INDUSTRY RESEARCH

Dealernews Research

By Don Musick

FINDING WALDO Part II

DRILLIN’ DOWN

To give you a better feel for the rich detail available in Tapestry, Fig. 6 shows a Census Block Group level zoom on the greater Miami area. Clicking on any Block Group opens a pop-up containing high-level demographic statistics as well as the dominant Tapestry segment in the Block Group. The Tapestry segment in the pop-up is actually a hyperlink which will open a detailed analysis of the segment as shown in the inset below. To see a complete profile of the “Urban Chic” segment, click on this link.

With this shiny new tool in our toolkit, how can we use it to determine the composition of our customer base? One approach would be to overlay customer base and trade areas data that we created in Google My Maps and Google Earth into ArcGIS Online. The bad news here is that ArcGIS Online has limited data import capabilities and does not support KML. Soooo…. Back to Google My Maps!

CONTOUR CURTAIN CALL

We wrapped up last month’s article with creating and exporting a set of drive time contours (isochrones) created in ISO4API. The exported KML file was then opened in Google Earth along with “Demo Retail” location data which had been exported from Google My Maps in KML format. This time we’ll do the opposite and import the KML contours into My Maps.

As a reminder, you can access your “Demo Retail” My Map directly from Google Drive in the Google apps menu on the Google homepage as shown in (Fig. 7).

Once the “Demo Retail” map has opened, from the sidebar menu select “Add Layer” and a new “Untitled Layer” will appear on the sidebar along with an “import” option below. As always, the “Untitled Layer” can be renamed to something more meaningful before or after importing the contour KML files (Fig.8).

After each contour is added to the map, it will appear as a solid color shape. However, clicking anywhere on the shape will generate a pop-up that shows the contour name as well as “Style” icon which allows you to adjust the polygon color, transparency and and border width (Fig. 9). Set the transparency to 100% so contours don’t obscure one another.

There is also an “Edit” icon which will allow you to change the pop-up display name to something more meaningful (20 Min in this case).

If everything goes according to plan, your Google My Map should look something like Fig. 10.

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The inset is a close-up showing 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 minute drive time contours.

LIFESTYLES OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS?

While we can’t (easily) import our retail location and trade area boundary data directly into ArcGIS Online, we can arrange a tandem view of My Maps and Tapestry in separate browser windows (Fig. 11). Since most online mapping services use the same set of standardized zoom levels, it’s pretty easy to navigate to near identical views. In this example, My Maps drive time contours are on the left side and Census Block Group level Tapestry data on the right. Zooming in closer and adding retail location data shows that a majority of customers are found in the Tapestry Group “Uptown Individuals” (light blue – 3 sub segments) and to a lesser extent the “Upscale Avenues” (Lime Green – 4 sub segments). Again, if you click on a Census Block Group, an info bubble will open containing high level demographic stats and a hyperlink to the Tapestry Group sub segment (“Laptops and Lattes” in Fig. 12). Details of the “Laptops and Lattes” segment can be found on this link.

X MARKS THE SPOT (ALMOST)

ESRI’s Tapestry overview (this link) states:

“Tapestry gives you insights to help you identify your best customers, optimal sites and under-served markets by understanding customers’ lifestyle choices, what they buy and how the spent their free time”.

So, with a little detective work, you can determine the geographic reach of your customer base (as drive time contours) as well as the lifestyle factors that influence their behavior as consumers. And, although we’ve come a long way getting to this point, we’re still not done! Stay tuned for our next installment where we’ll dig into purchase potential, spending behaviors and more!

From his first motorcycles (a Honda S65 and an S90) when he was 16 to 50 years later, Don Musick has never stopped twisting the throttle. Although his accomplishments in the research arena have surpassed his MX career Don has over 25 years experience with major manufacturers in the Powersports and Automotive industries specializing in e-business solutions for retail distribution networks. His solution portfolio includes the development and implementation of manufacturer/dealer extranets, consumer-direct commerce portals, manufacturer/dealer e-channel integrations as well as development of web-based sales force automation tools. For most of his career, Don has been fascinated (his wife would say obsessed) with geographic market analytics, dealer location planning and sales territory optimization. He founded Genesys Technology Solutions (GenesysTech) http://www.genesystech.com/ to develop new tools and market intelligence products to help manufacturers understand the competitive landscape of their industries, recognize opportunities and grow their businesses. A Spartan to the core, Don earned a B.S. in Physiology and PhD in Biochemistry from Michigan State University. Contact: dmusick@genesystech.com