What is product position? What functions do perceptual positioning maps serve?

What will be an ideal response?

A product position is the way a product is defined by consumers on important attributes—the place the product occupies in consumers' minds relative to competing products. Products are made in factories, but brands happen in the minds of consumers. Consumers position products with or without the help of marketers. But marketers do not want to leave their products' positions to chance. They must plan positions that will give their products the greatest advantage in selected target markets, and they must design marketing mixes to create these planned positions.
In planning their differentiation and positioning strategies, marketers often prepare perceptual positioning maps that show consumer perceptions of their brands versus competing products on important buying dimensions.