There are several factors to consider when choosing the ideal location for your business.
Source: Unsplash.
Choosing the right location for your business is crucial to your success. It will determine the footfall of your stores, how much revenue you will generate, and what kind of competitive landscape you will be entering. It can have an immediate impact on how your business operates.
Your business type will determine your choice of location since every business model has its own needs. For example, a retailer or a restaurant would need foot traffic to ensure higher sales or a high fashion brand would want to attract the ideal customer. However, there are certain factors that apply to all businesses regardless of which industry you are in.
Here are 5 such common factors that you should consider when choosing the ideal location:
A business is not a business without its customers and you will always want to be closer to the right customers. It determines your target market by identifying product preferences and your customers’ purchasing behavior. For example, if you are a high fashion brand you would want to attract customers between the ages of 24 to 44, who probably have higher purchasing capacity. Understanding your customer demographics gives you the edge when designing your products and creating marketing campaigns to target your customers.
Echo Analytics provides insights into specific POIs (point-of-interests), including understanding the demographics of that POI. Find out more about Echo Analytics POI datasets here.
While your point of interest (POI) is important, it is crucial to understand what kind of other facilities are available in the area. If it has a parking lot or if it is close to the metro station or a shopping mall – such factors tend to play an important role since they determine the convenience for your customers. It might also be a good idea to consider if the location is in suitable proximity to your suppliers. If you own a restaurant, you might want to know if there are vegetable vendors or fruit stalls nearby just to ensure that your inventory is stocked properly.
Echo Analytics Shapes dataset provides you with insight into the physical characteristics of a particular POI. As we see in the image below, the shopping mall is marked out by a polygon, and the parking lot right next to it is also highlighted. This way you will get an understanding of not only the distance between the spaces but also an idea of what the surrounding looks like. You can learn more about Shapes Dataset here.
Caption: Polygons defining a shopping mall and its adjacent parking lot.
Source: Unsplash. Downloaded on Nov 14, 2022.
Once you know your location, you will get an idea about what kind of competitive landscape you are entering. Sometimes it is not just to gain an advantage over other businesses but to see how your store can act as the perfect substitute. If your location has several restaurants that are making profits it can mean that the area is popular for this reason. Setting up a restaurant would mean that you are adding to the choices the customer has. On the other hand, if your area has competitors but they are quickly shutting down it could mean that despite everything businesses tend to be at a loss there. You can use this kind of competitive knowledge to either gain an advantage or fit in perfectly with the neighborhood.
Echo Analytics provides ideal competitive insights about the location of your interest. You not only get to know who your competitors are but also where they are located, and they can affect your business. Find out more here.
Foot traffic directly affects your sales which is why it is a crucial factor to consider when opening a shop. You have to understand your customers’ behavior, what they are doing, and where they are going. It will also help you get insight into how many people are visiting your competitors’ stores. For example, McDonald’s would want to know how many customers went to Burger King, how much time did they spend there, and when did they exit. This kind of data helps you get a better understanding of your customer’s purchasing habits, and the peak hour of sale, and you can also predict when the foot traffic will be low.
Echo Analytics uses non-PII data to build foot traffic datasets for clients so that they can measure the performances of their sales and marketing strategies. You can learn more about our foot traffic data here.
How you operate your business reflects a lot about your brand identity. Whether your style of operation is more formal or casual, it should suit the location that you pick. For example, if you pick a location that is popular with students you would like to keep your style of operation more casual such as offering discounts based on student ID cards or you can resort to the classic bar table and booths as the seating option. A deep understanding of your customer demography and the location you want to open your business in can help determine your style of operation. It is the final and crowning factor of your brand, something that makes it more relatable.
Our team at Echo Analytics provides you with clean and up-to-date POI datasets and enriches them with attributes such as taxonomy, brand name, and polygons so that you can gain insightful information. To find out more, you can request a data sample below.
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