Perceptual Mapping in Product Development

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.

Use

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.

Perceptual Map

Typically, a simple perceptual map is a two-dimensional graph with a vertical axis and a horizontal axis. Each axis has a pair of opposite attributes at each end of the axis. For example, if the map is looking at cars, the vertical axis might have a luxury car at one end and an economy car at the other end; the horizontal axis might have "family-oriented" at one end and "sporty" at the other end. Each car is then plotted on the graph based on how consumers perceive the car relative to those attributes.

More Dimensions

Perceptual maps can have more than two dimensions, letting a business compare more than two pairs of attributes. Using more than two dimensions for a perceptual map is also called multidimensional scaling. Although these maps can become quite complex and hard to understand, they can also potentially provide more useful information. Computer software is available for creating perceptual maps.

Information Needed

For a perceptual map to be most useful, each axis needs to measure attributes that consumers actually use in making a purchasing decision. Typically, the way businesses find out how customers and potential customers view their products/brands and competitors' product/brands is to survey the customers. To obtain the must useful information from consumers, researchers need to be able to clearly present the attributes so that consumers are rating the intended attributes and not something else