Perception maps, which shed light on the strategic situations and positioning of brands, are alsodeterminant for marketing and communication road maps. The preparation of these maps showing the brand perception in the minds of consumers and stakeholders involves a very complicated, data-basedprocess.
In order for these maps to be prepared independently from subjective and positive / negative prejudices, the real consumers of the brand should be targeted and solution partners should not be included in the process. In order to create objective and data-based perception maps, the following steps should be followed first;
The area of the perception map should be narrowed; waiting for the x brand to be evaluated with all its features will not give correct results. A specific area should be determined, a hypothesis should be created and the criteria should be prepared accordingly. Especially for global brands that offer different products and services in a wide market, separate areas should be created.
The criteria to be included in the perception map should be determined correctly; the criteria determined by the target audience when choosing a security company, the perception arising from social media communication may be different, and the criteria of the stakeholders for the relevant company may be different. Determining general, overarching criteria for each will not give reliable results. Creating surveysand focus groups will be the right way to find the most accurate criteria and keywords. Otherwise, the perception map may show dysfunctional and distant results.
It is necessary to divide the target audience into certain segments, qualify them as demographic and psychographic, and privatize the researches in these areas, which will help in creating perception maps.
Research must be done before creating the perception map; surveys including rival brands (rival brands should be specified specifically, descriptive expressions should be included) should be conducted with the target audience of perception maps. In these questionnaires, the Likert scale should be used, and a map should be created after an evaluation is made in the light of the questionnaires in which qualitative and quantitative research methods will be used.
When all these processes are not followed, a dysfunctional intuitive map will emerge in strategic planning, which is not based on data, and where subjective judgments are at the forefront. Thecapabilities, weaknesses and strengths of the brand, the image in the minds of its consumers and customers, and its position in relation to its competitors will be misjudged. To sum up, brand perception maps to be obtained as a result of the research;
- The consumers of the brand should be targeted and divided into differentsegments.
- The psychographic and demographic characteristics of the audience whose perception will be evaluated should be investigated.
- The hypothesis of the brand to test the perception should be determined, the field should be narrowed.
- The perceptions and images of brand competitors should be included in theprocess.
- Criteria should be determined by evaluating brand preference, purchasing preferences and criteria of the segment.
At the end of this process, a map should be created. In this way, changing brand positions according to the criteria and target audience can be seen. You can get professional support if you need support on data-based brand perception maps, which will guide the creation of brand strategy and reached at the end of the day with research.
Dwt Mandalina / Ayşegül Baysal / Digital Strategist
