+44 (0)203 693 3150

Evolution (trade segment surveys) Case Study Vision One

Evolution Powertool Research Story

The Challenge

Evolution Power Tools is recognised worldwide as a market leader in the steel and fabrication industry, manufacturing multipurpose saws capable of cutting wood, aluminium and steel. During a period of rapid and sustained growth, the business needed a deeper understanding of its increasingly diverse customer base.

The challenge was to move beyond broad trade and DIY definitions and develop a robust customer segmentation that reflected real behaviours, needs and motivations. This insight was required to guide the next phase of new product development and ensure innovation was aligned with genuine customer demand.

Evolution Power Tools

Research Objectives

The powertools research was designed to create a clear, actionable customer segmentation framework. The key objectives were to:

  • Develop a deeper understanding of trade and DIY customer needs and behaviours
  • Identify distinct customer segments beyond traditional demographic definitions
  • Understand how requirements differ across materials, applications and usage contexts
  • Create clear, usable customer personas for internal teams
  • Identify new opportunities to inform and prioritise future new product development

Together, these objectives aimed to provide a strategic foundation for growth, innovation and communication.

Research Approach

Vision One delivered a mixed-method research programme combining scale and depth. The approach included:

  • Quantitative online surveys among trade and DIY users
  • Qualitative focus groups to explore motivations, attitudes and usage in detail
  • Multivariate statistical analysis to develop robust customer segments
  • Qualitative deep dives to bring each segment to life and add behavioural context
  • Integration of findings into clear, practical segmentation outputs

This approach ensured the segmentation was both statistically sound and strategically meaningful.

Findings

The customer segmentation research successfully delivered a new segmentation framework, creating clear personas for both trade and DIY audiences. These segments revealed meaningful differences in needs, priorities and expectations, challenging existing assumptions.

Importantly, the analysis uncovered several new areas for product development that had not previously been considered, highlighting opportunities to innovate around specific use cases and customer pain points. The findings provided Evolution with a much clearer understanding of who their customers really are and how their needs vary across segments.

Action & Recommendations

The insights from the segmentation programme are now being used extensively across the business. The new customer personas are informing product development, innovation prioritisation and communication strategies, ensuring future decisions are grounded in a deeper, evidence-based understanding of both trade and DIY customers.

Vision One - B2B Research Agency
Kendra Furey, Head of Brands (Vision One)

Related Research Services

Brainstorming Sessions
B2B Research
Focus Groups
Innovation Research
Online Surveys
Qualitative Research
Quantitative Research
Domino Printing International Case Study Vision One

The Challenge Domino Printing Sciences is a world leader in coding, marking and digital printing technologies, supported by a global aftermarket and service infrastructure. However, increasing commoditisation within these markets was making differentiation more difficult. Domino needed to reassess its brand positioning across priority segments and geographies to identify what truly set it apart. The challenge was to understand whether existing messaging aligned with customer priorities and whether there was an opportunity to build a stronger emotional connection, not just functional credibility, to support long-term market share growth. Research Objectives The B2B research was designed to define Domino’s optimal brand positioning within competitive global markets. The key objectives were to: Together, these objectives aimed to uncover meaningful differentiation in a commoditised B2B landscape. Research Approach Vision One delivered a large-scale, international mixed-method research programme. The approach included: This approach balanced global scale with deep, market-specific understanding. Findings The research showed that Domino was viewed positively, with customer support emerging as a clear strength. Reliability and service were critical decision drivers, alongside equipment suitability and adaptability. While Domino performed well on these fundamentals, its branding and communications did not consistently emphasise the needs customers valued most. This revealed a disconnect between…

Domino Printing B2B Research Case Study

NHS Guys and St Thomas Social Case Study Vision One

The Challenge Across Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospital sites in Central London, a wide range of retail offers exist, including national brands, food and beverage outlets, services and in-house catering. However, performance and perception varied between locations. The challenge was to understand how patients, visitors and staff experienced the retail environment, how footfall moved through each site, and whether the current retail offer met demand. The Trust needed clear, evidence-led insight to inform future retail planning and ensure commercial activity supported wellbeing, convenience and satisfaction across both hospital sites. Research Objectives The research was designed to evaluate retail performance within complex hospital environments. The key objectives were to: Together, these objectives aimed to inform future retail strategy and site development decisions. Research Approach Vision One implemented a multi-method, behaviour-led research programme. The approach included: This approach ensured a holistic understanding of retail experience across diverse user groups. Findings The research revealed clear differences in retail footprint, satisfaction and perception between the two hospital sites. Variations in layout, accessibility and retail mix directly influenced how users experienced each environment. At Guy’s Hospital in particular, both staff and consumer feedback highlighted gaps in the retail offer. These findings demonstrated that retail success…

Guy’s And St Thomas Success B2B Research

Notcutts Case Study Vision One Research

The Challenge Founded in 1867, Notcutts is a long-established, family-owned garden centre business operating across England. As part of a planned refresh of its branding and marketing, Notcutts trialled a new in-store experience within one location. Before rolling this out more widely, the business needed to understand how the new branding, signage and point-of-sale communications were performing in a real shopping environment. The challenge was to evaluate whether these changes improved visibility, engagement and clarity throughout the customer journey, and to identify where refinements were needed to maximise impact. Research Objectives The retail and shopper research was designed to assess the effectiveness of Notcutts’ new in-store branding and communications before wider rollout. The key objectives were to: Together, these objectives aimed to ensure the refreshed in-store experience delivered clarity, impact and consistency across the customer journey. Research Approach Vision One implemented a mixed-method research programme combining behavioural and attitudinal techniques. The approach included: This approach allowed Vision One to observe real-world behaviour alongside reported attitudes. Findings The research revealed clear patterns in how customers visually engaged with the refreshed store environment. Key areas of fixation emerged along the customer journey, highlighting where branding and communications performed strongly and where they…

Notcutts Garden Centres Research Study