Perceptual map (positioning map)
A two-axis chart that plots how customers see competing brands on attributes that drive choice, such as price and quality or traditional and modern, to show crowded spots and empty ones. Built from survey data it is a useful picture of the category; drawn from the team's own opinions it mostly confirms what the team already believed. An empty quadrant is only an opportunity if buyers actually want what would sit there.
Where it's used
Used in positioning work, category reviews and pitch decks to show how buyers see competing brands side by side. Good when the axes are attributes customers really choose on and the positions come from research, not the team's guesses.
Example
Two axes, one empty corner
Illustrative scenarioA coffee roaster surveys 300 cafe customers and plots eight brands by price and by how ethically sourced people believe they are. Most brands bunch in the premium, ethical corner, and the cheap, ethical corner is empty. The same survey shows that few buyers rank ethical sourcing first when they shop on price. The empty corner is empty for a reason.