Use Esri Story maps for business development (case study)

The difficulty that companies face is to stand out in today’s marketplace. But a multistate engineering company headquartered near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, called Dawood Engineering, Inc., has discovered a new way to gain the advantage. The organization now utilizes Esri Story Maps apps instead of using trite slide shows in meetings and demos. Companies can utilize Esri Story Maps apps for business development, project summaries, team meetings, and presentations. Here’s how.

A powerful business development tool:

“All marketers want to have a perfect story to share,” said Jim Rodgers, Chief Strategic Officer of Dawood. “we can display real project data as part of the marketing process with story maps. It’s a better tool than a static pitchbook.”

In previous years, Dawood staff used one-page service sheets at meetings to describe what the company needs to do, from site construction and allow to major transport projects and land use plans. But these sheets often did not facilitate any constructive contact with recipients.

Today, using story maps, the GIS and marketing departments present the strengths of the company. Dawood’s GIS team will apply project-specific details and photos to the database, getting the benefit from the GIS database of all project locations. Then, in interactive online maps, anybody creating a story map will have such elements as pop-ups. 

For example, one story map outlined all the projects Dawood had done for the Department of Transportation of Pennsylvania (PennDOT) and divided them up by district. An interactive map displayed the intensity of projects using a color gradient in the state, while pop-up windows illustrated one individual project per district, along with pictures and a description of Dawood’s work. Besides that, Using their computers, tablets, or smartphones, Dawood’s staff can view the completed story maps online. 

This functionality allows employees to choose from a set of previously created apps that they can use during unplanned discussions. In addition, providing a hyperlink for a story map is an easy way to share this information with current and future customers via email.

The management team has perceived an increase in the number of engaging interactions it has with new and existing customers since making the transition from pamphlets to story maps.

Story maps for more dynamic project Presentations 

Your team can integrate immersive mapping and crash data dashboards into their presentations with story maps. These strong graphics are much more successful at illustrating protection issues rather than using raw data or anecdotal proof. Both the Federal Highway Administration and PennDOT appreciated this innovative method of outlining road safety audits.

The Dawood Geotechnical Group uses story maps to accompany its final reports. which analyses the subsurface of each project and prepares suggestions for site design based on its conclusions.

Conventional geotechnical papers can be made up of hundreds of pages with various statistics, soil logs, and construction diagrams. By placing all this information on a story map that contains embedded online maps, the team can accurately outline all facets of its investigation. Furthermore, construction crews can examine the background maps of the geotechnical group and display all this valuable information on-site during the construction period.

Story maps are the perfect source for every civil construction project face a challenge to engage citizens, they can be shown at public meetings or on local websites instead of large printed maps or rigid PDFs. 

Finding a Template That Fits your needs

Esri provides for its story map applications, a variable number of templates, and it’s important to pick the right one. Many of the story maps made at Dawood use the Esri Story Map Cascade design. It reads like a web page, enabling users to create a scrolling story map that easily combines text, photos, videos, charts, and other engaging content. 

The Story Map Collection is a perfect way to present work summaries at meetings. It offers tabbed scrolling, which is handy when audiences choose to navigate between various content sections.

The Story Map Tour shows important points along a route or timeline. In the celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of Dawood’s company, they used this template to demonstrate how the business has grown in size and geography over the years.

The Story Map Swipe and Spyglass is a good choice To make comparisons before and after—to reveal pre-and post-construction plans, for example;  The template makes it possible to combine aerial images taken at different time points, along with suggested designs versus current conditions.

The Esri story maps team is still designing more. There are some other templates to pick from. 

Story maps are a useful communication tool that has enabled Dawood to unlock GIS data and make it accessible to coworkers, customers, and members of the public. Why don’t you give it a try to make a story map for your next presentation?