Photo by Karolina Kaboompics

Arguably the most important aspect of marketing is finding out who to target. You can have an amazing online presence but if it is with the wrong segment of people, it will not perform as well and will not result in sales for your company. While most people know how to segment and find their target audience, another great way to provide a visual image is by using a market map. Also known as a perceptual or positioning map, you identify and categorize current and potential customers by creating a visual aid. A market map is useful for your organization, but you can also use it to map where your competitors lie. But how do you create one? 

Since we live in an era where everything imaginable is available online, some websites can have AI help you create a map. However, people find it beneficial to develop their own as they can customize and personalize it to see the information they want. 

First, you need to decide what attributes you want to map. These will become your axes. You must be specific about what you are trying to learn from your map. What are the aspects that are key to your research? You should also create a list of direct competitors of a specific product or organization. Next, build your scoring key. Are you going to do it by specific pricing? Or create a 1-10 scale to measure other aspects? 

Now, create the actual map. To start, draw a plus sign in the middle of the paper to create four quadrants. These lines will represent the axes with the labels that you created earlier. Looking at the image below, you can see that one axis represents the healthiness of the snack food while the horizontal axis represents the convenience of the foods. Adding in your scoring system is simple as you put one end of the spectrum on one side with the other end of the spectrum on the other. For example, having 1 on the left of the horizontal line and then 10 on the right. 

Lastly, you now assign the companies or product scores based on your system and graph where they would be. When plotting the information, you can use the plot size to represent the size of their market share. Looking at the image below, you can see that Bran Flakes with milk falls in the top right section signified as not convenient but healthy. In contrast, Bananas are categorized as very healthy and very convenient. Also, note the size of the plots. Bananas take up more market share than Bran Flakes indicated by their larger plot.

Now that you know how to create a market map, let’s get into the strengths and weaknesses that come with it.

Strengths

A market map provides a strong explanation for questions when trying to find out who your consumers are and where you can go to attract new ones. It is not only viable for your company but can also be used to assess the nature of your competition. It is a great tool for seeing the feedback of new products and identifying changes in public perception and purchasing.

 

Weaknesses

A market map’s usefulness depends on its purpose. It is simply an outline that can only compare a few things. Comparing specific measurements is what it does best; if you are looking for more variables to study, it might not be the most beneficial option. Depending on your scoring scale, it can be interpreted as your opinion where something lies on the spectrum rather than a definite fact. 

When planning to insert a new product or find new areas to grow, it is essential to know the ins and outs of your consumer base. Double-checking the beliefs of your consumer base is a good idea as you may surprise yourself.

 

Author: Joseph Scalzo

Joseph Scalzo is a Social Media Strategist Intern at the National Institute for Social Media. He graduated from California Lutheran University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Marketing. He is currently attending San Francisco State University where he is a student-athlete playing baseball and working towards getting his second Bachelor in Communication Studies. He has also completed many courses in International Relations.