The demand for Business Intelligence (BI) developers has risen 15% in the last six months compared with the same period last year. And it is no wonder. The benefits of business intelligence can make a big impact on an organization’s bottom line. With actionable, technology-driven information to help executives make informed business decisions, smarter decisions get made, and profits increase.

One segment of BI is growing particularly quickly—location intelligence. Thanks to Google and other online information sources, nearly everyone is familiar with getting directions and finding restaurants. But businesses are using location intelligence do more than just find the best local takeaway.  They are using it to increase sales and decrease costs through a wide variety of location-based applications. 

Here are the top 5 ways businesses are using location intelligence to get ahead.

Customer analysis

Understanding the customer is critical for any organization, and location intelligence can play a big role by enriching customer data with demographic or lifestyle data based on where people live or by adding spatial data metrics - drive times to stores, for example. Location data can also aid in customer profiling, segmentation and prospecting efforts.

Site selection & expansion plans

Location intelligence tools can help retailers find the best location for a new store or suitable sites for an entire chain of stores. Potential store sites can be quickly evaluated and prioritized without the need for visits, based on local demographic and economic data and geographic factors such as transportation access, the location of competitors and site sustainability.

Advertising and marketing promotions 

Efforts to reach potential customers with targeted communications at the right place and time have long benefited from insight provided by location technology. And the possible uses are expanding in today's mobile-focused world. Customers are no longer associated with only a mailing address or postcode, but also with their location-enabled smartphone. Effective marketing messages can now be tailored based on where customers are at a particular time - for example texting a promotional offer for a store that the consumer has just walked into. 

Sales territory optimization

Location-based intelligence can greatly improve sales force productivity by helping companies design balanced sales territories to optimize coverage and customer service levels. Data on customer density, travel times between different sites, the locations of customers with high buying potential and other factors can be brought together and analyzed to ensure that territories are set up to reach customers efficiently.

Field service planning and tracking

Location intelligence tools have provided the means to map customer locations and plan maintenance and service activities for a while now - for example, through optimized vehicle routing. Now tablets and smartphones add the ability to track vehicles and workers in real time. Location intelligence software deployed on mobile devices can alert dispatchers when technicians approach, arrive at or leave a work site; how long they stay there; and whether they deviate from a specified route. Done effectively, that can result in lower operating costs and increased customer satisfaction.

It is said that 80% of the data in an organization has a location component. And with more and more workers carrying location-aware mobile devices, the amount and variety of data use-cases is only going to increase. If you aren't already, you should think about adding location technology to your BI and analytics program.

Your competition likely is.

To find talented BI developers that can help your organisation make the most of the latest location intelligence developments, please contact info@oliverparks.com today.

About Oliver Parks

Oliver Parks offers search-based recruitment solutions to the technology sector, specialising in the ERP, CRM, CMS, ECM, BI and Open Source Technology spaces. The firm’s multilingual consultants operate in narrowly-defined niche market segments, enabling them to gain extensive knowledge of the people and companies operating in each technology.  Oliver Parks has a proven track-record with more than 100,000 candidates worldwide and more than 300 clients globally.