Industry overview
What is shaping chemical
Chemical and specialty materials companies sell to formulators, manufacturers and procurement teams who need technical support, consistency and safe handling as much as price.
- Technical service is a key reason buyers stay
- Procurement teams compare total cost, not just price
- Safety and regulatory compliance shape supplier choice
Client background
A decorative paints brand, working in 15 cities in Indonesia & Malaysia. Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.
- Organisation
- A decorative paints brand
- Sector
- Chemical
- Team engaged
- Market Research
- Services
- Offline data collection (CAPI), Business panel, Reporting & insights
Client challenge
The brand was investing in tinting machines at dealer shops but wanted to know whether dealers were using them and how they influenced customer choices.
Research objectives
- Deliver on the brief: understanding dealers in the decorative paints market.
- Understand the views, needs and behaviour of paint dealers.
- Uncover the motivations and barriers people do not state in a survey.
- Give the client evidence it can act on within 6 weeks.
Target audience
The work focused on 800 paint dealers.
- paint dealers800
Audiences we typically reach in chemical
Formulators and R&D teamsProcurement managersPlant and production headsDistributorsSafety officers
Geographic coverage
Coverage: 15 cities in Indonesia & Malaysia. Markets: Indonesia and Malaysia.
- Indonesia
- Malaysia
Research methodology
A qualitative design, built to uncover motivations, decision processes and the language people actually use.
- 1Brief
- 2Dealer interviews
- 3Store observation
- 4Insight
Interviewers visited dealers to discuss stocking, painter relationships, tinting machine use and schemes, and observed how customers were served.
Offline data collection (CAPI)Business panelReporting & insights
Sampling strategy
- paint dealers
- 800
- Business respondents were screened on role, company size and involvement in the decision before being invited.
- Respondents were selected across 15 cities in Indonesia & Malaysia using quotas set in advance for each location and respondent type, so no single area or group dominated.
- Online respondents were drawn from verified panel members who matched the screening criteria, with quotas on key profile attributes.
- Qualitative participants were recruited purposively to cover the full range of experiences that mattered, rather than for statistical representation.
Data collection
- Trained local-language interviewers conducted interviews in person on tablets (CAPI), with time and location recorded for every interview.
- The online survey was mobile-friendly and offered in respondents' languages.
- Interviews and discussions were led by experienced moderators using a guide agreed with the client.
- Auditors and mystery shoppers followed a standard checklist, recording evidence at each visit.
Data quality & validation
- Back-checks on a share of completed interviews
- Time and location checks on field interviews
- Supervisor accompaniment in the field
- Digital fingerprinting and duplicate checks
- Attention, speed and straight-lining checks
- Review of open-ended answers
- Recordings and transcripts for every session
- Re-screening of qualitative recruits
- Photo or document evidence for audit points
- Second-reviewer checks on scores
- Logic and range checks on the final data
- Work carried out under our ISO 20252 quality procedures
Data analysis
- Thematic coding of interviews and discussions
- Journey and decision mapping
Key findings
- Painters strongly influenced brand choice, and dealers favoured brands that supported painter relationships.
The machine mattered less than the relationships around it.
Recommendations
- Build on the core insight: the machine mattered less than the relationships around it.
- Focus effort where the evidence was strongest: painters strongly influenced brand choice, and dealers favoured brands that supported painter relationships.
- Re-measure after the changes to confirm the effect.
Business impact
- The brand linked tinting investments to painter engagement programmes.
What changed in the business as a result of the work. Impact is described qualitatively.
Deliverables & next steps
- Insight report and management presentation
- Cleaned data file and data tables
- Repeat the measure after changes are in place to track progress.
- A natural follow-on question: how do distributors add value?
Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.