2015) are based on artificial intelligence (AI) and artificial life. AI simulates intelligence using machines and software (Minsky 1986). Artificial life (Heudin 1997) is based on biomimicry, that is, the reproduction of biological phenomena with neural networks, genetic algorithms, cellular automatons represented by regular grids and used to define urban space simulation models (Langlois and Phipps 1997). Multi-agent systems (MAS) have been widely used in logistics management in connection with retail activities (Li and Sheng 2011; He et al. 2013; Heppenstall et al. 2013). An application of multi-agent systems has made it possible to develop a system called the Multi-agent System for Traders (MAST) to facilitate the consumer purchasing process and in particular the payment process (Rosaci and Sarne 2014).
1.4.3. Software and websites
Digital geography is evolving at an ever-increasing rate and the following is not intended to provide a vision of the software market and geomarketing sites, as there are far too many of them. According to the geographers themselves, this evolution is becoming increasingly uncontrollable and is beginning to raise real ethical issues (Joliveau 2011).
1.4.3.1. Geomarketing software and services
The importance of spatial marketing can also be measured by trying to count the companies that offer software and services called geomarketing. All the proposals from specialized companies can be found on the Internet. But one may wonder how to choose a software or a geomarketing “solution”. Several selection criteria govern this decision4:
– a geomarketing software must have a “user-friendly and intuitive back office” with understandable options;
– importance of an option to integrate external data in order to be able to deal with company-specific problems;
– possibility of frequent software updates;
– presence of modules allowing the study of consumer behavior, but also, for example, of real estate prospecting;
– of course, the cost: you can choose a flexible rate or a package depending on what you want to do with the software.
For example, these software applications allow customer spatial analyses to be carried out in order to help sales representatives control their tours and prospecting activities, or to help them identify store customers. To do this, these analyses are carried out in four stages:
– the geocoding of customers’ addresses according to the number in the street where they live. There may also be the step of processing or pre-processing the data. These GIS integrate in particular spatial clustering functions or models (Huff – see Chapters 2 and 4 – on Geoconcept, add-on resolution of location-allocation models on ArcGis, etc.), R software functions on QGIS, etc.;
– the preparation of the map, in other words, all the layers necessary to produce the map according to the desired level of detail:- physically geographical obstacles: rivers, mountains, forests, etc.;- road and rail infrastructure;- large locations: airports, military camps, universities, hospitals, etc.;
– represent on the map, prepared for this purpose, the geocoded addresses of customers to see if they are grouped or scattered;
– choose a scale so that the map is sufficiently clear in its reading and that the identification of customers is immediate.
On the map in Figure 1.2., we can see the presence of a store (blue star) and customers (red triangles). It is quite easy to distinguish the edges of the strongest customer area. The analysis then involves dividing the market area studied into cells: cells of 10 miles are suggested for a local study and 100 miles for a national study.
Figure 1.2. Map of the addresses of the clients (triangles) of a firm located south of Paris (source: Spatialist)5 . For a color version of this figure, see www.iste.co.uk/cliquet/marketing.zip
1.4.3.2. Websites and geomarketing platforms
The rapid dissemination of mapping techniques and the increasingly intensive use of the Web have led to the creation of two concepts that form so many neologisms: on the one hand, “neo-geography” and on the other hand “geoweb” (Joliveau 2011). As a result, very large amounts of uncontrolled geospatial data have been produced. “Neo-geography” represents the production of these data by “amateurs” and no longer only by professional geographers. The “geoweb” is an “organization by the information space on the Internet through direct or indirect geo-referencing on the Earth’s surface” (Joliveau 2011).
Websites, often free of charge, now allow you to practice geomarketing. But there are also quite complete and equally free software that flourishes on the Web. Some are online and come in the form of platforms:
SaaS management allows a company to no longer install applications on its own servers, but to subscribe to online software and pay a price that will vary according to their actual use.6
The disadvantage lies in:
– dependence on the service provider;
– the difficulty in changing service providers and transferring data;
– cost when the same applications are often used by the company.
There are also free software on the net with the major disadvantage of having limited functionality to carry out a large project.
1.5. Conclusion
Geomarketing is based on mapping techniques derived from digital geography. It has become an indispensable area in many marketing decisions. A very large number of companies have adopted it and not only retailers, because it can also help industrial firms to better understand their markets. It provides unparalleled precision to adapt the offer to the characteristics of current and potential customers. An increasing number of companies and sites are offering “solutions” related to geomarketing.
Access to free online software, although not as complete as market software, allows smaller companies to acquire skills and improve their understanding of local, regional and national markets compared to others and thus to make market and market area choices, not to mention much more relevant sites. These developments are both technical, thanks to advances in digital geography, but also theoretical and have led to the emergence of spatial marketing that transcends geomarketing and takes it to new horizons in mobile marketing.
However, interpreting maps is an operation that requires knowledge that has been validated in scientific work, and this is the purpose of the following chapters.
1 1 https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Géomarketing.
