A tool manufacturer wanted to understand the market opportunity among deck building contractors

The Challenge

Ethnographic interviews with deck builders

A tool manufacturer wanted to evaluate the market opportunity for its products among deck building contractors. This necessitated an understanding of different contractors’ needs and how they make decisions. The niche audience meant that it needed a B2B market research agency with a deep understanding of construction market research who could conduct a B2B segmentation that included on-site ethnographic interviews with deck builders.

Our Approach

Segmenting the US deck building market

Werk Insight, a B2B market research company, designed a B2B customer segmentation study to map the needs and drivers of deck building contractors. This included an ethnographic study consisting of on-site interviews and observations with contractors building decks.

We started the B2B qualitative research phase by conducting in-depth interviews with internal stakeholders to gain a deeper understanding of the research objectives and existing hypotheses. We then conducted 8 in-depth interviews with deck building contractors via video call to fully map their potential needs and decision-making drivers.

In addition, we arranged two on-site ethnographic interviews with deck builders, which included first-hand observation of decks being built. This led to richer and deeper insights that expanded on the virtual in-depth interviews with contractors.

Based on the insights gathered during the qualitative research, we designed a CATI survey that was conducted with 500 deck building contractors. This asked a representative sample of deck builders across the US about how they make decisions and their most important needs, based on the factors that we had already identified. A segmentation analysis identified four unique market segments of deck builders, based on their needs and drivers.

The Insight

Clear strategy for targeting deck building contractors

We presented our research findings in an all-day workshop at the tool manufacturer’s headquarters with internal stakeholders. This workshop facilitated a deeper discussion around how the research could inform their marketing and sales strategy. Our core recommendations included:

The expected market size and potential market share for each of the four deck building segments
Which of the products and sub-brands were the best fit for each of the segments
How to approach each segment through a targeted marketing and sales strategy

This informed the tool manufacturer’s strategy for targeting deck building contractors in the US.

How Deck Building Contractors Choose Tools