Waze Route Planner: Get The Fastest Multi-Stop Routes For Field Sales and Field Services in 2024 [with best alternative]
Waze Route Planner: Get The Fastest Multi-Stop Routes For Field Sales and Field Services in 2024 [with best alternative]
Did you know that the Waze route planner is one of the best route planning tools out there? The GPS navigation softwarehas gained a lot of traction over the years – now over 151 million people rely on Waze to navigate their day-to-day drives!
Waze has a lot of similarities with Google Maps, which makes sense because Google bought Waze in 2013. Compared to Google Maps, Waze is a little more sophisticated and car-oriented.
However, just like Google Maps, Waze does not allow for unlimited stops to routes. Plus, the bright colors and quirky layout can be a bit distracting for some drivers.
But Waze’s greatest value is the live traffic updates from real-time data, which other Waze users send in.
The best part? Waze ensures that drivers reach their destination as efficiently as possible. And they make it fun with cool themes and even celebrity voice directions!
In this article, you’ll find out:
When it makes sense to use Waze for route planning
How to plan multiple-stop routes with Waze
Waze vs. Google Maps: When to use each for route planning
The best multi-stop route planners for field service technicians and outside salespeople
And the pro tips don’t end there! You’ll also get a bonus hack: How to navigate with Waze on a pre-saved route made in one of the most sophisticated route-planning apps for field sales or field services.
Ready for the ride? Let’s dive right in!
Waze Route Planner: The Fastest Multi-Stop Routes For Field and Outside Sales
You’ve probably already guessed this by the title of this article, but… Yes, Waze has an integrated route planner.
Waze is actually one of the most popular route planners in the world, especially when it comes to simple routing.
It lets you get the fastest route from point A to B, and you can also add a stop in between. Waze can even tell you the best times to start your journey and re-route you in real-time.
Waze is also great for city-dwellers – from street closures to event-specific traffic control, Waze’s two-way data exchange helps keep cities informed and Wazers moving.
The app’s quirky features differentiate Waze from more traditional route planners. They have your standard features (like advanced trip planning, integrations with other apps such as Spotify, route optimization, and traffic updates)...
...But they also have extra features that make driving fun!
They offer fun and engaging themes that users can choose from and even options to get voice directions by your favorite celebrities! Imagine driving around getting directions from Morgan Freeman or Arnold Schwarzenegger. Cool, right?!
They are also currently beta-testing a new feature that informs users of roads that have a history of crashes, a feature that will come in handy for users looking for the safest route to their destinations.
The Waze Carpool app also allows you to find rides heading your way, spare a seat for those who need it, share toll and gas information with other carpoolers, and engage in small talk with other lone drivers.
The math is simple: When you ride together, you help reduce traffic. You also cut back on gas costs, gain Carpool Rewards, and even help save the planet. Plus you’re less lonely in the car!
Waze route planner is super reliable because it collects real-time traffic updates from users. To share updates, simply press the intuitive collision, traffic, warning, or policeman buttons to alert drivers around you of road conditions. For all you speedsters out there, Waze can even tell you where speed cops are hiding!
Waze also offers users a useful feature under the driving directions tab on your app. You can schedule a drive for a future time,with Waze reminding you when it's time to go. This can be great for planning and scheduling purposes.
Waze is a great navigation app when it comes to planning simple routes from point A to B, and it even allows you to add 1 stop along the way while keeping you on the fastest route.
However, if your route has multiple stops, Waze’s trip planner will not allow you to add those extra stops. You’ll need to create a new route every time, which can make it extremely difficult and time-consuming to efficiently plan your routes. If you are creating business routes, you need an app with a simpler layout and business-specific features. If you’re a field salesperson or field service technician, many field-specific route planners such as Badger Maps will allow you to use Waze as your navigation system.
If you’re wondering how to add multiple stops on Waze, the bad news is that you can only add one extra stop to your route in addition to your point A to B navigation. This is great for simple route planning, such as when you need to stop for gas or grab a bite.
Here’s how you add a stop to your Waze route:
First, enter your main destination and click ‘go’.
Tap the blue oval with a white arrow at the bottom of the page, and then click on “add a stop”.
You can either choose one of their preset destinations (the closest parking lot, gas station, and food) or enter a custom destination.
Once you have your multiple-stop route ready, click ‘go’ and you’re all set to drive!
But if you’re looking to use Waze to plan a long trip with multiple stops, the types of trips salespeople or service techs make, for example, you may need to look elsewhere.
Google Maps vs Waze: Which One is Better for Route Planning
The best route-planning app for you depends on your specific wants and needs.
Google Maps is the most intuitive, reliable, and straightforward tool to plot the fastest route between 2 points. It provides you with accurate, real-time information regarding road conditions, traffic delays, and accidents.
Compared to Google Maps, Waze gives you a little extra something – it gives you options to drive through off-road shortcuts, plan trips in advance, and receive live traffic updates from real-time data sent in by other Waze users.
Waze also offers a sleek and minimal interface with a high level of customization options.
But while Google Maps works well for occasional routing or daily errands, it’s still not the best option for you if you need to frequently optimize a route with many stops. The app also doesn’t give you an optimized route – you need to manually rearrange each stop until you find the fastest route.
If your job involves creating routes with multiple destinations, you need a tool that not only optimizes your route but also streamlines other aspects of your job.
For example, if you work in field sales or field services, multiple-stop routes are a big part of your job. In this case, neither Waze route planner nor Google Maps are great options for you. You should look into a more sophisticated route planner that’s specifically designed for field salespeople and service techs, like Badger Maps.
Badger Maps - Waze’s Route Planner Best Alternative for Field Sales and Field Services
Field teams are well aware of how driving-intensive their job is. Your routes usually have multiple destinations, and it’s extremely important that you get to all your meetings and customer visits on time.
Plus, you shouldn’t spend too much time planning your routes anyway. Your time is better spent rehearsing your sales pitch or looking for new prospects.
The route planner Waze offers is simply not enough for your industry-specific needs. Using Waze’s route planner would waste you hours trying to figure out the best route. But using the right route planning and optimization app will cut your planning and driving time in half.
That best way to do this is with Badger Maps. With route optimization to 100+ stops and features designed specifically for field teams, Badger Maps is simply the best route planner for outside sales and field services.
When it comes to route planner for field teams, there’s no better route planner than Badger Maps.
Badger Maps allows outside salespeople and field service techs to plan and optimize their routes with 100+ stops either on-the-go or weeks in advance.
But it’s not only through optimized routes that Badger Maps allows field teams to boost their productivity.
It also has tons of industry-specific features like follow-ups, check-ins, and prospecting, which allow you to keep track of key customer information and never miss out on an opportunity to close a deal.
Salespeople and field service techs using Badger Maps save an average of 8 hours per week in driving time, allowing them to meet with over 8 more customers per week and drive an increase in revenue.
"After getting Badger Maps, weekly meetings per rep jumped from 12 to 20. This led to a 22% increase in annual revenue."
Brad Moxley
Business Development Manager, Cutter & Buck
Badger Maps is great for route planning and optimization, and the best part is that it uses navigation apps like Waze and Google Maps to get turn-by-turn directions to all your stops.
Badger Maps can also help field teams mobilize their CRM, giving them access to important customer information directly from the field.
Still not convinced that Badger Maps is the best Waze alternative? Take a look at this comparison table and decide for yourself!
Conclusion
Waze is a great app if you simply need to get from point A to point B with no more than 1 stop in between. It is intuitive, quirky, and reliable as it receives real-time data from other Waze users on the road.
However, Waze’s route planner has many limitations, especially for professionals like field service techs and outside salespeople. For these types of field teams, you need a route planner that:
Is user-friendly
Allows you to plan, save and optimize routes with 100+ stops
Has advanced mapping visualization and tracking features, so you can reach the right customers at the right time
Integrates with your favorite navigation app, such as Waze, for turn-by-turn directions
Streamlines other parts of your job like lead generation, follow-ups, reporting, or logging meeting info
All of these features are at the core of Badger Maps. See for yourself – start a free trial today to streamline all your route planning needs!
MORE QUESTIONS ON USING WAZE AS A ROUTE PLANNER
When to use Waze for route planning?
Waze is a great tool for simple, daily routing from point A to B. But it’s not the most ideal option for routes with multiple stops nor for professionals whose jobs depend on optimized routes. If you are a delivery driver or field salesperson, you may need a more sophisticated software that also streamlines other parts of your job.
Is Waze completely free?
Waze is free on the Apple Store and Google Play; it is available for no cost on any mobile device. The company itself was actually acquired by Google in 2013, which is why it has a lot of similarities to Google Maps.
Does Waze really detect police?
Waze’s police presence information is solely based on user-submitted information. When a Waze user on the road sees a police car, they can inform other Waze users through the app. While this information is mostly reliable, it is not always 100% accurate.
Does Waze use a lot of data?
Like most navigation apps, Waze relies on data to deliver real-time, accurate information to its users. Unlike streaming apps, though, Waze doesn’t use as much data – streaming one song on Spotify is the equivalent of driving with Waze for an hour. Comparing it to Google Maps which uses 0.6MB of data per hour, Waze only uses 0.23MB of data per hour.
