Perceptual Mapping is maybe certainly one of my favorite aggressive evaluation and Product Positioning instruments.
I wrote a visitor weblog on Product Positioning for LogRocket you’ll be able to 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 out there relative to its rivals as it’s perceived by your prospects.
Product positioning is the act of defining the place your product suits out there relative to its rivals as it’s perceived by your prospects.
There are just a few key issues in that definition.
- “the place your product suits out there”: implies that we’re its place out there, the place it suits — what it’s and what it isn’t.
- “relative to its rivals”: that means that it’s key to grasp your rivals 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 isn’t the identical as Differentiation.
Your product’s positioning should work with its differentiation, however they’re not the identical factor.
The best method 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 supply options that your rivals don’t?
Positioning, alternatively, 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 rivals? 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 rivals.
It is a important distinction to grasp. Product folks typically get too narrowly targeted on differentiation — they’re in search of bodily methods to distinguish their product from their rivals. And while that’s essential, you’ll be able to typically have extra exponential positive aspects by 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 executed an distinctive job of positioning their merchandise and model in a method 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 current customers’…relative to different rival merchandise…” — Wikipedia
Okay, again to Perceptual Mapping…
So what’s Perceptual Mapping?
Perceptual Mapping, also called market mapping, is a diagrammatic approach used to visualise the relative positioning of aggressive merchandise.
Perceptual maps are sometimes 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 strong device relating to defining your product’s positioning, as they may help you determine gaps, underserved positions out there and positions to keep away from the place they might be over-crowded.
Step one to making a Perceptual Map is to determine the size that you simply need to evaluate merchandise in opposition to.
For instance, chances are you’ll need 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 Severe
- Small vs Massive
There is no such thing as a proper or fallacious method to do that. What you select as your dimension will rely extremely in your trade, market, rivals, merchandise and prospects.
You might also resolve to create a number of perceptual maps with totally different dimensions to get totally different views available on the market. You can even 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 essential that your perceptual map is knowledgeable by analysis — specifically, aggressive evaluation and buyer analysis. Utilizing this information, you have to to find out what attributes are essential on your prospects and the way they understand merchandise out there.
I typically do aggressive and market evaluation earlier than making a perceptual map. This helps with firming up what dimensions I would like on the map and helps every product’s positioning on the map with information.
You can even validate your perceptual map via perception-based buyer interviews for those who like. These are the place chances are you’ll ask perception-based questions or carry out actions like card sorting.
So how do you employ a perceptual map to assist outline product positioning?
I just lately created my very own perceptual map just lately as a part of defining Product Pathways —’ a 100% on-line, self-paced studying platform for Product Individuals.’
There are lots of totally different dimensions I may have created for the perceptual map. Nevertheless, those I went with right here had been the course period (i.e. is it a multi-day ‘foundations’ course protecting a number of subjects 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 a precise science and a number of the suppliers right here stretch throughout each nevertheless, I positioned them based mostly in a quadrant based mostly on what their majority providing had been on the time.
Saturated place out there:
From right here, you’ll be able to see that there’s clearly a majority place out there — that is also known as a saturated place.
Now, this doesn’t imply that it’s a nasty positioning — in actual fact, it strongly helps that it’s a robust positioning out there — nevertheless, for those who’re not already properly established there, it’s a exhausting place to play in with a lot competitors.
With a lot competitors, merchandise right here typically must rely extra on issues like differentiation, advertising and marketing, value, branding, and so on to compete.
Unsaturated place out there:
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.
Typically when creating new services and products, you search out unsaturated positions and markets as a result of it’s typically far simpler to distinguish and penetrate since there are fewer rivals.
Nevertheless, simply because a place out there is unsaturated doesn’t imply that it’s the place it’s best to instantly place your self.
There may very well be many the explanation why that place out there is unsaturated. It won’t be a viable positioning or the marketplace for such positioning could be too small. Subsequently these positions, though fascinating, nonetheless want investigating.
Discovering the perfect positioning:
So the ultimate query turns into — how do I exploit this to seek out the perfect 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 must in the end resolve on the place you need to play and the place you don’t. Which means that there isn’t a tough and quick rule. As talked about earlier than, chances are you’ll need to enter a saturated market — however in doing so, you want to execute your worth proposition and distinctive differentiation to face out from the gang. Then again, while fascinating, unsaturated markets could change into non-viable.
The opposite layer that should come into the image is your technique. Not simply your product technique but in addition your organization technique, model and imaginative and prescient.
What positions out there align along with your technique? Which don’t?
Typically the latter is less complicated 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 alternative I made (not least to begin with… maybe sooner or later), however that dominated out the fitting facet of the perceptual map.
Then trying on the perceptual map, I realised that the deep-dive kind programs had been underserved. Primarily based on the invention that I had executed prior, I may map this again to information factors from my discovery interviews — folks typically need assist with particular subjects, 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 out there for deep-dive programs on particular subjects, and therefore mixed with my product technique, I’ve chosen to place Product Pathways within the backside left — as deep-dive programs which might be 100% on-line and self-paced.
Perceptual maps are a implausible device for outlining your product positioning. They’ve typically helped me acquire readability available on the market and the way rivals are positioned. I’ve additionally used them to assist audit and reassess an current product positioning — i.e. has a as soon as unsaturated place out there out of the blue turn into saturated? Do I must reposition to stay aggressive?
Nevertheless, do not forget that that is designed to be an enter into your positioning. It gained’t hand you the reply.
It could be harmful to put your self blindly in an unsaturated place out there. Do not forget 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.
Pleased perceptual mapping!
