Sizing up the market opportunity for cordless power tools
A manufacturer needed to understand the market opportunity of a cordless power tool for pro contractors
The Challenge
Gathering insights where previous research failed
The manufacturer needed to know the “why” behind cordless power tool use across different types of pros, applications, situations, and markets. This required a more flexible approach that considered a wide range of factors including personal preference and randomness.
The client previously tried to research this topic and received illogical data from its market research agency. It required a B2B market research agency with experience in manufacturing market research to conduct a more comprehensive and consistent market opportunity study.
Our Approach
Quant-qual research study to assess needs and price sensitivity
Werk Insight, a B2B market research company, started the project with an audit of the existing research. We established what ground had already been covered and where the gaps were.
In the first phase, we conducted stakeholder interviews with subject-matter experts and sales reps on the opportunities for cordless power tools. An internal workshop then aligned known and hypothesized insights about why contractors use certain tools in different scenarios.
In the second phase, we conducted B2B qualitative research to explore behaviors, needs and attitudes toward cordless power tools. We conducted 10 video interviews with pro contractors that asked them about how they used tools in different scenarios.
In the third phase, the qualitative insights informed the design for a quantitative survey. The survey was pre-tested with pro contractors to clarify its intent and accuracy. We conducted the survey using CATI interviews with 300 pro contractors. In doing so, we were able to validate the identity of the contractors to avoid internal pushback against the veracity of the findings. It also enabled us to probe on nuances when asking about tool preference in a wide range of scenarios.
The Insight
The market opportunity for cordless power tools
The final research report uncovered a range of new market opportunities for cordless power tools. These were applications that were not previously known to the client. We isolated a handful of targetable variables that determine tool choice across different markets and applications. These findings informed the client’s market segmentation, regions to prioritize, and prospect scoring in their go-to-market strategy for cordless power tools.