Market mapping is the work of finding out who exists for a role before deciding to open it — where the matching professionals are, at which companies, at what pay, and under what conditions they would consider moving.
Why it matters more when you are entering a market
A company already operating in Brazil has informal signal about what a role costs and who is available. A company entering does not, and the usual substitute — a global benchmark adjusted for currency — is wrong by region and by sector here.
Brazil is also concentrated in ways that surprise. Specific technical profiles cluster around particular cities and industrial regions, and a site chosen for logistics or tax reasons may sit outside the catchment for the people you need. That is cheaper to learn before the lease than after.
What the deliverable contains
The universe of matching professionals, organised by current employer, seniority and location. The pay range actually practised, broken into its parts — base, variable, benefits — because comparing base alone gives a misleading number in a market where mandatory entitlements sit on top of it.
And the part that is usually most useful: what would make those people move, established in conversation rather than assumed. Scope, autonomy, working model and commute weigh differently by profile.
The map that says do not hire
It is the most valuable outcome and the least expected. When the research shows the profile as designed does not exist at the intended level, the decision stops being about recruitment and becomes about role design — splitting it, revising a requirement, training internally, or choosing a different location.
A consultancy that never returns that answer is probably not researching. An honest map sometimes concludes the hire should not happen the way it was planned.
The first step is a 30-minute conversation to define the scope: which role, which radius, and which question the map has to answer. Without that, mapping produces a list of names — which helps nobody decide anything.
