Work:
Polypipe
Understanding the differing needs of the UK installer audience to drive business growth
The challenge
Polypipe is one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of plastic piping and water, climate and ventilation management systems for the built environment. Founded in 1980, the business has grown into a major supplier across residential, commercial, civil and infrastructure markets.
The business operates in the highly competitive plastic plumbing market dominated by a small number of powerful brands. While Polypipe has a strong presence, they needed deeper understanding of installer behaviour to identify realistic opportunities for growth. In particular, Polypipe wanted to understand:
- Installers’ brand loyalties and preferences
- Competitor perceptions
- Motivations to trial and switching
- How age, business size and type of work influence brand choice
- How Polypipe could tailor messaging, channel focus and promotions to convert consideration into adoption
The outcome needed to be commercially actionable, not just descriptive personas.
The solution
We designed a robust quantitative study, focused exclusively on installers actively fitting plastic plumbing pipe and fittings (hot & cold). Using dual methodologies (online and telephone) and multiple trade partners to widen the consultation research, we achieved a sizeable number of completed interviews that allowed us to segment results by age, brand preference, etc.
- The research delivered Polypipe a clear, evidence-based framework for growth
- Sharply defined target segments based on real behaviour
- Clear guidance on who to target first (and who not to chase)
- Direction on channel prioritisation (merchant, digital, peers, influencers)
- Refined messaging that plays to Polypipe’s natural strengths—trust, reliability and long‑term value
Practical stimulus ideas to widen trial and increase merchant preference
The final output enabled Polypipe to confidently align marketing, sales and channel activity around the segments most likely to convert, maximising ROI.
Feedback:
“Over the years Eureka have worked on numerous projects which have not only provided valuable insight, but also asked some pretty searching questions of our strategy and direction of travel. Incredibly straightforward to deal with, they have a real no nonsense approach to scoping out and delivering projects, usually on very tight deadlines! The in depth knowledge of our industry has led to Eureka! supporting us with insight into new product developments, detailed customer segmentation & profiling and potential new market opportunities. I believe the work we have done together has proved invaluable in helping us move our business forward and delivered bottom line growth as a result.”
Let’s bounce a few ideas around
If you’d like to talk through a challenge or explore what might work for your business, we’d love a chat. Get in touch, or feel free to have a further look around the site to see how our research helps solve real‑world business conundrums.