Hearing from engineers directly
The desk research told us how the trade is courted and where it feels let down. This kit tests that against engineers' own words — what they want from work, how they really feel about the platforms, and whether Homesy's offer lands.
Two instruments: a conversation guide for depth, and an online survey for breadth. Both screen hard for the in-market engineer, so the findings reflect the people Homesy actually needs to recruit.
The conversation guide
A semi-structured guide with cold and warm branches — cold for engineers with no prior Homesy contact, warm for those already introduced. Depth over breadth: it surfaces the real feeling about platforms and work in the engineer's own language.
"How do you get most of your work at the moment? Walk me through a typical week."Opens on current reality before any Homesy framing.
"What's the most frustrating thing about the platforms you've used?"Surfaces grievances unprompted — tests the desk-research findings.
"When you finish a job for a customer, what happens next? Do you stay in touch?"Probes the customer-ownership relationship without leading.
The Homesy offer is described last, in plain terms, so the engineer's account of their own world isn't coloured by it. Then: gut reaction, what would make them sceptical, what would make them try it.
The online survey
For breadth and a quantified read. Screens on engineer type and years in appliance repair (hard screens), then tests how they get work today, what they pay, their platform grievances, and their reaction to Homesy's core offer.
The main off-market risk isn't civilians — it's adjacent trades (handymen, plumbers) who answer plausibly. Make the appliance-repair specialism question a hard screen, not just a profiling field, so the findings reflect real appliance engineers.
Giving engineers a reason
- A capped prize draw
A draw for something the trade actually wants — a tool or fuel voucher. Cost capped regardless of volume, so the more responses, the cheaper each one.
- Share the findings back
Engineers value knowing how their peers feel about platforms — a low-cost, high-pull offer, especially inside a trade community.
- Read sources separately
Cold, warm and community responses are different populations — never pool them into one number.
- Report honestly
"Of the engineers we heard from", not "engineers think." Online respondents skew toward those with strong feelings about platforms.