Location data is defined as real-word decision intelligence used to inform business decisions such as marketing, advertising, and growth strategies. Its benefit lies within the ability to gain insight from the location or geographic component of business figures. 

Need further proof? 70% of companies consider location data critical to their ongoing success.

Despite its prevalence, here are five common misconceptions surrounding location analytics:

While it’s often quick and easy to retarget mobile devices than have been inside specific venues, location analytics go beyond this initial step. Businesses with data science capabilities have started to leverage proximity and location data in the following ways:

• Attribution — matching ad impressions to store visits and measuring the success of a campaign to inform future initiatives 
• Audience Modeling — creating target group custom segments through foot traffic data
• Predictive Analytics — utilizing previous customer visitation patterns to predict where they are going next

“Big Data” isn’t about using large quantities of data — rather, it’s about tapping into any available data to uncover monumental insights. The benefit of running a smaller business is that you can often see the benefits of data insights immediately. By using data to isolate an ineffective point on the supply chain, a small retailer can pinpoint cost and time savings.

It’s an unsubstantiated claim that mapping and analysis is a niche skill performed by analysts.

Geographic intelligence systems are actually quite accessible and often intuitive for non-technical users. In fact, users can easily derive powerful business insights from customizable solutions. 

A survey of the geographic analytics market from Geospatial World indicated that the fastest growing segments of geospatial technology are web and mobile. A major reason for this is due to technological improvements creating clear instructional support for users. Therefore, as long as businesses augment their existing functionalities with manageable and purposeful tools, a specialized deployment background is unnecessary.

It is widely assumed that because there are many moving parts to location analytics, the data collection process and subsequent technological deployment is time consuming.

On the contrary, however, thanks to the technological revolution over the last decade, setup time for location data has gone from months to a matter of weeks. Once applied, these analytics can help group customers and products and ultimately aid businesses in understanding what drives profit and growth.

Businesses can measure data on a daily basis, but this is only a successful undertaking if it drives action. It is essential to collect data from a variety of sources, such as from a location intelligence company, and analyze the findings over time to make decisions and alter strategies going forward when optimizing insights. 

Although the market has come a long way in understanding real-world behavior, there are still many misconceptions surrounding location analytics. Fortunately, businesses have started to leverage location and proximity data in powerful ways in order to increase campaign ROI. The ultimate goal is to provide relevancy and scale within a consumer-centric platform. 

Ready to dive further into the advantages of location data? Check out Gravy’s location insights.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2018/02/11/what-new-in-location-intelligence-for-2018/#6eb1ec6f14b5
https://www.skyhook.com/blog/business-benefits-of-location-insights