Editing Perceptual mapping (section)

== Uses ==
Perceptual mapping enables companies to better understand their customers: the who, why, where, how and what of their behaviour.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Drucker|first1=Peter F|title=The Practice of Management|date=2007|publisher=Routledge|location=London|isbn=978-0750685047|page=x Foreword|edition=2nd}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Brassington|first1=Frances|last2=Pettitt|first2=Stephen|title=Essentials of Marketing|date=2013|publisher=Pearson Education|location=Harlow|isbn=9780273728139|page=243|edition=3|language=English|chapter=6}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Jobber|first1=David|last2=Ellis-Chadwick|first2=Fiona|title=Principles and Practice of Marketing|date=2013|publisher=McGraw-Hill|location=Maidenhead|isbn=9780077140007|page=290|edition=7|language=English|chapter=8}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Feintzeig|first1=Rachel|title=Business News: Holiday Stress for Businesses|publisher=Wall Street Journal (Europe edition)|date=24 December 2015|page=B2|language=English}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Jenkins|first1=Holman W Jr|title=The Broadband Future And Its Enemies|publisher=Wall Street Journal (Europe edition)|date=19 November 2015|location=New York|page=A.10|language=English}}</ref>
If a business is perceived in a manner they find unsatisfactory, further research then identifies what can be done to change that. Perceptual mapping also allows businesses to see what consumers think of other brands, particularly their competitors. Regular uses of the maps can help track  preferences, and see changes as they happen. Perceptual mapping can help define market segments, showing clusters of businesses differentiated by key aspects (such as higher class or number of restaurants). Within the clusters found in perceptual maps of entire industries, a business can classify potential partners or possible businesses to merge with, since the clustering of brands signifies the similarity in businesses, meaning they have corresponding attributes. It can also help identify gaps in a market where a new product or service could be introduced.<ref name=":0" /> 

Perceptual maps can also be used to help keep track of how a new product, such as a recently introduced smartphone, is being viewed in a specific market. It is important to see that the way a business is marketing its product is not only successful, but successful in a manner that aligns with the business’s overarching goal for positioning.

Some companies seem to have fallen out of favor with the public, such as Quicken Loans<ref>{{cite news|last1=Rudegeair|first1=Peter|title=At Quicken Loans, a Will to Do Battle|publisher=Wall Street Journal (Europe edition)|date=16 June 2015|page=25|language=English}}</ref> and VW.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Anonymous|title=A mucky business; The Volkswagen scandal|volume=416|issue=8957|publisher=The Economist|date=26 September 2015|pages=23–25|language=English}}</ref> Perceptual mapping can help elicit the extent of the damage.