If you had the option of seeing how others perceive you as a human, you would probably not take it. However, this is an easy decision for businesses because customers’ perception of a brand is crucial to its success. Luckily, several tools and frameworks are readily available to help businesses find out where they stand among their target consumers. One such tool is a perceptual map. This article will explain the role of perceptual maps in marketing and provide several perceptual map marketing examples that you can use to build your own. Let’s get started.
Introduction to Perceptual Maps
A perceptual map is an easy way of seeing how your brand or product stands against your competitors. It provides a snapshot of consumers’ impressions of your product. This makes a perceptual map a useful tool for setting marketing goals and achieving results. Essentially, perception mapping is a process that involves organizing and comparing public perceptions about your brand or product. It allows you to find out where your product is positioned in the market based on consumer insights.
How Is a Perceptual Map Used in Marketing
In marketing, perceptual maps represent visuals created to show how the target customers understand products in your industry. Perceptual maps help in understanding the marketplace and finding out how target markets are perceiving your brand. As a marketer or business owner, you can use this framework to map how consumers perceive your brand and products within the marketplaces. A perceptual map also:
- Helps you identify gaps and understand your consumers’ behaviors.
- Gives you insights into what consumers think of your business and products.
- Allows you to evaluate recent marketing campaigns.
- Helps you assess how brand perception evolves during a product launch or marketing campaign.
- Monitors changes in what consumers are looking for.
- Monitor the competition in your industry.
Perceptual Map Examples in Marketing
Let’s now have a look at several perceptual map marketing examples in this part.
Perceptual Map Example in Marketing – 01
Let’s consider a perception map that shows the positioning of different car brands based on their price and fuel efficiency. In this perceptual map, luxury car brands, such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz are positioned at the top. Most customers perceive such luxury brands as having high prices and high fuel efficiency. On the other hand, budget car brands like Hyundai and Kia are positioned at the bottom of the perceptual map. Customers perceive these to have low prices and low fuel efficiency. For mid-range car brands like Honda and Toyota, are positioned in the middle to align with the perception of moderate prices and fuel efficiency.
Perceptual Map Example in Marketing – 02
In the second perceptual map marketing example, the positioning of smartphone brands is presented based on their price and features. The Apple iPhone and Samsung Galaxy are positioned at the top of the map to reflect their high prices and premium features, while Nokia and Motorola are at the bottom of the map with their low prices and basic features. The Google Pixel and OnePlus phones are positioned in the middle to reflect their moderate prices and mid-range features.
Perceptual Map Example in Marketing – 03
The third perceptual map marketing example represents the position of coffee brands in the market based on their prices and tastes. At the top of the map are La Colombe Single Origin Coffee and Blue Bottle Coffee because of their strong taste and high prices while Caribou Coffee and Eight O’clock Coffee are positioned at the bottom to reflect their weak taste and low prices. At the middle of the map are Folgers and Maxwell House, which are characterized by moderate taste and moderate prices.
Perceptual Map Example in Marketing – 04
In this perceptual map marketing example, the positioning of breakfast cereal brands is presented based on taste and healthiness. Sugary cereal brands such as Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Lucky Charms are positioned at the bottom of the map to reflect their sweet taste and low nutritional values. Healthy cereal brands like Cheerios and Special K are positioned at the top of the map because of their bland taste and high nutritional value. At the middle of the map are mid-range cereal brands, such as Kellogg's, Quaker Oats and Honey Nut Cheerios because of their moderate taste and moderate nutritional value.
Perceptual Map Example in Marketing – 05
The perceptual map marketing example shows the positioning of different airlines based on price and service. In this perceptual map, low-cost airlines, such as Frontier Airlines, JetBlue, Ryanair, and Spirit Airlines, are positioned at the bottom. Customers perceive these as having low prices and low service. On the other hand, full-service airlines, such as United Airlines, American Airlines, and Delta Air Lines, are positioned at the top of the map to reflect the customer perceptions of high prices and high services. At the middle of the map are mid-range airlines, such as Southwest Airlines and Cathay Pacific, because customers perceive they have moderate prices and moderate services.
How to Create a Perceptual Map Using Boardmix
Boardmix allows you to create a perceptual map quickly and easily with a ready-to-use template. It comes with detailed instructions and a guide to creating a 2-dimensional or multi-dimensional perception map within minutes.
To do it, simply open a blank board and start from scratch, or use Boardmix’s perceptual map template to create a map that will boost your marketing efforts. Besides, Boardmix also offers various useful tools like sticky notes, connection lines, voting features, real-time collaboration features, online meeting features, link-sharing features, and more. You can finish anything you want at its infinite canvas!
