4.0 Introduction to Lesson 4

As Buckner explained in Chapter 2, both "location" and "site" are market concepts that are rich with broad sets of data to characterize these geographic entities. In Lesson 3, your initial inquiry into the market you selected should have demonstrated the breadth of possible viewpoints one can use for market exploration and analysis. Site selection, therefore, can be amply supported by vast sources of relevant data. The business analysis challenge then becomes choosing the right factors to analyze and in which combinations.

Here, Church's 3 Laws of Location Science guide the market analyst to selecting the best suited data. These simple rules help us to home in to the most important criteria to pick among the vast repositories available. The result will be more efficient and effective analyses (Church, pp.8-9).

1. Some locations are better than others for a given purpose.
2. Spatial context can alter site efficiencies.
3. Sites of an optimal multisite pattern must be selected simultaneously rather than independently, one at a time.

Before we settle into our data selections, we will expand our perspective further by exploring a second data source, the Esri Tapestry geolocation segments. While the Tapestry data is somewhat akin to the Nielsen PRIZM data in its purpose, the two sources provide unique points of view on similar underlying historical data. In this lesson, comparing and contrasting alternative geographic data will expand our analytical perspectives and prepare us for insightful analysis using GIS systems such as Esri's Business Analyst Online (BAO).

There's an important tenet of providing a unique customer experience. A company's effort should focus on solving a consumer's need with a product or service, drawing customers to your business, and creating a satisfying experience to build loyalty.

What is due for Lesson 4?

Lesson 4 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.