Location-based services have become an indispensable part of our lives. Geospatial technologies changed the way we shop, commute, and travel. They also can have a tremendous impact on businesses and their operations. Google decided to explore this impact and teamed up with a global analytics leader, Oxford Economics, to conduct third-party research. In this article, we’ll give you an overview of the results!
Google and Oxford Economics’ research consisted of quantitative and qualitative surveys. It included 1000 business executives and covered 14 industry clusters as well as 12 distinct geospatial service use cases across 8 countries.
The research focused on four areas that Google’s clients mention as crucial to assess when deciding whether to incorporate geospatial services into their business. The key areas include revenue, operations, customer experience, and sustainability.
Participating executives reported cost reductions following the implementation of geospatial services at their organizations; impacted areas included customer service, employee hours per delivery or transaction, fleet size, fuel costs, and more.
Respondents were presented with statements about the impact of geospatial services. Here’s what they claimed:
said geospatial services improve the efficiency of their organization’s processes and operations.
said their organization has become more environmentally sustainable since implementing geospatial services.
What else did we learn from Google and Oxford Economics’ research?
Customer experience
Currently, customer and user experience is a priority for many businesses. 42% of the research participants said it’s their key focus for the next three years. Geospatial services can improve customer experience and increase customer loyalty.
According to research, geospatial services are also the most popular solution for keeping customers updated with key information and increasing their engagement. An example of such a geospatial service is providing localized information on proximity to business locations.
Businesses use geospatial services to help their users…
Business operations
In the last three years, half of the respondents in Google and Oxford Economics’ research invested in mapping technologies to improve their business operations. Fewer participants invested in business analytics (38%) and increased headcount (also 38%).
- Almost half of the respondents said geospatial services helped optimize their operations further down the supply chain by 15%. For example, they limited the number of trips to make the same amount of deliveries or service appointments.
- Over half of the respondents said geospatial services improve the efficiency of their business processes and operations.
- 62% said visualizing geospatial data helps them make better decisions.
Financial performance
The research indicates that geospatial services influence business cost reductions. Here are the results of the survey question “In the three years after your organization made its first investments in geospatial services, what decrease in operating costs did you realize in each of the following areas?“:
In this article, we shared some of the most important results of the research conducted by Google and Oxford Economics. If you’d like to learn more, Google prepared different resources. On our Partner’s website, you can find the new impact calculator. Use it to receive a custom report on the impact that organizations like yours have seen from implementing geospatial services. You can also watch Google’s webinar or read the executive overview of the research.
And if you’re wondering which geospatial services would be the best fit for your business, don’t hesitate to contact us. Discuss your challenges and needs with our experts, and we’ll help you choose the most optimal solution!