In the research phase, data is collected from many different sources – internal and external. You know you have a lot of data, but how do you connect the dots to really connect with your audiences? How do you mesh together all the different voices to make sense of where you think you stand versus where you really stand versus where you would like to stand?

Opportunity Maps™ are a concise way to consolidate data from all these different voices into an understandable visual representation. Transcend creates different types of Opportunity Maps for different purposes. To name a few, there are:

Geographic Opportunity Maps – these maps can lay out population densities and mixes by county or zip code. They also can layer media territories on top of your service area to guide media strategy. Plus, they can show the competitive landscape paired with population densities to identify key target areas and other such relevant information. View the Minneapolis African-American map.

	Market Share Opportunity Maps – look at your share of the market versus the market as a whole and possibly your competitors' share to help develop realistic goals.
	Attribute Opportunity Maps – these maps can focus on single attributes of your hospice or on your services. When research is done internally and externally, we can pair all the data together to paint an eye-opening picture of perceptions and reality. Listed below are these types of maps.

HOSPICE SERVICES
Hospice X Internal Evaluation
During a Compression Planning session, surveys were distributed to employees that asked them to rate how important they felt certain services were to the public and then asked how they rated themselves on providing these services. The outcome of this survey is seen on Map A.

Hospice X External Evaluation
The community was then asked the same questions – how important are these services to you and how do you feel Hospice X rates on providing them? The outcome on this survey is seen on Map B. Here we can see key areas that may need some attention. For instance, "serving all, regardless of ability to pay" is seen as an important service to the public. But they do not see Hospice X providing this service very well. We can clearly see from this map the opportunity and need to educate the community on how Hospice X does serve people of all financial situations.

Hospice X Internal vs. External Evaluation
Finally, we look at what the community sees as being important versus what Hospice X thinks the community feels is important. Map C portrays an example of this information. We can see that Hospice X feels that “providing expert end-of-life medical care” is an important service to the community, but the community does not view that service as quite as crucial. Here is another opportunity to either educate the community on why it is so important or to put greater focus on other key messages.

Collecting data and doing research is an important first step to anyone’s strategic marketing plan. But just as important, if not more important, is the analysis of all the data. Taking the research results at face value does not give you a full, clear picture. In order to get the most out of your research investment, a full analysis of all data should be completed to ultimately give you a strong and true strategic marketing plan.