The world’s simplest and most intuitive mapping app
Between its built-in data and its ability to work with any data you add to it, Smappen is the best mapping software for business intelligence, strategy, and logistics. Manage your coverage areas, conduct market research, look up demographic data, and get the information you need to make the best decisions for your customers.
Manage your territories
Create and manage your sales or franchise territories, analyze your areas with demographic data, and map your customers.
Access demographic and POI data
Smappen gives you the exact indicators for each of your areas, straight from the census database. Start analyzing your areas to find the best location.
Import your own data
Conduct more in-depth analysis and import your own data (CRM, etc.) to understand your customers’ behavior.
I have been searching for this software for years! smappen is nothing short of incredible. It is exactly what I needed and produces fantastic results. And the user interface… It is so simple!
I manage 25 territories across the US for medical device sales distribution. Mapping territories for my reps has never been easier. smappen turned me into a hero at the company!
Exceptional and personal training and support. It did exactly what I wanted it to do, with a very high degree of accuracy.
What is mapping software?
Mapping software is any platform that processes and analyzes data within the context of a map. You can use mapping software to look up specific locations, compare demographic data to defined areas, and create your own custom maps that display this data.Creating and personalizing a map has lots of uses, such as geocoding, analyzing commercial performance, doing market research, and managing territories (franchise, sales, marketing, etc.). The data can be provided by the platform itself (e.g. demographic data) or can be imported by the user (e.g. CRMs, spreadsheets.
How do businesses use mapping software?
While you can definitely use mapping software in your personal life, it’s really best suited for businesses. Modern businesses rely on a ton of data to stay ahead of the competition, and using mapping software is just one way they can make the best of it. Here are a few ways that’s especially useful.
Market research
Demographic data is often used together with mapping software to research potential markets. Everything from income brackets to education levels and gender can be tied to specific locations to give marketers an edge.
Competitive analysis
This is especially important for large businesses that have competitors with multiple locations. When you’re trying to find every advantage you can, being able to cross-reference publically available data about your competitors with the data provided by mapping software is a huge asset.
Optimizing coverage areas
This is important for sales-driven businesses that have clearly defined territories and service businesses that want to ensure they’re not leaving any money on the table. By using mapping software, you can ensure your service specialists, delivery people, and sales teams cover as much of your target market as possible without too much overlap.
Improving logistics
Mapping software is especially useful for businesses that deal with products or services that depend on a solid logistical network. That’s true whether they’re trying to improve operations for a distribution center or keep construction sites well-supplied.
Location-based marketing
Some marketing efforts use GPS signals from smartphones and other location data to find prospects and put a product in front of them. With mapping software, a marketer can get a better sense of where their target market is and optimize their marketing campaigns.
What are some common features of mapping software?
While some features are obvious — like having some kind of visual map — not all mapping software is created equal. When choosing a platform for your business, here are some common features to look out for.
- The ability to easily draw custom maps.
- A wide breadth of built-in data, from census to points of interest data.
- The ability to import your own data.
- Integrations with other platforms and data sources.
- Collaboration and sharing options.
You might not need all these features, but you should use them to evaluate any mapping software you’re thinking of using.
What data does mapping software use?
Data is essential to mapping software. It’s not just about drawing maps, it’s about combining them with data to make better decisions. Some mapping software will have a ton of data sources to choose from, while others may be more limited. Nevertheless, here are some examples of data you’ll find in mapping software.
- Points of interest
- Census data
- Demographic data
- GPS coordinates
- Addresses
- Property lines
- Administrative boundaries
- Historical data
- Weather data
Depending on how you’re using mapping software, you might not need all this data. In some fields, however, the more data you can work with, the better.
How do you choose your mapping software?
There is a ton of mapping software out there, with each option being best-suited to different uses.
Before choosing a specific platform, you need to ask yourself a few questions to know exactly what you’re looking for:
- What is my need?
- What are the functionalities I need?
- What is my budget?
- How often do I need to use mapping software??
- What mapping skills or knowledge do I have?
- How much time do I have?
So what is the best mapping software?
There is no such thing as the “best mapping software”.
From platforms with a complex interface and a comprehensive array of functionalities (ArcGIS), to a simple, fast, and intuitive mapping tools (smappen), there is such a variety of mapping apps available, that the “best” option will be the one that best fits your needs.
Compare the features you find in each platform with its, price to get the best return on your investment.
Here is a list of common options for mapping software:
- ArcGIS
- BatchGeo
- Maptitude
- MapInfo
- QGis
- smappen
See smappen’s features.