3.0 Introduction to Lesson 3

Market Research provides relevant data to address the challenges that organizations face today and tomorrow. It is nearly impossible to segment a market or differentiate a product/service without market research. As such, it involves gathering, organizing, verifying, analyzing, and interpreting information that relates to the creation, delivery, and maintenance of products/services that meet or exceed customer expectations as they are positioned in the marketplace with respect to competitors.

For our purposes to develop location intelligence to solve business problems, brainstorm various sources of geospatial data which are relevant to the business question. Geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) analysts examine imagery and imagery products, imagery intelligence, and geospatial information for patterns, observations, changes, and to develop assessments. Similarly, geospatial analysts in the business, humanitarian, healthcare, or municipal sectors examine maps, geospatial data, GIS records, census data, imagery when applicable, geographic studies, and volumes of disparate data to develop location intelligence. Consider both geospatial concepts and business principles through the course to address each problem or assignment.

In this lesson, we will examine a geographic area within which an organization operates and draws most of its business. Site selection for a business doesn’t always refer to determining the most profitable real estate for a new store, coffee shop, or distribution center. It may also reflect:

• growing or shrinking a business chain in the right places & right ways (optimal for that business);
• identifying geospatial or human geography factors that influence Latin American customers to prefer certain product lines over South Asian customers;
• proximity isn’t always a least distance in a global eCommerce market.

A key feature is the advantage that location provides to the business: proximity to customers, markets, competitors, services, opportunities. Location intelligence is applying geospatial analysis to location-based business topics. To successfully accomplish this, you must have a thorough understanding of business strategies, geospatial science, and the analytical process involved. The purpose of a location intelligence study for business is not just marketing. The rationale may be using principles of location intelligence to discover customer behaviors and trends to predict future opportunities.

• Business expansion
• Planning and evaluating marketing campaigns
• Sales prediction and forecasting
• Store planning
• Product mix for customers, markets, or retail stores
• Supply chain networks
• Risk assessment
• Product inventory and asset management

As previously stated, begin each project or location intelligence project with the end in mind. How will the geospatial analyst present the results of their business problem modeling and location intelligence analysis to the project team, a decision maker, or requesting client? Geographic information systems (GIS) are often used to manage, analyze, visualize, and gain an understanding of geospatial data. Other courses in your graduate studies present far greater depth in the design of GIS, integrating GIS platforms into business operations, and managing data for an organization.

Learning Objectives

At the successful completion of Lesson 3, you should be able to:

• identify a trade area based upon demographic profile;
• identify a trade area based upon psychographic profile;
• identify physical and man-made features in a region (e.g. transportation networks) and discuss how these features can create a barrier to trade;
• describe how geocoding, thematic mapping, and buffer zones apply to market research;
• identify a Term Project topic relating to location intelligence.
• summarize ethics standards for data management

What is due for Lesson 3?

Lesson 3 will take us one week to complete. There are a number of required activities in this lesson, listed below. For assignment details, refer to the lesson page noted.

Note: Please refer to the Calendar in Canvas for specific time frames and due dates.