We hear some questions a lot. Our answers to the most frequent ones are below. Have a question you don’t see answered here? Call or email for more information.
What is spatial analysis?
“Spatial” refers to the locational elements of your business data—mailing addresses, zip codes, proximity to competitors and so on. Without this locational component, a business will never reach the full potential of its data. But when you add spatial analysis to your research, raw locational numbers are quickly transformed into meaningful, actionable customer insights that can guarantee success in ways other data analytics can’t. It’s what separates eSite’s analysis from traditional business intelligence and predictive analytics.
What can my company do with spatial analysis?
Whether you need to select sites or plan marketing (or do anything in between), spatial analysis will eliminate guesswork to help you make more money, minimize risk and improve operations. Browse our client’s success stories for detailed examples of all three.
What about Big Data?
Like any growing industry, ours has experienced a number of buzzwords and nomenclatures in recent years—“big data,” “predictive analytics,” “location intelligence,” ”business intelligence” and more. The definitions of these terms depend largely on who you’re talking to. But while the terminology is evolving, the basic principles haven’t changed much in the years since eSite was founded. This newsletter article nicely sums up our approach to big data.
What can you do for my company that we can’t do for ourselves?
eSite won’t “fall in love” with your concept, your market or your real estate. We’ll give you unbiased solutions that empower your company to make decisions based on customer and geographic data rather than speculation, focus groups or gut feelings.
How do you work with and support your clients?
For starters, we’re not traditional in our approach to client relationships. eSite staff is driven by a core set of company values that keep us generous, nimble and accessible. For this reason, among others, most companies opt to partner with eSite as a full-service provider of GIS mapping, modeling, analysis, software, consulting and more. Every eSite client has its own dedicated team of analysts working side-by-side with internal staff.
Other than a full engagement, what other project options do you offer?
We have several options that can be adjusted to fit your needs. We can:
How long before we’re up and running?
Two to eight weeks, depending on the complexity of the engagement. Partial implementations happen very quickly.
How do you implement?
Once we receive your data, eSite’s standard engagement involves four stages:
When you speak of initial findings, what does that mean?
eSite will discuss what’s making your current network “tick.” Past performance is almost always an indicator of future performance, so it’s critical to understand why good stores do well and poor stores don’t. We also deliver an initial model for selecting new locations or optimizing old ones. This is always an interesting time as we work with the client to determine which model components need to be changed. eSite will always provide our “point of view” but we also know “when to salute” and make the appropriate changes.
Many of your clients are a lot bigger than we are and we can’t pay what they pay...Why should we use you?
While most clients partner with eSite through multi-year, full-service contracts, we do have ways to provide emerging businesses with the data analysis they need on a more short-term basis. Pat (our friendly sales guy) can fill you in on the details.
How would you train us?
Typically, in online meetings. Some clients prefer to visit our headquarters in Charleston , S.C. for training sessions, in which case you’d enjoy excellent meals and great company. (And Condé Nast Traveler’s #1 U.S. destination!)
Do you have a trial we can try out?
We can provide a test market analysis to show you how the process and our software work.
We’re not interested in new locations right now. Why would we partner with eSite?
Profitable site selection is just one of many benefits of working with eSite. Our spatial analytics will also make your current sites perform better. For example, when we guided one company as it revitalized existing stores to attract more affluent customers, the result was an immediate 7% boost in overall sales. Another company reduced appointment cancellations by 75%—not by changing its office locations, but by using eSite’s data analysis to qualify new prospects.
Can you make us any guarantees?
Yes. We guarantee we’ll never steer you to a location where it will fail. To date, every eSite client has experienced significant returns on investment.
How many people will be assigned to my account?
At least three. Your dedicated team will include two analysts working under the supervision of eSite’s V.P. of software development and analytics, Vikki. Of course, senior management is involved in any results, too.
Why is there a picture of a dog on your website?
That’s Bud, the company rescue dog. He belongs to Tom and Boo (our CEO and V.P.), but spends most of his weekdays keeping us company at the office.
Is your approach transparent?
Completely. Our promise is to be your partner, which means the data, logic and results are always available to you. eSite technology bends to your needs, as promised in our company values. No reason to keep you in the dark!
Se habla Español?
Sí!
Do you work outside the United States?
Yes! Our mapping platform works worldwide. We can integrate client-owned, geo-demographic data or acquire specialized, country-specific data.
Are you a MWBE firm?
Yep!
What types and amounts of insurance do you carry?
Enough to make Fortune 100 companies comfortable.
How old are you?
Pat hears this question most often. You’ll have to ask him.
Why should we select you over other firms we’re considering?
We answer this question on the Why eSite page of our website. But please, don’t just take us at our word that eSite’s going to knock your socks off…let us wow you with a one-on-one consultation.
Really, how old did you say you were?
O.K. So Tom hears it, too.
How do you handle competitive accounts?
Your team is dedicated to you. That means the project leader on your account will never, ever touch a competitive account.
Where do you get your data?
Typically, it starts with our clients. Some of the best data is gathered through sources such as customer loyalty programs and point of sale. We then collaborate with our partner demographic and geographic providers to fill any gaps that may exist.
I don’t have any customer data. Will that affect outcomes?
We understand that not all businesses have the ability to capture data, and we have methods for gaining consumer insights without their participation. As an example, one of our clients had nothing more than sales transactions. By combing through more than 7 million of them, our analysts were able to create a customer list organized by lifestyles and buying habits—something the national chain had never before had access to.
How secure will our data be?
eSite's infrastructure is managed by one of the Southeast's top-rated IT services providers. Our data center is protected by layers upon layers of security, from biometric fingerprint controls to video cameras to 24/7/365 monitoring by real people. Your data will always be safely locked away.
We get our data from our real estate brokers. Do you work with them?
Yes. Our role is to provide unbiased reporting from professionals who understand your brand. If brokers are essential to your process of establishing new locations, we’ll absolutely include them in our process.
How accurate are your sales forecasts?
If we could control factors like office management and how next year’s weather will affect sales, our forecasts would be 100% accurate, 100% of the time. Even without the ability to influence such variables, our analytics still greatly impact the bottom line. For example, an internal analysis has shown that we could have saved one commercial bank hundreds of millions of dollars by predicting, in more than 50% of cases, when a lender was likely to default.
Can you incorporate data and models we’ve already developed?
Our tools are data-agnostic and are driven by empirical formulas, logic, and business rules. We’ll happily run your model(s) alongside ours.
Can you reverse your process and determine the ideal tenant mix for a development?
Easily! Our process will identify prospective tenants best suited for your property. We can analyze:
Do your applications run on the web?
Yes. While many eSite Tools™ deploy to your desktop or network, our web-based dashboard system can be accessed anywhere, at any time.
How long does it take you to build a predictive model?
We build and execute models in a fraction of the time it takes using traditional methods. Depending on several factors, including the complexity of your request, eSite can deliver a functioning system in as little as four weeks.
Is that your real hair color?
Huh? I thought we were talking about GIS mapping...
