> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.growthfactor.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.growthfactor.ai/guides/market-planning.md). # Market Planning *** Market planning is how you decide where to open next. You lay out the candidates you're weighing against the footprint you already have, measure the area each one serves, and compare them on the same map. All of it happens in a **study**. This guide walks the whole workflow, from an empty map to a shared plan. Each step links to the page with the full detail. *** ## 1. Start a study Open the **Study** tab in the sidebar and click **New study**. The map opens with your existing stores already on it, so you're never starting from a blank slate. The study is private until you share it. A title is generated a few seconds after you add your first pin or start chatting, so you don't have to name it up front. See [Studies Overview](/study/overview.md). *** ## 2. Place what you're evaluating Use the **Pins** menu on the map toolbar. **Drop pin** (shortcut `D`) places one where you click, and **Search to drop pin** (shortcut `S`) places one at an address. Drop a pin for anything worth marking: a candidate site, a competitor, a landlord's suggestion. Don't pin your own stores — they're already on the map from your portfolio. See [Pins](/study/pins.md). *** ## 3. Define the area each site serves A pin on its own is just a point. Analysis needs an area, so give each candidate a **trade zone**. Select the pin and click **Draw trade zone**. The **Generated** form prefills from your workspace default, so most zones are one click. You can also set it yourself as a ring in miles, a walk or drive time, or a foot-traffic percentage. Trade zones work on your existing stores too. That's what makes coverage comparable between candidates and current locations. See [Trade Zones](/data-and-analytics/trade-zones.md). *** ## 4. Read the data Select a pin to open its panel and its **Data** tab. Five cards cover the site: | Card | What it answers | | ------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- | | **Site Score** | How this location scores overall, and which lenses drove it | | **Forecast** | Projected sales, with a range and comparable stores | | **Cannibalization** | How much this site would take from stores you already run | | **Demographics** | Who lives in the trade zone | | **Foot Traffic** | Observed visitor patterns nearby | Full detail on each: [GrowthFactor Score](/data-and-analytics/growthfactor-score.md), [Sales Forecast](/data-and-analytics/sales-forecast.md), [Cannibalization](/data-and-analytics/cannibalization.md), [Demographics](/data-and-analytics/demographics.md), and [Foot Traffic and Brand Rankings](/data-and-analytics/foot-traffic-and-brand-rankings.md). To weigh candidates side by side, give them the same trade zone type. A 10-minute drive time and a 1-mile ring don't compare. *** ## 5. Add your own context Open the **Layers** tab and click **Add layer** for vehicle traffic, zoning, tracked competitors, and deal stages. Layers your workspace has imported appear here too, territories included. This is where a plan starts to look like your business rather than a generic map. See [Map Layers](/manage/map-layers.md). *** ## 6. Map your coverage, then find the gaps Draw a trade zone around each store in the market, shift-click them all, and click **Union**. You get one shape showing everything that market covers today. Name it for the market. Whitespace is that run backwards. Extract the boundary you're planning against with **Extract boundary** (shortcut `X`), select it along with your coverage shape, and click **Difference**. What's left is the part of the market nobody serves. Drop pins inside it and run demographics to see how much demand is sitting there. See [Shapes](/study/shapes.md) for combining shapes, building territories, and extracting boundaries. *** ## 7. Capture the reasoning A plan that only shows conclusions is hard to defend later. Use **Add annotation** (shortcut `A`) to pin a note to a place on the map, and comment on individual pins and shapes to record why a site stayed in or dropped out. Annotations and comments are visible to everyone with access to the study. See [Annotations and Comments](/study/annotations-and-comments.md). *** ## 8. Share it, or turn it into a deal Click **Private** in the study header and choose **Shared with workspace** to open the study to your team. Use **Export** for a PDF to walk through in a meeting, or an Excel file for the underlying numbers. See [Sharing and Exporting Studies](/study/sharing-and-exporting-studies.md). When a site is worth pursuing, click **Create deal** on its pin. It enters your pipeline with its address and site intelligence already attached, and the pin itself becomes that deal on the map. See [Creating and Managing Deals](/deals/creating-and-managing-deals.md). *** ## Let the agent do the work Anything above can be asked for instead of clicked. The **GrowthFactor Agent** sits beside the map and acts on the study directly, so your team sees what it does. * "Drop a pin at 4th and Main, Boston" * "Draw a 10 minute drive time around P1" * "What are the demographics of S1?" * "Where's my whitespace in Phoenix?" See [GrowthFactor Agent](/study/growthfactor-agent.md). To use the same tools outside the app, see [MCP](/mcp.md). --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. 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