The Research Gap That Was Slowing Product Decisions
For a startup entering the building materials space, gut instinct only goes so far. This client had a product roadmap focused on tile adhesive, grouts, and waterproofing materials — but lacked the buyer-level data needed to prioritize features, identify gaps, and understand how competitors were winning or losing in the market.
Past research efforts had been useful but uneven. The leadership team needed structured, interview-based insight that could actually drive product decisions — not a surface-level category overview.
How We Structured the Research Program
We approached this as a two-track program running in parallel. The first track was primary research: structured phone and online interviews with contractors, trade buyers, and end users who regularly work with tile adhesive, grout, and waterproofing products. We built the interview guides, handled scheduling and outreach, and conducted every session ourselves.
The questions were designed around three core areas — real pain points with current products, unmet needs that existing brands were failing to address, and specific feature preferences that would influence purchase decisions.
The second track was a competitor analysis covering how key players in the tile adhesive and waterproofing category were positioned, priced, and perceived across trade and retail channels. Rather than producing a generic landscape view, we mapped competitor strengths and weaknesses directly against what interview respondents told us they valued.
Helion360 kept both tracks tightly coordinated so that the primary findings and the competitive data could be read together and used as a single decision-making framework.
What the Research Delivered
The final deliverable was a structured research report built for immediate use. It covered verified buyer pain points, a ranked list of product priorities, clearly identified market gaps in the waterproofing and grout segments, and a competitive landscape summary grounded in real buyer feedback.
The product team used the findings to sharpen their development roadmap and determine which categories represented the strongest entry points. The startup avoided spreading resources across the entire product line before understanding where demand was strongest and where differentiation was actually possible.
Working With Helion360
If you're leading a product expansion and need research that goes beyond desk analysis, Helion360 is built for exactly this kind of work. We've run structured interview programs, competitor analysis, and market gap assessments for startups that needed real answers on a timeline that matched their business — and we know how to turn that research into something your team can actually use.