6.Advanced Techniques of Market Analysis: A Brief Overview of Some Useful Concepts
6.4 Perceptual Positioning Maps
Positioning
Positioning –
- refers to the problem of differentiating one’s own product/service/brand from other competing entries in the marketplace.
- is the process by which marketers try to create an image or identity in the minds of their prospective market for its product, service, brand, or organization.
- helps people to sort out and organize some of the confusion in the marketplace.
The Role of Perception in Positioning
Blind Test
respondents do not know which cola brand they drink
Open Test
respondents know which cola brand they drink
Perceptual Positioning Maps
Perceptual Positioning Maps show the location (position) of competing products/brands/companies in some kind of “virtual space” that purports to represent the way consumers perceive or evaluate an entire product/service category.
- pairwise distances between the alternatives correspond to their perceived (un)similarities
- vectors show the direction and strength of perceived product characteristics
- axes depict the product dimensions that differentiate between the alternatives the best
Objective of Positioning
The objective of positioning is to occupy in the perception of customers such position that is
- as close as possible to the ideal point
- as far as possible form competitors
Example: Perception Map of Different Armchair Designs
Perceptual Positioning Maps
Intensity of Competitive Rivalry
The nearer the brands, the more similar are they in the perception of consumers, i.e., the more intense and more direct is the competition.
Perception of brands along different product attributes
The further the brand from the origin and the nearer it is to a certain vector, the more pronounced is the corresponding attribute in this brand
Relationship between attributes
The smaller the angle, the higher is the pairwise correlation
Length of an attribute vector depicts its differentiation degree
The longer the vector, the stronger differentiates it between the beers
Consumers can differentiate between the beers along the dimension “popular with men” better than along the dimension “good value”
Axes differentiate the strongest
Axes are virtual vectors that differentiate the strongest. Their labeling derives from the adjacent attribute vectors.
Combination of Positioning with Segmentation
Easy to assess segment potentials and attractiveness. Easy to formulate positioning strategies, positioning statements, and advertising campaigns.
Possible themes for advertising campaigns:
Segment A: Strong bier for strong men.
Segment B: Real ladies drink premium light beer on special occasions.
Segment C: Pale light beer. Affordable for everyone.
Example: Perception Map of Pain Relievers
Test yourself:
What brands face the most intense competition?
Which attribute describes their characteristics the best?
Which two attributes shown on the map are most relevant for communication of the advantages of pain relievers to customers?
Can a manufacturer justify higher price for a pain reliever by making its taste more gentle?
What attribute (except “good for children”) should a manufacturer of pain relievers for children improve in the first place?
Test yourself:
What brands face the most intense competition?
Answer: Tylenol and Mortin
(nearest to each other)
Which attribute describes their characteristics the best?
Answer: Gentle
(the furthest from the origin along this vector and the nearest to it)
Which two attributes shown on the map are most relevant for communication of the advantages of pain relievers to customers?
Answer: “Gentle” and “Effectiveness”
(the longest vectors)
Can a manufacturer justify higher price for a pain reliever by making its taste more gentle?
Answer: no, in the perception of customers
these attributes are unrelated
What attribute (except “Good for Children”) should a manufacturer of pain relievers for children improve in the first place?
Answer: “Hard to Swallow”
(the smallest angle to “Good for Children”; lies on the horizontal axis)
On Importance of Perception
Curious but typical case
40 foodstuffs: subjectively perceived vs. objectively present qualities.
Perception and evaluation of many essential attributes of foods is almost completely unrelated to their real characteristics.
