Perceptual Mapping is probably one among my favorite aggressive evaluation and Product Positioning instruments.
I wrote a visitor weblog on Product Positioning for LogRocket you possibly can study extra about it right here.
However to summarise for the needs of this text, I outline product positioning as defining the place your product suits available in the market relative to its opponents as it’s perceived by your prospects.
Product positioning is the act of defining the place your product suits available in the market relative to its opponents as it’s perceived by your prospects.
There are a couple of key issues in that definition.
- “the place your product suits available in the market”: implies that we’re taking a look at its place available in the market, the place it suits — what it’s and what it’s not.
- “relative to its opponents”: that means that it’s key to grasp your opponents and the way your product compares to them.
- “perceived by your prospects”: positioning is about how services and products are perceived by the market and your prospects — this final one is especially key. Extra on this in a sec.
Product Positioning just isn’t the identical as Differentiation.
Your product’s positioning should work with its differentiation, however they’re not the identical factor.
The best approach I like to explain the variations is:
- Differentiation = tangible
- Positioning = perceptual
A product’s differentiation is primarily the tangible variations. For instance, does your product provide options that your opponents don’t?
Positioning, then again, is perceptual. It has little to do with the precise options and performance.
For instance, how is your product perceived? Is it seen as a luxurious? Excessive-end? or finances? Is it seen as one thing that has the next high quality than your opponents? Or maybe you’re perceived as enjoyable and extra modern.
That’s Product Positioning! It’s about how your product is perceived by the market relative to your opponents.
It is a vital distinction to grasp. Product individuals typically get too narrowly targeted on differentiation — they’re on the lookout for bodily methods to distinguish their product from their opponents. And while that’s necessary, you possibly can typically have extra exponential features by taking a look at how your product is positioned.
Nobody decides not to purchase a Ferrari as a result of it doesn’t have a heads-up show or as a result of it doesn’t have wi-fi charging — somewhat, they purchase it (and pay exorbitant quantities for one) as a result of it’s a Ferrari!
Ferrari have achieved an distinctive job of positioning their merchandise and model in a approach that carries a sure notion. One that’s extremely fascinating no matter precise bodily options.
“To achieve success in a selected market a product should occupy an ‘specific, distinct and correct place within the minds of all potential and present customers’…relative to different rival merchandise…” — Wikipedia
Okay, again to Perceptual Mapping…
So what’s Perceptual Mapping?
Perceptual Mapping, also referred to as market mapping, is a diagrammatic approach used to visualise the relative positioning of aggressive merchandise.
Perceptual maps are usually within the type of a 2×2 matrix the place you map our aggressive merchandise relative to one another based mostly on particular dimensions.
Perceptual maps are a robust device relating to defining your product’s positioning, as they may help you determine gaps, underserved positions available in the market and positions to keep away from the place they could be over-crowded.
Step one to making a Perceptual Map is to determine the size that you just wish to evaluate merchandise towards.
For instance, you might wish to evaluate merchandise based mostly on whether or not they’re:
- Low cost vs Costly
- Low high quality vs Excessive-quality
- Youthful vs Mature
- Enjoyable vs Critical
- Small vs Giant
There is no such thing as a proper or improper approach to do that. What you select as your dimension will rely extremely in your business, market, opponents, merchandise and prospects.
You may additionally determine to create a number of perceptual maps with completely different dimensions to get completely different views in the marketplace. You may also create a multi-dimensional perceptual map, though this does my head in and I’d a lot somewhat create two maps somewhat than attempt to make a 3D one.
It’s necessary that your perceptual map is knowledgeable by analysis — particularly, aggressive evaluation and buyer analysis. Utilizing this information, you will have to find out what attributes are necessary in your prospects and the way they understand merchandise available in the market.
I typically do aggressive and market evaluation earlier than making a perceptual map. This helps with firming up what dimensions I need on the map and helps every product’s positioning on the map with information.
You may also validate your perceptual map by perception-based buyer interviews should you like. These are the place you might ask perception-based questions or carry out actions like card sorting.
So how do you utilize a perceptual map to assist outline product positioning?
I not too long ago created my very own perceptual map not too long ago as a part of defining Product Pathways —’ a 100% on-line, self-paced studying platform for Product Folks.’
There are various completely different dimensions I may have created for the perceptual map. Nevertheless, those I went with right here have been the course period (i.e. is it a multi-day ‘foundations’ course masking a number of matters or one that’s slender, targeted on maybe a single subject). For the x-axis, I checked out whether or not the coaching was largely self-paced or instructor-led.
Not an actual science and a few of the suppliers right here stretch throughout each nevertheless, I positioned them based mostly in a quadrant based mostly on what their majority providing have been on the time.
Saturated place available in the market:
From right here, you possibly can see that there’s clearly a majority place available in the market — that is also known as a saturated place.
Now, this doesn’t imply that it’s a nasty positioning — the truth is, it strongly helps that it’s a powerful positioning available in the market — nevertheless, should you’re not already effectively established there, it’s a arduous place to play in with a lot competitors.
With a lot competitors, merchandise right here typically must rely extra on issues like differentiation, advertising, value, branding, and so on to compete.
Unsaturated place available in the market:
You might discover that there are areas in your perceptual map that are both vacant or have few gamers in there. That is also known as unsaturated market positions or underserved positions.
Usually when creating new services and products, you hunt down unsaturated positions and markets as a result of it’s typically far simpler to distinguish and penetrate since there are fewer opponents.
Nevertheless, simply because a place available in the market is unsaturated doesn’t imply that it’s the place you need to instantly place your self.
There might be many the explanation why that place available in the market is unsaturated. It may not be a viable positioning or the marketplace for such positioning is perhaps too small. Due to this fact these positions, though fascinating, nonetheless want investigating.
Discovering the best positioning:
So the ultimate query turns into — how do I take advantage of this to seek out the best product positioning?
The great thing about perceptual maps are that they show you how to map out the market to tell your positioning. You continue to have to finally determine on the place you wish to play and the place you don’t. That means that there isn’t a tough and quick rule. As talked about earlier than, you might wish to enter a saturated market — however in doing so, it is advisable to execute your worth proposition and distinctive differentiation to face out from the gang. However, while fascinating, unsaturated markets could transform non-viable.
The opposite layer that should come into the image is your technique. Not simply your product technique but additionally your organization technique, model and imaginative and prescient.
What positions available in the market align along with your technique? Which don’t?
Typically the latter is simpler to do — disgrading the positions that don’t align may help you determine what positioning does.
For instance, with Product Pathways, I didn’t need it to be live-instructor-led coaching. That was a strategic selection I made (not least to start out with… maybe sooner or later), however that dominated out the correct aspect of the perceptual map.
Then wanting on the perceptual map, I realised that the deep-dive sort programs have been underserved. Primarily based on the invention that I had achieved prior, I may map this again to information factors from my discovery interviews — individuals typically need assist with particular matters, like stakeholder administration, facilitation, and prioritisation; nevertheless, they don’t know the place to look with out taking a multi-day or week programs the place the vast majority of the course isn’t related. Lastly, many resort to 1:1 teaching as there isn’t the rest obtainable.
Given these information factors, I’ve confidence within the reality that there’s a hole available in the market for deep-dive programs on particular matters, and therefore mixed with my product technique, I’ve chosen to place Product Pathways within the backside left — as deep-dive programs which can be 100% on-line and self-paced.
Perceptual maps are a incredible device for outlining your product positioning. They’ve typically helped me acquire readability in the marketplace and the way opponents are positioned. I’ve additionally used them to assist audit and reassess an present product positioning — i.e. has a as soon as unsaturated place available in the market instantly change into saturated? Do I have to reposition to stay aggressive?
Nevertheless, keep in mind that that is designed to be an enter into your positioning. It received’t hand you the reply.
It might be harmful to position your self blindly in an unsaturated place available in the market. Keep in mind that you continue to want to mix your perceptual map along with your technique, discovery, market and aggressive evaluation, in addition to your worth proposition and differentiation.
Completely satisfied perceptual mapping!
