Market Mapping For Brand Positioning

Introduction to Market Mapping

• Presenter: Stephen Houraghan
• Platform: Brand Master Academy
• Topic: Market Mapping for Brand Positioning
• Purpose: To understand and utilize market mapping as an effective tool for brand positioning.

Key Concepts

Branding and Positioning

• Positioning: Defining a unique position in the market that is distinct from competitors and valuable to the target market.
• Competitive positions are not obvious and need tools and creative thinking to identify.
• Market Mapping: One of the most effective tools for competitive positioning.

What is Market Mapping?

• Refers to mapping the competitive landscape using a graph.
• Visualizes competitive environment by plotting competitors based on two criteria.
• Helps uncover gaps and opportunities through unmet consumer needs.
• Criteria: The right set of criteria can reveal untapped opportunities or gaps in the market.

Importance of Market Mapping

• Many markets are not physical or easy to visualize for effective competitive analysis.
• Assumptions about competitors can lead to missed opportunities.
• Advantages: Visual snapshot, entire market display, easy to understand, direct competitor comparison, unlimited variable combinations, quick market analysis.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages

• Visual Snapshot: Easy visualization of the market.
• Entire Market Display: See the full competitive landscape.
• Understandable: Simple to grasp for quick insights.
• Direct Comparison: Directly compare competitors.
• Variable Combinations: Flexibility in choosing variables for analysis.
• Quick Analysis: Fast market insights.

Disadvantages

• Lack of Scientific Accuracy: Not foolproof or exact.
• Subjective: Can be influenced by personal bias.
• No Real Facts or Statistics: Based on perception, not hard data.
• Limited to Two Variables: Simplistic in approach.

Market Mapping Variables

• Choose variables important to the target market's buying decisions for impactful insights.
• Examples of variables:
  • High Price vs. Low Price
  • Low Quality vs. High Quality
  • Low Tech vs. High Tech
  • Simple vs. Complex
  • Short Turnaround vs. Long Turnaround
  • Low Capability vs. High Capability
  • Necessity vs. Luxury
  • Unhealthy vs. Healthy
  • Inconvenient vs. Convenient

Practical Usage

• Despite its simplicity, market mapping can be highly effective.
• Focus on what is important to the target market for best results.
• Use market maps to uncover gaps and opportunities for the brand.

Further Learning

• For a step-by-step market mapping template, refer to the next video in the series.

Conclusion

• Market mapping is a valuable tool in brand positioning.
• Use it to find gaps and opportunities in the market.
• Embrace simplicity for effective market insights.