Short answer: when location is the variable, a map beats any table — choropleths shade regions by value, dot and symbol maps place accounts and events on the ground. In a brewery: territory performance, distribution coverage and white space, taproom catchment. Maps reveal spatial patterns a list of place names hides. The main trap is area bias — big regions dominate the eye regardless of value — so normalise to a rate or use proportional symbols where raw totals would mislead.
This closes the specialized set of The Brewer’s Chart Field Guide. When the answer is “it depends where,” only a map will do — building on your geospatial sales maps.
When to reach for it
Reach for a map when location is genuinely the variable — and not just decoration. A choropleth shades regions by value (sales per territory); a dot or proportional-symbol map places individual accounts or taprooms. If the spatial pattern is the insight, the map earns its place; if not, a bar chart of regions is clearer.
Use case 1 — Territory performance
A choropleth of sales (or growth, or share) by territory shows your strong and weak ground at a glance — and where neighbouring territories diverge, prompting the “why” questions a sales intelligence review needs.
Use case 2 — Distribution coverage and white space
Overlay account locations (dots) on shaded demand or population. The gaps — areas with demand but no stockists — are your white space, a far more actionable target list than a spreadsheet of postcodes.
Use case 3 — Taproom catchment
Plot where taproom customers come from (from loyalty or postcode data) to see the real catchment, guiding local marketing spend and whether a second site would cannibalise or extend reach.
Where this breaks
Area bias — big regions dominate the eye regardless of value; normalise to a rate (per capita, per outlet) or use proportional symbols. Choropleth on raw totals misleads — shade rates, not counts, where area varies wildly. Dot overlap — dense cities become a blob; cluster or size sensibly. Map for map’s sake — if location isn’t the insight, a regional bar chart is honest and clearer. Projection and boundary errors — wrong region boundaries quietly misassign sales.
The bottom line
The geographic map is the right chart only when location is the variable — territory performance, distribution white space, taproom catchment — revealing spatial patterns a table can’t. Mind area bias (normalise to rates), handle dot overlap, and don’t map data that location doesn’t actually explain. That completes the field guide; the index ties every chart type together, and for radar, CUSUM, trajectories and Sankey, see Seeing Your Beer.
Frequently asked questions
When should a brewery use a geographic map? When location is genuinely the variable that matters — sales by territory, distribution coverage, account locations, or a taproom’s catchment area. A choropleth shades regions by a value; a dot or symbol map places points by location and size. Maps reveal spatial patterns — a strong region, a coverage gap, a cluster — that a table of place names cannot.
What is the difference between a choropleth and a dot map? A choropleth shades predefined areas (territories, postcodes, states) by a value, good for rates and totals per region. A dot or symbol map places a marker at each location, sized or coloured by value, good for showing individual accounts or events and their clustering. Choropleths can mislead because big areas dominate visually; dot maps avoid that but can overlap in dense areas.
What is the main trap with choropleth maps? Large regions grab attention regardless of their actual value — a big rural territory looks important even with low sales, while a tiny dense city region with high sales is hard to see. Normalise to a rate (per capita, per outlet) rather than raw totals where appropriate, and consider a dot or proportional-symbol map when area size would otherwise mislead.