|
1. Watch Your ROI! (now more than ever) |
|
We all are aware of the global economic situation. We understand that,
for many, these are trying times that make it difficult to open the proverbial wallet and invest in anything
that does' not equate into a guaranteed benefit. But, if the return on your investment, or a cut-down on
operational costs, is guaranteed, then wouldn't ROI be worth your while and a wise investment? |
|
Many clients have made us blush reporting amazing success stories, with
substantial (10, 20, and up to 40%) income increases directly attributable to the use of our mapping solutions.
From behind the scene, it really makes sense when you see how much easier their clients/personnel can access
the information they need, how quickly they can discover products that were virtually impossible to put across
without a map, and how attractive the use of the map becomes to users. In most experiences, the map becomes
the focus center of a client's website, one of its most visited and appreciated sections. |
|
 |
|
| What if a moderate investment could help your visitors focus on the locations where they
can obtain your products or services? Or if it could help organize a technician''s day in the field by showing
him/her where all of the support tickets are located? What about improving the efficiency of how an employee
locates a part in your warehouse? How about being able to keep all of this information up to date, in an almost
effortless manner? Our solutions are currently providing these, and many other competitive advantages, to a
vast number of companies of all sizes and industries. Check out the clients that honor Flashmaps with their
trust. Flashmaps client list |
|
| AreaSelector can provide you with anything from showing your corporate offices worldwide,
to displaying how well your products sell in specific US zip codes. It can be customized to display your
sales territories or coverage. Tie DB Mapper, our street-level mapping solution, into an AreaSelector
project to display your locations in full detail. Take it a step further with DynamicLocator, mapping
every corner of your warehouse, office building, or mall, so that you can find exactly what bin a part
is located in, what offices are for rent, or how to go from a kiosk to the food court. |
|
 |
|
Grow your map as your business grows. Why spend money on something that does not meet
your exact requirements? All of our solutions provide you with flexibility to purchase only what you need.
We help you decide the precise product that best fits your needs. You may limit displays to a specific
region, choose from varying levels of detail or merge territories to use the cartography along the lines
that best become your business. As time goes by, and your business evolves, you may choose to purchase
additional areas or levels of detail. |
|
|
| What about tech support? There are some mapping products out there that may initially
cost less or be absolutely free. But, besides the technical features that make our products unique in
numerous ways, what if you get in trouble and need immediate assistance? Are the gift givers available when
you need them? Do you get a true technician at the other end of the line who listens to you, understands
the problem and has a solution? Or do you need to spend half a day to update one location, for example?
We are not here only to assist you via phone or email. We are also able to integrate your data if necessary,
saving you lots of valuable time. Not to mention the peace of mind that our support service provides. |
|
| Aside from offering several payment options, our licenses are on 'Pay Once, Use Forever'
terms. Why should you be bound to a contract forever? Not only do we offer a 15 day money-back guarantee,
but we also offer flexible payment schedules, and express delivery to accommodate almost anyone's needs.
Contact us with your requirements to see how we can help you boost your business, and weather the storm. |
|
| Call us toll free today at 866-392-0071 and learn what we can do to increase
your sales or cut your costs |
|
|
 |
|
2. Your Maps on the Big Screen? |
|
Yes, there is a considerable difference between watching a movie on your TV and watching it in an
IMAX theater. Although the dimensions of computer screens are growing by leaps and bounds, we unfortunately
cannot purchase a home IMAX screen (one can only dream!). You want to give your users a nice, large map to
work with comfortably. On the flip side, space on a web page is usually limited since many things need to
be displayed along with the map. This may not give your users the amount of detail and visibility they would
desire.
With the new hardware-based, full-screen mode, all our products can now fit nicely within a small area and
at a click, occupy the whole screen. A really nice thing about this new feature is that when the map is
enlarged, it keeps its exact status, showing the same area and information as on the smaller screen, but
much clearer.
At any time the user can go back to the original size by pressing the Esc key or an ad-hoc button in the
map.
See for yourself how this cool new feature works in this sample.
If you licensed any Flashmaps product in the past, the cost to include this new full-screen function is
minimal. If you order any further licenses from us, do not forget to ask for this feature, so that it can
be included in your project for even less. Call us at 866-392-0071 for more information.
|
|
|
|
|
3. Flashmaps DynamicLocator: Redefining Indoor/Low-Scale Mapping |
|
You have probably heard about DynamicLocator, our mapping system for locating
assets within malls, conference venues, warehouses and any other low-scale indoor or outdoor area.
It is really amazing the kind of things you can do with DynamicLocator. If you are not sure what
we mean, check out these examples:
Adobe MAX North America
Pony Village Mall
|
|
| But the benefits of DynamicLocator don't just apply to indoor spaces.
This impressive solution can be implemented for outdoorareas too. In fact, over the
last few months we have been working with Kirkwood, the highly reputed ski resort in Lake
Tahoe, to build what we think is a breakthrough solution in this industry. It represents
a unique interactive map with all the bells and whistles. Don't miss the outstanding
Trial Map at Kirkwood
Ski Resort. |
|
 |
|
|
In similar fashion, we plan to develop outstanding interactive maps for amusement
parks, marinas, golf courses, etc. If you work in any these industries and want to take your clients a
step beyond, contact us and we will be enthusiastic to hear your ideas. With your knowledge of the business
and our mapping expertise, who knows how far we can go...
Also note that very special conditions can be extended if your industry is new to us, or if you have
multiple potential clients interested in the DynamicLocator. |
|
|
|
|
4. Flashmaps AreaSelector World Gets a Makeover |
|
You all know the AreaSelector series, our family of high-scale interactive
maps that lets you easily drill in continents, countries, states/provinces, counties, area codes, zip
codes, etc. just by clicking on the area of your choice.
In fact AreaSelector is much more than elegance. Behind the scenes the powerful yet flexible geospatial
engine enables you to customize your map, integrate it with your existing website and provide your users
with a great navigation experience. |
|
| In the past, all the AreaSelector series has been based on the Interrupted
Goode Homolosine (IGH) projection, which works great for the Americas, but not so well for
Europe and other regions. |
|
Interrupted Goode Homolosine Projection |
|
|
Mercator Projection |
|
We are happy to announce that, in addition to IGH projection,
AreaSelector now supports a second Mercator projection. The new appearance may be
more familiar to your users, especially when focusing on Europe and Asia.
To fully understand the differences between both projections, check out these two
Wikipedia articles:
Interrupted
Goode Homolosine projection
Mercator Projection. |
|
|
So, what does all this mean for you? Now, when ordering your AreaSelector project, you can select the
projection of choice at no extra cost. Basically, if your project covers any area within the Americas,
you are probably going to want to use IGH. But, if your project covers the whole world or any area outside
the Americas, it may be preferable to use Mercator. The choice is yours.
If you want to switch your existing AreaSelector project to Mercator, please contact your account manager
for a very low-cost upgrade. |
|
|
|
|
|
5. Case Study: Amica Insurance |
|
 |
Amica is a property and casualty insurance company, offering automobile,
homeowners, marine, personal excess liability and life insurance products. Founded in 1907, Amica
celebrated its 100th year anniversary in 2007, and is the oldest mutual insurer of automobiles in the
United States.
Amica was searching for a solution that would provide their inside claim handlers with easy access
to lookup maps for their direct repair shops and glass program partners. The business vision was
that a claims representative would be talking to an insured customer calling in an accident claim.
When the need for a body shop is discovered, the CSR would open an intranet site, and input a state
or zip code. A mapping product would return a graphical result set, showing all repair shops whose
work and facilities we had verified met their standards within the geographical area.
|
 |
|
Prior to implementing Flashmaps products, all representatives used
paper lists in the call centers, which were not easy to search, constantly exposed
us to the risk of providing outdated data, and did not provide any way to determine
proximity location of the shops in regards to insured. It was a key benefit to be
able to point insured callers to available shops closest to them. |
|
|
| Amica chose Flashmaps AreaSelector USA States and Counties, and DB
Mapper Location Maps to provide
street level detail cartography to display the neighborhoods of specific shop locations. This also
enabled providing general driving directions. Amica also requested customizations to provide zip code
searching within a dynamic user selected radius, the capability to select by cities as well as states,
and search by provider type (Glass or Repair). Finally, Amica requested a custom application to
provide administration of shop information, including additions, updates and deletions. |
|
| "Without a doubt, Flashmaps has been one of the best companies I
have ever dealt with. Despite the time and geographical differences, responses
have been prompt, professional, courteous, and consistently provided quick resolution
to any questions or problems that may have arisen.", said Larry Brown, Sr. Systems
Engineer at Amica. |
|
 |
|
|
Amica knew from the beginning the direction they wanted to move
in and relied on Flashmaps for periodic advice.
Some user quotes about their staff and use of Flashmaps: "They love Flashmaps... I have been showing
them how useful it can be to check the customers area before you discuss our Repair Assistance Program
because you have the shops right in front of you. This is a big improvement from what we had and I
also know it's going to really help with glass as well.", stated Matt Cronin, Amica Sr. Supervisor.
This application makes a perfect example on how Flashmaps products can turn data into useful
information. Accessing a map showing the shops closest to the user instead of browsing a list lets
Amica's representatives have everything they need in front of them, so they can assist customers
quickly and precisely. |
|
 |
|
Matt also mentioned: "Flashmaps has allowed us to have easy access to
all of our network glass repair shops. Our current out of program workflow would not
be possible without the assistance of the Flashmaps program." |
|
|
This application also makes a good example on how Flashmaps products
offer an excellent return on
your investment. Making use of Flashmaps products, Amica provides their clients a fast and accurate
referral service, which means keeping customers satisfied.
"Flashmaps has made it much faster for our reps to determine if there is a referred body shop in the
area for our insureds and this helps speed up the claims taking process.", said Joy Boualapha,
Assistant Supervisor at Amica.
Unfortunately, we cannot show you this application working, as Amica's intranet is not public, but
we encourage you to visit Amica's website and
another implementation
of AreaSelector + DB Mapper.
|
|
|
|
|
|
