Every business has data. How are you going to use it? Today we talk about analyzing customer data based on location and psychographics. Location or geospatial data is becoming easier to analyze using free tools such as Google Fusion Tables. Psychographics sounds complicated, but it just means going beyond demographics like age and gender to more lifestyle and behavior based analysis. Psychographic data is available from vendors like ESRI.
First, you have to have some data to analyze. Today’s businesses realize that data is an asset just like a building, equipment or inventory. It requires some investment of time to collect and protect quality data.
Next decide what business questions to ask of your data. Some examples of business questions:
– Geographic: Where do most customers live?
– Demographic: Which customers have children and have a certain income?
– Psychographic: Where do I find customers with similar behavior?
Find a tool. If most of your questions revolve around location alone, then simple tools such as Google Fusion tables can help you quickly map and view your customer data.
If your questions are reaching into other factors about your customers such as income, average number of children, own vs. rent or other behavior factors, then tools from ESRI may fit the bill. For ease of use, ESRI offers desktop tools that work with Microsoft Office. If you already have business intelligence systems, ESRI has tools that work with IBM Cognos, Microsoft SharePoint and other software platforms. These tools allow you to search for customers by area and behavior, such as ‘Little Green Acre’ or ‘Soccer Moms’.
Stay tuned for more infol on how to map your customers.
Sign up for updates to receive an email when the next article comes out.