. Importing location enabled address databases for symbolization and color shading is easy. New and planned stores can be added to the map market analysis as products are launched and mature.

"Importing location enabled address databases for symbolization and color shading is easy."

Todd Eichelberger
Sales Director
Adidas

---

A leading provider of automated storage and retrieval systems, Kardex Remstar has a multi-layered distribution network in North America. Mapping regional sales territories and sales districts using ZIP codes and states. Kardex Remstar tapped into MBO territory creation services to make the process quick and easy. Detailed ZIP code tables were converted by Map Business Online into multiple maps describing their distribution network, sales coverage by customer segment, and product maps.

"The product is phenominal and the support even better."

Sales Manager
Kardex

Popular Map Business Online features

Emphasize customers density with heat maps

Highlight market areas that generate more business. Visually compare map areas for business potential. Select from a variety of heat map colors and options.

Learn more...

Color code maps by ZIP code, county, or state

Import business data by ZIP code to show it geographically. Create colorful maps for business analysis that connect real Census data to locations on the ground.

Learn more...

Display business data against demographic maps

Categorize geographic areas by population or household income. Explore new markets, business patterns, or social trends against color coded Census maps for business and competitor analysis.

Learn more...

Share business maps

Create interactive maps and share with friends, colleagues, dealers, customers, prospects or vendors. Share territory maps. Email saved JPEG and PNG files or embed map files in PowerPoint presentations. Includes PDF export for larger print formats.

Learn more...