Brand mapping – sometimes called perceptual mapping – is an insightful way for businesses to quickly glean how their brand is performing relative to competitors in terms of customer perception.
While there are a variety of different types of brand maps, the most common approach is to use a 4-quadrant grid, with each quadrant representing a specific attribute, such as “ease of use” or “quality.” Different brands are then plotted on the map according to where they rank. For example, Brand A may be a market leader for ease of use, but lag behind when it comes to quality.
Again, it’s worth noting that brand mapping is based on customer perceptions (hence the term “perceptual mapping”). As such, a brand may in fact statistically score the highest on an attribute like quality as measured by the number of defects, recalls, etc. However, for a variety of reasons, customers in the marketplace may feel otherwise — and that is what counts.
For example, U.S. car makers faced this perception-based obstacle for decades when an overwhelming number of consumers decided that domestic vehicles were of inferior quality compared to imports. While it’s true that some import makes were indeed better made, the inferior vs. superior quality gap was not nearly as wide as many consumers believed (a fact not lost on import car dealers who leveraged this perception to charge higher prices on some makes and models!). Even today, when statistics clearly verify that some domestic cars are equal to or better than imports in the same class/category, many consumers still swear by imports. The numbers do not support their position, but their perception certainly does.
Based on the above, it should be clear why brand mapping and market research are linked: because the qualitative data that underlies the exercise is based on solid, reliable market research. What’s more, the implications of brand mapping insights need to be analyzed through a market research framework.
For example, a robust brand map may help a business discover — much to its surprise — that despite the fact it is a clear low-cost leader in the marketplace, target customers perceive otherwise, and consider the business’s price position to be average. The big question the business must answer before it makes any changes is WHY this is the case. Are competitors launching aggressive advertising and marketing campaigns touting their “low prices”? Do target consumers have a bias towards a competitor; perhaps because in the distant past, it was indeed the low price leader?
A market research project isn’t just the smartest way to get these answers, but it is the only way. In this sense, market research informs brand mapping, and in turn, brand mapping creates the basis for focused market research. They are integrated and part of the same objective: to identify and exploit growth and profit potential.
Learn More
To learn more about the link between brand mapping and market research — and more importantly, how to leverage both of these to make smarter, faster and more successful business decisions — contact the Communications For Research team today. Our co-CEO Colson Steber can answer your brand mapping questions while learning more about your business. If brand mapping market research is what your business needs, he’s always happy to create a quote or proposal based on your business’ timeline and budget.
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