Client Background
This was a white label project for which we partnered with another research agency and together we did research work for a global network serving the commercial construction industry with a wide range of products that help project leads find and win new business. They had recently acquired another legacy brand in the commercial construction industry, whose online listing platform serves as a connection portal for general contractors and subcontractors to list and grow their businesses.
The Challenge
The company was looking to identify ways to grow for the newly acquired brand, particularly seeking customer segments they were not reaching yet. They tapped Experiment Zone to uncover these opportunities in new markets. No previous research had been done.
Our Strategy
We began by researching adjacent customer personas through in-depth interviews and user journey validation. More insight was needed to create a customer journey that reflected unique needs and how the company could support these, contributing to a positive workflow for their customers. We performed interviews with various types of users from this group to learn about current processes, tools used, and pain points. We created a light user journey based on assumptions we had, then shared with the user group to validate and tweak in order to identify opportunities. In this process, we found ways to help the client better understand and serve existing customers also.
Based on the initial findings, our research partner team created a user journey map to visualize the client’s entire ecosystem of their current offerings and illustrate how users interact with their products throughout the commercial construction lifecycle. The goal of the user journey map was to identify pain points and highlight opportunities in current offerings.
To develop a deeper understanding of the company’s existing user group (general contractors), we reviewed the existing user journey and customer interviews that our partner team created. Then, we conducted interviews with a set of general contractors (the existing customer persona) to validate assumptions. Interviews began with open-ended discussions about the general contractors’ role and use of the client’s tools. Later, we shared a simplified version of the user journey map and asked the users for feedback. Insights from these interviews gave direction on how to reach and gain new customers. In addition, the information can be used to better serve the client’s existing customers by making their product better and more tailored.
The Results
We were able to uncover a deeper understanding of a new market segment and identified opportunities to solve valuable pain points within it.
Insights from the new user group and user persona were used to facilitate a workshop to further develop opportunities for the client to support this new persona’s needs in the future. Ultimately, we helped the client identify several significant market opportunities to grow their offering and our work set them up to begin exploring those new opportunities.