Off the Shelf Small Business Mapping Software

All small businesses can benefit from inexpensive off the shelf CD Rom mapping software. If you own a business you need to where your customers are coming from, where you would like to expand your sphere of influence to, where your competitors are located and how to route your delivery vehicles. We recommend the following companies and CD ROM mapping software:

Rand McNally

Business Map

Delorma USA Map

Etak Maps

By printing a selection of nine maps at street level and taping them together you can get a pretty good indication of the area, you can then draw circles at 5 and ten mile radius to see where 80% of your business is most likely coming from. Etak relief maps show hills, mountains and elevations along with roads, highways, schools, libraries, post offices, government buildings, etc. Residential curvy roads usually indicate foothill areas or higher income areas (often both). Grid type residential areas near highways, freeways or railroad tracks indicate lower income areas. You can most likely pin-point your best customers and find the clusters so you know where to spend your marketing dollars or even get off your butt and walk door to door asking for their business.

If you are unsure of an area, which may be either commercial or residential simply click on a street, find a point and an address will display. Then click on all corresponding addresses. If a dot appears by most of the names, that indicates a business area. This area will be highlighted as a primary target area on the map.

By using Select-A-Map, we can cross-reference with fax numbers and know exactly where these faxes are located. We can also print out a list of every street considered business, commercial, industrial or retail in ascending address order. This is an incredible marketing tool. Nobody we have encountered is this heavy into the high tech front end marketing as we are. They just don't get it. They don't teach this in schools or universities yet. They would have to rewrite all the textbooks and get new professors. So much for tenure.

Look if you are not using these most basic tools you are missing out, because if you have sophisticated competition they already are. Think about it.

"Lance Winslow" - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs

---

Postcards Work

What's the fastest, simplest and cheapest way to promote just... Read More

Are You Losing Business?

As a small business owner, you are grateful for all... Read More

The M-Word (Marketing) Phase 2

Last month we looked at what you need to do... Read More

Promotions for Mobile Detailers

Mobile businesses are quite unique in the way they must... Read More

Direct Mail Marketing Done Correctly, Cannot Fail

So how do you do it?Direct mail marketing. When it... Read More

Common Exhibit Marketing Mistakes: Ten Tips on How to Avoid Them

The key to great exhibiting is marketing. But marketing is... Read More

Why You Buy

Behavioral economics is a new science that sheds light on... Read More

8 Lessons in Strategic Marketing A La Daddy Daycare

I bet you thought the movie "Daddy Daycare" was a... Read More

Website Marketing: 10 Uncommon Bonuses That Will Help Make Your Product Hotly In Demand

Giving away free bonuses is an important website marketing secret... Read More

Finding a Brochure Printing Company

A brochure can be a great promotional tool, whether it... Read More

Direct Mail - Dont Assume, Just Test and Track

Where to Start:Most novice marketers have definite fixed ideas about... Read More

Break Even On Your Next Direct Mail Campaign...And Still Generate Huge Profits

With direct mail, you can break even and still claim... Read More

Burnout

Today I want to share a question from a reader... Read More

The Surprise Inside!

Think about all those Cracker Jacks you ate as a... Read More

Top Ten Blunders Exhibitors Make in Expos/Tradeshows

Triple your response from expos by avoiding the top ten... Read More

Marketing and Advertising Techniques of Super Bowl Advertisers

Each year, advertisers with super sized budgets sink millions of... Read More

Tradeshow Booth Cures - Living Color

Feng Shui is the Ancient Chinese practice of configuring home... Read More

10 Powerful Marketing Tips

1. Print your best small ad on a postcard and... Read More

The Seven Deadly Sins of Ineffective Nametags

Your nametag can be your best friend. It can be... Read More

Marketing With Brochures

With the explosion of the internet and online businesses many... Read More

Marketing Discipline and the Joy of Success

Discipline Is Important.I recently read an article about why discipline... Read More

Do You Have This Important Tool in Your Marketing Arsenal?

Many business owners do not understand the authenticity and validation... Read More

Is It Time To Kill Your Marketing Program?

Ouch . . . sounds pretty drastic I know, but... Read More

A Complaint? It?s a Compliment! - 7 Tips for Dealing with Complaints at Trade Shows

A Complaint? It's a Compliment!What made you mad last week?In... Read More

Where Are Your Leads Coming From?

Most B2B marketers spend a great deal of time analyzing... Read More

Budget Marketing: Managing Your Marketing Money Wisely!

There's a saying that half of all marketing efforts are... Read More

Newsletters - A Great Way to Build Business Relationships

This is an excellent way to grow your business using... Read More

The Greatest Business Tips are FREE

The best way for someone to hang on to a... Read More

Lessons From a Six Year Old

My 6 year old daughter Emily knows exactly what she... Read More

If You Can?t Answer This Question Your Business is Doomed!

How do you answer the seemingly easy question, "What do... Read More

The 5 Minute Marketing Plan

If I were to ask you right now, what marketing... Read More

Census Data Mapping for Small Business

When studying the demographics of an area for a business... Read More

Digital Printing vs. Press Printing ? A Comparison Guide

When it comes time to print your brand identity materials,... Read More