What general contractors consider when buying paint
A leading paint and coatings company wanted to better understand how much influence general contractors have on buying decisions for large-scale commercial construction projects
Image: What general contractors consider when buying paint
The Challenge
How decisions are made on large-scale commercial projects
As they are often on-site throughout construction projects, general contractors can have significant influence on the decisions made about building materials. The paint and coatings company lacked detailed understanding of how purchasing decisions were made for paint and coatings on commercial projects, and the extent to which general contractors were involved. It needed a B2B market research agency to design a comprehensive study into the processes, attitudes and needs of GCs.
Our years of experience in construction market research, including researching how architects, designers and GCs make decisions about building products, helped to inform the design for a customer journey map and needs assessment.
Our Approach
Quant-qual study to pinpoint the role of general contractors
The B2B qualitative research and quantitative survey was designed to understand the role of general contractors in key decisions about paints and coatings on large-scale commercial projects. It also aimed to explore what general contractors’ needs were in that decision-making process.
Starting with qualitative research to understand the B2B customer journey, we conducted ten 30-minute interviews with general contractors. We asked them about their project processes, their role in selecting products in general, and specifically their role in selecting paint or coatings.
From this initial report, we outlined the general contractor decision-making process in a customer journey mapping workshop with the client. This identified key players, needs, and customer touchpoints.
The quantitative study was designed to segment these qualitative insights by type of general contractor, company size, and construction model. We conducted 350 computer-assisted telephone (CATI) interviews with general contractors. To ensure that these were relevant GC decision-makers, we screened the participants to only include those with over $100 million in revenue from commercial projects and at least 50% new build.
The Insight
Clear recommendations on how to engage with general contractors
Our final report outlined the different stages of a commercial project, and how general contractors fit into the decision-making process for paint and coatings. It told us the needs and attitudes of GCs toward different paint and coating options, how educated they feel, and what drives them to make buying decisions.
These insights identified where the paint and coatings company could make improvements to its products and marketing based on what is important to general contractors. It provided strategic recommendations for how to better engage with GCs, as well as insights into other decision-makers in the paint selection process for commercial projects.