Ten Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Construction Research Agency

Assessing sector expertise, research quality and relevance to your business decisions

Research into construction, installation and home improvement markets supports decisions on product development, market entry, positioning and distribution. For manufacturers operating across multiple countries, the agency’s ability to understand the product category, reach the relevant decision-makers and account for differences between markets is critical.

An agency proposal should make the connection between the business decision, the evidence required and the proposed research design explicit. The assessment should establish whose views will be represented, how data quality will be controlled and how the findings will support the decision.

The following ten questions provide a consistent basis for comparing proposals and assessing their commercial and methodological relevance.

1. What relevant experience do you have with our product category, route to market and decision?

Construction encompasses markets with distinct products, purchasing processes and professional audiences. Experience with housebuilders does not automatically demonstrate an understanding of building product distribution, just as research among architects requires different knowledge from research among installers.

Ask for examples that show how the agency has approached a comparable commercial question. Its explanation should identify the roles of contractors, merchants, distributors and specifiers, including who recommends a product, who purchases it, who installs it and what influences a change of supplier or system.

Relevant experience is demonstrated through an understanding of the decision process within your category. Assess how that experience will inform the proposed study.

2. How would you turn our business decision into research objectives?

Provide each agency with the same brief and ask which questions the research must answer. The objectives should follow from the decision your business needs to make and identify the evidence required to evaluate the available options.

This discussion should cover the assumptions behind the decision, what is already known and which uncertainties remain. Broad objectives such as understanding customer attitudes or assessing market potential need to be translated into specific questions that the research can address.

A well-developed proposal explains how each research objective contributes to the business decision and where the study’s scope ends.

3. Who needs to be interviewed?

For a new insulation product, several professional groups may influence adoption. Each contributes a different perspective:

• Architects and other specifiers can explain specification requirements and product selection criteria.
• Contractors can assess practical and commercial considerations at project level.
• Installers can provide evidence on handling, installation and product performance in use.
• Distributors can explain stocking decisions, recommendations and repeat purchasing.

The study may require all these groups or a defined selection. The agency should explain why each audience is included, which questions its members are qualified to answer and how their responses will be analysed.

The audience definition should preserve these differences. A broad category such as “construction professionals” can obscure distinct responsibilities and levels of influence.

4. How will you verify that respondents meet the research criteria?

If a study requires electrical contractors who have selected or recommended a product during the past 12 months, screening needs to establish that specific involvement. Relevant criteria may include current activity, type of work, project profile and responsibility for product decisions.

Telephone interviews can support verification of a respondent’s role, category knowledge and decision involvement. Online research can also be appropriate when suitable verification procedures are in place. The agency should explain how eligibility will be established and checked for the proposed method.

Respondent verification and sample representativeness are separate requirements. Confirming that someone is a qualified electrician does not establish whether the overall sample adequately covers the market relevant to your decision.

5. Where does your sample come from?

Assess the proposed sample size alongside its source and coverage. Ask whether respondents will be recruited through a professional panel, a business database, customer records, telephone recruitment or a combination of sources.

For example, a database weighted towards larger contractors may provide limited coverage of a market dominated by small independent installers. Increasing the number of interviews within that database would leave the underlying coverage gap unresolved.

The proposal should explain who the interviews will represent, which groups may be under-represented and what that means for the conclusions. For studies across multiple countries, this assessment should address the sample available in each market.

6. Why is this method appropriate?

The choice of method should follow from the research objectives, the audience and the type of evidence required. Ask the agency to explain the rationale for its recommendation and the trade-offs involved.

• Computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) may be appropriate for structured research among professional audiences where reaching and screening relevant respondents requires direct contact.
• Online research may suit visual or concept testing, or research among known customers, provided the audience can be reached and verified appropriately.
• Qualitative interviews can explore the reasoning behind decisions, such as why merchants recommend one product over another.

The interview mode alone does not establish research quality. Sample coverage, recruitment, questionnaire design and quality controls all need to support the study’s objectives.

7. Who is responsible for fieldwork quality?

Establish who manages the fieldwork and who is accountable for quality, including any work carried out by external partners. The proposal should describe the checks applied during data collection and before analysis.

For example, an unusually short interview or contradictory answers about product use should trigger a review. Ask how such cases are investigated, when interviews are excluded and how any resulting shortfall in the agreed sample is addressed.

Request specific procedures for checking eligibility, interview duration, response consistency and compliance with the agreed sample structure. Quality standards should remain consistent throughout fieldwork, including when recruitment is difficult.

8. How will you separate findings from interpretation?

Respondents expressing an interest in trying a new product provide evidence of stated consideration. Translating that finding into a sales forecast requires additional assumptions and evidence. Similarly, an association between product use and a particular behaviour does not establish that the product caused the behaviour.

Ask how reporting will distinguish between:

• what respondents reported,
• what the analysis establishes,
• what the researchers infer,
• and which actions they recommend.

The agency should make the basis for its conclusions clear and explain any limitations that affect their application to your business.

9. Which decisions will the outputs help us make?

Agree how the findings will be used by marketing, product management, sales and other relevant stakeholders. The proposed outputs should make it possible to evaluate the options identified in the brief and understand the evidence supporting the recommendations.

Confirm which deliverables are included: a report, data tables, a stakeholder presentation, an analysis workshop or access to the underlying data, where appropriate and agreed. Consider what teams will need to use the findings after the final presentation.

Clarify the scope and cost of additional analysis, market comparisons, workshops and questionnaire changes before commissioning the project.

10. What is included, what is excluded and which assumptions underpin the proposal?

Compare proposals against the same criteria and record the evidence provided by each agency. Alongside the fee and timetable, clarify assumptions about respondent availability, screening criteria, sample composition, country coverage and deliverables. Identify unresolved questions that could affect cost, feasibility or the interpretation of results.

The following comparison template brings together the main areas to assess:

Agency comparison template. Record the evidence provided and any outstanding questions for each criterion.

Weight the criteria according to the project. Sample coverage may be decisive in one study, while access to a specialist audience may be the main challenge in another. The assessment should reflect the requirements and risks of the specific commission.

Selecting an agency that can support the decision

A sound proposal connects each stage of the research. The business decision defines the objectives; the objectives determine the relevant audiences; and those audiences inform the sample and recruitment approach. The method, fieldwork controls and analysis should then produce evidence that addresses the original decision.

Before commissioning new fieldwork, review the evidence already available and identify the gaps the study needs to address. Using the same questions across agencies makes it easier to assess how well each proposal meets those requirements.

Discuss your construction research project

Share your business question, the markets and professional audiences involved, and the evidence already available with USP. We can help define the research objectives and the approach needed to support your decision.

Contact USP to discuss your construction research requirements.