Posts Tagged positioning

Do you know how your target audience views your small business’ product or service? Do you know where you stand in relation to your competition?  Affirmative answers to these questions are integral to our small business marketing plan.

One method for helping you examine your small business’ position in your market is to complete a perceptual map that compares the target audience’s perception of the various competitors in your space.

Why is a perceptual map helpful?

• Enables comparison between your position and that of your competitors
• Provides an overview of the competitive landscape in your market
• Reveals overcrowded spaces as well as potential opportunities
• Provide direction for developing the positioning of a new product or service launch

How to create a perceptual map for your small business marketing plan

1. List all the competitors in your market along with their position statement
   • i.e. Lowest prices in town; best bang for your buck; only the finest luxury
2. List our own position statement
3. Determine the two axes of comparison
   • Most often, positioning statements consider 2 factors: quality and price
   • Comparing the position statements of your competitors will reveal the two most important factors
4. Plot yourself and your competitors along the two axes
5. Confirm your results
   • Ask friends and family to have a look at the chart
   • Create a survey for customers and clients to complete
   • Remember, the perceptual map is somewhat subjective, so your self-perception may differ from that of your customers
6. Apply the findings
   • How does your brand relate to the wider competitive landscape?
   • Is your small business taking advantage of open spaces on the map?
   • If your brand falls in line with the pack, are you finding ways to differentiate yourself?

An example of how to do a perceptual map

Example of a Perceptual Map

Let’s say you’ve done some research and uncovered a need for a higher-quality dry cleaner in your town. You’ve talked to many people who are unsatisfied with the existing options, but you aren’t sure why.  To help you understand the competitive landscape, you decide to complete a perceptual map.

First, you list all the dry cleaners in town along with what you know and have heard of them. You may even call them and ask, as a potential customer, why you should choose them over the competition.

You find out the two main factors are quality and price, so you plot them along those two axes.

In light of the example, you see that most cleaners in town are perceived as low-cost budget options that compete primarily on price alone.  There is only one shop with a position of high quality.  It appears that there is room to create a position of high value, of great bang-for-the-buck.

So you decide to found Value Dryclean as the affordable alternative to those overpriced guys, but with higher attention to detail than the budget crowd.

In this way, perceptual mapping helps the small business owner formulate the foundation for a solid small business marketing plan.