Safety
Kept up-to-date and used correctly, indoor maps can be a fundamental safety tool. Along with assisting first responders in emergency situations, a number of the use cases for digital maps discussed in this article can improve safety across indoor venues. Space planning, asset tracking, and cleaning and maintenance, for example, are all particularly important in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure social distancing and assist with dynamically changing protocols.
First responders
In an emergency when timing is critical, having the most up-to-date mapping data can be the difference between tragedy and victory. It can take time for first responders to locate important information, such as building access points or stairwells, so to ensure the safety of visitors and employees, businesses need an easy way to share accurate digital maps of their building with emergency services.
With a digital mapping platform, indoor venues can prepare for incidents by annotating the map with important assets such as emergency exits, fire extinguishers, defibrillators, water sources or fire hoses, and so on. If emergency services do appear on site, a digital map can quickly provide them with
crucial information.
Sales
While not an obvious use case, indoor maps can actually be used as a sales enablement tool as well as in conjunction with advertising and promotions. In their digital form, indoor maps are a great platform for layering additional experiences such as these.
Leasing
Shopping malls, outlet centres, and office complexes are just a few of the venue types that can take advantage of a digital and interactive leasing map. Through this tool, property managers can showcase available units directly through the map, therefore providing potential tenants with a visual on the unit’s location in the context of the entire building. Important data such as square footage, price, agent contact information, and more can be integrated alongside the map, providing an end-to-end experience.
Advertising
There are a variety of ways to incorporate advertising with a digital indoor map. The first method is directly through the map, either by annotating “new” and “coming soon” locations, or by showcasing promotions when a user clicks on a specific location. Venues that have enabled indoor positioning can also take advantage of proximity marketing which relies on a user’s current position in order to send relevant messaging. If, for example, a user is navigating through an airport and their flight gets delayed, proximity marketing would enable the airport to send a message to the user about their flight change and provide a 10 per cent discount off a meal at the nearby restaurant. Lastly, businesses can incorporate digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising on kiosk signage across the venue, along with the interactive venue map.
Cara Hueston is the senior digital marketing manager at Mappedin, a Waterloo, Ont.-based company focused on powering search and discovery indoors. Mappedin is a provider of indoor mapping technology, which allows property managers to digitize their venue floor plans and enable digital experiences for guests and employees. Today, Mappedin’s software is deployed across 1,100-plus venues in 40-plus countries around the world. For more information, visit www.mappedin.com.
