Business uses CRM to manage the client's data and relationship. CRM records will have clients' location information. When we read all this information in a list format, there are chances of missing out on small details.
Viewing a geotag pin with all the information is much better than reading the location details. It is easier for the eyes to view and understand the data.
Let us take an example of Dynamics 365 CRM users. A business using it might be missing out on so many things because of a lack of data visualization. But to make this better, Dynamics 365 users can make use of a location mapping tool.
What is a location mapping tool?
A location mapping tool plots all the CRM data on a map for better visualization. There are standalone apps and plugins available in the market for the same.
However, the data you will be using for the map visualization will be coming from the CRM. So, it becomes mandatory to integrate your CRM with the mapping tool.
Hence, a better idea would be to integrate a mapping plugin with the CRM. This plugin will have all the functionalities of the mapping tool and will add the same to the CRM.
For example, if you use a Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM rather than using a standalone app, use a Dynamics 365 plugin so that you don’t have to integrate the CRM separately.
Why does your business need a mapping tool?
There are various reasons to use a mapping tool, as it helps you grow your business and save valuable time for your employees from tedious tasks.
Business Growth: In this era, you need tools that can simplify your work and enhance your working capabilities. A mapping tool is one such necessity for your business.
Data Visualization: The mapping tool helps you visualize, filter, and geocode your CRM data on a map. You can create a heat map for a better comparison and understanding of data.
Build More Pipelines: The tool has features that let you build and improve territories. Along with proximity search, build segmented pipelines for your sales, marketing, and field service teams.
Optimizations to Save Time: The mapping tool creates and optimizes routes for field reps. It significantly reduces traveling distance and traveling time by suggesting the shortest routes.
Automation: Seamlessly plan appointments with automated features like appointment bookings, auto check-ins and outs, meeting notes, and more.
Who can use the mapping tool?
Major users of mapping tools are Real Estate, Healthcare & Pharma, Professional Services, Manufacturing, and more.
Within your business, mapping tool is useful for many teams. Let’s have a look at them.
Sales Teams: Providing the sales team with a mapping tool will reduce operational overheads. It will allow your team to focus more on conversions and less on unproductive tasks.
Marketing Team: The mapping tool improves visualization, which helps your marketing team in planning campaigns with more details. This will generate a fruitful pipeline for your sales team.
Field Service Teams: If your business offers door-to-door services like repairing, cleaning, collections, deliveries, etc., mapping tool is a boon. It helps in improving the service quality as your team will have enough time to focus on clients rather than doing paperwork.
Delivery Teams: If you want your delivery teams to serve customers faster, a mapping tool helps in reducing order-to-delivery turnaround with shorter routes.
Managers: Managers in the office can track on-field teams and visualize ongoing operations. The analytical data will help them make better decisions.
Partners, Suppliers & Distributors: Mapping tool will make your distribution channel faster as you can find nearby suppliers within the territory. You can meet/deliver in one go and reduce continuous back and forth.
Advanced features to look for in a mapping tool
- Scheduling and Tracking Appointments
- Planning meetings and then scheduling them with the right team is essential if you want to efficiently utilize working hours. With a mapping tool, managers can schedule activities for their teams. The schedule can be for one day, week, month, or however, you prefer. The tool will have all the client details and an optimized route connecting all the destinations and the sequence of the meetings.
- Once your team is out engaged in meetings, deliveries, or services, managers can see the live location of their team. They can see whether the sales reps are following the schedule, how many meetings they have already completed, whether they are late or not, whether they are utilizing their time efficiently, and much more. So, if managers have something to say or check, they don’t have to call their team members. They can easily do it from the office.
- To digitize all the meeting data, you need automation. Manual entries can be easily manipulated. To avoid such scenarios, the mapping tool you invest in must have an auto check-in and out feature. Managers can track all the meeting timings and see whether they are on time or not. If the sales reps checks-in late, it goes straight away for approval. Once the manager approves it, then only the entry is valid. Basically, when the sales rep reaches the client's location, the app automatically checks in, and once they leave the place, the sales reps will be checked out.
- To make the above discussion possible, the mapping tool must have a mobile version. So that sales reps working hours and transit hours can be truly noted. It will work as proof of work for them. Digitized data ensures no one is cheating. Moreover, using the mobile app, they can view the optimized routes and save time in understanding the location.
- Optimized Route Planning
- An ideal mapping tool must have a feature that designs optimized routes for you to share with your sales team. The tool will make links that sales reps can open, and it will have directions to their desired destination. The routes in these links will be the shortest of all so that your team never reaches late. You can send them emails from the tool itself.
- Sales reps can easily view routes in Google Maps or Apple Maps. As the ideal mapping tool must have a fully functional mobile version, accessing routes or any other information related to client location is quick. Managers can also share any updates in location and routes with sales reps and use their time more effectively.
- As the sales reps are out the whole day, they might need to visit a restaurant, cafe, medical store, or gas station. Or maybe they have to set up a meeting at the cafe. Sales reps are always in search of a good cafe or co-working space where they can have a diction with prospects. Sales reps don’t have to use a different app for the same. The mapping will let them find the point of interest that follows in their path.
- Proximity Search
- Meetings often get postponed or canceled, and the sales rep's schedule gets disturbed. They cannot change the time of other appointments. The time they dedicated to the meeting that just got canceled will be completely wasted. But if you have a mapping tool, you can utilize that time.
- The mapping tool has a feature called proximity search. This feature allows users to find all the client locations around them in their territory. They can use different parameters to find the prospects around them and book an appointment with them.
- The first way of finding the client's location is by location. You can enter any location, and the tool will show you the client's location around it. The second way is via distance. Users can add up to three proximity levels (kilometers or miles) to find a nearby client. The final way of finding clients around you is with time. You can find the location to reach within the given time so that you don’t miss the upcoming appointment.
- Sales Pipeline
- Sales managers have to constantly keep an eye on the sales number, how many they have in the pipeline, how many repeat orders they have, how many more numbers they need to achieve the strategic goal, and whatnot.
- To keep a close eye on sales, managers have to ensure that territories are well managed. The mapping tool improves the visualization power of records and assigns those records wisely to sales reps. Based on geography, industry, etc., you can assign different on field teams based on their expertise and the group of customers they will be meeting.
- The other way of tracking the sales number is heat maps. The easiest way to visualize any entity is with heat maps. Here different colors are used to visualize the density of records in the selected region.
- To monitor different performances, the mapping tool comes with a lot of dashboards. It has a dashboard to refine marketing strategy, improve customer experience, analyze risks, monitor sales teams' performance, and the freedom to design their own custom dashboard.
- Mapping CRM Data
- It is pretty obvious that you don’t want to see all the CRM records at once. For more clarity, it is best to view records region-wise. That is exactly what a mapping tool offers. You can view any desired portion of the map with different filters like drawings, territory, regions, or users.
- To make things more clear, you need more information. The Dynamics 365 map plugin shows all the records on the map in a grid view as well. You also have a summary card that opens up when you have to hover over the geotag pin. The summary card will have all the necessary information, like monthly and annual revenue, order information, client information, and more.
- In case any of the records don’t have a lat long, the mapping tool can geocode all the records. You can do this in bulk or automate the process so that anytime a new record is added, it will be automatically geocoded. This will save you time as you don’t have to manually do it every time there is a new record added to the CRM.
- Configurations
- The ideal mapping tool must be fully configurable only that you can make the best use of it, keeping in mind the requirements of different industries. A good mapping tool gives you two types of configurations: Global and User level configurations.
- In global-level configurations, all the users of the mapping tool will have the same filters and access to a set of features. These configurations define that all the tool users stay on the same page when it comes to its information.
- In the user-level configuration, you can allow users to customize the look and feel of the tool as per their preference. Some on-field users might like some zoom level to view the map. Rather than doing it every time they open the app, they can easily save it for later use. Moreover, every user has their own way of visualizing data. All this configuration is possible with the mapping tool. However, the admin has full control over how many features they want to allow users to configure.
- With a mapping plugin, you create different security templates. For example, you can configure quick actions like creating a new activity, deleting a record, changing the owner, etc. They can also set filters like drawings, regions, proximity, territory, user, etc., on the map at the user level.
- All of these features of the mapping tool can be viewed in your preferred language. So no matter whether you have a team all over the world, every user will be able to make the best use of this.
Conclusion
The mapping tool comes with features that simplify and streamline work, especially for your marketing and sales team. Features like adding to a marketing list, follow-up activities, saving preferences, and more help your team work more efficiently. There are a lot of location mapping tools available in the market. You need to find one that caters to your business requirement. For example, Dynamics 365 CRM users must invest in a Dynamics 365 map plugin rather than a standalone app. This plugin will add all the features within their CRM. You get more control over customization if you use a plugin rather than a standalone app. Ensure the mapping tool you choose for your business that will benefit your business and is open to customization in case necessary.
