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In the Theory of the Central Place published by Walter Christaller in 1933 and key to Mapfry's methodology was the concept of Scope, who discussed the extent to which a point will be relevant to a population and at which point there will be disinterest in traveling to purchase any item or service.
Within the area of Scope The population is counted to measure whether the volume of people is large enough to justify a commercial operation, this count was called Threshold, the proportional minimum population for each business segment.
These two concepts were consolidated in Area of Influence, the thorniest topic in Geomarketing.
How far will customers consider themselves serviced by a store and from what point will they seek other alternatives?
The challenge here is, those who imagine having an area that is too large consider potential that they do not have.
Those who are very conservative and prefer to undersize, ignore potential customers and position themselves poorly in relation to them.
That's the real problem with defining the area of influence, you can't go wrong either for more or for less.
So what can I do to hit the target?
The most consolidated technique is customer mapping.
In it, using the feature for importing addresses to the map, it will be possible to view the distances traveled by the most regular customers and thus estimate the influence that a commercial outlet is exerting on the region.
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However, we don't always have customer information, either because the store hasn't opened yet or is in a branch where it's not common to register an address.
The truth is that our mind can be trained to make very realistic estimates
To do this, we are going to use a well-known methodology, the Maslow pyramid.
Developed by the American psychologist Abraham Maslow as the Theory of Human Motivation, it was the result of research on what made people happy.
In his studies he was able to observe that new desires appeared as soon as the previous ones were fulfilled.
And these desires followed an order common to all human beings:
First we have to meet basic needs, eat, sleep, go to the bathroom.
As soon as we meet these needs, a new priority is formed, it is necessary to guarantee means so that we are not vulnerable to the lack of any basic need.
Therefore, we are looking for a house with a bedroom and a bathroom, a closet with food, clothes.
To maintain these basic needs, we will need money, so it will also be necessary for this house to be in a place that allows access to paid activities and markets where we can buy food and everything else.
Assuring that our basic needs are not at risk, the next challenge will be to belong to a group.
The strong desire to be part of some circle of friendship and companionship can make us forget that, a few moments ago, we were hungry and cold, but that's how we are.
Once inside a group, an effort begins to go beyond belonging, it is the search for recognition, a prominent position and respect among its members.
Finally, the highest human need is what Maslow called personal fulfillment.
Those who reach this stage may declare that they do what they love.
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“A poet must write, an artist must paint, a musician must compose and perform, only then can they consider themselves full and happy”
“A person must be what they feel they were meant to be”
And what does this have to do with a business's area of influence?
Everything!
Our basic needs put pressure on us every day, we need to sleep, go to the bathroom, eat and drink.
Therefore, the means to satisfy our basic needs must be close to us.
At home or in the so-called “neighborhood markets”, which exist to supply us with essential resources.
The farther we move away from basic needs, the greater the distances we can travel to achieve the following needs.
Someone can spend the day on the street and only go home at night, essentially using it to sleep, since they have already gone to the bathroom, eaten, and even bathed at some point in their journey.
Another person can use a means of transportation to get to the club where they are a member or religious association of which they belong.
Both belonging to a group and its recognition are feelings that do not need to be reinforced at all times (there are exceptions), so they may be more distant.
The peak of human needs may be a long way from where you live.
Take the case of the book and movie Eat, Pray, Love
In it, Liz Gilbert sets out in search of her highest achievement:
“I want to go somewhere where I can marvel”
Expressing this desire, she leaves her local geography and begins a journey in search of self-knowledge, inner peace, and happiness that takes her to places as far away as Italy, India, and Indonesia.
Movies and series are filled with stories that move in the direction of the characters conquering some level of Maslow's hierarchy.
The Struggle to Meet Basic Needs
The Walking Dead
Zombie plots, or some other terrible event that does not end humanity but leads to the breaking of all civilizational pacts, are stories of the struggle for survival.
The expectations of future return, the trust in money, and all the relationship networks that articulate the enormous complexity of modern life come to an end.
Social rules have been forgotten, it's everyone in their own right in the fight for the resources essential to life.
This situation arouses selfishness and beastly anger, and could transform a former teacher and used car salesman into the leader of a post-apocalyptic gang.
Zombies are a pretext to tell a story in which normal people are extremely vulnerable to their most essential needs.
Naturally, the best stories aren't so limited and can explore needs at various scales.
People turn to their basic needs.
Water, food, rest.
Once met, they will lead to a new need, the desire to protect basic needs in the near future.
Alone we are incapable, we are looking for a group.
The group will collect some contribution and give us back the livelihoods of that community.
At some point, the interests of our group may clash with the interests of another group.
Then let's think about:
“We must prevail, our interests are more noble and justify the means for their defense”
United by much more than our personal needs, we will articulate ourselves to defend collective interests, which at that time will be presented as ideals.
At that moment, we will allow ourselves to act with total bestiality against those who threaten us.
Some may make personal sacrifices for the cause, putting their lives at risk.
Those who stand out the most in defending ideals will be recognized by the group, the dead will be honored for their total dedication, the living elevated to leadership to ensure ideals over individual needs.
Just protect your basic needs
Breaking Bad
A high school teacher who works odd jobs to supplement his income and support his family discovers that his wife is pregnant with a second child, the first of whom he has problems and that his life expectancy is short due to a serious illness.
Nobody is going hungry, but in the face of his possible death, the protagonist Walter White estimates that his family will need 737,000 dollars to meet basic needs in his absence.
Thus, he comes to the conclusion that the only way to achieve this amount in the short time he has left is to produce and sell drugs.
The idea that producing and selling drugs is wrong is justified in the name of protecting the family.
Sometime in the fifth season Walter White says:
“When we do what we do for a good reason, then we have nothing to worry about and there is no better justification than family”
Walter White moves between someone who struggles to provide for his family, and finds in the challenges of chemical drug production the professional fulfillment he missed at a time in his career.
The moral complexity of the choices that the character makes leads us to review our judgments, making the series a tremendous success because it allows us to exercise ethics of high caliber.
Desire for membership and approval
GI Jane
From the top of the political game in the United States, a senator pushes for more female presence in the armed forces.
In order to frustrate the senator's intentions, a lieutenant is enrolled in difficult special forces training in order to see her fail to meet the requirements to be part of the elite unit.
Demi Moore's character is subjected to intense conditions and struggles to gain recognition from her peers.
Quotes from the movie:
60% of you will not pass this course!
A woman doesn't last a week!
How can I be part of this group if you set up everything to go wrong?
Recognition
Succession
Even though they have everything money can buy, that is, their basic needs fully met and the belonging that their social position confers on them, the characters in the series are conflicted for the next step, recognition.
As it turns out, the much desired recognition can only go to one of the four sons of tycoon Logan Roy, hence all the tension in the series.
The fierce struggle for recognition is a struggle for closeness with the patriarch and for prominent positions in that almost dystopian universe.
Of all the possible associations between TV and movie dramas with Maslow's theory, the movie In Search of Happiness it's a true lesson in how the hierarchy of needs works.
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Spoiler alert!!
If you haven't seen the movie, which was released in 2006 and has been shown everywhere, stop now and go watch it.
It's an incredible piece!
In the first part of the movie, we see Chris Gardner's family reunited for dinner.
There's no crisis, they have a roof, food on the table, clean clothes.
Shortly after dinner, Chris joins his son to study.
We see here the concern for livelihoods and compensation in the future.
The best way to avoid being helpless is education.
Despite the apparent peace of mind, there are problems.
As soon as he puts his son to sleep, Chris is confronted by his wife.
She's tired of her crazy projects, something we can associate with Chris's desire to do something that accomplishes him.
He is not being successful, the family accumulates debts and she decides to divorce.
Chris still tries to lead a normal life without his wife, but everything gets complicated when he is unable to earn money and they are evicted from his house.
In the meantime, Chris came across people who seemed happy with their lives.
He asks what they do and what are the requirements to do it too and discovers that there are no restrictions, it is enough for him to complete an unpaid internship period and pass an exam.
Seeing the possibility of meeting the needs of her family and still doing so with a job that performs it, Cris gives herself the challenge of being approved.
In this part of the movie we see all the problems they go through:
Sleeping on the street
Maintain a study routine even in such a precarious situation
Without time for the basics, Chris indulges in sacrifices
Inside the office, things are just as complicated, he doesn't belong to that environment and he must try very hard to gain recognition.
Embarrassing situations make us believe that he will not succeed
But in the midst of all the turmoil, a scene shows us the source of so much motivation
Chris Gardner decided to never give up, not to conform to the circumstances and transmits this as a lesson to his son.
The fact that the conversation takes place on a basketball court at the top of a building, which gives a perspective of the city, increases intensity, as the city represents oppression and opportunity.
In the end, his enormous effort is noticed and he receives a job offer
The relief scene is the most powerful in the movie.
Now Chris will be able to take care of his family, he will do so by belonging to a prestigious investment firm and he can dedicate himself to writing his own story.
“A writer must write to be happy”
Home, food, time, studies, fulfilled dreams.
The characters intersect, with Will Smith passing through Chris Gardner himself on his way home to an excellent neighborhood in San Francisco.
I liked it, but what does this have to do with the catchment area?
First of all, congratulations for coming this far, you are as dedicated as Chris Gardner and deserve the rewards of those who go deeper.
The larger a business's area of influence will be the higher its stage in Maslow's hierarchy of needs.
Basic needs = neighborhood market
Protecting needs = work and housing (which often represents travel between the two)
Belonging to and being recognized by the group = longer trips, weekly frequency.
Personal fulfillment = people go wherever the opportunity for fulfillment is
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