4 minutes to read. By author Michaela Mora on March 4, 2011 Topics: Analysis Techniques, Brand Research
Perceptual maps are often used in brand research to represent consumers’ perceptions of brands or products on two or more dimensions represented by X- and Y-axes, each with ends that have opposite meaning (e.g. bitter vs. sweet, cheap vs. expensive).
In perceptual maps, each brand has a position in the perceptual map space that reflects their relative similarity or preference to other brands with regards to the dimensions of the perceptual map. With their help, we can transform consumer judgments of similarity or preference into distances represented in a multidimensional space.
Perceptual maps are most appropriate if we want to:
As you set the objectives for a perceptual map, there are some practical considerations to have in mind:
Each of the approaches you can use for perceptual mapping has advantages and disadvantages:
On the whole, perceptual maps are useful tools to infer underlying dimensions from similarity or preference evaluations provided by respondents about brands. They can help us determine:
Make sure you use a perceptual mapping approach that provides marketing managers with insights that can be put into action as part of the brand research needed to support your company’s marketing strategy.
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