The physical existence of a brand is no assurance that it has a position in the target consumer’s mind. To enter that coveted territory-the consumer’s perceptual space-and to secure a ‘position’ there, the brand must satisfy his question – “What’s in it for me?” It must offer a benefit, which is of importance to him. This is elementary. So, when we talk of brand attributes, we must remember that these are the manufacturer’s views of the brand. The consumer’s frame of reference requires that those manufacturer’s claims or brand attributes be translated into consumer benefits in order to map consumer perceptions.
Thus, when we talk of positioning a brand with reference to an attribute or when we ask a consumer to rate a brand along an attribute, we must reinterpret that attribute as a meaningful consumer benefit. Product attributes and features are tangible and are expected to lead to benefits to the customers. Marketers might choose to highlight their attribute or benefit. For example, Fair Glow cream has Oxy-G which leads to benefit of fairness. At the same time Ayurvedic Concepts have natural ingredients, and its benefits depend on the product concerned like moisturizer, antiseptic, shampoo, foot-care cream, etc.
Hence it should in the absence of differentiated benefits, highlight its ayurvedic attribute which is differentiating. Else, they should conduct research so as to explore, create, and communicate credible benefit differentiation for the brand. And only then focus on it. It is strongly advised that all brands should have a strong intangible association as these do not have a fear of becoming a ‘me too’ and benefits and attributes are all about avoiding ‘me too’ feeling eventually.
Where We Are – Where We Should Be
It is not enough that we plot the existing positions of brands along certain dimensions – brand attributes and benefits. This, by itself, is a passive act. It tells us where we are but not where we should be and neither can we judge whether we are where we should be.
For this we need to plot not only consumer perceptions but also the preferences of a given consumer segment in a particular category or product market. Consumers can express such preferences only in terms of benefits – to what degree they are obtaining a specific benefit from existing brands; how important this benefit is to them; whether there is some benefit which they are missing; whether they would prefer to obtain a specific benefit in greater or lesser measure. Such preferences are also termed ‘ideal points’ when plotted on a perceptual map.
Preference Mapping
The brand manager for Margo bath soap has a defined consumer segment in mind – a consumer in the middle-income group, who values a bath soap for the good things it does for his skin, much more than its cosmetic properties or fragrance.
Looking for ‘Holes’
The second purpose for which we track such preferred positions is to discover ‘holes’ or vacant positions in the market structure because they represent opportunities for new products. To illustrate this we will use an excellent example from the book by Urban et aI, with reference to the analgesic market in the USA.
The ‘preferred’ or ‘ideal’ position of a single consumer would appear as a particular point on the map. If several consumers have a similar preferred position, they would form a cluster. And if we continue the process, we may discover more than one cluster, each gravitating around a preferred position, which represents the respective weights It is possible through such analysis to identify the ‘gaps’ which new or repositioned products can hope to fill by offering that combination of benefits which existing products do not have.
