Online Locators: A Five-Point Checklist

A SpatialPoint White Paper

Download the Complete Online Locator White Paper

Store, dealer and office locators have become essential applications on business and consumer Web sites. Retailers, hotels, banks, insurance companies, restaurants and other businesses use online locators to help drive customers and prospects to brick & mortar locations to obtain services, shop and buy.

In addition, online locators are excellent for promoting brand and increasing visibility for a business.

However, a common misperception — perhaps due to the near ubiquity of locators — is that all locators are alike. This is far from true. The company that implements a locator under this misperception is taking a significant risk. If the locator is not designed with the needs of both the business and end user in mind, failure rates can be very high as measured by:

• Customer frustration — unable to understand how to use the locator application or locator provides inaccurate locations.

• Loss of business to competitors — customers who can’t find what they are looking for will turn elsewhere.

• Lost opportunity to gain business intelligence — information obtained from the locator can be used to gain intelligence about customers, prospects, trade areas, market penetration and more, leading to better business decisions.

This white paper addresses a five-point checklist to evaluate a locator for your company:

1. Locator Functionality

2. Search Capability

3. Location Data

4. Technology Integration

5. Passive vs. Active Locators

This information will help you make more informed and better decisions about what type of locator is right for your business, and whether or not your current locator is meeting your business objectives.