Mapfry Team
upon
Jan 7, 2025
Market segmentation

Cutting out the market

So far you've learned about how to find and measure niche markets.

If they exist and are big enough to bet on them.

If you haven't read the previous articles, go back and read:

  1. What are niches
  2. A niche to call your own

Once you find a reasonable market, It's time to give it shape.

In this process, the main cutting resource will be Maslow's Pyramid.


If you're not familiar with it, you can search More content later, but it's pretty simple.

Maslow's Pyramid

Maslow realized that people are never satisfied with their achievements and are always looking for something beyond.

His great contribution was to stratify these needs.

The base of the pyramid is formed by basic needs

Food, hygiene, housing, rest.

Without them you would be desperate.

The next step involves protecting those needs.

A person who lives on the street can get a meal, a bath, and even a place to rest for a night.

But the next day she will be exposed to these deficiencies again.

Our peace depends on a sense of security that we will have the basics.

Hence the importance of information such as Consumer Confidence Index, which show how much people are feeling that their basic needs are at risk.

The less secure they are, the more they will save to protect them.

O Emergency aid influenced the price of rice in two ways, first because many had been eating below their basic needs, then because it is a non-perishable food and can be used to protect future needs.

Having secured their basic needs, a person attains, from the next level of Maslow's Pyramid, the desire to belong to a group.

They are social needs

Some people go so far in these needs that End up sacrificing the previous ones.

But the reality is that we are social beings and we really like to belong to a group.

The question here is which group

High society requires that you have a series of characteristics to belong to it, at the other extreme are religious congregations, which are much more inclusive.

Next stop, personal esteem

Let's say you're in a group, now it's time to stand out in it.


It's nice to be recognized for something, to see people point to you as a reference in something.

“You got there” is a slogan used by many brands that promise to increase their self-esteem.

Top of the pyramid, personal achievement

At this point Maslow dismissed everything he said before.

The top isn't made of more houses, armored cars, more money, more friends, status.

The top holds fullness, a good will for oneself that is even the opposite of consumerism.

Those who feel fulfilled are less subject to slogans that promise a fulfilled life.


At this point, people understand life a little better, reduce their prejudices, seek the solution of social problems, and are creative.

Back to business

Having walked the steps of Maslow's Pyramid, we can notice that most of the market niches are somewhere between the needs of security, Sociais or of Estima.

You will hardly find a good market in people who are at the bottom of the pyramid of needs, struggling daily for a meal.

You can even find a niche at the top, where they have more to give than to receive, with social projects, meditation, teaching.

security

Here are real estate loans, health plans, automotive plans, pension and savings plans.


Education is the central investment when seeking to consolidate a social position, as in the popular saying:

“Knowledge is the only thing that no one can take from you”

Businesses linked to income generation thrive in this area, such as sales networks (Herbalife, Hinode, Natura) and microfranchises.

Social Needs

The symbolic power of ostentation attracts more and more people.

There is a consensus that well-off people are treated better and desired.

But there are other ways, such as Sing Martinho da Vila:

I was a very lonely guy
There was no mine to date me
After I bought a viola
I can get one anywhere.

Social events, religious meetings, study groups, sports practices, popular culture, and crafts are accessible ways of socializing.

Personal esteem

Luxury cars are presented as the symbol of a great achievement, branded clothing, modern cell phones, and international trips as well.

All very far from the average Brazilian who dreams of a life without shocks.

Professional achievement is both a financial and personal desire.

Creating paths to make it happen is quite an opportunity.

Your well-segmented market

By now you know about your target audience:

  1. Where do you live, where do you work
  2. Age and family composition
  3. Moment of life (single, married, divorced, children)
  4. Family income and availability for consumption

At what stage of need for Maslow's Pyramid will you act?


Knowing all this, you can now move on to the last stage of identifying a market: Consumer Behavior.