"Who? What? Where? When? Why?"

Just as newspaper reporters rely on that formula to get their stories, PQI used it to get the scoop on interior paint.  In our case, we asked variations of those questions in telephone interviews with 512 painting contractors in the U.S. and Canada who do primarily residential repaint or commercial work. Our objective was to gain an in-depth understanding of their opinions, attitudes and practices regarding interior paint.  We explored a variety of subjects: who specifies the brand of interior paint used on the job, why contractors favor one brand over another, where contractors use primers, and which sources of information contractors consider most important.  Here's what we learned.

Paint Brand Specifier

Who selects the brand of paint used on an interior paint job? Our study showed that the painting contractor makes the decision on more than half of the jobs (54%). Next is the architect, who specifies the brand 17% of the time, then the home-owner and the building owner or manager, who make the decision 16% and 14% of the time, respectively (see Exhibit 1).

However, the data is more helpful from a paint selling standpoint when we separate the contractors according to the primary type of painting they do: residential repaint, commercial new construction or commercial repaint (see Exhibit 2).

As we suspected, on residential repaint jobs, the painting contractor has by far the most influence, making the brand decision 61% of the time, followed by the resident homeowner, who specifies the paint on 27% of the jobs. A building owner or manager makes the residential repaint decision 8% of the time, while an architect does so on only 4% of these projects.

When it comes to brand selection on new commercial paint jobs, however, the architect takes on far more importance. In this segment, the contractor still is the most frequent decision-maker, selecting the brand 44% of the time, but the architect does so nearly as often (41%), while the building owner or manager selects the brand just 13% of the time.  On commercial repaint work, a third pattern emerges. Here again, the painting contractor holds the most sway, making the brand decision 48% of the time. However, in this arena, the next-most-influential decision-maker is the building owner or manager (27%), followed by the architect (21%).

Reasons for Brand Preference

Since the painting contractor is the one who most often selects the brand of interior paint used, we explored why it is that he or she chooses one brand over others. (For this question, the respondents could provide more than one answer, and give separate answers for paints of different sheen levels. The responses for different sheen levels were similar, so we are including here only those relating to satin or eggshell finish.) 

The reason cited most frequently for preferring a particular brand is good quality paint, which was mentioned by 33% of the contractors. This finding confirms the results of earlier PQI studies, which revealed that paint quality is paramount in the minds of many professional painters (see Exhibit 3, below). The next-most-common reason for brand preference is good coverage or hiding, given by 23% of the respondents. Interestingly, cost is given less importance; it was cited by only 18% of the contractors.

Other reasons for brand preference were:

• durability (10%)
• past experience with the paint (7%)
• ease of application (6%)
• manufacturer's reputation (6%)
• appearance of the finish (6%)
• convenient store location (5%)

Use of Primers

As part of our investigation into surface preparation practices, we asked the contractors where they use primers (see Exhibit 4).

We were encouraged to learn that 22% of the contractors said they use primers on all of the surfaces they paint, a sign that many of these professionals strive for top quality results on every job. [Editor's note: It appears that painters are recognizing the benefits of priming even repaint surfaces, which include maximizing adhesion of the finish coat; getting maximum, uniform sheen or gloss from the finish coat; protection against bleed-through from the substrate; and, in some cases, better resistance to corrosion and mildew growth.] 

In terms of specific surfaces, new wood was mentioned most frequently: 49% of the contractors said they use primers when painting this substrate. The next-most-commonly primed surface is drywall (described by some as "new walls"), mentioned by 21% of the respondents. 

Primers are also used in damp areas, including those with water damage or stains, mentioned by 11% of the contractors, and for metal surfaces, also mentioned by 11% of the respondents. 

Four other responses were given. These answers, with the percentage of contractors giving them, are:

• to conceal previous color (8%)
• over plaster or patched areas (7%)
• on damaged surfaces (4%)
• on doors and windows (4%)

Information Sources

Contractors can avail themselves of many different sources of information on paints and painting. We wanted to find out which they regard as most important. (This was one of two "aided" questions in our study, where we assisted the contractors with their responses by mentioning sources of information, and asking them to characterize each as either "important" or "not too important."

Three information sources proved to be most valuable to the contractors: word-of-mouth, paint store personnel, and paint company salespeople, regarded as important by 86%, 75% and 70% of the contractors, respectively (see Exhibit 5 above).

Two other sources are deemed to be important by about half the contractors. Paint manufacturers' brochures are considered so by 54% of the respondents, while 48% regard articles in contractor magazines as important sources of information. Other sources we tested were professional organizations, ads in contractor magazines, and the Internet. These are viewed as important sources of information by 33%, 32% and 14% of the respondents, respectively. (We expect that the Internet will take on much more importance to painters over the next few years.)

Marketing Implications

The findings of our interior paint survey have some clear implications for those who sell and market paint.

First, painting contractors doing commercial and residential repaint work are central to the paint specification process. As a result, contractors should be considered when developing any comprehensive paint marketing program. 

Second, contractors care about the quality of the paint they use more than its cost. Marketing messages based upon paint quality and performance thus would seem to be most appealing to professional painters. 

Third, many contractors are interested in doing the best possible surface preparation, which can often be optimized by applying one or two coats of primer. Consequently, contractors should be receptive to sales and marketing efforts relating to primers.

And, finally, contractors have high regard for the expertise of paint store personnel and paint company representatives. These individuals are in an ideal position to influence contractor opinion and preference on paints and coatings.

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