Mapping software has revolutionized the way real estate agents and brokers navigate the property landscape, offering a bird’s eye view of the market, and providing invaluable insights that can help drive strategic decision-making.

With the right real estate mapping software, you can transform raw data into visually compelling, interactive visualizations that can help your team analyze and understand complex data with ease.

From identifying potential investment opportunities to visualizing property values across different neighborhoods or planning efficient property tour routes, the best mapping software has a multitude of applications in the real estate industry.

In this article, we will delve into the top 10 mapping software for real estate agents. We will explore their pricing, features, advantages and disadvantages, and online user sentiment, providing you with a comprehensive guide to help you choose the right territory and demographics tools for your needs.

As the real estate market continues to evolve, so too does the technology that supports it. Stay ahead of the curve by understanding how these top-tier geographic analysis tools can enhance your real estate business.

Let’s dive into the top 10 real estate mapping software for 2023:

1. Maptive – Best Overall Real Estate Mapping Solution

Image Source: Maptive Version 5 – Coming 2024

Pricing

Maptive offers several pricing plans.

• The 45-Day Pass costs $250 for 45 days for 1 user license.
• The Pro plan costs $1,250/year if billed annually or $110/month if billed monthly.
• The Team plan costs $2,500/year if billed annually or $220/month if billed monthly.
• For enterprise-level pricing, you need to contact Maptive directly.

Features

Maptive provides a wide range of geospatial analysis and data visualization features. It allows users to upload location data, draw freehand territories, and create territories from groups of boundaries.

It offers advanced optimization and visualization tools such as those for automatically balancing hierarchies (e.g., territories, districts, and regions) and for handling overlapping territories.

Maptive also offers a route planner, a map radius tool, a heat map generator, and a drawing tool among other features.

Advantages

1. User-Friendly Interface: Maptive is known for its intuitive and user-friendly interface, which makes it easy for users to navigate and use the platform effectively.
2. Multiple Variable Grouping Capabilities: Maptive allows users to group variables based on different data, enabling customization of territory maps.
3. Customized Heat Maps: The platform offers customized heat maps based on numerical data density like sales volume or marker density and demographic data like population density.
4. In-Depth Online Training and Tutorials: Maptive provides comprehensive online training and tutorials to help you understand how to use the platform effectively. It also offers a dedicated support manager on the Team and Enterprise plans.
5. Location Intelligence: Maptive offers powerful location intelligence features, including distance radii, drivetime polygons, demographic census data, customer data plotting, and sales territory mapping.
6. Route Optimization Capabilities: Maptive helps sales reps save time by providing optimized routes that create the most efficient sales routes. It also offers built-in directional tools that provide turn-by-turn directions.
7. Geographical Area Grouping: Maptive allows users to group geographical areas based on their total and/or average sales. This helps sales managers and reps visualize where the higher probabilities of a sale are located.

Disadvantages

Compared to other options for a field sales tool, Maptive can be expensive for smaller organizations or sales teams. A layered interactive map within this platform will actually consist of multiple high-quality maps and cannot be customized as much as an individual map.

User sentiment

Maptive is one of the best mapping software, highly appreciated for its user-friendly interface and comprehensive features with an average rating of 4.7/5 on G2. It is considered a great option for businesses with territory mapping needs or who want to visualize data at scale. However, some users have mentioned that it can be expensive for smaller teams that only need to use sales mapping tools a few times a year.

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Learn more about Maptive Real Estate Mapping Features

2. MangoMap – Low-Cost Mapping Solution

Pricing

MangoMap offers four plans:

• The Public plan costs $49/month
• The Business plan costs $99/month
• The Enterprise plan costs $199/month
• The Agency plan costs $399/month

Features

As a mapping software, MangoMap provides map visualizations, data editing, raster and WMS support, custom branding, and analytics integrations.

Advantages

It offers a simple and intuitive user interface and is flexible for managing, sharing, and displaying geo data.

Disadvantages

The number of features on MangoMap is limited compared to other tools in this article.

User sentiment

MangoMap has a great customer review rating of 4.5 out of 5.

3. BatchGeo – Best Free Solution for Bulk Location Mapping

Pricing

BatchGeo offers a free version as well as a paid version. The paid version, BatchGeo Pro, starts at $99/month.

Features

As a mapping software, BatchGeo provides capabilities for mapping multiple locations in bulk, and color-coding markers by attribute. Other features are very limited, making BatchGeo a good starting point for someone just looking for a way to map many locations at once.

Advantages

The main advantage of BatchGeo is its low cost and ease of use, putting it a step above Google Maps.

Disadvantages

What you can do once locations are mapped is very limited with Batchgeo as it’s mainly just a bulk mapping tool.

User Sentiment

User sentiment for BatchGeo is high with an average rating of 4.7/5.

4. Mapme – Affordable Mapping with 3D Features

Pricing

• The Story plan, which includes up to 40 locations, costs $39/month
• The Pro plan, which includes up to 40 locations, starts at $75/month
• The Pro+ plan, which includes up to 1,000 locations, starts at $150/month
• They also offer an Enterprise plan, with bespoke pricing

Keep in mind that the prices above include just 1 published map and will increase depending on how many more maps you want to publish.

Features

Mapme features include marker customization, a media gallery, 3D buildings, as well as embedding and sharing capabilities.

Advantages

The cost of Mapme is low if you only need real estate maps with a few locations but can add up quickly if you need to map more than 40 locations.

Disadvantages

The number of locations that can be mapped with Mapme is very limited compared to tools like Maptive and Batchgeo.

User Sentiment

Users rate Mapme 4.0/5 on average on software review sites.

5. Land id™ (formerly MapRight) – Best for Land Data

Pricing

• The Discover plan, which includes private property info, property boundaries, and 20+ map layers, costs $14.99 per user, per month
• The Pro plan, which includes 3 custom maps, custom db creation, map sharing, and high-resolution print maps, costs $49.99 per user, per month
• The Pro Unlimited plan, which includes unlimited custom maps, costs $79.99 per user, per month

Keep in mind that to create custom maps you will need at least the Pro version.

Features

Land id™ provides property boundaries, map layers, and waypoints as part of their parcel data. As far as real estate mapping goes, their property mapping provides map creation, mapping tools, sharing & embedding, photo and video, land panoramas, soil reports, and more.

Advantages

Land id™ lets users create maps that include private parcel data, property lines, and detailed land information. Plus, it works on both mobile apps and desktop devices.

Disadvantages

Land id™ is a relatively new mapping software, and it doesn’t have as many features as some of the more established options. For example, it doesn’t have a built-in GIS system, and it doesn’t support 3D mapping. Also, while it is designed to be easy to use, there is still a bit of a learning curve.

User Sentiment

Users give Land id™ (formerly MapRight) an average score of 4.3/5

6. CoStar LoopNet – For Commercial Real Estate Listings

Pricing

LoopNet is free to use but costs money to advertise on.

Features

While not really a real estate mapping software, CoStar LoopNet provides a lot of additional data on to the commercial real estate property industry that can’t be found anywhere else. Loopnet is the world’s largest commercial real estate marketing platform.

Advantages

CoStar LoopNet has an extensive database of commercial real estate properties, making it a valuable resource for buyers, sellers, and leasers. Users and clients also benefit from valuable market research and analytics for informed decision-making.

Disadvantages

It is primarily a listing and data platform, lacking the mapping and visualization capabilities of dedicated real estate mapping software tools. Plus, LoopNet’s focus for real estate agent is limited to commercial real estate, making it less suitable for those seeking residential property listings.

User Sentiment

User sentiment for CoStar LoopNet is generally positive, with many users appreciating the platform’s extensive property listings and market insights. However, some users express concerns about the costs associated with advertising on the platform.

7. Visme – Best for Real Estate Presentations

Pricing

• The Basic plan is free
• The Starter plan costs $29/month
• The Pro plan costs $59/month

They also offer a Visme for Teams option with bespoke pricing.

Features

Visme offers a comprehensive set of features for creating captivating real estate presentations. Users can access real estate-specific templates for listings, property showcases, and market reports. The platform offers customization features for bespoke branding and also lets users integrate data and statistics to showcase property details and market trends.

Advantages

Visme offers robust data visualization tools, making property information and market data compelling and easy to understand. Real-time collaboration features enable real estate teams to work together, ensuring materials are accurate and up-to-date.

Disadvantages

Users often encounter a learning curve in mastering this real estate mapping software. Additionally, monthly costs can add up, which may be a concern for larger teams or organizations.

User Sentiment

Visme has an average rating of 4.5/5 on G2.

8. Mapline – Good Solution of Location Intelligence

Pricing

Mapline no longer advertises its pricing on its website but plans as of 2020 started at $720/year for Pro, which included up to 10,000 locations, and $1,080/year for Enterprise, which included 30,000 locations.

Features

Mapline offers a full toolkit for location intelligence for real estate agents, including the ability to import data from spreadsheets and address lists, geocoding, territory management, heat maps, and customization options.

Advantages

Mapline welcomes users of all skill levels and offers robust data analysis, fostering insights from location data. Real-time collaboration maintains accurate, up-to-date maps.

Disadvantages

The lack of publicly available pricing on the website may make it challenging for potential customers to determine costs without directly contacting the company.

User Sentiment

While Mapline is rated highly on review sites, it is worth noting that each site only features a very low number of reviews.

9. Maptitude – Great for Desktop Mapping

Pricing

• The Online Subscription costs $420 per year, per user
• The Desktop Subscription costs $695 per year, per user
• You can buy their real estate mapping software to run offline for $995, with the option of yearly updates for $695.
• The Enterprise plan for up to 10 users costs $9,995 per year

Features

Maptitude is known to be a user-friendly platform equipped with a range of features, including data analysis and visualization, map overlays, demographic data, and Google Places data.

Advantages

It offers robust data analysis capabilities, empowering users to gain meaningful insights from their geographic information. The integration of demographic and Google Places data enriches location information, adding an extra layer of context.

Disadvantages

Their basic plan lacks a mobile app, which may restrict users who require on-the-go accessibility. Additionally, the absence of live chat support can be a drawback for those seeking immediate assistance or answers to questions.

User Sentiment

Maptitude is highly rated for its features with an average rating of 4.7/5 on G2.

10. Mapbox – Powerful Custom Solution

Pricing

Mapbox’s pricing structure is consumption-based, eliminating the need for upfront licenses or long-term contracts. It welcomes developers with a free tier, allowing them to start building without immediate costs.

Subsequent pricing is determined by usage, tailored to the specific product and version. For example, web map usage is priced based on API requests, sessions (map loads), or monthly users (seats), depending on the context of the application.

Features

Mapbox offers features such as map layers, interactive map features such as interactive hover effects, 3D mapping, feature querying, location search, and filter features.

Advantages

One of Mapbox’s primary strengths is its ability to produce compelling geospatial representations, making it a valuable tool for developers and businesses seeking to create engaging user experiences.

Disadvantages

Mapbox may not be the ideal choice for simpler projects given its steep learning curve, and its rigorous data standardization may introduce additional complexities. Some users find that the documentation’s examples fall short of providing a comprehensive understanding of the platform’s capabilities.

User Sentiment

Users on G2 give Mapbox an average rating of 4.3/5.

Elevate Your Real Estate Game with Real Estate Maps

In the ever-evolving world of real estate, the right mapping software can be your competitive edge. Among the top-tier options we’ve analyzed, Maptive stands out as the go-to choice for real estate agents.

Boasting an array of user-friendly features, Maptive empowers users to create visually compelling, interactive real estate maps, whether you’re identifying investment opportunities, assessing property values, or needing to create optimized routes. With pricing options catering to various needs, Maptive offers an attractive solution for businesses of all sizes.

As the real estate landscape continues to transform, adopting Maptive’s location intelligence tools can elevate your sales and marketing strategies.

Embrace the power of Maptive and take your real estate game to new heights.

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The post Top 10 Best Mapping Software & Tools for Real Estate Professionals appeared first on Maptive.

These tools allow you to enhance your maps by highlighting certain locations, adding arrows, inserting text, adding custom images, and more. But with so many different options available, which one is right for your project?

Please keep reading to discover our list of the ten best map drawing software. Learn what each tool has to offer so you can choose the one that meets your needs.

1. Maptive

Built using Google Maps API, Maptive offers all the benefits of the world’s leading mapping software, along with a wide array of additional options. Upload your dataset to get started.

With Maptive, you can:

• Create text bubbles and add notes to your map.
• Place arrows within your map to call out different locations.
• Number important points on your map.
• Add shapes, including circles, rectangles, and polygons.
• Draw lines between multiple points on your map.
• Draw shapes or write text using your mouse.
• Add icons from Maptive’s catalog, or upload your own custom images.

Maptive also offers a variety of other mapping tools. This includes heat maps, a route optimizer, drivetime polygons, territory mapping, and demographic data. There are many different base maps to choose from as well, including street maps and satellite maps.

Because Maptive is cloud-based, you can access your maps anywhere on any device or operating system, including Mac, PC, Linux, iOS, and Android. All you need is an internet connection. Once your map is complete, share it with team members by sending a link or embedding it on a website.

Click here to try Maptive now.

2. Scribble Maps

This is another free tool that’s surprisingly effective. Scribble Maps has become a popular choice for students, business professionals, and even the military, thanks to its variety of useful features.

Use Scribble Maps to place text onto maps, draw polygons and other shapes, add image overlays, highlight specific locations, and custom styling.

Just be aware that if you plan to use the free version, you won’t have access to many of the more advanced tools and security features. In fact, if you use the free version, you should know that anyone can access your maps. The free version also includes ads, which can be bothersome.

3. Map Chart

Map Chart is a free map drawing tool that’s perfect for those on a budget. Maptchart’s specialty is in providing regional and country maps that are ideal for school projects, fantasy maps, war game maps, and other historical data mapping projects. Its easy-to-use interface means even those without a lot of mapping software experience will have no problem creating custom maps.

The web-based software lets you create maps of any country or region around the world. Using their tools, you can color code countries and states, add patterns such as dots, stripes, or lines, create a map legend, and hide certain countries and states. Then, save your map to work on it later, or download it to a PNG file to share.

While Map Chart is great for simple projects, it lacks many more advanced drawing tools that other software tools offer. So if your business is looking for a more sophisticated data visualization tool, you might need to look elsewhere.

4. Mapme

Mapme is an effective mapping tool for many different industries such as real estate, construction, event & non-profit use. While it uses fairly advanced technology, you don’t need to have a lot of knowledge of GIS software to enjoy all the benefits.

With Mapme, you can draw lines and shapes directly on your map, import JPX or KLM files, upload photos, videos, and PDF files, and add labels to various locations. However, aside from the line and area tool, there are not a lot of drawing functionalities in this tool.

The user interface isn’t as easy to use as other entries on this list. There have also been complaints about map locations not being exactly where they should be. Just be aware of these issues before signing up for a subscription.

5. Visme

Visme is a quality online map tool for creating presentations, infographics, reports, and more. Getting started is quick and easy, and they offer several attractive templates for you to build from.

When it comes to mapping, they have a few different features. For example, you can color-code different countries and states, add icons and images from Visme’s library, and include your brand fonts and colors.

Unfortunately, they lack many drawing tools that other software offers, such as arrows, polygons, and freehand drawing. If you need these tools for your project, this likely isn’t the right solution for you.

6. ZeeMaps

Created specifically for businesses, ZeeMaps is ideal for data analysis and presentations. In addition, you don’t need an account to start using this software, which makes it easy for anyone to start mapping right away.

Their drawing and customization options offer color-coding, marker customization, and the ability to add photos and videos.

However, more advanced drawing tools aren’t available. While ZeeMaps is an effective and affordable tool, it’s one of the most limited to actually drawing on your map.

7. Infogram

Infogram is a popular tool for creating map-based infographics for marketing, social media, and educational purposes. While their maps aren’t as interactive as some of the other options on this list, they’re perfect for creating a quick snapshot of your location-based data.

Use Infogram to color-code different areas of your map, add graphics and icons, and insert text and labels.

While Infogram gives you the ability to create some beautiful maps, they don’t offer you the ability to draw shapes and text using your mouse.

8. Map Tiler

Map Tiler is a leader in the mapping software space, used by large brands and organizations like Seimens, Redbull, and the NOAA.

Start with a wide selection of satellite maps, then use Map Tiler’s tools to customize them and create your ideal map. You can adjust colors, add text, and change fonts.

While Map Tiler gives you the ability to customize your maps further, it requires knowledge of Javascript and coding. So, if you need more drawing capabilities than what’s listed above, you’ll likely want to choose different software.

9. MapGIS

If you’re looking for a straightforward map-drawing tool, MapGIS is it. This web-based software is free to use, meaning you can go to their website and start drawing right away.

With MapGIS, you can:

Place markers
Draw lines
Draw shapes (rectangles, circles, polygons)
Place labels anywhere on your map

If you’re looking to draw on a map, this might be the right tool for you. However, if you want to create a more advanced custom map, this likely isn’t the best option. Features like color-coding, images, icons, and arrows aren’t available.

10. OnePlace by Unearth

This is one of the best map makers for those looking to get started with building maps. It’s easy to use and has a core set of features that aren’t overwhelming to new users.

With OnePlace, you can choose your satellite image and customize it by overlaying shapes, drawings, and measurements. It’s cloud-based as well, allowing you to use it on any mobile device.

While this is great for simple projects, it doesn’t offer some more sophisticated features that many businesses are looking for. For example, there aren’t different base maps to choose from, and you can’t color-code countries and states.

Create Custom Maps Today

When it comes to creating custom interactive maps, more and more businesses are choosing Maptive. With a wide range of drawing features, and advanced tools like heat maps, territory mapping, and route planning, you have everything you need to build your ideal map.

Sign up for your free trial and start mapping today.

The post Top 10 Best Map Drawing Software for 2023 appeared first on Maptive.

Unveil a new era of disaster response with features meticulously crafted to empower swift and strategic risk management. When every moment counts, trust Maptive to map your way to safety.

CREATE YOUR FREE MAP NOW

Harness the Power of Maptive for Emergency Response

With Maptive, emergency response personnel can craft emergency response routes with ease, map out critical infrastructure in seconds, and deploy disaster management strategies on the spot.

Navigate the fastest path to safety during natural disasters by using drive time maps, and proactively identify danger zones to maintain situational awareness. In the aftermath of chaos, Maptive’s tools become a guiding light, helping communities organize, spot hazards, and reestablish public safety.

How Digital Maps Empower Emergency Management

Digital maps have the power to completely change how disaster management unfolds. Up-to-date maps aid in damage assessment while emergency teams feed geospatial data, incident reports, and GPS coordinates into the emergency management software to make sure decision-makers always have the most accurate information.

These interactive functionalities go well beyond what traditional paper maps can do, offering real-time insights to response teams to manage emergencies. Unlike non-digital maps, emergency management software like Maptive can help first responders generate maps for:

• Instant Situational Awareness
• Precision Routing
• Predictive Analysis
• Resource Allocation
• Communication Hub
• Aftermath Assessment

Master the Art of Emergency Management with Maptive

Emergency Route Planning When Every Second Counts

Maptive’s intuitive interface helps first responders and emergency workers create optimal routes for emergency vehicles to ensure swift navigation.

When urgency strikes, Maptive paves the way for timely and effective action, saving lives through strategic route planning.

Maptive Version 5 (Coming Q4 2023)

Heat Mapping for Proactive Response Efforts

Empower your team to make informed decisions by visualizing data-driven patterns. With Maptive’s dynamic heat maps, emergency workers can instantly detect high-activity zones and potential risks.

When disaster strikes, Maptive’s heat maps can help track the ebb and flow of people and resources, optimizing aid distribution and resource allocation.

Maptive Version 5 (Coming Q4 2023)

Hazard Mapping: Build a Blueprint for Risk Management

Anticipate nature’s uncertainties and plan for the worst with data-backed risk assessments. Maptive’s satellite mapping lays the groundwork for emergency preparedness.

Emergency managers can pinpoint vulnerabilities with precision, from flood-prone zones to wildfire paths and seismic hotspots.

Maptive Version 5 (Coming Q4 2023)

Seamless Organization: Uniting Efforts in the Face of Adversity

Use Maptive as your digital command center, helping responders establish a centralized repository for vital information–survivor locations, infrastructure status, and resource availability–enabling rapid and coordinated decision-making.

Easily share maps and information across agencies and organizations, fostering collaboration that transcends boundaries.

Evaluating the Aftermath

When the dust settles after a disaster, emergency management software like Maptive can generate digital maps to create a visual chronicle of the event’s repercussions. Those maps can facilitate damage evaluation, guide future emergency response planning, and even help streamline insurance claims.

Getting Started with Maptive

1. Create Your Account. Begin by signing up for Maptive. Visit our website and follow the simple steps to create your account for emergency responders.
2. Access the Software. Once registered, log in to your account to access Maptive’s powerful tools. Experience the user-friendly interface designed to simplify your crisis management journey.
3. Explore Features. Dive into Maptive’s arsenal of features tailored for emergency scenarios. Discover route planning, heat mapping, organization tools, hazard mapping, and more. Unleash the potential of data-driven decision-making.
4. Try Before You Buy. Test-drive Maptive firsthand with our free trial or request a demo. Let emergency responders try its capabilities and see how it transforms crisis management for you.

Empower Your Emergency Services with Maptive

Elevate your emergency management strategy with Maptive’s emergency management software.

Harness the power of your lessons learned and our location data to create disaster response maps for natural or man-made disasters.

Give your emergency response teams the best chance at response and recovery, securing critical infrastructure, and leveraging real-time data and critical information to restore public safety.

[START YOUR FREE 10-DAY TRIAL]

The post Maptive: Emergency Response Mapping Software for Faster, Smarter Response appeared first on Maptive.

While all maps are a great way to display data in an easy-to-understand snapshot, interactive maps allow users the flexibility to zoom in and out, click on specific elements, and access the information they need.

They are so ubiquitous that you have probably been using this type of map without even realizing it.

In this article, we will discuss some of the most popular interactive mapping tools and their data analysis capabilities. We will also provide some tips on how to choose the right web-based mapping tool or software for your needs.

So whether you are a business looking to improve your marketing, a student working on a project, or just someone who loves maps, read on to learn more about how to create stunning maps, that are actually interactive.

The 5 Best Online Tools to Create an Interactive Map

Whether you search for “map maker”, “map builder”, or “map creator” you are sure to find myriad options for creating maps online.

In fact, entering any of those options in your search bar might result in you feeling utterly overwhelmed. Most importantly, which one is going to be the best mapping software to truly help create your own interactive online map, while also giving you access to different map styles, providing an embed code, letting you add photos, and allowing you access to geographic information?

We are here to help you answer that question.

1. Maptive

Maptive is the most versatile online tool for anyone who wants to create interactive maps. You can use it without any coding skills and explore all its features to display geographic data, upload your own data from Excel or Google Sheets, customize a world map, embed maps and visualization on a web page, and so much more.

If you are new to data visualization, Maptive is incredibly user-friendly. You can get started for free and upload your own data set or use geospatial data built into the software, and play around with all its customization features: upload your own marker images, add photos, edit colors, select unique icons, and so much more.

For more advanced or business users, it also offers a host of technical tools like customer location mapping, territory creation, drive time polygons, radius maps, heat mapping, and even a multi-stop route planner.

Here’s what some of Maptive users have to say about one of the best interactive maps software:

• I have used several mapping tools, and Maptive is by far the most user-friendly and most comprehensive tool available.
  Nicole – Verified User G2
• Very satisfied customer! The seamless integration with Google Maps makes the customization totally efficient and the output familiar and easily presentable!
  Casey H. – Verified User G2
• Excellent geo-data front-end tool for presentations and business visualization.
  Scott D. – Verified User G2
• Most trusted mapping tool. I love the heat map and the sharing capability is very efficient. The initial data upload step is easy and the settings toolbar is very intuitive. There are built-in tutorials and demos in case you need assistance along the way.
  Danny L. – Verified User G2

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2. Esri

Esri is a great online interactive map creator for GIS power users looking to do spatial analysis. ESRI offers several data visualizations, including animations such ass flythroughs, time series, and real-time maps.

3. MapBox

Mapbox is a great tool for creating maps, but it requires technical expertise to use. You can use it to create your own custom map, or pick one of their templates. This is a great way to create maps if you are technically inclined or have developer experience.

While it offers many features, like a Smart Directions API and GL JS built-in functions, it can be rather complex and expensive–especially if you sign up for email support or a product expert.

4. Google Maps

Most of us use Google Maps for directions and to find stores and restaurants, but the Google Maps API also allows individuals and businesses to create their own maps.

Most of the design features don’t require coding and their tutorial library can help even more inexperienced map creators navigate their advanced features. Their pricing varies based on usage and scale, but it may be less convenient for smaller users, especially after the price increases they announced back in 2018.

5. Visme

Visme is a dream tool for content creators trying their hand at creating custom maps. It can help not just with maps, but also with infographics and charts: so that when readers interact with them, they can see more detailed information and all the data you researched.

While it does not include any technical features, the platform is easy to use and has everything you need to make your interactive map very engaging, including customizable options for borders, pins, and color coding.

Tracking the Pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, news outlets created interactive maps to show the rates of infection by state, city, and county, often publishing these maps so that people could zoom in and search for specific data.

Image Source: John Hopkins – Coronavirus Resource Center

Around Elections

Any time we are called to vote, political parties create their own interactive maps to forecast electoral outcomes. Then we spend whole days and nights staring at those maps as they get updated with actual results from voting sites.

Image Source: https://www.270towin.com/

In School

We also see interactive maps being used more and more in schools to show migration patterns, population density over the centuries, and even the evolution of different civilizations as one region gained prominence over another thanks to newly forged trade routes or following natural disasters.

Source: California Academy of Sciences – Human Odyssey

Business Growth

Those of us who work with sales, marketing, or logistics departments know that interactive maps are a key tool for short-term and long-term planning. They can guide sales teams as they manage sales territories; they can show marketing departments where new areas of opportunity might lie; and they are an invaluable resource to help coordinate supply chains, optimize delivery routes, and even determine new business locations.

Image Source: Maptive Geographic Boundary Tool

Public Planning

State governments and local authorities often use interactive maps to monitor weather events and communicate with the public. If you live in an area that gets easily flooded, or in a state plagued by hurricanes or tornadoes, you have often seen these types of maps broadcasted in the news or on government websites.

Image Source: Government of Quebec – Flood Zone Maps

These are just some of the most common ways interactive maps show up in our everyday life, but truly their applications are limitless.

Tourism

Interactive maps are a great way for tourists to plan their trips and figure out all the landmarks, restaurants, museums, and activities they want to get to ahead of time. Depending on the destination, interactive maps might also help tourists find out about public transportation options, the weather, and upcoming events.

Transportation

If you commute for work, interactive maps are a great way to plan your morning and evening travels, since they can show you options for public transportation, as well as traffic conditions and road closures.

On the other hand, if driving is literally part of your job, interactive maps can help you plan your routes, avoid traffic congestion, and even point out where the best rest stops are. This can help you save time and money, and it can also help you stay safe on the road.

Common Types of Interactive Maps

Everywhere you look, mapping software generates interactive maps that are the solution to visually display complex data sets in a clear and concise way.

• In-App Interactive Maps: if you’ve ever ordered your daily Starbucks before getting to the store, you are already familiar with this type of interactive map. Not only can you select the location that is most convenient for you right from the interactive map built into the app, but you can also see if they are out of your favorite breakfast sandwich or if they are running any special promotions.
• Interactive Website Maps: have you ever experienced unplanned interruptions to your electricity? The vast majority of service providers embed interactive maps into their websites where users can go check for outages and repair status, so you are always aware of what’s happening and how long a blackout might last.
• Interactive Maps for Students: whether in your own academic journey or as a parent, you know that interactive maps are a big part of education and research. It’s a lot easier to understand a map showing the concentration of vegetation and water vapor across the globe than to get that same information through spreadsheets and pages of annotated research.
• Interactive Maps for Presentations: if you have ever had to make the case to expand your sales team or delivery fleet, you know that showing data points on an interactive map can be a game changer. Added to your business presentation, an interactive map can go a long way in helping your boss visualize the extent of the business opportunities you are trying to unlock.
• Collaborative Interactive Maps: sometimes, the whole point of creating interactive maps is not only to show data but also to acquire data. With the right software, your teams can collaborate and drop pins in your map, draw on it, leave notes on various locations, or color-code different areas–delivering a unique custom map.
• Real-Time Traffic Maps: most of us use interactive maps that show real-time traffic conditions every single day. Whether you prefer the classic Google Maps, the more community-based feeling of Waze, or like keeping it simple with your car’s GPS system, when you’re on the road, these maps can provide up-to-date information on traffic conditions, including congestion, accidents, road closures, and alternative routes.
• Interactive Event Maps: if you’ve ever been at a conference, you know how difficult it can be to navigate unfamiliar venues and figure out where everything is. Specific areas–such as stages, booths, food stalls, restrooms, and parking–can be oddly laid out, and keeping track of events happening at various moments is near impossible. Interactive maps can enhance the overall event experience and improve crowd management.
• Interactive Property Maps: real estate companies and property developers often share interactive maps with their clients to showcase available properties, their locations, and surrounding amenities. And if you’ve ever indulged in virtual house hunting, you know that Zillow does this beautifully. These maps can help potential buyers or renters visualize the properties and choose their perfect home or business location.
• Interactive Weather Maps: what do you do first thing in the morning? Yup, you make coffee and then immediately open up the weather app, come rain or sunshine. This type of interactive map displays real-time weather conditions, forecasts, and satellite imagery, allowing users to zoom in on specific regions and access detailed weather information, such as temperature, precipitation, wind speed, and storm tracks. You often find this kind of map on websites and apps from weather agencies and news organizations.
• Interactive Social Media Maps: we all understand that publicly sharing your location on social media can be an unwise choice for privacy and safety reasons. Yet, for those who dare, social media platforms offer interactive maps that can show where your friends are, display check-ins, and show trending topics across different locations. From a business perspective, these maps provide insights into social media activities and can be used for marketing, event planning, and trend analysis.

Create Interactive Maps for FREE

Maptive mapping software can change the way you do business, create content, and present your research. Customize interactive maps as you prefer, manage how elements and icons show up on display, and create custom map markers and styles that are unique to you and your business.

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Data visualization tools achieve precisely that. By visualizing big data and transforming raw data into visually engaging and intuitive representations, data visualization empowers business leaders, managers, and data analysts to unlock the true potential of their data points.

In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into the role of data visualization in business decision-making. Whether you’re a seasoned data science professional or new to the world of data analysis, this resource will equip you with the knowledge and tools to harness the power of data visualization to make better, more informed decisions.

So, let’s embark on this journey together and unlock the power of big data and visualization!

Benefits of Data Visualization in Business Decision-Making

So why is data visualization important?

1. Ability to enhance understanding of complex data. By transforming raw data into visual representations such as charts, graphs, and interactive dashboards, data visualization allows decision-makers to more quickly identify patterns, trends, and correlations.
2. More accurate and informed decisions. And chances are, faster as well. Since the information is presented in a concise and intuitive format, decision-makers can use data visualization tools to quickly identify key insights and make timely choices.
3. Effective communication of data insights. Visual representations are often more compelling and memorable than raw numbers in endless spreadsheets, making it easier to share findings with stakeholders, align teams, and drive action.

As you can see, the importance of data visualization boils down to empowering businesses to unlock the true potential of their data, resulting in improved decision-making processes and ultimately, better business outcomes.

Geographic Boundary Map – Maptive Version 5 (Coming Mid 2024)

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How Data Visualization Enhances Decision-Making

At its core, decision-making is the process of choosing between two or more options. Of course, there are many variables that can go into even the simplest decision–for example, if you’re trying to decide what to have for lunch you might be considering your budget, the proximity of various restaurants, any dietary restrictions, whether you’ll be going alone or with colleagues, if the options you are considering will hit your macros… or if you should just have that protein bar in your desk drawer and call it a day.

Once you escalate that same thinking process to decisions that deal with big data and can influence the trajectory and success of your team or business, it becomes even more complex. Plus, often enough, even when you’ve gathered all the necessary information and evaluated the alternatives, you might still be left without a clear-cut answer.

In that scenario, business analytics done through data visualization tools really are the superheroes of the data story. They play a crucial role in enhancing decision-making by providing a clear and concise representation of complex data.

• In sales analysis, visualizing sales data through charts and graphs allows decision-makers to identify top-performing products, regions, or customer segments at a glance, enabling them to allocate resources and optimize strategies accordingly.
• In financial analysis, visualizing revenue, expenses, and profitability over time helps executives identify cost-saving opportunities and make informed budgetary decisions.
• In supply chain management, data visualization of inventory levels and demand patterns enables organizations to identify bottlenecks, optimize logistics, and improve overall efficiency.

In each one of those scenarios, data visualizations can help decision-makers to see what may have otherwise gone unnoticed in databases and spreadsheets, leading to more accurate insights and more effective decision-making.

Types of Data Visualization Tools

There is a wide array of data visualization tools available, and, as ever, the choice will likely depend on what you are trying to accomplish, or what issues you have that require data visualization methods or tools to resolve.

Maptive

This data visualization tool allows business users to graphically represent sales, business, and geographic data by mapping locations, sales territories, or demographics. It is particularly useful for businesses that need to analyze data with a spatial component, such as customer distribution, sales territories, or market penetration.

Compared to other data visualization tools, Maptive stands out from the crowd because of its ease of use (no coding required), and incredible number of options to customize each element of your data visualizations. With so many stellar user testimonials, the proof, as they say, it’s in the pudding:

• As our data visualization partners, Maptive has become an integral part of our operations—from Logistics to Project Tracking to Scheduling.
  • Miquel Fernandez, RMSI Retail Solutions
• True insight into our data is vital to our success—and Maptive gives us exactly that.
  • Anjil, BRAC
• I can finally visualize my business geographically! Maptive allows me to make sense of my data and visualize it in different ways. The platform has a variety of tools and it is easy to use.
  • Andrew B, G2 Crowd User Review

 Demographics Median Income Map – Maptive Version 5  (Coming Mid 2024)

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Charting & Graphing Tools

These include data visualization tools like Tableau, Power BI, and Google Data Studio. They offer a variety of chart types, such as bar charts, line graphs, scatter plots, and more.

They are a graphical format ideal for visualizing numerical data and trends, comparing different variables, and creating interactive dashboards.

Tableau Charts – Source: Tableau

Specialized Needs

Data visualization tools like D3.js and Plotly provide advanced customization options and support for creating interactive and dynamic graphics using JavaScript libraries. They require coding knowledge, so these tools are more suitable for data scientists, developers presenting data, and business analytics professionals who require highly customized and interactive data visualizations.

The right choice of data visualization tool depends on the specific requirements and data set being analyzed, as well as who needs to identify patterns. If the data has a geographical component, Maptive would be the most suitable choice. It is important to evaluate the features, ease of use, and compatibility of the data visualization tool of your choice with your data sources.

Plotly Visualizations – Source: Towards Data Science

How to Use Data Visualization for Business Decision-Making

Now that you understand the importance of data visualization, you also need to know how to use it to improve how you make your business decisions.

• Step 1: Define your objective. What is the purpose of your analysis? What specific decision do you need to make? This will help guide your data visualization process.
• Step 2: Choose the right data visualization. Select a type of data visualization that represents your data clearly and supports your objective. To figure that out, you might want to consider the type of data you have (numerical, categorical, temporal), the relationships you want to explore, and the key insights you want to communicate. Bar charts, line graphs, scatter plots, and heat maps are just a few examples of data visualization techniques to consider.
• Step 3: Prepare and clean your data. This step may or may not be necessary depending on how your source and store your business data. For data analysis to be successful, you need to ensure that your data is accurate, complete, and well-structured.
• Step 4: Create your data visualizations. Use data visualization tools or software to create your map, chart, or graph. You can also have some fun customizing your data visualization to effectively highlight the key insights and patterns you want to convey. Pay attention to labeling, color choices, and layout to ensure you are able to create data stories.
• Step 5: Interpret the visualizations. This is where the magic happens. Take a step back and carefully analyze your data visualizations to extract meaningful insights. Identify trends, look for patterns, outliers, and correlations within the data. Consider the context and any relevant business factors that may influence the interpretation of your valuable insights.
• Step 6: Make informed decisions. All your work can finally pay off. Use the insights gained from your data visualizations to inform your decision-making process. Consider the implications of the findings from the graphical representations you’ve created, weigh the risks and benefits, and identify potential actions or strategies based on your effective data visualization.
• Step 7: Communicate and share your findings. Nobody exists in a vacuum, and chances are your team will benefit if you communicate data findings. Present your data visualizations and insights in a clear and concise manner to relevant stakeholders. Use storytelling techniques to effectively communicate the significance of the data points, pie chart, line chart, or other common data visualization you’ve chosen and its impact on the decision-making process.

Remember, data visualization is a tool to help you make better decisions, but it is pointless without everything you bring to the table, including your critical thinking, domain knowledge, and an understanding of data storytelling in the business context.

Conclusion

We hope that this comprehensive guide has made the importance of data visualization abundantly clear.

Data visualization is a critical skill for business leaders, managers, and data analysts. By embracing the power of data visualization–be it charts, graphs, maps, or dashboards– businesses can unlock the true potential of their data and gain a competitive edge in making informed and impactful decisions. So, embrace data visualization, explore its possibilities, and harness its transformative power to shape the future of your business.

As our world becomes more and more driven by complex data, being able to visualize that information and make decisions based on those insights will give you a unique competitive edge and keep you ahead of the curve.

FAQ

Q1: What is data visualization?

Data visualization is the process of transforming data into visual representations, such as charts, graphs, and maps. This makes it easier to understand, analyze, and communicate insights from data.

Q2: How can data visualization help with business decision-making?

The importance of data visualization boils down to helping businesses make better decisions by:

• Identifying patterns and trends
• Facilitating faster decision making
• Improving communication of data insights
• Empowering organizations to make data-driven decisions

Q3: What are some examples of data visualization in business decision-making?

• Line graphs to track sales performance over time
• Pie charts to display market share percentages
• Heatmaps to visualize customer preferences or website traffic patterns
• Geographic maps to analyze sales territories or target markets

Q4: What are the best practices for using data visualization in business decision-making?

• Identify clear objectives for visualization
• Choose the appropriate visualization type
• Ensure data accuracy and cleanliness
• Maintain simplicity and clarity in visual design while providing proper context and labeling
• Consider the target audience for the visualizations

Q5: How do I choose the right data visualization tool for my business?

When selecting a data visualization tool for your business, consider factors such as: cost, the type of data you work with, the complexity of visualizations required, its ease of use & compatibility with your data sources, and the customization options it offers.

The post The Importance of Data Visualization Tools for Business appeared first on Maptive.

But traditional market research methods often fall short when it comes to analyzing complex geographic data and extracting meaningful insights.

That’s where sales mapping software tools come in.

Sales territory mapping software is a game-changer for businesses of all sizes. It provides powerful tools to visualize and analyze business data in a spatial context.

Benefits of Using Map Software for Market Research

Customer Segmentation

Sales territory mapping software is the perfect tool if you’re trying to segment your customers by demographics, behavior, and other factors. By overlaying customer and business data onto maps, you’ll be able to identify clusters of customers with similar characteristics–which can then help them tailor their marketing strategies, develop personalized messaging, and target specific customer groups with precision.

Demographic Analysis

Also known as the holy grail of sales strategy. Sales mapping software offers insights into population distribution, age groups, income levels, and other relevant demographic factors within sales territories. You can then use that information to identify areas with high concentrations of target customers, niche markets, potential growth markets, or underserved regions.

Data Visualization

Are you trying to identify trends, patterns, and relationships in your data? Then mapping software can help you uncover what might otherwise go unnoticed. Seeing business data displayed on a map can lead to quicker and more intuitive insights, essentially transforming raw data points into actionable information.

Competitive Analysis

Knowing where your competitors are and how you compare to them can make or break businesses. With sales mapping software, your sales team can visualize the spatial distribution of competitors and their market influence across sales territory. You can then use those insights to identify growth opportunities in areas with less competition, untapped markets, or areas where competitors have a stronghold.

Geospatial Analysis

Sales mapping software can help you integrate location-based data with other business data points. This can help you uncover correlations and spatial relationships that drive market dynamics and increase sales productivity.

Types of Map Software for Market Research

Mapping software can help companies visualize business data, identify trends, and make better decisions–capabilities that make it an essential tool for sales teams, marketing managers, and business strategists.

There are three main types of mapping software:

1. Geographic Information System (GIS) software: the most comprehensive type of mapping software. It offers advanced spatial analysis tools and it is well-suited for large-scale market research projects that involve complex data points analysis.
2. Data visualization tools: they focus on transforming raw data into compelling visual representations. These tools are valuable for creating visually impactful maps and infographics for market research reports or presentations.
3. Online mapping platforms: a cost-effective solution for visualizing and analyzing relevant data. They are a great resource for businesses of all sizes across a variety of industries.

Which one might be the best sales mapping software depends on your specific needs. However, among these options, Maptive is a particularly noteworthy mapping software with market research capabilities.

It offers all the features expected from a free sales mapping software while also providing a user-friendly interface, intuitive features, and a range of functionalities specifically designed to support market research endeavors.

With Maptive, businesses can easily import their own data in, visualize it on interactive maps, apply various filters and overlays, and conduct basic spatial analysis. It also provides robust features for customer segmentation, demographic analysis, data visualization, and competitive analysis.

How to Use Mapping Software for Customer Segmentation

Step 1: Define segmentation criteria.

Common segmentation factors include age, gender, income level, buying behavior, geographic location, or psychographic characteristics. Choose the criteria that are most relevant to your business and align with your marketing goals and sales territory.

Step 2: Visualize customer data on the map.

Once the customer data is imported and segmented, the sales mapping software will allow you to visualize your own data on an interactive map. You will be able to see clusters and patterns of customers in specific areas, understand the geographic distribution of your customer segments, and identify sales territories with high or low customer density.

Step 3: Analyze segmented customer groups.

Using the sales mapping software’s analysis tools, you can apply overlays on the map to represent additional data, such as average purchase value or customer lifetime value. This analysis will help you identify unique traits, preferences, or trends within each customer segment.

Step 4: Create targeted marketing lists.

Select specific geographic areas or draw boundaries on the map to define the target regions for each customer segment. The mapping software should provide options to generate lists of customers within those sales territories, which you can then export for personalized marketing campaigns, tailored messaging for sales teams, or targeted advertising and marketing efforts elsewhere.

Step 5: Monitor and refine the segmentation strategy.

Customer segmentation is an ongoing process, and it’s essential to monitor the effectiveness of your segments and refine them as needed. Continuously evaluate the performance of your marketing campaigns, measure customer responses, and gather feedback. Integrates sales data and adjust your segmentation criteria if necessary.

How to Use Mapping Software for Demographic Analysis

Step 1: Gather demographic data.

This may include population density, age groups, income levels, education levels, or other demographic factors corresponding to a sales territory. Ensure that your own data is accurate and organized in a format compatible with the mapping software.

Step 2: Map customer locations.

Import your customer data into the sales mapping software. The software will geocode the addresses or coordinates to plot customer locations on an interactive map across your sales territories.

Step 3: Overlay demographic data.

You can use the sales mapping software’s capabilities to overlay the demographic data onto the map. The marketing mapping software will then display the demographic information as color-coded or thematic overlays on the map. For example, you can visualize income levels by shading areas with different colors to indicate high, medium, or low income ranges.

Step 4: Analyze demographic patterns.

Look for concentrations or disparities in demographic characteristics across different geographic areas. Identify sales territories with specific demographic profiles that are of interest to your business or sales territory management team.

Step 5: Identify market trends.

Analyze the relationships between customer locations, demographic data, and other factors of interest. Overlay additional data, such as customer demographics, purchasing behavior, competitor locations, or market performance metrics, to gain deeper insights. Look for correlations or patterns between demographic variables, business locations, and market dynamics.

How to Use Mapping Software for Data Visualization

Step 1: Import data.

Identify all the data you want to visualize and import it into the sales mapping software. Marketing mapping software tools usually provide all the features for user-friendly import options and spreadsheet data manipulation tools.

Step 2: Create maps.

Sales mapping software offers various visualization options, including bubble maps, heat maps, pie charts, bar charts, or line graphs. Set the parameters and options to define how the different data points will be represented visually across your sales territories.

Step 3: Apply filters and customize.

Utilize the filtering and interactivity features of the sales mapping tool to enhance the user experience and provide dynamic data exploration. Customize the visual elements of your maps to align with your brand and presentation needs. Modify colors, font styles, legends, and labels to create a visually appealing and cohesive representation.

Step 4: Present and share.

Once your data visualizations are ready, present and share them with your intended audience. Export the maps and sales territories in various formats, such as images or interactive files, depending on how you plan to share or incorporate them into reports or presentations.

Step 5: Monitor and update.

Data visualization is an iterative process, and it’s important to monitor and update your sales territories and maps as new data becomes available or when insights change. Regularly update the data within the sales mapping software to ensure your visualizations remain current.

Conclusion

Sales mapping software plays a crucial role in market research, providing businesses with valuable tools to gain insights, make informed decisions, and drive success.

It empowers businesses and sales managers to gain valuable insights into customer behavior, demographic trends, and their target market. By leveraging a sales mapping tool, businesses can make informed decisions, optimize resource allocation, manage sales territories, and tailor strategies to meet the demands of an ever-changing marketplace.

FAQ

Q1: What is sales mapping software with market research capabilities?

Sales mapping software with market research capabilities refers to specialized tools that enable businesses to visualize and analyze spatial data related to their target markets, customers, and competitors.

Q2: How can sales mapping software help with customer segmentation?

Sales mapping software provides businesses with the ability to visualize sales data spatially, making it easier to identify patterns and clusters. By plotting customer locations on a map and applying segmentation criteria, businesses can effectively group customers based on shared characteristics.

Q3: How can sales mapping software help with demographic analysis?

Sales mapping software facilitates demographic analysis by overlaying demographic data and sales data on maps. By visualizing population density, age groups, income levels, or other demographic factors, businesses can identify geographic trends and patterns.

Q4: How can sales mapping software be used for data visualization in market research?

Mapping software enables businesses to transform complex sales data sets into visually appealing maps and charts. By visually representing market data, marketing performance metrics, and other critical information, businesses can communicate insights more effectively, make data-driven decisions, and uncover hidden trends.

Q5: What are the best practices for using sales mapping software in market research?

• Start with clear research objectives and identify the specific sales data sets and variables you want to analyze.
• Ensure the data is accurate, organized, and compatible with the sales mapping software.
• Choose the appropriate visualization methods based on the nature of your sales data and the insights you want to convey.
• Regularly update and refine your analysis as new data becomes available or insights evolve.
• Use interactivity and filtering features to allow users to explore the data in a dynamic and targeted manner.
• Customize visualizations to align with your brand and presentation needs, and annotate them with additional information for better understanding.

Q6: How do I integrate mapping software with other market research technologies?

Integration options vary depending on the sales mapping software and the specific market research technologies you’re using. Many mapping software providers offer APIs that allow you to connect and exchange data with other systems or tools. This enables seamless integration with CRM platforms, data analytics tools, or other market research technologies.

The post How to Use Mapping Software for Market Research appeared first on Maptive.

This phenomenon makes data visualization an important tool for businesses that dream of their content going viral. But data visualization isn’t quick and easy. To create a visualization that’s truly striking and memorable, the creator must:

1. Choose the right type of visualization.
2. Keep visualizations comprehensive yet simple.
3. Provide important context for the audience.
4. Add colors to enhance clarity.
5. Include labels where necessary.

That first point above, choosing the right type of visualization, is the most important step. As you consider the best data visualization examples in 2023 and beyond, here’s a gallery of different types of visualizations that have recently captured the imagination and attracted large audiences.

Top 25 Data Visualization Examples for 2023

What’s the latest in data visualization? Creators across the internet and around the world have put together powerful visualizations in just the past few months and years that demonstrate just how helpful the medium can be for quickly and clearly sharing information. Here’s a look at the best of the best in data visualization examples from recent years:

Best Bubble Chart Visualization

What websites get the most traffic worldwide? A bubble chart like this one is perfect for conveying the relative size of different site’s audiences. Also, the creator of this bubble chart included a smaller bar chart within the larger visualization to share the industries that top sites operate within.

Best Geospatial Visualization

Some of the best data visualizations are based on freely available information, just like this one by Alasdair Rae. Using freely available information from the European Union, he created a powerful geospatial visualization of Europe’s population density.

Best Scatter Plot Visualization

What should be the role of government in everyday people’s lives? The question has been asked for centuries. And, while there’s significant disagreement on how to answer this question, a scatter plot visualization lets anyone explore how different nations approach governance in the modern age.

Most Beautiful Visualization

Since the summer of 1977, movie-goers of all ages have been entranced by the Star Wars saga. From the original trilogy to the more recent Skywalker Saga and newer Disney+ spinoff series, the Star Wars universe includes a plethora of characters ranging from heroic to morally ambiguous to pure evil. Kirell Benzi beautifully captured the interactions of these many characters in The Dark Side and the Light, a visualization that is informational and pleasing to look at.

Best Heat Map Visualization

Scientists and experts from around the world have tried to make sense of the recent COVID-19 pandemic in many different ways, including trying to visually capture how the contagion was able to spread so rapidly and pervasively. 

This video from Tectonix GEO provides a heat map that demonstrates the risk of ignoring social distancing. Based on data from Outlogic, this heat map shows how spring breakers in Fort Lauderdale helped spread the virus around the nation.

Best Journalism Visualization

As our consumption preferences continue to shift from the written word to more varied and interactive media, strong data visualizations have become centerpieces for large, enterprise-style reporting in leading newspapers, magazines, and online publications. This long-form story on African cities includes several stunning data visualizations that help bring journalism to life.

Best Data Visualization for Business Intelligence

Your data is only useful if you can understand it, and there are many software solutions that are making it easier to connect your spreadsheets, databases, and cloud-based data services to create interactive visualizations and reports. 

Microsoft Power BI is one of the most widespread tools where users can create customized dashboards that display real-time data, charts, and graphs, helping them to make informed business decisions. The interactive data visualization below, for example, was created with Power BI to transform complicated information into an easy-to-share image depicting worldwide access to electricity.

Best Infographic Visualization

While COVID-19 has been top of mind since the beginning of 2020, world history is full of similar pandemics. This infographic takes viewers on a visual journey through the centuries, allowing them to discover the worst pandemics to strike the planet.

Best Interactive Visualization

In 2021, a cargo ship became stuck in the Suez Canal, stopping traffic through one of the world’s most important passages. How hard can it be to steer a cargo ship through a canal? This interactive visualization from CNN lets audience members try for themselves.

Best Distribution Chart

What happens to the homeless when they are given plane or bus tickets out of town? The Guardian explored where individuals end up going, and the piece includes several striking data visualizations. This distribution chart demonstrates how the homeless are often relocated to areas with lower median incomes.

Best Animated Unit Visualization

How do Americans spend their time? This animated unit visualization is based on data from the American Time Use Survey, and it conveys in time-elapse fashion what people are generally doing at different times of the day.

Best Wind Map Visualization

Wind holds the power to create energy and to destroy cities. These wind map visualizations share how the wind typically moves around us at any given time. While the data visualizations are meant to provide basic meteorological information, the maps are collectively a beautiful homage to the power of nature.

Best Radar Chart Visualization

What’s the best way to stay overnight at national parks in the United States? Let data visualizations make recommendations for you. These radar chart visualizations help viewers better understand how national park visitors traditionally spend the night during certain times of the year.

Best Tree Map Visualization

Wall Street investors are always looking for ways to get an edge on the competition. SmartMoney provides a so-called “map of the market” that allows anyone to track more than 500 stocks at the same time — visually. The tree map visualization is simple: green indicates a stock going up, and red indicates a stock going down.

Best Alluvial Chart Visualization

Alluvial chart visualizations are helpful when exploring how proportions change over time. For example, this visualization of 200 years of immigration to the United States shows how the proportion of immigrants from different parts of the world has changed through the years.

Best Line Chart Visualization

While some experts expect an even worse recession to happen in 2023, we all remember the so-called “Great Recession” of 2008-2009 far too vividly. It took about 5 years for the economy to regain the 9 million jobs it had lost, but each sector was affected quite uniquely. 

The New York Times used this data visualization, including several informative line charts, to demonstrate how that economic crisis reshaped industries and the jobs that are available more than a decade after the Great Recession.

Best Visualization for Business Presentations

Presentations are the closest most of us get to creating visually pleasing assets on a day-to-day basis. Now, thanks to AI, we can get a lot closer to building presentations that are graphically beautiful, including graphs and charts that engage our intended audience.

As an example, Beautiful.ai is a cloud-based presentation software that uses AI technology to help users create visually stunning and engaging presentations quickly and easily. Below is an example of how it is able to combine design elements such as icons, images, and typography to create professional-looking presentations. 

Best Flow Chart Visualization

One of the most interesting COVID-19-related data visualizations to come out of the pandemic is this flow chart below, created by Reuters, which shares how viruses move from different bat species to other animals and then to humans.

Best Motion Graphic Visualization

Where does a raindrop in any portion of the United States finally end up? This fun motion graphic visualization lets you choose the exact place of rainfall, and then it takes you on an adventure to where the raindrop meets its final resting place.

Best AI Visualization

One of the newest developments in AI includes tools like DALL-E2, with the ability to generate surreal and creative images from textual descriptions. Even though it is still a relatively new tool, it has already found practical applications in areas such as interior design, fashion design, and product design.

DALL-E2 combines deep learning techniques, including generative adversarial networks (GANs) and transformers, to create images that match the text descriptions provided to it. For example, if given the prompt “an armchair in the shape of an avocado,” DALL-E can generate an image of an armchair that looks like an avocado, as you can see in the example below.

Best Timeline Visualization

Heads of government around the world have a profound influence on global events and history. This timeline visualization provides details on who has led the world’s largest and most important nations and on whom world leaders have led alongside.

Best Bar Graph Visualization

How many millions of lines of code are included in different codebases? This elegant bar graph conveys the information at a glance. When you’re working with data that reaches into the millions of millions, this type of data visualization helps you break things down into a more easily digestible graphic.

Best Visualizations for Custom Apps

If you are trying to make sense of multiple sources of business data, one visualization alone is probably not going to cut it. To solve that, software like Domo allows users to connect to multiple data sources, transform data, and create custom visualizations to gain insights and make data-driven decisions. 

Domo’s visualizations are designed to be highly customizable and interactive, allowing users to quickly and easily explore data and discover insights. In the example below, you can see a dashboard consisting of multiple visualization cards that come together to tell a story.

Best Table Visualization

You likely know that certain foods pair better with certain wines than others. But few people have committed to memory exactly what food-wine pairings work best. This table visualization perfectly captures the best pairings for easy reference when you’re entertaining or otherwise trying to piece together a menu.

Best Donut Chart Visualization

Our dietary preferences have changed greatly in the past few decades, including a marked rise in meat consumption and the use of vegetable oils. This donut chart visualization lets you explore different countries during different time periods to see exactly what people were eating.

What are the Best Tools for Creating Data Visualizations?

As you browse through the data visualizations above, you likely wonder about the tools used to create each. Luckily, there are myriad tools in the modern age that can be used to create visualizations like the ones you see above. But the perfect tool for you will depend on what type of visualization you’d like to create.

Choose the right tool and data points, and you’re likely to end up with an effective and interactive data visualization. Choose the wrong tool and data points, and you may end up among the bad data visualization examples. Here’s recommendations on different data visualization tools:

• For map data visualizations: Maps are often essential to the success of data visualizations, as you can see from the several examples above. Maptive is customizable mapping software that can be used to transform your data into a bespoke map in just minutes.
• For live data visualizations: For live data visualizations, take advantage of Mapbox and its powerful developer tools that allow you to leverage precise location data.
• For large amounts of data: Tools like Maptive, Tableau, FusionCharts, Grafana and others can be used to harness large amounts of data for creating visualizations that convey insights at a glance.
• For CRM data: Many companies need to translate massive amounts of CRM data into helpful visualizations. Tools like SalesForce and Tableau can help in this area. Maptive’s Salesforce integration (coming in Fall 2023) will also allow you to combine the power of both tools for helpful, map-based visualizations.
• For data analytics: For data analytics, try Google’s Data Studio, which is free. You can also use Google Charts for data analytics.For AI visualizations: new tools are popping up every day in 2023, but for now the most powerful AI tools in the market to generate creative visualizations are DALL-E 2 and Dream.ai, while tools like Beautiful.ai are best used to take your business presentations to the next level.
• For AI visualizations: New tools are popping up every day in 2023, but for now the most powerful AI tools in the market to generate creative visualizations are DALL-E 2, Midjourney and Dream.ai, while tools like Beautiful.ai are best used to take your business presentations to the next level.

What Could Data Visualization Mean for You?

Data visualization is one of the best, most effective ways to build your ideas or research into a powerful image that resonates with a target audience. Visualizations are helpful in academia and in journalism, but they can be just as powerful for startups and other companies that need to get their messages across quickly and clearly.

Are you interested in testing Maptive for your map-based data visualizations? Start a free trial and explore what you could do with data visualization.

The post 25+ Impressive Data Visualization Examples 2023 appeared first on Maptive.

The right political campaign software can help you plan and execute election campaigns more efficiently and effectively by running demographic data analyses, using voter data for campaign strategy, expanding your voter database, targeting and mapping, and easily sharing & exporting maps.

Whatever level of government your candidate is running for, political campaign management software like Maptive can help you further hone your outreach campaign strategy, reach your voters faster, and cut costs.

In this article, we’ll explore the following:

• Benefits of Using Mapping Software for Election Campaigns
• Types of Software for Political Campaigns
• How to Use Mapping Software for Voter Targeting
• How to Use Mapping Software for Canvassing
• How to Use Mapping Software for Data Visualization

Benefits of Using Mapping Software for Election Campaigns

With the right political campaign software, you can create maps that can help visualize your constituencies & voter data, areas you’ll need to canvas, zip codes where you might want to recruit volunteers or concentrate your mailing and canvassing efforts, and so much more.

If you can’t look at each of the informative maps of the territories you are targeting and see where you are ahead, and behind your opponents, you will probably struggle to come out ahead on election day. So to help you succeed and refine the strategy of your political parties and campaigns, we have summarized the main benefits of using a mapping software like Maptive.

Map voter data to plan your campaign

Tired of using generic mailing lists for your events and fundraising efforts for your political party? With mapping software, you can visualize your supporters’ information to gain insights to help you run a more effective political campaign. Import voter data and generate informative maps to identify key demographics and voting patterns of residents within your district, helping you make better decisions about where to focus your targeting efforts.

Geocode and symbolize campaign contributions

Analyze and understand your existing and potential donors and fundraising efforts in different areas. Import the voter data for your political race contributions into the mapping software and watch it plot your donors on an interactive map that you can customize with logos, symbols, and colors to visualize your data meaningfully.

Gain insight into voter demographics

Maptive comes complete with built-in Census data available for you to use. This demographic data includes attributes like population, age, race, gender, income, and housing. You can use this information to develop voter mapping that will uncover important patterns across your community or focus on specific constituencies.

Visualize event coverage

Add events to your map and see the coverage and timing. You can then identify voters near each event and generate refined contact lists or plan new events in areas where you see supporters’ hot spots. You can also get the latest voter file from your political party or county election office and use Maptive’s advanced geocoding tools to map & invite the voters you want based on their party affiliation and voting history.

Types of Software for Political Campaigns

When it comes to political campaigns, political campaign software and election mapping software are two of the most popular choices to support your victory.

• Political campaign software, generally speaking, can help you manage your campaign operations, including fundraising, volunteer management, and voter outreach. Some examples of political campaign software include NGP VAN, NationBuilder, and Salesforce.
• Election mapping software, on the other hand, can help you analyze election data like voter demographics, voting patterns, and precinct boundaries. This can be very useful for creating targeted voter outreach strategies and identifying potential swing districts. Maptive is one of the best political campaign software out there.

You may decide to use one or both of these tools depending on the size and scope of the campaign, your overall budget, and the campaign’s specific goals.

For example, smaller grassroots campaigns usually rely heavily on volunteer efforts, so it might make more sense for them to use political campaign software.

However, larger campaigns with an established infrastructure and a greater emphasis on data analysis and campaign strategy will probably need election mapping software.

Get Started with Maptive

How to Use Mapping Software for Voter Targeting

All political campaigns strive to target specific voters, but without the best political campaign software doing so may result in a bit of a struggle. You can stop blanket canvassing and instead focus your outreach only on areas where you can identify supporters’ hot spots.

With Maptive, you can create a detailed profile of your constituencies and identify areas where potential supporters may reside by overlaying multiple data sets onto a map, including demographic data like age, gender, income, and education level, combined with overall population density trends, census tracts and statistics.

From a user perspective, you have to import your voter data, then segment the voters in relevant data in the most strategic way possible, and then create targeted lists for your digital or personal outreach. And thanks to Maptive, you can then choose to map voter locations in various ways: visualize them in bulk, segment them using the marker grouping tool, or map them by census tract, congressional districts, or zip codes.

 How to Use Mapping Software for Canvassing

Maptive includes many functionalities that can help you maximize on-the-ground efforts and ensure good coverage in specific areas.

With Maptive, you can add a layer to your map showing the locations of polling places and yard signs, and you can then see if there are any gaps and reach out to voters in those areas. And if you’re planning to canvass neighborhoods door-to-door in your city, you can use Maptive to design efficient neighborhood walks that will save you time and help you connect with more communities.

In fact, Maptive’s tools and features are so flexible that you can even use them to plan routes, track canvassers, and manage data collected from door-to-door outreach–effectively delivering you and your political campaign immense value to help increase voter turnout.

How to Use Mapping Software for Data Visualization

Share your results and streamline your election operations! With Maptive, it’s really easy to share your maps with your team to encourage collaboration, embed them on your candidate’s website, or privately send links to the interactive visualizations to all your stakeholders.

Then again, if you prefer to hang maps of your target territories on your headquarters’ walls, you can also export and print them in poster size.

With Maptive’s intuitive campaign management platform, users can build a custom elections map in just a few easy steps:

Step 1. To start a new map, log into Maptive and click the Create a Map menu icon.

Step 2. Open your Map Settings and explore custom styles created from our templates or begin styling your election maps with objects, colors, and other settings as you prefer.

Step 3. Select Advanced Settings to enable, disable, or customize the appearance of any objects or layers on your map, including city, state, address, zip codes, and anything else you want.

Step 4. Display your customized election maps in your presentation or document, embed them on your website, and enjoy the results!

Conclusion

Ready to take your election campaign to the next level? Then it’s time to invest in the best political campaign software! This powerful tool helps you visualize voter data, identify key demographics, and understand district boundaries. With mapping software like Maptive, you can create more effective targeting strategies and make data-driven decisions that give you a competitive edge.

In this article, we’ve explored the importance of using mapping software in election campaigns, including its many benefits, from the ability to help you gain a better understanding of your target audience to identifying key swing districts.

So, whether running a grassroots campaign or managing a larger operation, mapping software like Maptive is essential for any modern political campaign. With its ability to help you create more effective outreach strategies and make data-driven decisions, you can gain a strategic advantage that can make all the difference on election day.

Don’t wait–sign up for Maptive today and start taking your political campaign to the next level!

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The post How to Use Mapping Software to Win Political Campaigns appeared first on Maptive.

Most people think of data visualization as something that only experienced data analysts, and business professionals use. However, the truth is that anyone can benefit from data visualization tools – even beginners.

Data visualization can help you to see relationships between pieces of data that you might not be able to see just by looking at numbers. Seeing the relationships between data points can help you to understand the data better, and make better decisions.

Not quite sure how data visualization can help you? Don’t fret. We’re giving you the 411 on all things data visualization, from how you can benefit to why you should start using it today. You can also use these free Google Data Studio templates for beginners as a starting point.

However, if you are collecting customer data, you may wish to use secure survey software to protect their confidential information.

What is Data Visualization?

Data visualization is the process of creating visuals, such as charts, and graphs, to represent data. This can be used to examine data sets to find trends, and patterns.

Data visualization makes it easier to understand large data sets by converting them into visuals that can be more easily interpreted.

Let’s say you work in sales, and want to see how your team performs. You could simply look at a list of numbers, giving you some information, but it would be difficult to see any patterns. However, if you were to create a graph that showed the sales figures for each person on your team, you would be able to more easily see who is performing well, and who might need some help.

Data Visualization Types

There are many different types of data visualization, but some of the most common include:

●    Bar charts: Bar charts are one of the most common types of data visualization. They are used to compare different data sets side-by-side.

●    Line graphs: Line graphs are used to track changes over time. You can use them to show how a particular metric has changed over many days, weeks, months, or even years.

●    Pie charts: Pie charts can show how a data set is divided into different parts. They often show the percentage of people who fall into different categories.

●    Maps: Maps are another great data visualization example showing data distribution across a geographical area.

●    Infographics: Infographics are a combination of visuals, and text used to convey information in an easy-to-understand way.

●    Dashboards: Dashboards are a type of data visualization that allows you to see multiple visuals in one place. This can help see trends, and patterns across different data sets.

What makes a good data visualization?

Several factors can make a data visualization effective. However, the best data visualization is:

Easy to understand:

Data visualization aims to help you understand data sets more efficiently. This means that the visualization should be easy to interpret. Charts and graphs should be labeled clearly, and any colors or symbols used should be easy to understand.

The most effective type:

The type of visualization you use should be based on the data set you are working with, and the questions you are trying to answer. For instance, bar charts are better for comparing different data sets side-by-side, while line graphs are better for tracking changes over time.

Simple & easy to digest: 

Data visualizations should be kept as simple as possible. This means using the fewest colors and symbols possible, and avoiding unnecessary information. The visualization should only include the information necessary to answer the questions you are trying to answer.

Maintains data integrity:

It’s essential to ensure that the data you are using is accurate, and up-to-date. Any errors in the data can lead to incorrect conclusions being drawn from the visualization. Maintaining data integrity is especially important when creating dashboards, and infographics, as they often include data from multiple sources.

Benefits of Data Visualization

There are many benefits of data visualization, but some of the most notable include:

1.    Helps you to see relationships between data points

As we mentioned before, one of the main benefits of data visualization is that it can help you to see connections between different pieces of data. This can be helpful in many different situations.

Let’s say you have been asked to create a document called “Dialpad’s guide to enterprise collaboration.” In this document, you want to show how different factors – such as the number of employees, the company size, and the location – can affect collaboration within a company.

You would need to collect data on these different factors to do this. Then, you would need to visualize that data to make it easy to see relationships. For example, you might create an interactive color-coded map that shows how different company sizes affect collaboration. Or, you might create a bar chart that compares the number of employees in other locations.

2.    Helps you to make better decisions

Data visualization can also help you to make better decisions. If you have a company and want to scale business operations, data visualization can help you by giving a clear picture of what is working, and what is not.

Doing this allows you to focus on the most successful areas, and make changes to the areas that are not performing well. As a result, you can save time, and money while increasing your chances of success.

Assume your meeting notes from the past year show that attendance has been declining. You might surmise that this is because people are not interested in the topic of your meetings.

However, if you were to visualize the data, you might notice that attendance is highest when the meeting is held in the morning, and lowest when it is held in the evening. This would give you a different perspective on the situation, and help you to make a more informed decision.

3.    Helps beginners to better understand data

Data visualization can be a helpful tool if you are new to data analysis. This is because it can help simplify more complex data.

Where data analysts have years of experience and training, they can understand data processing engines, RDD sets, and can quickly see data patterns. However, for beginners, this might not be the case. For beginners who can’t yet understand the RDD process or see patterns in data, data visualization can be a huge help.

4.    It helps to communicate data more effectively

Another benefit of data visualization in business is that it can help you to communicate data more effectively. If you are trying to explain a data set to someone, it can be much easier to do with visuals rather than just numbers.

Let’s say you are trying to explain how a new marketing campaign is performing to your boss. You could give her a list of numbers showing the campaign results. However, it would be much easier (and more effective) to show her a graph that illustrates the results. For example, a line graph can help you show trends over time.

5.    Can be used to tell a story

Data visualization can also be used to tell a story. In some cases, the data might not be enough to explain what is happening on its own. However, when you add visuals, it can help to give context, and paint a fuller picture.

For example, if you wanted to present a catchment area analysis for a school, you might use a map to show where the students live. This would help to tell the story of where the school’s catchment area is, and how it has changed over time.

Image Sourced from BBC regional data

6.    It can save you time

Another benefit of data visualization is that it can save you time. This is because it can help you to quickly see patterns, and relationships that would be difficult to notice if you were looking at raw data.

For example, let’s say you’re handed a task management guide from Process Bliss that contains a list of tasks, their deadlines, and the people responsible for them. If you were to  understand this data without visualization, it would likely take you a long time.

However, if you were to visualize the data, you would be able to quickly see which tasks are due soon, who is responsible for each task, and whether any deadlines are approaching. This would save you a lot of time, and allow you to focus on other tasks.

Final Thoughts

So there you have it.  These are some of the key benefits of data visualization in business. Data visualization can help you to understand data better, communicate data more effectively, tell a story, and save time.

Now is the time to start if you’re not using data visualization in your business yet. You might be surprised at how helpful it can be.

Good luck, and happy visualizing!

 Grace Lau – Director of Growth Content, Dialpad

 Grace Lau is the Director of Growth Content at Dialpad, an AI-powered cloud communication platform and customer experience management software for better and easier team collaboration. She has over 10 years of experience in content writing and strategy. Currently, she is responsible for leading branded and editorial content strategies, partnering with SEO and Ops teams to build and nurture content. Grace Lau also published articles for domains such as Causeartist and DivvyHQ. Here is her LinkedIn.

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What is a Dot Density Map?

Dot density maps are a type of data visualization that uses dots as a symbol to represent individual data points. The dot placement on the map can communicate a lot of information about the data, such as its density or distribution.

Every dot on a dot density map can represent either a one-to-one or one-to-many value. That might sound confusing, but it’s really very simple:

• In a one-to-one dot map, each dot represents the actual locations of an individual business, building, data point, or occurrence of a phenomenon.
• In a one-to-many dot map, each dot represents aggregate data values. This becomes very helpful when the amount of individual data points becomes too great to be displayed individually.

It might be helpful to know that dot density maps are sometimes also referred to as dot distribution maps. They are ideal for seeing how things are distributed over a geographical region and the relative density of data sets.

If you are looking for the best tool to create a dot density map, Maptive is world-class mapping software that offers a variety of features that make the process easy and efficient.

#1 – Dot Density Map for Urban Planning

Dot density maps come in very handy when, for example, we are trying to quickly grasp where the majority of a certain population lives. When looking at the dot density map of a city’s population we can easily tell that the vast majority of people are concentrated within the city borders and as we pan out into the suburbs the dots appear further apart, indicating that those areas are less densely populated.

Urban planners can rely on dot density maps to monitor shifts in densest areas across states and counties, and determine the need for new infrastructure, parks, schools, and more public services.

#2 – Dot Density Maps for New Business Planning

Dot density maps can also be crucial in business planning. Say that, for example, you plan on opening a new location for your bookstore franchise; one of the factors you’ll be considering is the proximity to similar businesses and how many libraries are present in a given neighborhood.

With a dot density map, the individual points mapped will quickly reveal how many competitors are present and areas that might be underserved.

You are able to easily visualize which neighborhoods might have fewer destinations for book lovers, making your business decision easier and setting your future location up for success.

#3 – Dot Density Maps for Business Strategy

Businesses can rely on a dot distribution map to determine if they should launch a new marketing campaign or hire more salespeople to capitalize on an opportunity.

For example, if you are selling hiking gear and a dot density map reveals that the majority of the population within driving distance of your store is under 35 years old, you might choose to advertise on social media channels that attract users in that age range like TikTok and Instagram.

By that same logic, if you look at a distribution map of your competitors and realize that there are fewer of them, you might decide to boost your sales team so they can capture the territories of your former business rivals.

How Can You Create Dot Density Maps with Maptive

Thanks to Maptive, creating dot density maps has never been easier.

Step 1: Create a Maptive account. Signing up is free and easy, so you can experience all the platform’s tools and features at no cost.

Step 2: Upload your location data. You can use your own data, and it doesn’t matter whether it’s on a spreadsheet or other file type. You can even copy-paste it directly into Maptive.

Step 3: Transform your markers into dots. With Maptive, you can customize the map markers representing your location data into anything you’d like–but for creating a dot distribution map, you should be using dots.

Step 4: Generate your map. Now you have an easy way to visualize your data on a map so you can effortlessly identify trends and patterns that can help your business or research projects.

Step 5: Share your map with others. Dot density maps built with Maptive are easy to share or embed and can be customized to fit the specific needs of your business or organization.

The Benefits of Dot Density Maps

While it ultimately depends on your business goals, using dot density maps can yield many benefits.

• They are a powerful tool to visualize data and provide an immediate snapshot of spatial patterns and dot locations even if you started with very different data sources.
• Map readers can use the dot placement to understand everything from population density to consumer spending habits.
• The geographic distributions of the dot values can help businesses and organizations gain profound insights into their customer base or target market.
• Dot density maps generated with Maptive software are easy to share and can be customized to fit the specific needs of any business or organization.

Put simply, whether you are a business owner, marketing professional, sales leader, urban planner, or researcher, dot density maps are the perfect tool to visualize data, trends, and patterns.

They can help you gain insights that would otherwise stay buried deep into your excel sheets.

With Maptive software, dot density maps are easy to create and customize, making them the perfect tool for any business or organization looking to understand their market better.

Try using Maptive to create dot density maps today and see the benefits for yourself!

Ready to get started?

Sign Up for a Free Maptive Account Today

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