Industry overview
What is shaping manufacturing
Manufacturers sell to distributors, OEMs and industrial buyers, and compete on quality, delivery and service as much as price. Many are also digitising plants, sales and finance processes.
- Distributor networks remain central to reach
- Buyers expect consistent quality and on-time delivery
- Digitisation of operations and reporting is accelerating
Client background
A welding equipment brand, working in Pan-India. Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.
- Organisation
- A welding equipment brand
- Sector
- Manufacturing
- Team engaged
- Market Research
- Services
- Quantitative research, Business panel, Reporting & insights
Client challenge
The brand competed with many local and international rivals and wanted to understand its position and what drove preference.
Research objectives
- Deliver on the brief: measuring brand perception in a crowded industrial category.
- Understand the views, needs and behaviour of fabricators.
- Measure how widespread each pattern is, and explain the reasons behind it.
- Give the client evidence it can act on within 6 weeks.
Target audience
The work focused on 500 fabricators.
- fabricators500
Audiences we typically reach in manufacturing
Procurement and plant headsDistributors and dealersOEM buyersService engineersFinance and operations teams
Geographic coverage
Coverage: Pan-India. Market: India.
- India
Research methodology
A mixed-method design: structured research measured how widespread each pattern was, and qualitative conversations explained why.
- 1Brief
- 2B2B brand survey
- 3Driver analysis
- 4Insight
We surveyed fabricators and workshop owners on brand awareness, usage, consideration and ratings on key attributes, then used driver analysis to identify what most influenced preference.
Quantitative researchBusiness panelReporting & insights
Sampling strategy
- fabricators
- 500
- Business respondents were screened on role, company size and involvement in the decision before being invited.
- 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
- 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.
Data quality & validation
- 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
- Logic and range checks on the final data
- Work carried out under our ISO 20252 quality procedures
Data analysis
- Cross-tabulation by key groups and locations
- Significance testing on the differences that mattered
- Driver analysis to find what most influences the outcome
- Thematic coding of interviews and discussions
- Journey and decision mapping
Key findings
- Durability and service network were the strongest drivers of preference, and the brand rated well on durability but poorly on service reach.
Driver analysis showed where to invest, not just how the brand scored.
Recommendations
- Build on the core insight: driver analysis showed where to invest, not just how the brand scored.
- Share the findings with the teams closest to customers so they can act quickly.
Business impact
- It prioritised expanding authorised service points.
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: which processes are worth digitising first?
Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.