Position map usually means a positioning map : a chart that shows where a product, brand, or service sits compared with competitors on two key axes, like price vs. quality or performance vs. cost. It helps spot gaps in the market, see direct competitors, and choose a clearer strategy.

What it does

  • Puts competitors on the same visual map so differences are easy to see.
  • Highlights where your product is strong or weak relative to others.
  • Reveals empty spaces in the market that could be good opportunities.

In practice

A team might map brands by price on one axis and quality on the other, then place each competitor where it seems to belong. That makes it easier to see whether the market is crowded in one area and open in another.

One important note

“Position map” can also mean a 3D UV position map in modeling, where an image stores the 3D coordinates of a surface point for each UV pixel. In that context, it helps with reconstruction, masking, warping, and other graphics tasks.

Bottom line

If you mean the marketing term, it is a visual tool for comparing brands and finding positioning opportunities. If you mean the 3D graphics term, it is a texture that encodes surface position data.

TL;DR: a position map shows “where something sits” either in the market or in 3D space, depending on context.