June 28, 2007

Finding a New Retail Location? Stop Guessing

If you own a retail store, and or looking to expand to another area, how do you know where to expand? Keeping a good customer database is one way. Over time you might spot a trend and find out that although when you initially opened your doors, your customers were within 1 - 2 miles of your retail store. But as you've grown you noticed that the zip code radius is only getting bigger.

You might have used business planning software to help guide you in creating your business plan. You probably use some accounting software to help manage your finances.

Why not use location optimization software to help you pick the site of your next retail store?

If you're a fast food retailer, following McDonald's could be a good idea. However, most of you are not McDonald's franchise owners.

geoVue makes software which helps companies know where to open their next store.

They recently touted that Papa Murphy, the sixth larges pizza chain with 1,000 locations in in 30 States and Canada is using their software. My guess is it's not cheap. But, if you are looking to optimize your next move - this software could save you hundreds of thousands of dollars or millions of dollars in the long run.

Their press release reads geoVue goes beyond simple site selection. It optimizes locations. Using its innovative solutions and domain expertise, geoVue develops predictive store trade areas that allow clients to decide which markets to enter, expand or exit; how they should optimize store networks within each market; and how to localize marketing and merchandising.

"Real estate remains most retailers' largest capital investment and plays a critical role in customer-centric business strategies," said geoVue CEO Rudy Nadilo.

Using software such as Microsoft MapPoint could be a starting point. You could import your customer location data and dates and get a visual representation of where customers are now and where they have been. You'll probably need a programmer to help you with this.

Bradley University has a nice overview entitled, "Choosing a Retail Location". Check it out.

0 comments