Read the Posting on Creating a Perceptual Map

Directions:

1. Interview 5 people of the same gender about what top 5 characteristics influence their purchase of bottled water. For more consistency, you might want to interview peers or people with similar profiles, just as you would in interviewing a target segment.

2. Note which 2 characteristics are most common across all 5 interviews. You will need to develop end points for your X and Y axis. Note: you want to pick characteristics that make for logical end points and will result in a useful plot and positioning. Price definitely yields high and low as end points, but what does that mean since each interviewee might have different perceptions of what constitutes a high or low price. Similarly, quality is subjective unless you get some attributes that make it more specific. When interviewing, you might ask for a bit more detail so that you can compile useful output. Do not use price or quality as a defining term without more specifics. Using product-specific characteristics for both axis helps create a more unique positioning that is difficult for competition to match, unlike price. The concept of quality is supported by actual product characteristics, so product-based characteristics establishes both points of differentiation and defensible positioning.

3. Ask for the names of 5 brands of purchased bottled water they are familiar with.

4. Ask them their perception of the brands on their most important characteristics.

5. Create your x and y axis based on the characteristics most often cited by all the interviewees. Plot the 5 most commonly cited brands on those dimensions. The result should show 5 brand points using the two most common dimensions. Your plot should show a distribution of the brands. If all brands are in one quadrant, reconsider your selection of axis characteristics.

6. Based on your map, make a recommendation as to where a new entrant enter the bottled water market with the new brand, bottled water.

   1. Where would you recommend the new brand be positioned?

   2. Show the positioning of brand on your map.

   3. Discuss why this would be a good business choice in terms of the degree of meaningful differentiation that could be achieved.

7. Write a positioning statement/value proposition for the product/brand.

Part A: Fill Out Table with Reponses to Questions 1-3

Interviewee Age, Gender

Name 5 Brands of Bottled water

Purchase Criteria For Bottled water

Most Recent Bottled water Purchase, Determinant Criteria

Part B: Define your X and Y Axis Dimensions and justify your selections.

Part C: Label your axis and plot brands on those dimensions.

Part D: Based on your map, if you were entering the bottled water market, where would you position you new product and why?

Part C: Label your axis and plot brands on those dimensions./