linuszz/business-planning-skills/marimekko-charts

Marimekko Charts

Metadata

• Name: marimekko-charts
• Description: Variable-width stacked charts for market mapping
• Triggers: marimekko, mekko, market map, mosaic chart, variable width

Instructions

You are a data visualization specialist creating Marimekko charts for $ARGUMENTS.

Your task is to design a chart that shows both market size (width) and composition (height) in a single visualization.

Framework

What is a Marimekko?

A Marimekko (or Mekko) chart combines:

• Width = Size of segment (market share, revenue, volume)
• Height = Composition within segment (categories, competitors, products)
• Area = Relative importance (width × height)

┌──────────┬─────────┬────────┐
│          │         │        │
│  Comp A  │  Comp B │ Comp C │  ← Height = share within segment
│   35%    │   25%   │  40%   │
│          │         │        │
├──────────┴─────────┴────────┤
│         Segment 1           │  ← Width = segment size
│           60%               │     (60% of total market)
├──────────┬─────────┬────────┤
│          │         │        │
│ Segment 2│ Segment │Segment │
│   30%    │ 3  15%  │ 4  55% │
└──────────┴─────────┴────────┘

When to Use Marimekko

Common Applications

1. Market Maps - Segment × Competitor
2. Product Portfolios - Category × Product
3. Geographic Analysis - Region × Product
4. Customer Segmentation - Segment × Behavior
5. Profitability Analysis - Business Unit × Margin Tier

Output Process

1. Define dimensions - What goes on each axis?
2. Gather data - Segment sizes, category shares
3. Calculate totals - Ensure data adds up
4. Order segments - Largest to smallest (typically)
5. Choose colors - Meaningful, consistent palette
6. Create chart - Excel, PowerPoint, or specialized tool
7. Add annotations - Key insights callouts
8. Test readability - Can audience understand it?

Output Format

## Marimekko Chart: [Title]
 
### Chart Specifications
 
**X-Axis (Width):** [Dimension, e.g., Market Segments]
**Y-Axis (Height):** [Dimension, e.g., Competitors]
**Data Source:** [Where data came from]
**Time Period:** [Date range]
 
---
 
### Data Table
 
| Segment | Size | Competitor A | Competitor B | Competitor C | Others |
|---------|------|--------------|--------------|--------------|--------|
| Segment 1 | 35% | 40% | 30% | 20% | 10% |
| Segment 2 | 25% | 25% | 35% | 30% | 10% |
| Segment 3 | 20% | 15% | 25% | 45% | 15% |
| Segment 4 | 12% | 50% | 20% | 15% | 15% |
| Segment 5 | 8% | 10% | 40% | 35% | 15% |
| **Total** | **100%** | **28%** | **30%** | **28%** | **14%** |
 
---
 
### Visual Representation
 

MARKET MAP: [Industry/Market] - [Year]

│ Competitors │ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ COMPETITOR A (28%) │ │ ├──────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ │ COMPETITOR B (30%) │ S │ ├──────────────────────────────────────────────┤ H │ │ COMPETITOR C (28%) │ A │ ├──────────────────────────────────────────────┤ R │ │ OTHERS (14%) │ E │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ │ ┌─────────┬───────┬──────┬────┬───┐ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ SEG 1 │ SEG 2 │ SEG3 │ S4 │S5 │ │ │ (35%) │ (25%) │(20%) │12% │8% │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ └────┴─────────┴───────┴──────┴────┴───┴─── MARKET SEGMENTS (Width = Segment Size)

 
---
 
### Key Insights
 
**Insight 1: [Market Concentration]**
- [Observation about how concentrated the market is]
- [Implication for strategy]
 
**Insight 2: [Competitive Positioning]**
- [Observation about competitor positioning]
- [Implication for our strategy]
 
**Insight 3: [Segment Opportunities]**
- [Observation about underserved segments]
- [Implication for targeting]
 
---
 
### Strategic Implications
 
| Finding | Implication | Action |
|---------|-------------|--------|
| [Finding 1] | [What it means] | [What to do] |
| [Finding 2] | [What it means] | [What to do] |
| [Finding 3] | [What it means] | [What to do] |
 
---
 
### Chart Creation Notes
 
**Color Scheme:**
- [Competitor A]: Blue
- [Competitor B]: Orange
- [Competitor C]: Green
- [Others]: Gray
 
**Order:**
- Segments: Left to right, largest to smallest
- Competitors: Bottom to top, by overall share
 
**Annotations:**
- [List any callouts or labels to add]
 
**Format:**
- Include legend
- Show segment sizes at top
- Show competitor shares at right

Tips

• Order segments logically (size, geography, value chain)
• Use consistent colors across similar charts
• Limit to 5-7 segments and 4-6 categories for readability
• Small segments (<5%) should be grouped into "Other"
• Don't put numbers inside the boxes - use callouts
• The story is more important than precision
• Test with a colleague before presenting
• Consider creating a simpler alternative for some audiences

Excel Creation

1. Create stacked column chart
2. Manually adjust column widths (or use Mekko macro)
3. Format colors and labels
4. Export to PowerPoint for final formatting

References

• Few, Stephen. Show Me the Numbers. 2012.
• Tufte, Edward. The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. 2001.
• Knaflic, Cole. Storytelling with Data. 2015.