We’re big believers in the power of maps to communicate to people. After all a picture is worth a thousand words and probably worth ten thousand business reports. We think Google Earth and the technology it’s built on (Geographic Information Systems) are game changers for business. The problem to date has been that these great tools have been hard to use. Worse the pros in the field seem to want to make things too complex. We believe using maps for decision making in business (and government & non-profit, too) can be simple. To demonstrate we put together this tutorial on how maps can be used in an organization for free in a couple of hours.

With the right maps we can answer important business questions such as:

• Do you know where your customers are?
• How much money do they make?
• How old are they?
• Do they have kids?
• Do they own a home or rent?

How much do you really know?

Have you ever done a customer profile? What’s keeping you from doing one? Time…money…don’t know how?

Today, we’re going to put our customers on the map, get to know them a bit better and look at our market area. We’re going to cover the tools you need and where to get them, the map and demographic data that’s available to you and some ideas for how you can use Google Earth in your business. All of the tools and data we’ll talk about today are free so you can do this with your own customer list when you get back to the office.

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Our very own Kim Albritton will give a talk on using Google Earth for Small Businesses at the St. Lucie County Business Development Board on February 14.

We are all familiar with stores that ask for zip codes or even phone numbers, but do you know why? Since you are reading this blog you can probably guess it has something to do with GIS and you are correct. Retailers realized it is beneficial tosee where their customers come from. The simple and easiest way to determine the location without asking a lot of questions is to ask for the customer’’s zip code.

At the end of the day or week, the retailer can take the zip code data and calculate how many customers came from each zip code. Now the retailer has an idea how many customers come from each part of town.

Seems simple enough, just count how many customers from each area.

An easier way to see the results would be to take the same zip code data and place it on a map. The map would show, by color, which area has a higher concentration of customers. In a matter of seconds the retailer could see her customers. The map shows the retailer which customers may not know about her store, where to send circulars or coupons and possibly where to build a new store. Wal-Mart and McDonald’’s have used GIS for years to determine the best location for their next establishment. It is not luck that they have some of the most convenient locations.

Now the next time the retailer asks for your zip code, you will know what they want to do with it!

With that imaginative title we begin our journey on this blog. If you’re reading this, you’re probably wondering who and what is GlobalMind. We’re a small group of people working in the rapidly growing geospatial information industry. The industry was born in the 1960’s (before everyone on our team) with the invention of the geographic information system it remained an infant through the 70’s and 80’s. In the 90’s the technology began to mature and today it is driving a geographic awakening in society.

We believe that the ability to view information from the perspective of geography or location is trans formative. Think of impact that the election night image of red states and blue states on the CNN election map has had on your perception of Nebraska or my home state, Florida, for example.

Google Earth’s mapping of the crisis in Darfur is another great example of the power of geographic visualization. It conveys the scale of the crisis in a way that numbers and statistics cannot.

It’s this ability to visualize information in a new way and in doing so create understanding that did not exist before that really gets us juiced. We see endless opportunities to apply geographic understanding to the way we as humans view our world.

Our business is focused on building simple tools to help other small and medium companies use geography to improve their operations. Our background is in running small companies so we’ve lived the daily test that is small business. Our goal in this new venture is to apply our business experience and our passion for geography to help others succeed.

Joining me on this blog will be my partners, Kim Albritton and Stephen Clancy. We hope you join us and become part of the conversation about how geography can be used in business and society.