Brand Positioning Research: How to Find Your Place in the Category
How to research brand positioning with a survey: choose attributes, rate brands, build a perceptual map, find gaps and test a positioning statement.
In shortPositioning research asks category buyers to rate your brand and its competitors on the same attributes, then compares the ratings on a map. Pick attributes from interviews, include three to five competitors, ask importance and performance separately and test the positioning statement you are considering. The gaps between what matters and what each brand delivers show where to stand. Hercules Works runs the survey on a verified Indian panel.
Contents
Positioning Is What People Believe, Relative to Alternatives
A brand cannot choose its position alone. Customers place it relative to other brands, on the things they care about. Positioning research measures that placement.
This guide gives a step-by-step design, a question bank and a worked grid. The attribute list and numbers are illustrative.
Five Steps
- Find the attributes. Interview a few buyers: what do you look for in this category? Turn their words into 8 to 12 attributes.
- Pick the brands. Your brand and three to five competitors.
- Ask importance. How important is each attribute in choosing?
- Ask performance. For each brand the respondent knows, rate it on each attribute.
- Analyse. Compare importance with performance and map the brands.
Ask about brands only if the person has heard of them. Use an aided awareness list first, see brand awareness.
Reading the Grid
Illustrative averages on a 1 to 5 scale. Importance is how much the attribute matters. The rows show where you lead and where you lag.
| Attribute | Importance | Your brand | Competitor 1 | Competitor 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 4.5 | 3.2 | 4.1 | 3.6 |
| Quality | 4.4 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
| Trust | 4.2 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 3.1 |
| Modern | 3.1 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 2.9 |
| Available everywhere | 3.8 | 2.8 | 4.4 | 3.0 |
Read it across. Value for money matters most and you trail Competitor 1 by 0.9. "Modern" is where you lead, but it matters least. Positioning on "modern" alone would stress a low-importance attribute. The numbers are made up to show the reading.
Perceptual Maps
A perceptual map plots brands on two dimensions made from the attributes. Build it in your analysis tool from the performance ratings. Choose the two dimensions that explain most of the variation, and label them with plain words. Treat a map as a picture, and test any move it suggests with a claim test or concept test.
Testing a Positioning Statement
Write two or three versions of the position, such as "the most trusted choice" or "the modern alternative". Show each to a separate matched cell and ask comprehension, believability, relevance and preference. Compare cells with a significance test. Keep the one that is both believed and relevant.
Running This Study on Hercules
If your job is a positioning study among category buyers in India, this is the pilot and main study at list price. Use matched cells for the positioning statements.
| Step | Plan | Responses | Price per response | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test the questionnaire | Free | 30 | ₹0 | ₹0 |
| Small pilot | Plus | 100 | ₹150 | ₹15,000 |
| Main study | Pro | 400 | ₹120 | ₹48,000 |
Pro is sold in bundles of 400 to 1,000 responses and costs 20% less per response than Plus. Enterprise plans come with a dedicated research team and are priced on request.
The SuperJ network has a 25M+ consumer footprint. The survey-eligible panel is a subset, and availability depends on your targeting. Members complete Aadhaar-based KYC once, and each study receives a zero-knowledge proof of verification. Surveys run in as many Indian languages as the study needs. Quality checks flag speeders, straight-lining and inconsistent answers. Read /panel-methodology and pricing.
The limit: the app reaches smartphone users only, so offline households need face-to-face fieldwork.
Frequently asked questions
What is brand positioning research?
A survey that asks category buyers to rate your brand and competitors on the same attributes, so you can see where each stands and where there are gaps.
How many competitors should I include?
Three to five is a common choice, so respondents are not overloaded. Choose the brands your buyers actually consider.
How do I choose attributes?
Interview a few buyers about what they look for in the category, and turn their words into 8 to 12 attributes.
What is a perceptual map?
A chart that places brands on two dimensions built from attribute ratings, showing which brands are seen as similar and where gaps exist.
How do I test a positioning statement?
Show each version to its own matched cell and compare comprehension, believability, relevance and preference.
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