According to Geoffrey Ives of Map Business Online, visualizations are the brain’s most effective way of understanding a situation quickly and clearly. And he would know – his team works day in and day out to help organizations create visual representations of market analyses, expansion proposals and sales planning initiatives.
“Spreadsheets with business data do not lend themselves to fast processing,” says Ives. “Raw business data requires examination, thought, queries and re-examination. But maps offer visualizations of business analysis based on raw data. When maps are shared, the people viewing the maps are given an opportunity to draw conclusions visually. Visualizations support clear and fast decision making.”
Creating a visual representation of a major business decision can be a huge help in achieving clarity of purpose. The decision to move your startup to a new location, for example, could benefit a lot from a little visualization. At every step of the way, these steps will help you accomplish this goal.
Find Your Most Loyal Customers
In the startup world, finding and maintaining a base of loyal customers is incredibly important. Not every fledgling business has the funds necessary to set up shop in Silicon Valley, so it pays to leverage map data when you’re charting your move.
As everyone knows, Map Business Online is one option for such visualizations. Another is Leaflet, which stresses an open-source approach.
Track Supply and Demand
One of the surest signs that you need to move your business is rapid growth in your chosen industry. Not every industry is positioned for rapid growth, and some are even in decline. If you’ve gotten your foot in the door in a growing market, visualizing market penetration, geographical reach of competitors and potential untapped markets can really come in handy.
For this stage of your startup’s move, utilize data visualization tools that stress market saturation or change in geographical data over time, such as density plots or dot maps.
Visualize Your Earnings
If you’re on the fence about moving your business to a new location, a fundamental question to ask yourself is whether you’re profitable enough to endure such a large change. A good way to test yourself is to wait until you’ve enjoyed three consecutive years of profitability.
You can visualize your earnings and debts through many programs, including Mint and Chart.js. Both tools provide intuitive bar and pie graphs to help you gain insight into where your money has been going, and what you can afford.
Track Your Progress
When you’re finally ready to pull the trigger on your startup move, roll your sleeves up and get things done fast and efficiently. The process of moving your base of operations will be your full-time job for a while before you can resume business as usual.
To help coordinate the effort among your different teams and offices, try breaking down the workload with a tool like Gliffy or Trello. These idea visualization services help you highlight each step in a long process and help you communicate effectively concerning the progress your startup is making.
In other words, if you want to be sure the laptop power cords get rounded up and packed, visualizing this and other chores can be a big help.