Geographic Enterprises, LLC

Is your Franchise Expanding Internationally?

Rich Mithoff — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 23:46:48 +0000

Franchise Companies are growing quickly these days and much of this growth is seen internationally. Now with growth comes growing pains which we all know is a normal part of business. Don’t jump to any blind conclusions…when it comes to marketing, site selection and territory mapping, knowing what applications to use and how can be quite a daunting task.

With different countries comes different geographies and different data. Take for example the widely known United States five digit ZIP code. Everybody can identify with their home ZIP. On a side note, the ZIP code was introduced in 1963 and ZIP stands for Zone Improvement Plan. The ZIP code is a common geography for Franchisors to define their territories in the States. They are easy to use with demographic data or with your own company data. But when crossing the border north into Canada you will need to find another option. A similar geography in Canada is the Postal Code, a 6-digit code made up of letters and numbers, but they are MUCH smaller. Boundaries for the first three characters of the Canadian Postal Code (known as the FSA or Forward Sortation Area) are most similar in size to US 5-digit ZIP codes. Every country has their own unique geographies…what also compounds the challenge of marketing, site selection and territory mapping is the data.

Data is a key component to any marketing and mapping efforts. What are your data sources? Are they reputable? How often are they updated? What is the source? In the US, the dicennial Census takes place every ten years. Currently in process the 2010 Census Data will not be widely available until early 2012 at best. Data providers are still using the 2000 Census and its updates to create current and more “marketing friendly” estimates and projections. Most companies release annual updates and one, our partner PopStats, releases quarterly updates. The Canadian Census is performed every 5 years, with the most recent being 2006.

Now, throw in Europe, Asia, Latin America and other regions around the world in and it can get pretty confusing. GeoMetrx has access to most of the more industrialized countries and datasets and they are all capable of accurate site analysis, territory mapping and alignment and other marketing capabilities for the internationally expanding franchise.

Stay Grounded,

Rich

If you are interested in our service, or just want to ask me a few questions regarding international data sources please feel free to call or email. My contact info is below.

Rich Mithoff | Geographic Enterprises | 888.848.4436 x4 | rich@geo-e.com

Where are Americans Moving?

Rich Mithoff — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 06:21:40 +0000

This is a very interesting map from Forbes.com and Jon Bruner showing the migration patterns in several major US Counties. The data is 2008 but still very intriguing. Check out your county, is it growing or shrinking? Los Angeles appears to be in decline while King County (Seattle Area) is growing. Dallas appears fairly even with inward and outward movement.

Click here to see the interactive map

You can clear the lines and find your county for more relevant data.

Geographic Enterprises partners with the Winvale Group to Bring GeoMetrx to the Federal Market

Kent Hargesheimer — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 16:25:32 +0000

Wake Forest, NC – Geographic Enterprises (GE) has formalized an agreement with the Winvale Group to get included on the GSA Schedule 70 (Information Technology) and bring the GeoMetrx web-based Software as a Service application (SaaS) decision support application to the Federal marketplace.

“GE’s GeoMetrx offering fits nicely into our growing list of products from partners offering SaaS solutions. There is a growing need within the Federal Marketplace for the data sets the GeoMetrx platform aggregates and provides” said Kevin Lancaster, Managing Partner at the Winvale Group.

GeoMetrx is available as an annual subscription service with a robust suite of geographically organized datasets of particular interest to the Federal market including;

Federal Funding
- Most current and 14 years of historical data
- Includes names of funding recipient

Occupation, Employment & Wage
- Data Down to 5 digit NAICS

Record level business information

Current year and historical demographics updated quarterly

Patents
- 25 years of historical data

Venture Capital
- 5 years of historical data

These datasets and more are available with unlimited access to; street level mapping, thematic mapping from State to ZIP to Census Block Group level, geographic reporting, and interactive charting. Customers can also load their own proprietary data to analyze within the GeoMetrx application.

“We are excited to bring GeoMetrx to the Federal market to assist policy makers better target, allocate, measure, and assess the success of government programs and investment.” states Kent Hargesheimer, GE Managing Partner.

More information is available at GeoMetrx.com.

About Geographic Enterprises, LLC: GE provides geographic business intelligence solutions to help manage and grow business. GE’s long term focus is on the science to study & visualize geographic space-time relationships to support better decisions. More information about GE is available at www.geo-e.com.

About The Winvale Group – The Winvale Group partners with technology manufacturers in an effort to bring its public sector clients best-in-class technology solutions. Located on Pennsylvania Avenue in the heart of Washington, DC, the firm is one of the nation’s fastest-growing information technology solution providers in the United States. Supporting this assertion is Winvale’s recent recognition as one of the “Top 100 Companies in Washington DC” by Inc. magazine, and its selection as one of the “Five on Fire” by SmartCEO magazine for both 2008 and 2009. www.winvale.com

New and Established Franchises Benefit from the GeoMetrx Territory Manager

Rich Mithoff — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 20:34:36 +0000

I never thought such a simple, logical feature such as viewing data at a ZIP Code level would be such a tremendous benefit to franchise companies. That is a recurring theme I hear on a daily basis, “can you help me create territories by zipcodes based on populations segments of 200,000?” From Junk Removal to Children’s Services, Franchise Developers save money and countless hours by creating territories and managing them online. There are a few of these applications out there but I am not aware of any that are web-based and at the price point GeoMetrx is…starting at just $1990 a year. Very well equipped subscriptions are generally less than $5000 a year.

How can Franchise Developer use GeoMetrx for Territory Management?

Import and Export territory structures including geography based (postal-code) or point based (retail stores, home based businesses, hospitals)
Build new Territories accurately and equitably in just minutes
Balance Territories based on hundreds of demographic variables (Households, Income, Owner Occupied Housing Units, etc.)
Create customized territory maps within GeoMetrx or utilize our Google Earth/Maps export
Minimize travel-times
Run real time scenarios for potential clients and distribute territory reports to their owners instantly via the web

Want to see GeoMetrx in action? Please click here to request a personalized demonstration.

Some images below will give you a sneak peek into the GeoMetrx Territory Manager (click to enlarge)

Territory Manager Interface

Google Earth Export

Balancing Chart

Effective territory management is critical to maximize revenue, why limit an are to 3 territories when it can support 4? The cost of leaving a territory on the table is a loss of thousands of dollars. GeoMetrx is the application that can ensure maximum profitability.

Don’t hesitate to contact me directly with any questions. To schedule a web-demonstration, click here.

Stay grounded,

Rich Mithoff | 888.848.4436 x4

Geographic Enterprises launches GeoMetrx Web-based Subscription Service

Kent Hargesheimer — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 20:29:45 +0000

Wake Forest, NC – Geographic Enterprises (GE) is proud to announce the official launch of GeoMetrx, a web-based Software as a Service application (SaaS) decision support application for in-depth market and economic analysis. GeoMetrx is an easy-to-use suite of tools for data mapping, reporting, and visual analytics.

“The business community has been leveraging similar decision support tools and techniques to build their businesses and maximize return on their investments for decades” states Kent Hargesheimer, GE Managing Partner, “With the launch of GeoMetrx, we are drastically reducing the costs so we can bring decision support access to a much broader community.”

GeoMetrx is available as an annual subscription service with a wide variety of geographically organized datasets including;

Current year and historical demographics updated quarterly
Malls, Shopping Centers and Retail Locations
Crime data
Federal Funding
- Current and 14 years of historical data
- Includes names of funding recipient
Patents
- 25 years of historical data
Venture Capital
- 5 years of historical data
Employment & Wage
- Data Down to 5 digit NAICS
Record level business information

More information is available at GeoMetrx.com.

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A Memorial Day map tribute to the men and women who gave their lives defending our freedom.

Rich Mithoff — Mon, 31 May 2010 21:41:11 +0000

This is a very touching map from CNN.com providing a snapshot into the lives of our service men and women who gave their lives defending our freedom.

Click the link below for a larger, interactive version.

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/war.casualties/index.html

Census 2010 Form Questions – Coming Soon to a Mailbox Near You!

Rich Mithoff — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:57:17 +0000

In case you were wondering what data is compiled by US Census Bureau, take a peek at the form.

Click here for the CENSUS 2010 Questionnaire

The Census Bureau is touting it as one of the shortest in history with only 10 questions taking no more than 10 minutes to complete.

You may think the Census is just a way for the government to keep tabs on us but that’s not the case. (well, maybe a little) Its actually a very important tool to gauge how to allocate resources and federal funding to infrastructure and services. Hospitals, Emergency Services & Disaster Relief, Schools, Senior Centers and more all benefit from comprehensive data.

Companies like Geographic Enterprises compile this data for easy use and access to Economic Development Organizations, Demographic & Market Researchers, Commercial Real Estate Firms, Assisted Living Communities, Chambers of Commerce and more. For companies to make accurate decisions on where to open their next location, who to target with direct mail and how to build a balanced sales territory it imperative to have as the best demographic resources at your fingertips. This simple 10 question form is where it all starts.

Want to see this data in action? Feel free to contact me personally for a Research360 web-demonstration to look at basic demographics, retail spending patterns, traffic patterns, federal funding data, venture capital data and even YOUR OWN company data.

Stay grounded,

Rich Mithoff

888.848.4436 x4

Census 2000 Mail Participation Rates

Rich Mithoff — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 06:56:16 +0000

Remember back 10 years ago when you received the 2000 Census questionnaire? Has it been a decade since the turn of the century?? Times sure have changed…Google was just 2 years old and Facebook & Twitter were still years away. A lot has happened since then, some good, some bad. But here we are, a new decade and new optimism. Lets take a moment to look back on the last Census and see how we can make this one even better. Its all up to us and our participation is key.

How did your community perform back in 2000? This map from the Census.gov site provides an interesting illustration.

Overall I’d say we did fairly well, definitely better than our typical voter turnout. Still some room for improvement…we can do this. Keep an eye out for your questionnaire coming soon, mid-March is what the Census Bureau is saying.

Stay Grounded,

Rich Mithoff

The toll of the Great Recession on Major US Cities

Rich Mithoff — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 02:02:02 +0000

I found this interactive map on Portfolio.com showing the toll of the Great Recession on major US cities. The data is a little dated, 2008, but gives you an idea of some areas that have gained wealth and those that have lost wealth. Newport Beach, CA is leading the way with a with 28.6% of households earning over $200,000/yr and Reading, PA without a single household earning $200,ooo.

CLICK ON THE IMAGE BELOW FOR THE INTERACTIVE MAP

Heat Mapping Federal Spending

Kent Hargesheimer — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 22:47:21 +0000

This is a bit off subject, but interesting nontheless.

Check out this article & heat maps of the Federal Budget on the Atlantic Monthly website. Although they are not geographic maps, this technique (now commonly used to show stock market valuation changes by industry segment or company) is a great way of visualizing this data to make the point of how big entitlements have gotten and what changes are proposed in the new budget.

The interactive version of the heat map is on the New York Times site. Quickly switching back and forth between 2010 & 2011, you can see how segments of the budget expand & contract year-to-year. One of the most drastic changes is the $63 Billion increase in the Net Interest paid on our debt from $188 Billion in 2010 to $251 Billion in 2011. That is a 33.5% increase in one year. Ouch!

Stay grounded,

Kent