Common Questions

BusinessMAP is a single-user licensed product. When installing to a computer with more than one user, log in as the planned user of BusinessMAP. This user will need administrator rights at the time of installation. Administrator rights are not necessary to use BusinessMAP once it is installed. The administrator cannot log in and install BusinessMAP for all users at once.

You may change the background color in the Tools, Options dialog box (Colors tab), which will change it for the current map. If you open a new map, the background color will be the default blue. If you change the background color for a map you have created but want to change it back to the default color, note that the default color settings are Hue 150, Sat 231, Lum 169, Red 90, Green 165, and Blue 247.

BusinessMAP allows you to color your map using various methods. The most common are

• Color coding (an analysis feature that emphasizes areas of dominance)—Analyze population by region, for example.
• Territory design—Create different colored areas for territories, regions, districts, and so forth.
• Changing map feature colors—BusinessMAP allows you to edit the colors of each of the map feature symbols (line and fill colors, for example).
• Drawing tools—Add shapes and labels using the drawing tools with various line and fill colors.

The videos were created at a screen resolution of 1024 x 768. If your screen resolution is set to less than that, 600 x 800, for example, the video image will not be clear. To view the videos, your screen resolution should be set to 1024 x 768 or higher. If you prefer the lower resolution, you can change this setting temporarily, then change it back after viewing the videos.

To change your screen settings, right-click on the desktop and click Properties from the pop-up menu. In the dialog box that appears, select the Settings tab and change the resolution settings using the slider at the lower left of the dialog box.

BusinessMAP includes over 16 million business listings from Dun and Bradstreet (D&B). When you attempt to export, print, or copy records from the business listings layer (D&B data), BusinessMAP will display the amount of credits you have and how many are needed (number of selected records to export, print, or copy). You will have the opportunity to purchase more credits at this time. The BusinessMAP dialog box will provide a toll-free number to call as well as a code to provide the customer service representative, who will then provide a counter code for you to enter with your purchase.

BusinessMAP will allow you to search, view, and map the business listings without purchasing credits. However, if you wish to export, print, or copy the data to use in a mailing, for example, you must purchase credits. This business data is provided by our business partner Dun & Bradstreet and, per our contract, you must purchase the records to use the data outside the scope of BusinessMAP.

BusinessMAP includes over 500 demographic variables down to census tract level provided by ESRI. These demographics, such as population, age, gender, race, and income, are provided for census year 2000, estimates for 2004, and projections for 2009. Over 500 consumer expenditure variables for automotive, insurance, financial, restaurant, retail spending, and medical industries are also included at the state and county levels. These demographic variables are perfect for various types of detailed analyses.

Each new release of BusinessMAP includes new data. The updated data includes map data, demographic data, and business listings. Generally, a new version is released each year.

There are two primary methods of creating a territory. You can select areas by either clicking on the map or using a database search, then designating the selected areas as a territory. You can also use a database to create a territory. The database needs to include a method of geocoding (plotting) so that it has a point in each geography, and it needs a territory designation field. In other words, if you are creating territories by ZIP Code, your database would have a ZIP column and a territory column. Note that you can also use color coding or drawing tools to create a territory map, but you would not be able to later analyze sales by territory, for example.

You can create territories from any polygon geography such as states, counties, ZIP Codes, census tracts, countries (world map), provinces (Canada), and so on. If you desire to create territories between major roads, you may need to use the drawing tools.

BusinessMAP reads dBASE (.dbf) files by default but will also read text (.txt, .csv), Excel (.xls), Access (.mdb), Lotus (.wk*), and Paradox (.db) files. BusinessMAP also includes direct links to ACT!, GoldMine, Excel, and Outlook.

Yes, this can be done by the administrator if more than one licensed copy has been purchased. Contact Technical Support for instructions.