MapBusinessOnline newsletter – July 2019
The MapBusinessOnline Apps for Windows & Mac
Have you tried the MapBusinessOnline App for Windows or Mac yet? Do you realize its FREE and included in your subscription?
Download your required version of the App here. Start Mapping in a less cluttered environment today!
- Does not require a web browser to access MapBusinessOnline
- Directly links to Excel files for easier imported data updates
- Easily set up a one-click-access Taskbar button
- Identical functionality to what you've come to expect from MBO
- In many cases imports are faster and images are more distinct
- MBO's best solution of multi-user access across an enterprise - IT Loves the App!
- Updates are quick and easy
MBO Discussion - Vacation Mapping
Last week, while on vacation, I used at least 15 different maps, including MapBusinessOnline, to seek out efficient trails from my house to the top of nearby Sawyer Mountain, in Limington, Maine. My house sits at the edge of the largest undeveloped section of land in York County, ME. I used MapBusinessOnline as my central data gathering tool for map information and notes. I also used all four versions of the map background options to plan and track progress:
- Streets – This view helps orient initial views of an area. It also should have all up-to-date street data, with a little bit of topography
- Satellite with Streets – It helps to view trails visible through aerial imagery views and have the street layer visible. Many streets dead-end onto trails
- Topographic – USGS Topo maps may sometimes contain legacy trails and discontinued streets that are no longer visible from the air
- National Geographic – Another nice topographic view. In certain areas these maps may prove more useful than in other areas
Over a few days, in addition to MBO, I tapped into Google Maps aerial views, local snowmobile and hiking sites, town property maps, and several paper maps from local sources. I used MapBusinessOnline to measure various hiking distances, and note paths taken. I did not track my walk with my cell phone, to conserve power on the off chance I got hurt or murdered by a bear.
Just remember, sometimes it takes a variety of maps to reveal the details you need to achieve your geo-goals. And bring bug juice on your hikes.
MBO Tips & Tricks - Route Arrival Times & Stop Durations
MapBusinessOnline optimized routing is most easily achieved by importing a spreadsheet of stop-off addresses. MBO will place those points accurately on the map and the user can simply and instantly create a route with up to 150 stops, by clicking Add All Rows from Data Window to Route. Lickety-Split you've got yourself a vehicle route.
For some businesses planning operations stop duration times helps build structure into delivery/pick-up expectations. By allowing a specified period of time, say ten minutes, per stop, a driver becomes aware of how much time to allow for signatures, packing, and bathroom breaks.
Include a column for arrival time and a column for stop duration expectations in your imported route data. After your data is imported click the Route Window Settings Gear to match routing times with your data columns. Have fun managing arrival and duration times per stop.
MBO Feature of the Month - The City Limits Layer
City Limits, an available map layer option for full-year subscribers to MapBusinessOnline, can add meaningful insights to market analysis and demographic mapping projects. This full USA map layer provides boundary views of municipal jurisdiction. The city limits layer covers big cities like Boston or Las Vegas, but it also presents smaller urban units, like Forest Hills, TX and all the way down to relatively small towns, like Rockport, MA, where I grew up.
Because MapBusinessOnline provide USA Census demographic data at the City Limits level, a subscriber has the option to conduct city demographic profiles that might describe population, age statistics, household income levels, and consumer expenditures. These city-based demographic map views augment market analysis, making it easy to determine the ten or twenty most wealthy urban areas in the nation, with sub-interests like ethnicities, marital stats and other key demographic categories.
If market analysis and expansion plans have always been a dream of your business. Well, if your reading this, your dreams are well within your reach with MapBusinessOnline.
