Drawing a Perceptual (Positioning) Map
Theoretically a perceptual map can have any number of lines, to keep things simple it usually has 2 lines the x and y axis.The x axis goes left to right and the y axis goes bottom to top. Any criteria can be used for the map for example price, quality, status, features, safety and reliability. Once the two lines have been drawn and labeled existing products will be placed onto the map.
We must remember that perceptual maps are based on the buyer's perception this is challenging: what may be viewed as a quality product by one buyer, may not be perceived as a quality product by another buyer. Perceptual maps help firms understand how customers view their products. However as perception is very subjective, firms need to ensure that the data they use to plot the map is accurate. If customer perception data is wrong, the map will be wrong and this will affect the success of any marketing strategy based on the perceptual (positioning) map. Perceptual maps may help organisations identify gaps in the market. Before deciding to fill any gaps in the market firms need to ensure that there is likely to be a demand for a product positioned in that gap.
Market researchers use perceptual mapping to compare products (and potential products) based on the perceptions of customers. The purpose of a perceptual map is to identify the images that consumers have of and the reactions they have to brands, products, services and other market offerings. This information can help a business identify potential new products during the product development process.
BY
Aditya
Sai Kiran
Vinay Kumar
THANK YOU!
Businesses use perceptual maps to help them understand what consumers think about their brands and their competitors' brands, showing a business its position relative to the competition. In addition to identifying potential new products, this information can help a business build an effective competitive strategy, communication strategy and brand strategy, according to Hausman Marketing Research.
There are many reasons why a firm would undertake perceptual mapping, the following table lists a number of these reasons.
Reason Benefits of Perceptual Maps
Check reality To see how the target consumers actually perceive the various offerings and positions
Impact of campaigns To measure/track the impact of recent marketing campaigns and any other marketing mix changes
Monitor new products To identify how well any new products have been positioned into the market
Monitor competition To monitor the impact of various competitive offerings over time
Look for gaps To assist the company identify market gap, as an input into the new product development process
Understand segments To provide information that will help further understand different market segments
Track preference changes To track any changes in consumer preferences (and other environmental factors) over time
Diagram:
Perceptual Map of chocolates Brands:
- X-axis
- indulgence
- snacks
- Y-axis
- Low premium
- High Premium
Drawing a Perceptual (Positioning) Map
Why use perceptual mapping?