Geo mapping can help you define a target market, identify areas of growth or show the reach of products and services. Further analysis of the data can reveal top selling products by location, demographics by the location of customers or purchase history by location. The map visualizations can help companies assess the ROI of advertising efforts in order to recognize trends and changes over a period of time, narrow down a more effective direct mail list or even determine the best criteria for where to target social media ads.

The use of geo mapping spans different industries. For a simple example, imagine you’re a company who belongs to an industry that has many competitors located nearby, as well as a trend of consumers staying local for your service. The use of geo mapping could help you to define a radius that your services reach. This would then give you a better picture of what media outlets to use or who to include in a direct mail campaign. Mapping data gives companies a better feel for who their consumers are and better understand their position against competitors.

In industry studies conducted, geo mapping has been found to increase ROI in a number of areas. For instance, for one Canadian hardware retailer, RONA, geo mapping allowed the company to redefine their distribution plan for direct mail. The changes paid off when the company sent 10% fewer flyers to non-productive areas, which saved thousands of dollars per year.

For some companies mapping has been effective in recognizing demographics for geo targeting through social media to increase the ROI of their interactive budgets. Others have used it to better define the locations of their customers and identify media outlets that can best reach the areas. While not always perfect, the data from geo mapping can provide limitless options for building a good foundation for better enhancing advertising effectiveness.