Manufacturer Tests Out New Product on Construction Jobsites

A US manufacturer of adhesives wanted to test out its new product with contractors on active construction jobsites

The Challenge

Observing contractors on active jobsites

The manufacturer wanted to understand the needs and market opportunity for a new adhesive product, including customers’ Willingness to Pay for innovative features. The best way to get answers was to observe how contractors use adhesives on active construction jobsites. However, this is challenging because contractors are hard to reach, reluctant to have people on site, and their schedules can change at the last minute.

It required a B2B market research agency with deep experience in construction market research to design product development and testing research that incorporated ethnographic interviews and observation of contractors on active construction jobsites.

Our Approach

Ethnographic study of how adhesives are used on construction jobsites

Werk Insight, a B2B market research company, designed product testing research to understand the deck building process, experiences with adhesives, buying behaviors for materials, and interest in a potential new adhesive product. Our approach included in-person ethnographic interviews and observation on active deck building jobsites. This enabled us to observe the use of the adhesive product in the field and dig deeper into potential pain points and solutions.

We started with 12 virtual in-depth interviews with contractors to understand the process for building decks, the needs of contractors, and the drivers for using particular adhesive products. This was followed by two onsite ethnographic interviews and observations at active jobsites where we observed the adhesive product being used by the contractors. Photos and videos from the active jobsites helped to illustrate our findings from the ethnographic interviews in a clear and compelling way.

The Insight

Developing a new adhesive product for contractors

Our insights from the ethnographic research presented a clear picture of how deck building contractors use adhesives on active jobsites, including their needs and pain points. On this basis, we outlined the opportunity for the manufacturer to bring a new product to market and what features its target audience would be willing to pay for. Based on our research, the manufacturer is continuing its research and development.