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2020 Top 50 U.S. Market Research and Data Analytics Companies

Diane Bowers

A full ranking of the top market research and data analytics companies in the U.S. for 2020

The “2020 Top 50 U.S. Report”—formerly known as “The Gold Report”—is developed by Diane Bowers and produced in partnership with the Insights Association and Michigan State University . The report is also sponsored by the AMA, ESOMAR and the Global Research Business Network . The report includes a ranking of the top 50 companies, a breakdown of trends by Bowers , and an analysis of the market research and analytics industry  by Michael Brereton, Melanie Courtright and Reg Baker.

50. RTi Research

Founded: 1979 2019 U.S. revenue: $12.9 million Percent change from 2018: -3% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: — Percent from outside U.S.: — 2019 worldwide revenue: $12.9 million U.S. employees: 45

In a world awash in data, the challenge is to turn data into something meaningful, something that can be communicated simply and acted upon effectively. RTi Research meets that challenge head-on, turning data into meaning through smart research design, flawless execution and innovative storytelling. Everything the company does is aimed at helping its clients move their ideas and insights through their organizations to influence change. 

RTi has conducted research in just about every category in the U.S. and globally. Informed by 40 years of experience across categories and cultures, RTi knows what works and what doesn’t, when to leverage new technology and methods, and when traditional approaches are best.

49. Hypothesis

Founded: 2000 2019 U.S. revenue: $18.3 million Percent change from 2018: -4.7% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: — Percent from outside U.S.: — 2019 worldwide revenue: $18.3 million U.S. employees: 61

Hypothesis uses insights, strategy and design to help important brands do amazing things. The company specializes in tough questions that take creative, multidimensional approaches, thoughtful strategy and a broad business perspective. Hypothesis’ approach combines inventive consumer-centric qualitative research, advanced analytics, strategic thinking and data visualization. Its award-winning design team translates complex information into compelling, easy-to-understand deliverables to socialize learnings and engage teams. 

In 2018, Hypothesis added important new capabilities with the launch of Momentum, a strategy that turns insight into application with downstream marketing and implementation planning. The Momentum team has worked alongside Hypothesis consultants on strategic engagements with clients focused on brand strategy, product development, and led dozens of workshops with senior and C-level executives to socialize insights and ideate on next steps. 

In 2019, Hypothesis’ focus on growth continued with its expansion to the Midwest and establishment of its Chicago office. From this office, the company will be able to service new and current clients in the Midwest and on the East Coast.

48. Bellomy Research

Founded: 1976 2019 U.S. revenue: $21 million Percent change from 2018: 1.4% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: — Percent from outside U.S.: — 2019 worldwide revenue: $21 million U.S. employees: 116

Bellomy is a privately held, family-owned, full-service market intelligence company. Bellomy focuses on driving successful business outcomes through the design and delivery of solutions that yield deeper customer understanding. The company surrounds its clients’ business challenges with an unparalleled mix of knowledge and experience, marketing science and proprietary research technology. 

Bellomy’s work involves both B2C and B2B environments—with qualitative and quantitative insight solutions spanning market segmentation, customer experience and journeys (including digital user experiences), brand equity, product innovation, shopper insights, marketing optimization, social research platforms and research technology. Bellomy works with clients across a broad range of categories and industries including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, restaurant and hospitality, telecommunications and technology, apparel and textiles, utilities, healthcare, insurance and home improvement.

Bellomy serves as an extension of its clients’ marketing research and customer experience departments by integrating a broad set of capabilities and areas of expertise, including segmentation, customer (and digital experience), shopper insights, social research platforms, brand equity, product innovation and marketing optimization. In addition, Bellomy clients leverage SmartIDEAS, the firm’s enterprise consumer knowledge and insight platform. 

47. Edelman Intelligence

Founded: 1999 2019 U.S. revenue: $21 million Percent change from 2018: 12.9% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $11.5 million Percent from outside U.S.: 35.4% 2019 worldwide revenue: $32.5 million U.S. employees: 131

Edelman Intelligence (EI) is the global research and analytics consultancy of Edelman, the world’s largest global communications firm. Based in New York, with employees in 18 offices internationally, EI houses more than 200 consultants, strategists, researchers, data scientists, data visualization specialists and analysts worldwide. Its specialists are method-agnostic and leverage the best of primary and secondary research, advanced analytics and business science to solve business and communications issues for its clients. EI’s offering spans the full spectrum of client needs, from mapping the current environment and targeting key audiences, to optimizing content and measuring business impact. 

EI partners with early-stage start-ups and Fortune 100 companies alike, providing strategic research, analytics, and insights-based marketing and communications counsel for a broad range of stakeholders and scopes, including government and public affairs, corporate reputation and risk strategy, crisis and issues management, employee experience and talent advisory, executive positioning, strategic communications and public relations, marketing and branding strategy, customer experience and insights, mergers, acquisitions and market entry strategy and more.

Key accomplishments in 2019 included advancement of its Edelman Trust Management (ETM) capabilities, including an evolution of its offering focused specifically on providing guidance for measuring and building trust in brands. Developed building from its 20-plus years studying trust through the Edelman Trust Barometer and the initial iteration of ETM (which explores corporate trust), this proprietary model for brand trust measurement was created in partnership with renowned academics from Harvard Business School and INSEAD, Edelman Brand experts and external marketing thought leaders. In recent months, this model has been engineered to consider fundamental transformations to consumer/brand relationship dynamics that the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated.

46. KS&R

Founded: 1983 2019 U.S. revenue: $21.7 million Percent change from 2018: -1.4% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $3.6 million Percent from outside U.S.: 14.2% 2019 worldwide revenue: $25.3 million U.S. employees: 100

KS&R is a privately held strategic consultancy and full-service marketing research company. For nine consecutive years, KS&R has received the highest Gold Index composite score of any provider in the Prevision/Inside Research survey of marketing research buyers. This is a testament to the company’s passion for excellence and client-first business philosophy—wherein KS&R empowers its clients with timely, fact-based insights so they can make smarter decisions and be confident in their actions.

KS&R creates and executes global custom market research solutions for some of the best-known corporations in the world in more than 100 countries and 50 languages. It has extensive and diverse industry experience with particular strength in healthcare (pharma and device), technology, entercom, transportation, professional services, and retail and e-commerce. Team members often include business strategists with client-side experience and deep industry knowledge.

In 2019, KS&R leveraged its expansive network of pharmacy panels to build world-class capabilities for pharma inventory measurement and healthcare insights. Its marketing scientists have driven marked advances in pricing decision support, which have now been validated by positive in-market results. KS&R expanded its portfolio to include insights fusion across multiple channels of content (primary research, social media, web-based information, etc.). And finally, it introduced its KS&R Win-Loss program that provides actionable insights for how organizations can improve their value proposition and sales performance to close more deals.

Founded: 1911 2019 U.S. revenue: $22.7 million Percent change from 2018: 12.9% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: — Percent from outside U.S.: — 2019 worldwide revenue: $22.7 million U.S. employees: 78

NAXION guides strategic business decisions globally in healthcare, information technology, financial services, energy, heavy equipment and other B2B markets, drawing on depth of marketing experience in key verticals and skilled application of sophisticated and inventive methodologies. The firm’s NAscence Group helps life science innovators develop commercialization strategy through clinical trials design and selection of target indications, forecasting, brand planning and other research-based consulting services.

Engagements routinely include market segmentation, opportunity assessment and innovation, demand forecasting and pricing, positioning, brand health, market monitoring and lifecycle management. The firm deploys multiple data streams including primary research (qualitative and quantitative), secondary data, customer databases and other complex datasets to develop an integrative perspective on business problems. The firm also builds custom panels for B2B markets.

Project leaders with sector experience and research proficiency are supported by in-house methodologists and a wide portfolio of advanced analytic tools, including proprietary modeling services and software, all of them highly customized. The firm continues to invest significant resources in intellectual capital to enhance enterprise decision support with cutting-edge methods, including specialized “small data” choice models, new predictive techniques using big data and brand-customized text analytics. Its Farsight suite supports the building of highly dynamic models capable of producing forecasts for complex market scenarios, including paradigm-shift technologies, and gives market monitoring programs a forward-looking perspective that guides timely market interventions. Other services include litigation and regulatory support, often involving expert testimony in cases involving trademark confusion, deceptive advertising and brand equity. NAXION’s strong commitment to operational excellence is reflected in ISO certification and in-house operations capabilities to deliver exceptional levels of quality control. 

Founded: 1991 2019 U.S. revenue: $24.2 million Percent change from 2018: -3.6% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $1.2 million Percent from outside U.S.: 4.7% 2019 worldwide revenue: $25.4 million U.S. employees: 144

Gongos is a consultative agency that places customers at the heart of business strategy. Partnering with insights, analytics, marketing, strategy and customer experience groups, Gongos operationalizes customer centricity by helping companies both understand their customer needs and deliver on them better than anyone else.

From product innovation to portfolio management, customer experience to consumer journeys, pricing strategies to marketing optimization, and trend analysis to predictive modeling, Gongos provides both outside-in and inside-out approaches across organizations to drive greater customer attraction, retention and lifetime value.

Gongos further serves as a translator to help cross-functional teams fuel the competency to gain and apply consumer wisdom, transform decisions into action and navigate organizational change. Coalescing enterprise data with primary research and curating insights for multiple audiences further empowers stakeholders to achieve greater ROI by ensuring information is designed to influence actions and behaviors from executives to the frontline. 

Gongos’ consultative tools stem from change management principles that help organizations navigate the transformation often necessary to create a more outside-in perspective as they reorient around the customer. Gongos’ approaches to engage multiple audiences include communication strategies and tactics grounded in frameworks such as its adoption-to-advocacy model and human-centered design.

43. Maru/Matchbox **

Founded: 2016 2019 U.S. revenue: $28 million Percent change from 2018: 3.7% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $14 million Percent from outside U.S.: 33.3% 2019 worldwide revenue: $42 million U.S. employees: 150

Maru/Matchbox began disrupting the market research industry in 2000. Powered by proprietary technology, its expert teams are deeply invested in key sectors of the economy, including consumer goods and services, financial services, retail, technology, healthcare, public services, and media and entertainment. Maru/Marchbox provides organizations with the tools and insights to connect with the people that matter most, so they can build and maintain a competitive advantage. 

In 2019, Maru/Matchbox released a series of innovative research solutions. 

• Digital Media Measurement is a campaign evaluation approach that enables clients to better understand how content, channels and brands interact to deliver effective communication. 
• Creative Insight measures people’s implicit and explicit responses to advertising, giving clients a complete picture of how their ad is working. It is designed to evaluate any type of ad or brand communication, across all channels, with best-in-class benchmarks.
• Lissted analyzes how members of communities relevant to clients react to content, tweets and even websites. 
• Brand Emotion utilizes visual semiotics to identify and leverage the emotional profile of a brand. 

Maru/Matchbox continues to demonstrate innovation and thought leadership through relentless publication of articles and whitepapers.

42. Chadwick Martin Bailey (CMB)

Founded: 1984 2019 U.S. revenue: $28.7 million Percent change from 2018: 20.6% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: — Percent from outside U.S.: — 2019 worldwide revenue: $28.7 million U.S. employees: 90

CMB is a research and strategy firm, helping the world’s leading brands engage, innovate and grow amid deep disruption. The company leverages the best of advanced analytics, consumer psychology and market strategy to tackle critical business initiatives, including market identification, segmentation, brand health, loyalty and advocacy, and product and service development.

For more than 35 years, CMB has helped the most successful brands and their executives give voice to their market through a relentless business decision focus, creative problem-solving and storytelling, deeply consultative approach and flawless execution. With dedicated financial services, media and entertainment, tech and telecom, retail and healthcare practices, CMB’s expert teams understand the complex and evolving technological, social, cultural and economic forces that drive disruption and create opportunity.

In 2020, CMB continued its growth trajectory, including building expertise in gaming and digital platforms and expanding its qualitative and advanced analytics teams. A thought leader in the application of consumer psychology to real world business issues, CMB conducted self-funded research among tens of thousands of consumers to capture the four core benefits that motivate decision-making—identity, emotion, social and functional—providing an in-depth look at more than 80 global brands. Further self-funded research explored the accelerating journey and path to purchase of today’s gamers.

41. Screen Engine/ASI

Founded: 2010 2019 U.S. revenue: $33 million Percent change from 2018: 10% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $1.9 million Percent from outside U.S.: 5.4% 2019 worldwide revenue: $34.9 million U.S. employees: 132

Screen Engine/ASI is a research-based consumer insights firm that stands for delivering its entertainment and media clients actionable insights and recommendations, not simply data. SE/ASI strives to help clients mitigate risk and maximize the potential for success. Through its Motion Picture and TV Groups, SE/ASI works across all distribution platforms for both domestic and internationally produced content. 

The company is centered on assessing the “abilities” of content as it migrates from the earliest stages of development through multi-channel distribution. The Motion Picture Group is the leader in traditional and digital in theater and online recruited audience screenings. Offerings also include PostTrak, a syndicated domestic and international in-theater exit poll, and ScreenExperts, an early assessment of critical response, creative ad testing, positioning and brand studies, custom work, and location-based and online focus group research. A cross-platform team within this group works with home entertainment, over-the-top and gaming clients. 

The TV group is the leader in location-based ViewTrac dial testing of pilots, programs and ongoing series and conducts online dial testing as well. Other offerings include location-based and online focus groups, promo testing, positioning and brand studies, and a variety of custom studies including custom trackers. SE/ASI syndicates Tracktion trackers including a TV tracker, a theatrical movie tracker, a home entertainment tracker and a premium video-on-demand tracker. All groups work in the company’s media lab equipped for biometric and new technology research. When appropriate, SE/ASI engages in advanced analytics techniques including, but not limited to, segmentation, conjoint, maxdiff and TURF analysis. 

40. MarketVision Research

Founded: 1983 2019 U.S. revenue: $33.2 million Percent change from 2018: 2.5% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: — Percent from outside U.S.: — 2019 worldwide revenue: $33.2 million U.S. employees: 140

MarketVision Research is a full-service marketing research firm, providing clients with actionable insights about their markets, customers, brands and products. Research areas of focus include product and portfolio development, pricing, branding, segmentation and customer experience. The company offers a full suite of quantitative and qualitative research capabilities and works across industry groups. These include:

• Optimization and discrete choice modeling as it applies to product and service development, branding, packaging and pricing.
• Online communities that are managed and developed entirely in-house with a focus on improving participant engagement and with additional support for mobile participation.
• Hybrid research, which uses 20 in-house moderators, along with marketing science professionals and global project managers, to facilitate qualitative and quantitative research seamlessly.

39. The Link Group

Founded: 1994 2019 U.S. revenue: $34.2 million Percent change from 2018: 23.9% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $0.3 million Percent from outside U.S.: 0.9% 2019 worldwide revenue: $34.5 million U.S. employees: 85

The Link Group executes research for Fortune 500 firms in the healthcare, retail, CPG and finance industries across both qualitative and quantitative methodologies and around the globe. TLG attributes its success to its core business philosophy: smarter research and better service. Its commitment to smarter research has allowed the company to take a creative, custom approach to its clients’ business needs that results in actionable and insightful reports. TLG delivers better service by maintaining a consistent research team across projects, allowing the team to anticipate and respond to client needs. This business philosophy has resulted in 99% of revenue coming from repeat clients.

This past year, TLG has continued to hone its research approaches to help elevate traditional research methods. For its messaging and positioning work, TLG developed a framework that triangulates quantitative survey data to determine how well messaging concepts will activate, communicate and engage the customer. In its segmentation studies, TLG blends science and art to create models that align with the client’s brand strategic vision by creating differences that are meaningful and actionable from a marketing perspective. TLG has leveraged its knowledge of behavioral economics to develop a validated, proprietary quantitative methodology—LinkEQ—that allows the company to reveal latent emotional associations.

Founded: 1983 2019 U.S. revenue: $34.3 million Percent change from 2018: -1.2% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $1.2 million Percent from outside U.S.: 3.4% 2019 worldwide revenue: $35.5 million U.S. employees: 233

SSRS is a full-service market and survey research firm led by a core of dedicated professionals with advanced degrees in the social sciences. 

SSRS surveys support numerous media and academic partners looking to report on public attitudes and beliefs about a wide range of salient issues such as elections and public policy. SSRS is the polling partner for CNN, and conducts public opinion polling for ABC News, The Washington Post, Politico and CBS News. 

Beyond national polls, SSRS regularly conducts research at a state level, and among subpopulations such as Latinos and political partisans, and specializes in reaching hard-to-reach and low-incidence populations. SSRS has extensive experience in public policy, public affairs and health policy research. Since the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, SSRS has completed numerous studies surrounding its implementation and assessing Americans’ attitudes and experiences with the law. 

Since 2016, SSRS conducts the monthly Kaiser Family Foundation Health Tracking Poll. SSRS is well-known for its weekly telephone Omnibus poll. The firm also offers the SSRS Opinion Panel, which allows clients to conduct probabilistic surveys quickly at low cost. The SSRS/Luker on Trends Sports Poll is the first and longest-running tracking study focusing on sports in the U.S. 

37. BVA Group **

Founded: 1970 2019 U.S. revenue: $36 million Percent change from 2018: 2.6% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $147 million Percent from outside U.S.: 80.3% 2019 worldwide revenue: $183 million U.S. employees: 120

BVA Group is a fast-growing research and consulting firm, an expert in behavioral science, ranked in the top 20 worldwide agencies. BVA brings data to life and converts deep understanding of customers and citizens into behavior change strategies. BVA operates both for public and private clients with methodologies fueled by data science and behavioral science. 

Its FMCG specialist—PRS IN VIVO—is a global leader in packaging and shopper research. PRS IN VIVO helps consumer marketers to succeed through: 

• In-store and online studies to better understand shopper behavior, in both physical and e-commerce shopping contexts.
• Qualitative studies to develop, screen and refine new product, packaging and merchandising concepts.
• Quantitative studies to pre-test and quantify new packaging, merchandising and display systems (for physical stores and e-commerce).
• Volume forecasting and product testing for both innovations and brand restages.
• “Nudge” initiatives to facilitate behavioral change, create new consumer habits and drive category growth. 

BVA Group is a European leader in customer experience research. More than 100 leading brands use BVA’s behavioral insights to provide seamless shopper journeys and design successful new products and services, including solutions from its multi-awarded Global Nudge-Unit.

36. radius | illumination

Founded: 1960 2019 U.S. revenue: $42 million Percent change from 2018: — 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $1 million Percent from outside U.S.: 2.3% 2019 worldwide revenue: $43 million U.S. employees: 127

Radius│illumination is the product of a merger between Radius Global Market Research and Illumination Research in 2018. Together, it’s one of the largest independent custom insights providers in the world. Its focus is on guiding brands at critical points along their growth journey, tackling issues such as identifying compelling innovations, creating relevant customer segmentations and developing strategies for deeper loyalty and engagement.

Radius | illumination partners with Fortune 500 leaders as well as challenger, disruptor and emerging brands in the U.S., Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Its top sectors include financial services, personal care, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, technology, home improvement and durables, media and entertainment, packaged foods, beverage, retail and transportation.

Its 2020 initiatives to fuel brand growth for its clients include:

• Provide agile and robust solutions such as InnovationSprint to accelerate new product and service development.
• Increase its information design capabilities so clients can easily take action on the results.
• Focus on driving deeper insights by combining its advanced analytics strength with immersive customer understanding in its designs.
• Expand solutions through the integration of new technologies and behavioral approaches.

35. Market Force **

Founded: 2005 2019 U.S. revenue: $50 million Percent change from 2018: 2% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $7 million Percent from outside U.S.: 12.3% 2019 worldwide revenue: $57 million U.S. employees: 375

Market Force Information provides location-level customer experience management solutions to protect clients’ brand reputation, delight their customers and make them more money. 

Market Force operates at scale across the globe. Each month, the company:

• Completes more than 100,000 mystery shops.
• Collects, processes and analyzes millions of employee and customer experience surveys.
• Manages more than 100,000 inbound calls to its contact center.
• Hosts more than 1 million user logins on its KnowledgeForce reporting platform.

Market Force’s multi-location solutions provide a robust framework for measuring and improving operational excellence, customer experience and financial KPIs. Measurement channels include mystery shopping, customer experience surveys, contact center calls, social media and employee engagement surveys via the KnowledgeForce technology platform and Eyes:On mobile app. Market Force employs predictive analytics to determine what matters most and the ROI for investing in improvements. The firm takes a dual-headed approach to market research services (e.g., customer segmentation, attitude trial and usage studies and custom research projects) and strategic advisory services to design and implement effective measurement systems and improve performance.

Founded: 1991 2019 U.S. revenue: $52 million Percent change from 2018: 4% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $6 million Percent from outside U.S.: 10.3% 2019 worldwide revenue: $58 million U.S. employees: 400

As a leading customer experience management firm, SMG helps clients get smarter about their customers and employees to drive changes that boost customer loyalty and improve business performance. SMG combines technology and services to collect, analyze and share feedback and behavioral data, so it’s easier for clients to deliver and activate customer insights across their enterprise.

SMG partners with more than 350 brands around the globe to create better customer and employee experiences, which drive loyalty and performance. SMG uniquely combines technology and insights to help clients listen better, act faster and outperform competitors. SMG is a technology-enabled research firm with a global footprint—evaluating more than 150 million surveys annually, in 50 languages across 125 countries. 

Strategic solutions include omniCXTM, Brand Research and Employee Engagement. SMG’s omniCX solution uses multiple research methodologies in capturing solicited and unsolicited consumer feedback across in-store, online, contact center and social channels. Results are aggregated and reported via smg360TM—a real-time, role-based reporting platform providing access to all customer and related data. 

SMG’s research professionals partner with clients to derive business-changing insights. Within Brand Research, SMG offers traditional brand tracking as well as access to dynamic customer and competitor data through market intelligence tool BrandGeek. Fueled by SurveyMini—SMG’s location-based mobile research app—BrandGeek contains consumer feedback and behavioral data relating to more than 4,500 brands across more than 500,000 locations.

33. Hanover Research

Founded: 2003 2019 U.S. revenue: $52.7 million Percent change from 2018: 14.1% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $2.6 million Percent from outside U.S.: 4.7% 2019 worldwide revenue: $55.3 million U.S. employees: 358

Hanover Research is a brain trust designed to level the information playing field. Hanover is made up of hundreds of researchers who support thousands of organizational decisions every year. One of the industry’s fastest-growing companies, Hanover attributes this market success to its unique positioning as the only firm that provides tailored research through an annual, fixed-fee model. 

Hanover serves more than 1,000 organizations and companies worldwide from established global organizations, to emerging companies to educational institutions. Hanover’s research informs decisions at any level and across any department capitalizing on the exposure to myriad industries and challenges. 

Founded in 2003, Hanover operates on an annual fixed-fee model, and partnership provides its clients with access to a team of high-caliber researchers, survey experts, analysts and statisticians with diverse skills in market research, information services and analytics. There is no limit on the type of challenge that can be asked for on the quantitative and qualitative approaches Hanover uses to deliver solutions—most of which are very difficult to replicate internally.

Hanover’s custom research services include:

• Secondary research: market segmentation and evaluation; labor and demographic trends and forecasts; vendor and product reviews; best practices reports. 
• Survey: survey design, administration and analysis; open-ended response coding. 
• Qualitative primary research: focus group design and administration; in-depth interview design, outreach, administration and analysis. 
• Data analysis: data segmentation and mining; conjoint analysis; linear regression; descriptive and predictive analytics; data forecasting and modeling. 

32. Directions Research

Founded: 1988 2019 U.S. revenue: $54.2 million Percent change from 2018: 17.8% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: — Percent from outside U.S.: — 2019 worldwide revenue: $54.2 million U.S. employees: 181

Independently recognized as one of the leading business decision insight firms in the nation, Directions Research combines a highly experienced staff with a unique mix of innovative and proven approaches to answer pressing business issues. Directions and SEEK routinely combine primary and connected data from multiple sources to create holistic and actionable analytic stories for their clients. Through digital dashboards, infographics, written reports and other unique visualizations, the firm communicates its knowledge in a manner that is right for today’s leaders. 

Directions and SEEK excel in innovation, optimization, customer and brand experience, brand strategy, strategic business intelligence and visualization across a wide range of industries. The firm offers B2C and B2B services globally, surveying audiences using a broad selection of data collection techniques and combining those insights with existing client knowledge. Directions’ and SEEK’s staff have an excellent mix of client- and supplier-side experience. The organization allows senior researchers to work with clients on a day-to-day basis.

SEEK (acquired in 2018) is a qualitative insight and innovation consultancy, operating as an independent but connected division of Directions. SEEK empathically connects brands with the humans they serve, transforming the brand-to-consumer relationship into a human-to-human one. The SEEK approach builds brand advocacy for clients with the human-centric approach to innovation, activating empathy as an innate problem-solving capability.

31. Fors Marsh Group (FMG) *

Founded: 2002 2019 U.S. revenue: $57.5 million Percent change from 2018: 22.1% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: — Percent from outside U.S.: — 2019 worldwide revenue: $57.5 million U.S. employees: 263

FMG applies behavioral and data science to improve organizational processes, business solutions and customer experiences. This work is conducted within seven core U.S. markets: health, defense, technology, finance, homeland security, policy and consumer. 

FMG’s work for its clients wins industry and federal awards. FMG has been named as a top market research company by GreenBook and the American Advertising Federation and has been named to the American Marketing Association’s list of top market research companies in the U.S. for five consecutive years. FMG was also a finalist for the American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council’s Igniting Innovation 2018 award for creating an innovative e-learning program that improved program awareness and usability for the General Services Administration’s Center for Acquisition Professional Excellence. 

For 2019 and beyond, FMG is focused on continuing this momentum and expanding in important areas. In its human capital practice, FMG is furthering its work in the cybersecurity industry to help the Department of Defense attract top cyber talent and to protect the nation’s infrastructure. FMG is also expanding its efforts in public service recruiting through new partnerships with the U.S. Army, U.S. National Guard and AmeriCorps. The company is proud that its partnership with these institutions will help shape the future of the U.S. For its health division, FMG is leveraging its deep experience in health communications to fight the opioid crisis by reducing stigma and removing barriers that victims face in receiving help—potentially one of the biggest challenges facing America today. 

30. National Research Group (NRG) **

Founded: 1978 2019 U.S. revenue: $59 million Percent change from 2018: 1.7% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $4 million Percent from outside U.S.: 6.3% 2019 worldwide revenue: $63 million U.S. employees: 200

National Research Group, acquired by Stagwell Media from Nielsen in 2015, is a leading global insights and strategy firm at the intersection of entertainment and technology. Rooted in four decades of industry expertise, the world’s leading marketers turn to NRG for insights into growth and strategy for any content, anywhere, on any device. Working at the confluence of content, culture and technology, NRG offers bold insights for storytellers everywhere. 

Some agencies specialize in qual, others focus on quant—but NRG connects the two disciplines with hybrid teams expert in both modalities. The company is a one-stop, custom consultancy that tailors its approach to solve clients’ biggest challenges. 

The foundation of NRG’s qualitative work is a team of passionate, subject matter experts who connect deeply with consumers in any environment. NRG uses qual to discover the subconscious drivers that fuel our quantitative truths. Its quantitative work is anchored in sophisticated techniques with a focus on agility, creativity and rigor. NRG is method-agnostic and works collaboratively with its clients to solve complex problems in a simple way.

29. Cello Health * **

Founded: 2004 2019 U.S. revenue: $64.5 million Percent change from 2018: 23.3% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $58.5 million Percent from outside U.S.: 47.6% 2019 worldwide revenue: $123 million U.S. employees: 260

Cello Health consists of four global capabilities that enable the company to offer best-in-class services and an integrated partnership approach to its clients. This unique mix of capabilities, combined with its collaborative approach, results in a unique fusion of expertise, providing powerful advisory and implementation solutions.

• Cello Health Insight is a global marketing research company, providing business intelligence to the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors. Cello Health Insight specializes in getting to the heart of its clients’ questions, using a large pool of creative and academic resources and providing design of materials and deliverables through a hand-picked project team—selected to best meet the needs of each individual project.
• Cello Health Consulting is the strategic consulting arm of Cello Health, focused on delivering business results by unlocking the potential within organizations, people, assets and brands. Cello Health Consulting works alongside clients to create practical solutions that ensure buy-in and build relationships. 
• Cello Health Communications combines science, strategy and creativity to unlock the potential of brands and assets. Its services underpin differentiated positioning and deliver brand optimization, focusing on multiple areas of development and launch, through commercial maturity.
• Cello Signal is a full-service digital capability bringing impactful messages alive in communications campaigns, content and film.

28. Macromill Group **

Founded: 2000 2019 U.S. revenue: $68.5 million Percent change from 2018: 2.2% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $260 million Percent from outside U.S.: 79.1% 2019 worldwide revenue: $328.5 million U.S. employees: 275

Macromill Group is a rapidly growing global market research and digital marketing solutions provider bringing together the collective power of its specialist companies to provide innovative data and insights that drive clients’ smarter decisions. Macromill’s industry-leading digital research solutions deliver rapid and cost-effective solutions to the challenges businesses face today. 

The group’s leading business units are Macromill and MetrixLab. Macromill stands at the forefront of innovation, delivering unique marketing solutions. It offers exclusive access to the highest-quality online panels with more than 2 million members. Using its self-developed platform AIRs, Macromill provides full-service online research including automated survey creation and completion, data tabulation and analysis. Today, its business portfolio includes services such as offline quantitative research, mobile research, point-of-service database research (QPR), digital marketing (Accessmill), a DIY survey platform (Questant) and more. 

Metrixlab turns data from online surveys, social media, mobile devices and enterprise systems into valuable business information and actionable consumer insights. This helps leading companies drive product innovation, brand engagement and customer value. Owned and group panels provide expansive access to global respondents in mature and emerging markets. Its teams deliver strategic and tactical decision support by pushing the boundaries of data analysis innovation, combining cutting-edge technology with data science and proven marketing research methodologies. Clients across the globe rely on the company’s hyper-efficient data and insights ecosystem to deliver fast and affordable results.

27. C Space **

Founded: 1999 2019 U.S. revenue: $70 million Percent change from 2018: 2.9% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $18 million Percent from outside U.S.: 20.5% 2019 worldwide revenue: $88 million U.S. employees: 354

C Space, part of the Interbrand Group, is a global customer agency that marries art and science to create rapid customer insight and business change. 

C Space works with some of the world’s best-known brands—such as Walmart, Samsung, IKEA and more—to build customers into the ways companies work and deliver on customer-inspired growth. By building real, ongoing relationships with customers—online and in-person—brands can stay relevant, deliver superior experiences, launch successful products and build loyalty. Through its “customer as a service” approach of research, consulting and communications, C Space helps businesses minimize risk and maximize growth.

The company integrates customers into the ways its clients work. By bringing stakeholders together around the customer, C Space’s clients create greater clarity and alignment in the actions that will most effectively drive customer growth.

C Space’s customized programs are tailored based on specific business needs and include private online communities, immersive storytelling, data and analytics, activation events, innovation projects and business consulting. C Space continues to invest in its people, existing capabilities like data and analytics, as well as new initiatives.

26. Engine Insights**

Founded: 2004 2019 U.S. revenue: $71 million Percent change from 2018: 4.4% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $44 million Percent from outside U.S.: 38.3% 2019 worldwide revenue: $115 million U.S. employees: 240

Engine is a new kind of data-driven marketing solutions company. Powered by data, driven by results and guided by people, Engine helps its clients make connections that count—leading to bottom-line growth, an inspired workplace and business transformation. 

Engine Insights (formerly ORC International) connects traditional market research with cutting-edge products to deliver clients a 360-degree view of their customers, employees and markets. Engine’s extended suite of solutions and products are designed to support business growth, from helping clients understand and outperform the competition to operationalizing both survey and behavioral data to identify, attract, engage and retain their audiences.

Engine Insights’ client services and products include custom research and omnibus surveys; customer experience, customer retention and brand engagement studies; and data management and data analytics. 

These services help clients:

• Think beyond products and services to drive business revenue.
• Use insights to inform more relevant messaging and creative.
• Get a complete 360-degree view of their customers.
• Segment audiences for better targeting.
• Develop the perfect product and take it to market.
• Create unique experiences that engage their customers and keep them loyal for a lifetime.
• Build an internal culture that attracts, retains and engages the best talent.

Founded: 1931 2019 U.S. revenue: $71.1 million Percent change from 2018: 9% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $6.9 million Percent from outside U.S.: 8.8% 2019 worldwide revenue: $78 million U.S. employees: 253

Since 1931, Burke has consistently redefined expectations in the marketing research industry. From segmentation to customer engagement programs, product innovation and brand tracking, Burke prides itself on designing and executing objectives-driven quantitative and qualitative research. Working across a variety of industries, Burke helps its clients gain actionable perspective on their most critical business challenges, providing a range of solutions from agile to integrated strategic decision support.

Today, Burke continues to push the boundaries of what marketing research can be, seamlessly uniting research, strategy and education. Backed by Seed Strategy—its strategic consulting subsidiary—Burke has the capabilities to support its clients throughout every phase of the product or service life cycle, with expertise in strategy, innovation, branding and marketing. In addition, Burke provides comprehensive training on research fundamentals and best practices through the Burke Institute—its dedicated education division and the industry’s leader in research and insights training. Wherever its clients find themselves on the path to success, Burke is uniquely equipped to help them move forward with clarity, confidence and purpose.

Continuing its long tradition of research innovation, Burke recently unveiled two new offerings: Geode|AI, an integrated insights system that analyzes multiple data sources to uncover patterns, relationships and critical insights that are often hidden; and Quantiment, a robust machine-learning solution that jointly extracts richer insights from structured and unstructured data.

24. YouGov *

Founded: 2000 2019 U.S. revenue: $76.8 million Percent change from 2018: 11.8% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $107.5 million Percent from outside U.S.: 58.3% 2019 worldwide revenue: $184.3 million U.S. employees: 212

YouGov is a global provider of analysis and data generated by consumer panels in 42 markets. Its core offering of opinion data is derived from the proprietary YouGov Global Panel of more than 9 million people. The YouGov Global Panel provides the company with thousands of data points on consumer attitudes, opinions and behavior. YouGov captures these streams of data in the YouGov Cube, its unique connected data library that holds more than 10 years of historic single-source data. In 2019, YouGov panelists completed more than 25 million surveys.

YouGov’s data-led offering supports and improves a wide spectrum of marketing activities of a customer base, including media owners, brands and media agencies. YouGov works with some of the world’s most recognized brands.

Its syndicated data products include the daily brand perception tracker, YouGov BrandIndex and the media planning and segmentation tool YouGov Profiles. Its market-leading YouGov RealTime service provides a fast and cost-effective solution for reaching nationally representative and specialist samples. YouGov’s Custom Research division offers a wide range of quantitative and qualitative research, tailored by sector specialist teams to meet users’ specific requirements. YouGov data is delivered through Crunch, the most advanced analytics tool for research data, combining fast processing with drag-and-drop simplicity. YouGov has a strong record for data accuracy and innovation. 

23. Phoenix Marketing International

Founded: 1999 2019 U.S. revenue: $77 million Percent change from 2018: -3.8% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $4.5 million Percent from outside U.S.: 5.5% 2019 worldwide revenue: $81.5 million U.S. employees: 343

Global advertising and brand specialist Phoenix Marketing International operates in all major industries, utilizing modern technology, innovative research techniques and customized approaches to help clients elevate their brand, refine their communications and optimize their customer experience. 

With the launch of Phoenix’s AdPi Brand Effect Platform, clients now have access to continuous advertising measurement and performance improvement insights through a single platform, providing the ability to analyze their campaigns at any stage in the advertising life cycle, and the flexibility to draw upon each piece as needed. Through more than 20 years of experience and testing thousands of ads per month, Phoenix developed 19 category-specific ad measurement models that uncover the drivers and creative attributes that explain the “whys” behind an ad’s creative performance, with forward-looking estimates for ad memorability and brand linkage.

Phoenix continues to evolve its CX solution, launching Competitive Customer Experience, a measurement of how consumers perceive their overall experience with a brand, including key touchpoints along the journey. Grounding recent experiences with a client’s brand, competitor brands and non-categorical benchmarking, Phoenix is able to evaluate brand opinion, understand what drives great CX outside of the category, focus on emotional drivers of brand CX, and provide an external view of culture, consistency and brand promises.

22. Concentrix **

Founded: 1983 2019 U.S. revenue: $95 million Percent change from 2018: 11.8% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $130 million Percent from outside U.S.: 57.8% 2019 worldwide revenue: $225 million U.S. employees: 253

Concentrix is a wholly owned subsidiary of SYNNEX Corp., specializing in technology-enabled customer engagement and improving business performance for clients around the world. With more than 225,000 staff in more than 40 countries, Concentrix provides services to clients in 10 industry verticals: automotive, banking and financial services, insurance, healthcare, technology, consumer electronics, media and communications, retail and e-commerce, travel and transportation, energy and the public sector. 

The Concentrix Voice of the Customer solution combines technology with experience management services provided by its in-house team of hundreds of CX professionals. 

Powered by analytic tools and artificial intelligence, its customer feedback platform ConcentrixCX helps companies listen, analyze and act on omnichannel customer feedback at any point in the customer journey, at scale. Features include data capture and integration, real-time reporting and analytics, and coaching and employee engagement tools. Concentrix continues to invest in enhanced platform functionality—for example, multi-source data expansion of its proprietary text analytics engine, including structured and unstructured customer feedback sources such as surveys, social, messaging, complaints and email. New digital data collection capabilities include a conversational feedback bot and embedded micro-journey surveys. 

Concentrix experience management services range from program management to strategic advisory services and are custom tailored to free clients’ internal teams to focus on transformational impact. Its CX experts specialize in quantitative and qualitative techniques, delivering data-driven insights through solutions such as survey design, relational loyalty research, CX journey analytics, digital channel optimization, customer segmentation, customer effort assessment and integrated CX analytics.

21. Escalent

Founded: 1975 2019 U.S. revenue: $97.1 million Percent change from 2018: -3.4% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $5.5 million Percent from outside U.S.: 5.4% 2019 worldwide revenue: $102.6 million U.S. employees: 352

Escalent is a human behavior and analytics firm specializing in industries facing disruption. The company transforms data and insights into an understanding of what drives human behavior, and it helps businesses turn those drivers into actions that build brands, enhance customer experiences and inspire product innovation. 

Escalent specializes in automotive and mobility, consumer and retail, energy, financial services, health, technology and telecommunications. Focusing on select industries allows Escalent to function as a trusted business partner who knows the challenges its clients face and understands how to engage their most valuable audiences. 

Escalent has three centers of excellence: Qualitative Research combines emerging technologies, anthropology and ethnography to tap into human insights that reveal real needs and potential; Marketing & Data Sciences combine survey, behavioral, transactional and third-party data to solve tough research challenges; and Insight Communities provides private, online platforms for brands to engage with groups of stakeholders to quickly and easily draw insights.

20. dunnhumby **

Founded: 2001 2019 U.S. revenue: $100 million Percent change from 2018: -3.8% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $335 million Percent from outside U.S.: 77% 2019 worldwide revenue: $435 million U.S. employees: 230

Dunnhumby is a customer science company that analyzes data and applies insights for almost 1 billion shoppers across the globe to create personalized customer experiences in digital, mobile and retail environments. Its strategic process, proprietary insights and multichannel media capabilities build loyalty with customers to drive competitive advantage and sustained growth for clients. Dunnhumby uses data and science to understand customers, then applies that insight to create personalized experiences that build lasting emotional connections with retailers and brands. It’s a strategy that demonstrates when companies know and treat their customers better than the competition, they earn more than their loyalty—they earn a competitive advantage.

Dunnhumby was established in the U.S. to help retailers and manufacturers put the customer at the heart of their business decisions. Analyzing data from millions of customers across the country, dunnhumby enables clients to use this insight to deliver a better shopping experiences and more relevant marketing to their customers.

By putting best customers at the center of every decision, dunnhumby’s approach delivers measurable value, competitive edge and even more customer data to fuel ongoing optimization, setting clients up for long-term success.

Dunnhumby serves a prestigious list of retailers and manufacturers in grocery, consumer goods, health, beauty, personal care, food service, apparel and advertising, among others. Clients include Tesco, Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, Macy’s and PepsiCo.

19. Informa Financial Intelligence**

Founded: 2016 2019 U.S. revenue: $107 million Percent change from 2018: 1.9% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $36 million Percent from outside U.S.: 25.2% 2019 worldwide revenue: $143 million U.S. employees: 500

Informa Financial Intelligence is a leading provider of business intelligence, market research and expert analysis to the financial industry. The world’s top global financial institutions and banks look to Informa Financial Intelligence for its authority, precision and forward-focused analysis. 

Informa Financial Intelligence consists of key research, analysis and industry experts, such as Informa Research Services, EPFR Global, Informa Global Markets, iMoneyNet, Informa Investment Solutions, eBenchmarkers and Mapa Research.

Informa Financial Intelligence provides fund and wealth managers, traders, insurers, analysts, and investment and retail bankers with the intelligent advantage to make informed decisions, understand past trends, forecast future performance, drive profitability and increase returns.

Because of their strong background in the financial industry, the research teams of Informa Financial Intelligence are highly qualified to help financial institutions with their market research needs. Informa’s researchers are experts in benchmarking studies, competitive intelligence, new product development and usability testing, customer and member satisfaction and loyalty research, brand and advertising awareness research, and mystery shopping services for sales and service quality evaluation, legal and match pair testing, compliance, discrimination and misleading sales practices testing. Informa is considered a leader in the use of market research to limit the risk associated with allegations of discrimination, UDAAP (unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices), predatory lending and misleading sales practices.

18. NRC Health

Founded: 1991 2019 U.S. revenue: $113 million Percent change from 2018: 10.8% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $3.6 million Percent from outside U.S.: 3.1% 2019 worldwide revenue: $128 million U.S. employees: 448

NRC Health (formerly National Research Corp.) has helped healthcare organizations illuminate and improve the moments that matter to patients, residents, physicians, nurses and staff for more than 38 years. The company offers performance measurement and improvement services to hospitals, healthcare systems, physicians, health plans, senior care organizations, home health agencies and other healthcare organizations. 

NRC Health solutions help organizations stay at the forefront of healthcare by understanding the totality of healthcare consumer and staff experiences. Primary solutions include: 

• Experience solutions capture personal experiences, while delivering insights to power a new benchmark: n=1. Developing a longitudinal profile of customers’ healthcare wants and needs allows for organizational improvement, increased provider and staff engagement, loyal relationships and personal well-being. 
• The Loyalty Index, composed of seven aspects that combine to provide a 360-degree view of healthcare consumer loyalty—a single, trackable metric to identify emerging trends in consumer behavior and benchmark against peers. 
• Market Insights is a large U.S. consumer database that gives partners access to the opinions of 310,000 healthcare consumers in 300 markets, and access to resources to better understand target audiences and gauge consumer response to communications.
• The Transparency solution calculates star ratings from existing patient, resident and family survey data, and publishes those ratings to organizations’ websites. 
• The Governance Institute supports the efforts of healthcare boards across the nation—to lead stronger organizations and build healthier communities. NRC Health partners with organizations to improve governance efficiency and effective decision-making by providing trusted, independent information, tools and resources to board members, executives and physician leaders. 

17. MaritzCX **

Founded: 1973 2019 U.S. revenue: $118 million Percent change from 2018: — 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $44 million Percent from outside U.S.: 27.2% 2019 worldwide revenue: $162 million U.S. employees: 600

MaritzCX is a software and research company that focuses on customer experience management for big business. The company offers a unique combination of award-winning CX software, industry-leading data and research science, deep vertical market expertise and managed program services. MaritzCX provides a full-service professional CX approach designed to continuously improve the customer experience across an enterprise’s customers, employees, prospects and partners. 

MaritzCX’s research insights include its leading CXStandards competitive benchmarking research that delivers quarterly benchmarks for 55 CX categories across 16 industries. Its CXEvolution study of more than 10,000 practitioners’ feedback informed large enterprises of their CX gaps. 

The company’s focus is to leverage the MaritzCX platform, its industry-leading studies and research services to drive more meaningful experiences between its clients and their customers by adding product and research services and continued thought leadership in the CX market. In addition, MaritzCX has received CMS-certification for HCAHPS surveys, becoming the industry’s first CX platform company to offer an inclusive CX-based patient experience platform.

MaritzCX specializes in solutions for key industries, including automotive, financial services, retail, technology, B2B and more. Its global reach includes more than 900 full-time employees and 800-plus part-time or contract employees in 19 offices around the world. MaritzCX provides solutions to more than 500 clients and 1.6 million users who speak 72 languages in 100 countries. MaritzCX is committed to being its clients’ customer experience research partners.

In March 2020, InMoment acquired MaritzCX.

16. DRG (Decision Resources Group) **

Founded: 1990 2019 U.S. revenue: $140 million Percent change from 2018: 2.2% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $53 million Percent from outside U.S.: 27.5% 2019 worldwide revenue: $193 million U.S. employees: 399

DRG, the Health Science & Analytics Division of Piramal Enterprises, is a global information and technology services company that provides proprietary data and solutions to the healthcare industry. DRG has brought together best-in-class companies to provide end-to-end solutions to complex challenges in healthcare. DRG reframes these challenges, enabling its customers to see the opportunities. Pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical technology and managed care companies rely on this analysis and data to make informed decisions critical to their success.

Framing the current status and future trends in target healthcare markets using data, primary research and secondary research is a core competency of DRG. Product offerings include high‐value analytics, syndicated research, proprietary databases, decision support tools and advisory services.

DRG has a number of key specialties, including syndicated research focused on new therapeutic opportunities; portfolio planning, changing industry dynamics and global treatment patterns; insights and data on physician and consumer healthcare e‐marketing; and proprietary databases and analytics covering more than 90% of the U.S. managed care markets. 

15. Wood Mackenzie **

Founded: 1973 2019 U.S. revenue: $150 million Percent change from 2018: 3.4% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $335 million Percent from outside U.S.: 69.1% 2019 worldwide revenue: $485 million U.S. employees: 337

Wood Mackenzie, a Verisk business, is a leading research and consultancy business for the global energy, chemicals, metals and mining industries. Wood Mackenzie launched in 1923 as a small, relatively unknown, Edinburgh, Scotland-based stockbroker. By the 1970s, it had become one of the top three stockbrokers in the UK, renowned for the quality of its equity research. 

Its success has always been underpinned by the clear and simple principle of providing trusted research and advice that would make a difference to clients. This was true when the first oil report was published by its equity analysts in 1973 and remains just as relevant to it today. So much so that, over the past four decades, Wood Mackenzie has drawn upon its heritage to create a global research and consultancy business that has grown alongside the needs of its clients. 

Having cultivated deep expertise in upstream oil and gas, Wood Mackenzie has carefully broadened its focus to deliver the same level of detailed insight for every interconnected sector of the energy, chemicals, metals and mining industries it now serves around the world. But heritage is more than just history. Its expert analysts and consultants have connected the company to some of the most significant events of our time—creating insight for governments, boards and CEOs who have helped shape the future direction of the world’s natural resources industries and their impact on society. 

14. Material *

Founded: 1973 2019 U.S. revenue: $166.7 million Percent change from 2018: 0.3% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $57.9 million Percent from outside U.S.: 25.8% 2019 worldwide revenue: $224.6 million U.S. employees: 1,038

In 2019, Material (under the name LRW Group) acquired five companies: Killer Visual Strategies, an award-winning visual communication agency based in Seattle; Greenberg Strategy, a Bay Area research and strategy consultancy with a strong presence in the tech community; Karma Agency, a strategic communications firm based in Philadelphia; Salt Branding, a Bay Area consultancy; and T3, an Austin, Texas-based digital marketing agency. This year, Material is taking steps to unify these companies under one brand, integrating their services and building a collaboration that will provide seamless, end-to-end marketing solutions for clients. This year, LRW Group rebranded as Material, formally integrating 10 companies into one modern, unified offering.

Material is a radical collaboration of the top research and analytics firms seamlessly paired with the most creative and strategic marketing agencies, all with the shared mission of igniting growth for the world’s top B2B and B2C brands, from Fortune 500 companies to disruptive start-ups. Material offers a full range of marketing services—from data analytics and insights, to consulting and strategy development, to customer experience programs and creative executions. Material employs a roster of 1,200 strategists, creators, technologists, designers, researchers and storytellers that work side-by-side with clients to solve modern-day problems, build customer loyalty and make an impact on the world around us.

Founded: 1969 2019 U.S. revenue: $173.7 million Percent change from 2018: 0.5% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $52.6 million Percent from outside U.S.: 23.2% 2019 worldwide revenue: $226.3 million U.S. employees: 5,311

ICF is a global consulting services provider with more than 7,000 professionals focused on making big things possible for its commercial and government clients in the U.S., Europe and Asia. 

Clients work with ICF on issues that matter profoundly to their success, whether it’s a product or program that matters to the business or a social issue or policy that matters to the world. ICF offers comprehensive survey research services that empower clients to gain valuable and actionable insights on issues that matter. 

For more than 40 years, ICF has demonstrated design, methodological and statistical knowledge through the implementation of large and complex survey research projects. Its clients consist of U.S. federal, state and local agencies, universities, nonprofits and commercial organizations. 

Its survey research services include: 

• Analyzing, reporting and presenting findings.
• Conducting surveys through a variety of data collection methods. 
• Designing samples, data collection protocols and instruments.
• Protecting all processes and data through quality assurance and system security.

ICF recently completed the installation of a state-of-the-art, fully integrated and security-enhanced data collection system, allowing the company to securely and most efficiently collect survey research data across all modes. ICF continues to be dedicated to solving the world’s most complex challenges and tackle problems with ingenuity on issues that matter profoundly to its clients.

12. J.D. Power **

Founded: 1968 2019 U.S. revenue: $217 million Percent change from 2018: 3.3% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $113 million Percent from outside U.S.: 34.2% 2019 worldwide revenue: $330 million U.S. employees: 744

J.D. Power is a global leader in consumer insights, advisory services and data and analytics. Those capabilities enable J.D. Power to help its clients drive customer satisfaction, growth and profitability. J.D. Power offers market research, forecasting, consulting, training and consumer surveys of product and service quality, customer satisfaction and buyer behavior. The company’s independent industry benchmark studies, innovative data and analytics products, and customized advisory services provide insights and help companies improve quality, engagement and business performance.

Annual syndicated studies are based on survey responses from millions of consumers and business customers worldwide. The firm does not review, judge or test products and services for its syndicated studies. It relies on the opinions and perspectives of consumers who have used the products and services being rated. 

J.D. Power is most often recognized for its work in the automotive industry, where its metrics have become the industry standard for measuring product quality and customer satisfaction. A team of associates worldwide conducts quality and customer satisfaction research across industries including automotive, financial services, insurance, telecommunications, travel, healthcare utilities and consumer electronics. 

11. Forrester Research Services **

Founded: 1983 2019 U.S. revenue: $233.7 million Percent change from 2018: 32.9% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $65 million Percent from outside U.S.: 21.8% 2019 worldwide revenue: $298.7 million U.S. employees: 525

Forrester Research Services is the research component of Forrester, one of the most influential research and advisory firms in the world. Forrester works with business and technology leaders to develop customer-obsessed strategies that drive growth. Its unique insights are grounded in annual surveys of more than 675,000 consumers and business leaders worldwide, rigorous and objective methodologies, and the shared wisdom of its most innovative clients. 

Forrester’s research offerings consist of a library of cross-linked documents that interconnect its playbooks, reports, data, product rankings, best practices, evaluation tools and research archives. Research access is provided through role-based websites that facilitate client access to research and tools that are most relevant to their professional roles, including community tools that allow interaction between and among clients and analysts.

Forrester’s research and decision tools enable clients to better anticipate and capitalize on the disruptive forces affecting their businesses and organizations, providing insights and frameworks to drive growth in a complex and dynamic market. 

Founded: 1934 2019 U.S. revenue: $320 million Percent change from 2018: 3.2% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $1,280 million Percent from outside U.S.: 80% 2019 worldwide revenue: $1,600 million U.S. employees: 860

GfK connects data and science. Innovative research solutions provide answers for key business questions around consumers, markets, brands and media—now and in the future. As a research and analytics partner, GfK promises its clients all over the world “Growth from knowledge.” 

The increasing speed of product innovation, the rise of new channels and emerging customer needs are all part of business today. GfK’s clients are businesses around the globe. To make the best possible business decisions every day, they need more than purely descriptive data—they require actionable recommendations based on advanced analytics and powered by leading-edge technology. GfK is in the unique position to leverage proprietary and third-party data to create indispensable predictive market and consumer insights and recommendations.

GfK’s industry focus provides its market researchers with a thorough understanding of business issues and questions specific to their concerns. Industries covered include automotive, consumer goods, fashion and lifestyle, media and entertainment, retail, technology, and travel and hospitality.

9. comScore * **

Founded: 1999 2019 U.S. revenue: $336.1 million Percent change from 2018: -6.5% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $52.5 million Percent from outside U.S.: 13.5% 2019 worldwide revenue: $388.6 million U.S. employees: 870

ComScore is a global information and analytics company that measures advertising, content and the consumer audiences of each across media platforms. ComScore creates its products using a global data platform that combines information on digital platforms (smartphones, tablets and computers), television and movie screens with demographics and other descriptive information. 

ComScore has developed proprietary data science that enables measurement of person-level and household-level audiences, removing duplicated viewing across devices and over time. This combination of data and methods enables a common standard for buyers and sellers to transact on advertising. This helps companies across the media ecosystem better understand and monetize their audiences and develop marketing plans and products to more efficiently and effectively reach those audiences. ComScore’s ability to unify behavioral and other descriptive data enables it to provide audience ratings, advertising verification and granular consumer segments that describe hundreds of millions of consumers. 

ComScore offers several solutions to help advertisers maximize cross-platform marketing effectiveness—be it measuring brand impact, viewability or ad and audience delivery validation—as well as power cross-platform advertising for better targeting and stronger advertising ROI. ComScore Advanced Audience segments go beyond age and gender to help advertisers better target consumers based on lifestyles, behaviors, demographics and interests. ComScore pioneered this concept in digital, local and national TV. 

8. The NPD Group

Founded: 1966 2019 U.S. revenue: $339.5 million Percent change from 2018: 8.6% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $104.5 million Percent from outside U.S.: 23.5% 2019 worldwide revenue: $444 million U.S. employees: 1,185

NPD’s global information and advisory services help the world’s leading brands achieve data-driven growth. NPD combines data, industry expertise and prescriptive analytics across more than 20 industries to help its clients measure markets, predict trends and improve performance.

NPD syndicated services include retail tracking, distributor tracking and consumer tracking. NPD offers weekly data, store-level enabled data for looking at geographies or custom store groupings and account-level information for participating retailers. Point-of-sale data is collected from more than 600,000 doors worldwide, plus e-commerce and mobile platforms. Consumer information is collected via online surveys and NPD’s Checkout service, which uses receipt harvesting to track and analyze purchasing and behavior. Prescriptive analytics include market forecasting, new product forecasting, pricing and promotion evaluation and segmentation. 

With deep expertise in more than 20 industries, NPD provides thought leadership to the C-suites of many of the world’s leading brands. Senior industry advisors are available for strategy sessions to guide long-range planning or address specific needs, such as preparing for earnings calls. Topics include industry and category performance, the state of retail and winning strategies of best-in-class companies.

7. Westat **

Founded: 1963 2019 U.S. revenue: $590 million Percent change from 2018: 3.5% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $7 million Percent from outside U.S.: 1.2% 2019 worldwide revenue: $597 million U.S. employees: 1,900

Westat is a 100% employee-owned research and professional services company. Westat provides extensive survey design and operations capabilities in support of modern data collection from households, institutions, businesses and individuals. Westat applies multiple modes of data collection and survey management to achieve maximum response rates.

The company’s focus areas and capabilities include: 

• Statistical analysis and methodological research in survey design, experiments and testing, data science and analytics, statistical disclosure control and qualitative research.
• Program, process and outcome evaluation using diverse methodologies from design to implementation to guide each program to success.
• Health research, including behavioral and mental health, clinical studies and clinical trials, public and international health, healthcare delivery, patient safety and health communications campaigns.
• Social policy research and technical assistance for implementing innovative evaluation, quality improvement and service delivery systems.
• Education programs for supporting teachers, conducting evaluations and providing technical assistance.
• Transportation studies of travel behaviors, safety and human factors using advanced technologies such as instrumented vehicles and simulators, field observational studies, and online and mobile device-based surveys.

To support its research projects, Westat designs tailor-made approaches for clients as well as invests in many general and specialized IT technologies and products. Westat also provides licensing, training and support for Blaise, a major data collection software system produced by Statistics Netherlands and used internationally. 

Founded: 1975 2019 U.S. revenue: $682 million Percent change from 2018: 16.2% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $1,685 million Percent from outside U.S.: 71.2% 2019 worldwide revenue: $2,367 million U.S. employees: 2,025

Ipsos, through its subsidiaries, engages in collecting, processing and delivering survey data for brands, companies and institutions primarily in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas and Asia Pacific. It explores market potential and market trends, tests products and advertising, helps clients build long-term relationships with customers, studies audiences and their perceptions of various media and measures public opinion trends. Ipsos offers advertising research services, including advertising tracking and brand equity evaluation services that help advertisers in the development, evaluation and improvement of their advertising efforts.

It also provides marketing research services that help clients to identify business opportunities and innovation platforms, develop strategies at point of sale, generate insights and ideas, develop and optimize their mix, and model and forecast sales volumes, as well as offers custom innovative products and solutions to address stakeholder experience and brand-building business goals.

In this unique year, Ipsos has remained strong and reaffirmed its ambition and sense of purpose to deliver reliable information for a true understanding of society, markets and people. Ipsos activates this vision for more than 5,000 customers through its presence in 90 markets both globally and locally. Ipsos covers the whole information production and analysis chain, from the collection of raw data to the activation of the insights. It has a solid tradition of innovation expressed by new methodological developments and continuously renewed product range.

5. Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) **

Founded: 1979 2019 U.S. revenue: $815 million Percent change from 2018: 1.9% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $510 million Percent from outside U.S.: 38.5% 2019 worldwide revenue: $1,325 million U.S. employees: 3,639

IRI is a leading provider of big data, predictive analytics and forward-looking insights that help consumer packaged goods, over-the-counter healthcare organizations, retailers, financial services and media companies grow their businesses. A confluence of major external events—a change in consumer buying habits, big data coming into its own, advanced analytics and personalized consumer activation—is leading to a seismic shift in drivers of success in all industries. With the largest repository of purchase, media, social, causal and loyalty data, all integrated on an on-demand, cloud-based technology platform, IRI is empowering the personalization revolution, helping to guide its more than 5,000 clients around the world in their quest to remain relentlessly relevant, capture market share, connect with consumers, collaborate with key constituents and deliver market-leading growth.

In 2019, IRI announced the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning into its leading suite of analytics solutions, retained 100% of its major CPG clients and welcomed new strategic partnerships with top retailers in the U.S. IRI added several innovators to its leadership team while continuing to invest in its employees by providing ongoing training. 

4. Kantar **

Founded: 1993 2019 U.S. revenue: $950 million Percent change from 2018: 2.7% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $2,900 million Percent from outside U.S.: 75.3% 2019 worldwide revenue: $3,850 million U.S. employees: 3,585

Kantar is one of the world’s largest data, insights and consulting companies, bringing together some of the world’s leading research, data and insights expertise. Kantar’s offer covers the breadth of techniques and technologies, from purchase and media data to predicting long-term trends; from neuroscience to exit polls; from large-scale quantitative studies to qualitative research, incorporating ethnography and semiotics. 

In April 2019, all services and offerings of the various Kantar companies were combined under the Kantar brand name. This operational change enables Kantar to build platforms and offers on a global scale and to remove barriers to collaboration and co-creation within the organization to better meet clients’ needs. 

As part of this branding strategy, Kantar launched several initiatives:

• Kantar Marketplace, a global on-demand research and insights store.
• Kantar’s new Brand Guidance System that intelligently integrates validated survey measures with social, search, sales media and behavioral data to provide actionable insights to optimize brand or campaign performance.
• Integration of big data, artificial intelligence and analytical capabilities from across the company into one resource that unlocks deeper insights to fuel growth.

3. Gartner Research **

Founded: 1972 2019 U.S. revenue: $1,800 million Percent change from 2018: 4.7% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $1,474.5 million Percent from outside U.S.: 45% 2019 worldwide revenue: $3,274.5 million U.S. employees: 4,500

Gartner Research delivers independent, objective advice to leaders across an enterprise through subscription services that include on-demand access to published research content, data and benchmarks, and direct access to a network of approximately 2,300 research experts located around the globe. Gartner Research is the fundamental building block for all Gartner products and services. It combines its proprietary research methodologies with extensive industry and academic relationships to create Gartner products and services that address each role across an enterprise. Gartner’s research agenda is defined by clients’ needs, focusing on the critical issues, opportunities and challenges they face every day. Its proprietary research content, presented in the form of reports, briefings, updates and related tools, is delivered directly to the client’s desktop via its website or product-specific portals.

Within the research segment, Global Technology Sales sells products and services to users and providers of technology, while Global Business Sales sells products and services to all other functional leaders, such as supply chain, marketing, human resources, finance, legal and sales. 

2. IQVIA * **

Founded: 2016 2019 U.S. revenue: $2,220 million Percent change from 2018: 8.6% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $2,166 million Percent from outside U.S.: 49.4% 2019 worldwide revenue: $4,386 million U.S. employees: 6,000

IQVIA is a global provider of information, innovative technology solutions and contract research services focused on helping healthcare clients find better solutions for patients. Formed through the 2016 merger of Quintiles and IMS Health, IQVIA applies human data science—leveraging the analytic rigor and clarity of data science to the ever-expanding scope of human science—to enable companies to reimagine and develop new approaches to clinical development and commercialization, speed innovation and accelerate improvements in healthcare outcomes. 

IQVIA has three operating segments: Technology & Analytics Solutions, Research & Development Solutions and Contract Sales & Medical Solutions. Powered by the IQVIA CORE, IQVIA delivers unique and actionable insights at the intersection of large-scale analytics, transformative technology and extensive domain expertise, as well as execution capabilities to help biotech, medical device and pharmaceutical companies, medical researchers, government agencies, payers and other healthcare stakeholders tap into a deeper understanding of diseases, human behaviors and scientific advances, in an effort to advance their path toward cures.

IQVIA has one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of healthcare information in the world, which includes more than 800 million comprehensive, longitudinal, non-identified patient records spanning sales, prescription and promotional data, medical claims, electronic medical records, genomics and social media. Its scaled and growing information set contains more than 35 petabytes of proprietary data sourced from more than 150,000 data suppliers and covering more than 1 million data feeds globally. Based on this data, IQVIA delivers information and insights on more than 85% of the world’s pharmaceuticals, helping its clients run their organizations more efficiently and make better decisions to improve their clinical, commercial and financial performance. 

1. Nielsen **

Founded: 1923 2019 U.S. revenue: $3,875 million Percent change from 2018: 1.6% 2019 non-U.S. revenue: $2,623 million Percent from outside U.S.: 40.4% 2019 worldwide revenue: $6,498 million U.S. employees: 10,300

Nielsen is a global measurement and data analytics company that provides a complete and trusted view of consumers and markets worldwide. Nielsen is divided into two business units: Nielsen Global Media and Nielsen Global Connect. 

Nielsen Global Media provides media and advertising clients with unbiased and reliable metrics that create the shared understanding of the industry required for markets to function, enabling its clients to grow and succeed across the $600 billion global advertising market. Nielsen Global Media helps clients define exactly who they want to reach and optimize the outcomes they can achieve. The company’s cross-platform measurement strategy brings together the best of TV and digital measurement to ensure a more functional marketplace for the industry.

Nielsen Global Connect provides consumer packaged goods manufacturers and retailers with accurate, actionable information and a complete picture of the complex and changing marketplace that brands need to innovate and grow their businesses. Nielsen Global Connect provides data and builds tools that use predictive models to turn observations in the marketplace into business decisions and winning solutions. The business’ data and insights, combined with its open, cloud-native measurement and analytics platform that democratizes the power of data, continue to provide an essential foundation that makes markets possible in the rapidly evolving world of commerce. With Nielsen Global Connect’s set of guiding truths, businesses have the tools to create new opportunities.

* ‘% change’ calculation reflects adjustment of previously reported 2018 U.S. research revenue due to acquisition or divestiture activity or other business change during 2019.

** Some or all figures are not made available by this company so instead are based on research and estimation by the report author.

Diane Bowers is a consultant to research and data analytics businesses and industry associations in the U.S. and internationally. She previously served as the president of CASRO, board chair of the Global Research Business Network, a board member of the Americas Research Industry Alliance and a board member of The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at Cornell University. She is also a past president of the Market Research Council and the Research Industry Coalition, and a long-time member of American Association for Public Opinion Research, AMA and ESOMAR.

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20 Top Market Research Companies (2024)

Self-serve market research are helpful when you need answers fast.

But a market research company can be a great asset when you need data on a more personalized or granular level.

The data collected by a top market research firm can help you optimize your product marketing, communications strategy, customer experience, online user experience, and more.

From completely bespoke services to expert reporting on the topics that matter most to your audience, these are 20 of the best consumer and B2B market research companies.

Ipsos is a market research company that connects businesses with online communities.

When you work with Ipsos, you'll be matched with a community of people that share traits with your ideal customers. These similarities help you figure out what your ideal customer or user may respond to.

Ipsos’ wide range of services covers multiple industries, including retail, healthcare, transportation, politics, and automotive.

With Ipsos, you can do things such as:

• Assemble custom panels of consumers
• Record interviews and mystery shopper journeys that document retail experiences
• View reports about key consumer insights and demographics
• Run brand, packaging, and product testing
• Conduct message testing for public affairs projects
• Develop studies measuring the quality of healthcare and patient satisfaction
• Engage in public opinion polling

You can also work with an Ipsos strategist to get further insights about your market.

Ipsos recruits its panel and community members through a variety of advertising channels, and participants aren’t paid for their involvement. Instead, members receive points they can later redeem for prizes.

Because Ipsos services are so customizable, you’ll need to get in touch with their sales team to discuss your needs and receive a price quote.

2. Edelman DXI

Edelman Data & Intelligence (DXI) provides its customers with insights related to their target markets, customer behaviors, and broader economic trends .

The company is part of the Edelman global communications firm. By working with their DXI unit, you can get help with:

• Social listening and analysis
• Competitive market analysis
• Content auditing
• Paid media planning
• Risk forecasting
• Workforce analytics

Edelman DXI has offices throughout the world, so they can provide insights across a wide variety of global markets and audiences.

Because Edelman DXI services will be unique to each client, you’ll need to get in touch with the company to learn more about how much it will cost to become a client.

3. Exploding Topics

Exploding Topics is an alternative to traditional market research firms.

Rather than relying on a small panel sample or audience group selected by a firm, you can glean insights from what might be the world’s largest repository of consumer wants, needs, and insights: the internet.

First, we use artificial intelligence (AI) to listen to conversations happening across:

• News outlets
• Social networks

Next, our data analysis experts use this information to help identify the top market trends, topics, brands, and technologies that interest consumers and businesses today.

We enter these findings into our searchable database—and use it as the basis for insightful, actionable reports that break down the top trends you need to know about right now.

Our data stretches back 15 years and covers over 40 industries. Plus, it’s updated every day—so you always have fresh insights to work with.

Whether you rely on our reports or prefer to search the database yourself, you can use Exploding Topics data to support your:

• Entry into new markets
• Product development
• New marketing strategies
• Startup investing
• Competitor acquisition
• New business formation

You can access some of our trend data and reports for free right now. For complete access to every Exploding Topics data point and report—including our Meta Trends feature that shows how trends intersect—you’ll need a paid Exploding Topics Pro plan.

It’s just $1 for the first two weeks of your Exploding Topics Pro membership, and as little as $39 per month (billed annually) after that.

Gartner ’s market research services overlap with those offered by Ipsos, but cover a few additional industries including education, energy, and finance.

As a Gartner customer, you can:

• Review prepared reports
• Engage in personalized consulting services
• Attend industry events

The data gleaned from these reports and activities can help your company enhance its internal business operations as well as improve consumer-facing products or campaigns. Gartner’s information can be useful for:

• Understanding how to best position your brand
• Improving project strategy development and decisions
• Estimating tech lifecycles and improving corporate purchasing
• Evaluating your top market competitors
• Developing a more sustainable business strategy
• Determining how AI may impact your business
• Preparing for economic changes
• Improving your company’s market share

Some of Gartner’s reports are available for free on their website. That way, you can get a taste of what the company offers. If it seems like the right fit for your needs, you’ll need to get in touch with the Gartner team to get a price quote.

5. IMS Marketing

IMS is a full-service marketing agency—but they offer a market research arm to help B2B clients better understand how to position their brand and products.

Their customized services can help with:

• Understanding customer feedback
• Testing the feasibility of a new product or market
• Analyzing the competitor landscape
• Creating market segments
• Researching new audience groups
• Identifying and improving brand perception
• Pinpointing gaps in existing or prior research attempts

IMS Marketing is like Edelman DXI in that its services are entirely bespoke—the company doesn’t offer prepared reports like Gartner or Exploding Topics.

You can only become an IMS client after meeting with the company and allowing them to get a full understanding of your business, market, and objectives. 

6. Forrester

Forrester is a market research firm that provides insights for business, government, and technology operations.

While B2C businesses can use Forrester, a lot of the firm's data is especially valuable for B2B markets.

You can use Forrester insights to:

• Explore what business customers need and want
• Develop your tech stack to keep pace with competitors
• Prepare for supply chain and development challenges
• Review prepared sales strategy templates
• Discover competitor weaknesses

Forrester offers advisory services and access to data-rich reports, so you can choose whether you’d like to take a more self-directed approach or have hands-on help.

A single Forrester report may cost $1,000 or more, and advisory services are custom quoted based on your needs. Anyone interested in working with Forrester directly will need to get in touch with their sales team to discuss options.

Kantar offers market research services for a range of B2C industries, including consumer packaged goods (CPG), fashion, hospitality, retail, and technology.

Kantar’s research solutions include:

• Collection of qualitative consumer data in over 80 global markets
• Customized research surveys with panels prepared from a network of over 150 million respondents
• The development of healthcare professional and patient panels
• Expert survey design

The company also offers Kantar Marketplace, a do-it-yourself market research platform that lets users guide their own data collection and analysis efforts.

Marketplace access is available on either a pay-per-use plan or with an annual commitment starting at $50,000.

You can’t sign up on the Kantar website, though—for access to Marketplace as well as bespoke Kantar research services, you’ll need to get in touch with their sales team.

8. Bellomy Market Intelligence

Bellomy Market Intelligence is a consulting firm that works with retail, healthcare, financial, technology, energy, and consumer goods businesses.

Like several of the other market research firms on this list, Bellomy offers its clients access to panels of consumers that meet relevant B2B or B2C audience criteria.

You can then use these panels to:

• Run quick polls with rapid response times
• Host open-ended discussions to collect feedback
• Create ongoing focus forums for asynchronous discussions
• Watch as a Bellomy moderator leads members of your panel in an online chat
• Conduct one-on-one, in-depth interviews
• Track consumer behaviors and motivations with repeated daily online surveys
• Host in-person focus groups and retail events to collect data

Bellomy then uses AI tools to help its clients glean insights from qualitative and quantitative research results.

As with many other market research groups, you’ll need to get in touch with Bellomy to learn more about its available services and prices.

Campos is a market research firm focused on branding, product development, and customer experience data.

Campos works with corporations and public institutions seeking a rebrand. Its services overlap with those provided by IMS and Bellomy, and include:

• Product pricing research
• Consumer segmentation and analysis
• Demand forecasting
• Focus group creation
• In-depth interviews for customer journey mapping
• In-store observations

Unlike many research firms that conduct most of their analysis online—such as through video interviews and web-based simulations—Campos specializes in face-to-face analysis.

The company maintains a research center in Pittsburgh, where they're able to:

• Assemble and interview large panels
• Host software usability testing sessions
• Create model stores and homes for interaction testing
• Run mock jury simulations

Campos clients may watch the studies in action through two-way mirrors or view a live stream of research activities. The firm can also arrange for similar in-person experiences at partner locations around the U.S.

Campos services are based on scope and need, so you'll need to get in touch with the firm if you're interested in working with them.

10. Matrix Sciences

Matrix Sciences is a research and testing firm for agriculture and food brands.

The company's research arm conducts studies to discover consumer opinions around food products. They deliver a mix of quantitative and qualitative data through processes like:

• In-home product usage analysis
• Whole-household evaluations and interviews
• Panel discussions and interviews about food products or ideas
• Studies around how product packaging stands out in stores

Matrix Sciences also maintains a panel of expert sensory researchers who provide research and feedback around how a food item may be perceived. This process considers a product's:

• Visual appearance

Like Campos, much of Matrix Science's research happens in-person. The firm maintains 14 testing locations in the U.S. and Canada.

Prospective customers must get in touch with the company to discuss tests, options, and pricing.

Knit is an AI-powered research platform that quickly delivers panel data and analysis to clients.

You can use the tool to conduct qualitative and quantitative research. Tell Knit what you need, and the platform will assemble a panel from their database of over five million consumers.

Knit panelists range from 13 to 65 years old and are verified as real through a process involving both video and AI-generated questions.

Panelists can answer questions via video or survey form, depending on how the Knit study is set up.

You won't have to watch hours and hours of video, though. Knit uses GPT-4 to analyze these recordings and create:

• Video summaries
• Quick takeaways
• Key theme summaries
• Highlight reels

The platform also includes an AI research assistant that can answer questions about the data you get from Knit.

YouGov is a public opinion polling service.

The company offers opinion polling data for free on its website. These free data sets cover public opinion on topics related to:

• Business and economy
• Digital technology and media
• Entertainment, arts, and culture
• Health and science
• International affairs
• Politics and current affairs
• Travel and transport

You can dig down into each area of interest to learn about people's thoughts on specific people, brands, events, and more.

YouGov also provides data about survey respondents' habits. For example, they provide data on Americans' typical hours of sleep per night:

[ss of " How many hours of sleep do Americans actually get in a night?" chart from https://business.yougov.com/content/48919-52-of-americans-say-they-sleep-7-hours-a-night-but-many-want-even-more-time-in-bed ]

The ability to sift through all of YouGov's collected polling data may be enough for some users. If not, the company offers self-serve surveys, prepared surveys, and even custom research solutions for paying customers.

By working with YouGov, you can survey 26 million panelists living in 55 markets.

Because the company offers several bespoke solutions in addition to its free data, you'll need to set up a call with YouGov to learn more about options and pricing.

13. Fieldwork

Fieldwork is a qualitative market research firm offering solutions for focus groups.

You can engage Fieldwork to run a consumer focus group at their facilities throughout the U.S., your office, or another location around the world. Online focus groups are also an option for Fieldwork customers.

Fieldwork's support for medical and legal testing sets them apart from some other market research firms on this list. The company maintains permanent and portable medical simulation labs, and can also support:

• Medical device testing for FDA approval
• Medical device usability testing
• Mock jury research
• Trial simulations

If you're interested in working with Fieldwork to run a focus group, you'll need to submit a request for proposal through the company's website.

14. Kadence

Kadence is an international marketing and scientific research firm.

The company offers research services that can help you:

• Better understand customer preferences
• Improve market segmentation
• Plan the best way to enter a key market
• Streamline retail shopping experiences
• Evaluate how well marketing assets resonate with customers
• Assess brand metrics
• Find new market opportunities

Kadence conducts their research in several ways, including through:

• In-person focus groups
• Phone interviews
• Online communities
• In-person testing

They even offer sensory research and testing that's guided by neuroscience. This includes measuring eye movements and brain states when evaluating the reaction to a marketing campaign.

Kadence maintains offices in 13 countries. If you're interested in working with the Kadence team, you'll need to get in touch to request a price quote.

15. Second to None

Second to None provides mystery shopping services and conducts customer experience research.

You can work with the firm to conduct primary market research campaigns. These include:

• Customer surveys
• Brand reputation research
• Online community feedback
• Online and in-person mystery shopping

Second to None offers solutions for both B2C and B2B brands in a variety of industries including:

• Foodservice
• Financial service
• Consumer products and services
• Retail sales

Like many of its competitors, Second to None doesn't publish its pricing online. If you think the company's services are the right fit for your brand, you'll need to request an initial consultation with the firm.

16. Civicom

Civicom is a market research services group offering online and offline options.

The company can facilitate a variety of market research projects, including:

• Online focus groups
• Recorded in-person panels
• Mock jury trials
• Usability testing
• Hybrid online and in-person focus groups

Civicom also offers its own AI-powered report generation tool called Quillit . Civicom's clients can use Quillit to create summaries, produce research reports, and format documents. The tool is GDPR and HIPAA compliant, too.

The company's ability to conduct hybrid focus group sessions is notable—if you aren't sure what kind of market research work you need, Civicom is a good place to start.

You'll need to call, email, or chat with Civicom team members online to learn more about options and pricing.

17. Cascade Insights

Cascade Insights is a custom market research firm for B2B technology companies.

Cascade Insights works with companies that produce a product or service related to:

• Generative AI
• Cybersecurity
• Internet of Things (IoT) devices
• Computer hardware
• IT infrastructure

You can work with Cascade Insights to learn more about your ideal B2B customer through several types of market research services including:

• Customer experience research
• Product research
• B2B marketing and sales enablement research

Unlike some of its competitors, Cascade Insights continues to support its customers beyond the handoff of research findings. Every report comes with a plan for implementing the firm's findings.

The company also provides additional optional consulting and support services including strategy mentorship, marketing audits, and done-for-you marketing content.

If you're interested in working with Cascade Insights, you'll need to get in touch with the company to request a consultation and price quote based on your market research goals.

18. C+R Research

C+R Research is a qualitative and quantitative market firm delivering customer insights.

The firm serves a variety of consumer companies, including those focused on:

• Food and beverage
• Consumer packaged goods (CPG)
• Consumer equipment
• Financial services
• Media and telecom

The company provides support for their clients through qualitative, quantitative, and agile research services including:

• Advertising tests
• Package tests
• Pricing analysis
• Customer satisfaction surveys
• Research panels and focus groups
• Online discussions
• In-depth interviews

C+R Research can also provide support for audience segmentation, customer journey mapping, and workshop facilitation.

If you're part of a consumer-focused brand and are interested in C+R Research services, you'll need to contact the firm to schedule a consultation.

Radius is a data science company focused on consumer research.

The company conducts more than one million quantitative surveys and 3,000 qualitative research sessions every year across 60+ countries. Radius conducts different types of research, including:

• Choice-based analysis
• Targetable segmentation
• Perceptual mind mapping
• Maximum difference scaling (MaxDiff)

The company applies these different techniques to research activities like:

• Retail shopping analysis
• Virtual and augmented reality experiences
• Ideation workshops
• Consumer chats
• Immersive insight sessions

Radius also says that it develops projects using a customized mix of non-traditional approaches—so if you've found it difficult to get the right research for your brand, Radius is worth a closer look.

To learn more about the company's techniques and methods, you'll need to contact the Radius team and schedule an initial meeting.

20. Corona Insights

Corona Insights is a bespoke market research services firm.

Like Cascade Insights, Corona works with its clients to develop a complete plan of action. This may entail:

• Identification of research needs
• Development of a research plan
• Execution of market research activities
• Review of findings
• Development of action plans

The company's primary and secondary data research services are broad, and include:

• Scientific surveys
• Online and in-person focus groups
• Statistical analysis
• Observational research
• Journey mapping
• Literature reviews
• User experience (UX) testing
• Econometrics

The company offers multilingual research, too. Coupled with the breadth of options, this makes Corona Insights a good fit for many companies across different industries and regions.

Potential clients must contact Corona Insights via their website to learn more about market research costs and services.

If you want a custom research solution, it's best to explore working with a market research consulting firm like Ipsos, Kantar, Corona Insights, or Radius.

For more self-directed or self-paced market analysis , tools like Exploding Topics and Knit might be a better fit.

Make sure that the tool you choose has the industry data, panelist profiles, or research approach you need to get the most accurate data for your company. With insights from the right market research agency, you'll be able to accurately and effectively improve strategy, product development, and more.

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18 US market research companies for leading consumer insights

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When it comes to understanding modern American consumers, guesswork just won’t cut it. With transformative changes affecting the way we shop, behave, and consume media, it’s no secret that in-depth consumer research should be at the heart of every strategic marketing, product, or business decision you make. 

There are a myriad of US market research companies out there armed with customer insight platforms, smart research tools, and AI-powered features that give you the answers you need. But which is best for reaching your US target audiences? Whose data can you trust? With so much choice, it can be tough to figure out which market research company is the right fit for your business needs. 

To help you make that decision (‘cause we’re nice like that), we’ve put together a no-nonsense rundown of the best market research companies for US consumer insights right now, outlining the specialist areas and key use cases you might consider them for. Grab a hot drink and settle in. 

Oh – and if you’re interested in the best market research companies in the UK , we’ve got a shortlist of those worth skimming through too. 

How to choose the right US market research company

It sounds obvious, but every US market research company is different. The type of consumer data they collect, and how they deliver it to you really varies. So before you commit to a research partner, think carefully about the kind of support you need – and crucially, how quickly you need it. Start by asking these six questions:

• Do they know about your audience? 
• Do they have expertise in your industry/category, with a proven track record of success?
• Do they conduct the right kind of research to answer your questions, with a sound and trusted methodology? 
• Are they transparent about how they collect and analyze data to ensure quality?
• Do they have the capacity to provide fast results, with regular client communication?
• Most importantly, will they understand your long-term goals and add value to your business?

If you can answer “yes” to each of these questions, you’re on the right track to finding the perfect partner. But if you want more guidance on how to drive research forward, here’s our list of the leading US market research companies worth considering, in no particular order. Well, except for us – obviously.

Top 18 US market research companies worth considering

It would be crazy if we put together a comparison piece on US market research companies and didn’t mention our very own AI-enhanced, on-demand consumer research platform . So let’s start there.

GWI is modernized consumer research, with an intuitive platform that instantly puts high-impact US consumer research at your fingertips.

Location: New York, USA (with additional offices in the UK, Greece, Czech Republic, and Singapore)

Specialisms: Every business has questions about its audiences; GWI has the answers. Get a window into your target audience’s world, on demand, with our easy-to-use consumer research platform. Our GWI USA data set covers an 80K+ annual sample, representing the views, behaviors, and interests of 250 million US consumers in all 50 States. Need to go beyond the US? Delve into our global flagship survey representing nearly 3 billion consumers in 50+ markets worldwide.

Understand today’s diverse Americans in seconds, with deep psychographic consumer insight spanning key topics like social media, mental health, DE&I, and attitudes toward brands. And if you need fast answers on something really specific? Ask your US audiences any question you like with our custom research solutions.

Use cases include: 

• Marketing strategy ( ad targeting , brand health tracking, content marketing, and media planning)
• Revenue growth (media ad sales, winning pitches and retaining key clients)
• Product development (product expansion, improvements, and partnership and collaboration opportunities)
• Competitive advantage (market differentiation, market sizing/expansion, and sponsorship opportunities)

If time’s of the essence, why not try our free interactive demo right now?

2. MRI-Simmons

A long-standing provider of US consumer insights, collected through address-based probabilistic sampling, and online and in-person interviews.

Location: New York, USA

Specialisms: MRI-Simmons offers a complete view of the American consumer – providing consumer research via a national study, print studies into magazine ad readership, and focus studies for deeper insight into emerging tech and cultural trends. Data is based on a representative sample of over 50K+ US consumers in 48 states (excluding Alaska and Hawaii), with surveys conducted twice a year. 

Use cases include:

• Audience profiling
• Market sizing
• Media planning

An integrated, AI-driven enterprise platform combining “quant, qual, and high quality audiences” into a connected research cloud.

Specialisms: Using AI to drive research, Suzy has three main product offerings – Suzy Insights, Suzy Live, and Suzy Audiences – and offers real-time customer insights delivered with “agency-quality rigor”. Pulling data from an active, engaged community (via surveys, interviews, and focus groups), its platform helps teams understand US consumers, explore purchase journeys, validate ideas, optimize marketing assets, and more.

Use cases include:  

• Concept testing
• Product development

AI-powered market intelligence that solves critical questions in the decision-making process, and helps drive sustainable growth.

Location: Nuremberg, Germany (with additional global offices)

Specialisms : GfK “drives growth from knowledge” by providing a holistic view of US consumers’ buying behavior and the dynamics impacting markets, brands, and media trends. With particular expertise in consumer and shopper intelligence, Gfk’s research methods include surveys, point-of-sale data analysis, and wider market monitoring. It also offers strategic consultancy to help businesses make great decisions.

• Competitive advantage
• Market segmentation

A global media leader specializing in TV, video, and radio audience and data analytics.

Location: New York, USA (with additional global offices)

Specialisms: Nielsen is a powerhouse of market intelligence, “connecting clients to audiences, growth and new opportunities”. It explores nuanced consumer behavior, preferences, and market dynamics to give media brands an edge. You may be familiar with Nielsen ratings – its renowned audience measurement system for TV viewership – which have been a deciding factor in many shows being renewed or canceled over the years.

And in case you didn’t know – GWI has an ongoing Fusion partnership with Nielsen that delivers advanced media insights and analytics to our customers. A pretty solid choice of market research partner, if you ask us.

• Ad targeting
• Media planning 

A business intelligence and market research company that helps clients “drive data-backed business decisions that enhance customers’ lives.”

Location: Virginia, USA

Specialisms: Bixa gives businesses a springboard to sustainable growth by helping them “build meaningful connections” with customers. It shares targeted business intelligence for a deeper understanding of US audiences, market dynamics, and emerging trends. Ultimately, it helps businesses with strategic decision-making. Data derives from diverse sources including surveys, consumer feedback, and in-depth industry analysis. 

• Brand health tracking
• Market expansion

7. Morning Consult

A real-time “decision intelligence” and custom research tool, powered by consumer opinion polling.

Location: Washington, D.C., USA

Specialisms: Morning Consult provides timely consumer opinions and market insights, alongside current economic data and political trends.  Daily surveys and insights give businesses the agility they need to pivot strategies quickly and effectively. Analyzing niche audiences and underserved buyers in 100+ countries (including the US), it’s also useful for identifying new market opportunities.

• Political risk analysis

Equipping clients with market intelligence tools to help them make “smarter decisions, faster and more consistently across markets”.

Specialisms: Ipsos is a global market research company that sources consumer data from surveys, behavioral analysis, and social listening. With specialist insight into the lifestyles, media habits, and purchase behavior of financially-successful Americans (via its Affluent Survey), it also pays particular attention to public opinion. This helps brands tune in to changing market trends and benchmark how well they’re received by consumers.

• Digital marketing strategy
• Sentiment tracking

An AI-driven “knowledge management” tool that helps enterprises keep pace and make fast decisions through predictive analytics.

Location: Minnesota, USA

Specialisms: Putting AI at the heart of market research, Lucy “exists to amaze, delight, and empower people with knowledge”. Generating US insights via machine learning algorithms, it rapidly analyzes a blend of large data sets, social media interactions, and consumer behaviors. Lucy is trusted by 18+ Fortune 1000 companies to deliver advanced analysis at speed – saving time while boosting organizational productivity. 

• Trend forecasting

10. Comscore

Leading digital audience insights and media performance analysis, that helps businesses generate more ROI from their advertising.

Location: Virginia, USA (with additional global offices)

Specialisms: Sharing real-time US consumer insights on media consumption, Comscore provides effective digital marketing and advertising solutions across several veins (including TV and advertising). Using its robust, reliable suite of tools, clients can explore demographics to understand American audiences, then optimize ad targeting and wider marketing strategies for better engagement and return on investment.

11. Kantar Marketplace

A market research company offering relevant, robust data about global and local audiences in an increasingly connected world.

Locations: New York, USA (with additional global offices)

Specialisms: Kantar serves industry-leading consumer insights across TV, radio, print, and digital – all unpacked in its Target Group Index (TGI) survey. Based on a representative 700K+ sample across 50 markets, data is collected online and through offline consumer panels. Analyzing attitudes, behaviors, media consumption, and brand/product use, Kantar promises “decision-quality insights in as little as a few hours.” 

12. 1+1 Research

A full-service fieldwork company supplying tailored market research solutions to companies across the globe.

Specialisms:   1+1 Research provides bespoke market research services for its clients, such as consumer opinion mining and sentiment analysis. Depending on a company’s needs, US consumer data can be collected through focus groups, online surveys, industry analysis, and CATI (computer-assisted phone interviews) among other methodologies – ideal for those with unique industry requirements who need a bit more flexibility.

• Brand strategy
• Custom research

13. Gartner

Expert market research company that delivers practical solutions for fast, informed decision-making and measurable impact.

Location: Connecticut, USA (with additional global offices)

Specialisms : Gartner is a global name in market research for good reason. Its on-demand diagnostics, insights, frameworks, rankings, and benchmarking tools help businesses work smarter, not harder to get ahead of modern Americans in the digital world. Valuable insights are sourced from a mix of market analysis, surveys, and expert consultations, and outline the impact of new technology on US businesses and consumers alike. 

Use cases: 

• Customer experience

A real-time consumer intelligence platform that helps clients figure out what matters to their online audiences, fast.

Specialisms: Subscription-based Toluna Start offers automated solutions that put market research into its clients’ hands. Collating US survey data from a global community of engaged consumers, its platform users get a dynamic view of digital preferences and behaviors to help them validate their strategies and implement feedback in a real-world environment.

• Marketing strategy

15. Statista

A global data and business intelligence platform aggregating statistics, market research reports, and key insights on over 80,000 topics.

Specialisms: Statista is a household name for timely US market and consumer insights, designed to “empower people with data” on key topics such as the economy, military, and population. Solutions include analysis of behavior and media usage (via Consumer Insights) and trend forecasting (via Market Insights). Data coverage also extends globally, with a representative 1.7M+ sample across 56 countries.

• Content marketing
• Winning pitches and retaining clients

16. SIS International Research

A full-service consulting firm supplying market intelligence and consumer research solutions to businesses worldwide.

Specialisms: SIS is a US market research company with specialist experience across various industries, including B2B, supply chain, and healthcare market research. It sources data and strategic insights from a global network of field researchers, alongside consumer surveys and interviews. SIS helps businesses benchmark against competitors and create tailored strategies for success – even as market dynamics change.

17.  Forrester Research

A US market research company that helps global organizations excel with technology and deliver on consumers’ changing demands.

Location: Massachusetts, USA

Specialisms: Combining traditional, in-house market research with a modern, tech-driven mindset, Forrester Research offers deep consumer insights along with recommendations for tech adoption strategies. It takes data from consumer surveys and expert market assessments, with findings analyzed by its team of experts. Clients benefit from clear results and a deeper understanding of nuanced consumer behavior in their industry.

• Market differentiation

18. Resonate

US market research and consumer intelligence experts, offering AI-powered consumer data and predictive insights. 

Specialisms: Resonate operates through “rAI”, its unique AI consumer intelligence model that gives clients a holistic view of their US audiences. Blending online behavioral data with surveys, psychographics, and real-time consumer interactions, it takes an in-depth look at what makes Americans unique, and the “why” behind what they do. Ideal for crafting highly targeted, effective marketing strategies backed by granular insight.

[H2] Those are our top market research recommendations, now it’s over to you

Nineteen US market research companies, with nineteen different ways to tackle US consumer research. Hopefully you’ve come away from this blog with a clearer idea of exactly what you need from a research partner, and who you can trust to get the job done. We’ll leave you to digest.

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Top 17 market research companies in the United States (US) 

5. pollfish, 6. ascendant consulting firm, 8. ready to launch research, 9. antedote, 10. b2b international, 13. nielsen, 15.  forrester research services, 16. momentive, 17. veridata insights.

Your company can’t navigate the constantly changing marketplace without understanding business landscapes, consumer needs, or buying habits. Market analysis is key to how you find and capitalize on market trends before your competitors do. You can start by outlining research goals and needs. But let’s be real, making data-driven decisions is a whole lot easier with top market research firms by your side. 

The right market research agencies, platforms and companies do more than just surveys to offer actionable insights so you can make smarter decisions for business growth. They make consumer research easy with strategic zero-party data collection, comprehensive data analysis, and intelligent insights. 

If you’re tired of searching through market research companies in the United States, this article leads you straight to the best ones out there.

Here’s a quick rundown of the top US market research companies:

Looking to dive deep into the minds of your target audience? Sign up for a demo to see how Attest makes it effortless to gain consumer insights from 125 million consumers across the globe. 

Attest is one of the top market research companies in the US. This consumer research platform lets you collect data from 125 million diverse respondents in 59 countries. You can use Attest to do market research for branding , consumer profiling, market analysis, and much more! 

Every Attest customer has access to expert research advice from their in-house Customer Research Team. Whether you’re new to research and need some guidance, or a research pro looking for a second pair of eyes on your market research project, Attest’s Customer Research Team is here for you.

Besides speedy surveys and quick responses, this platform features an intuitive results dashboard that turns data into mesmerizing stories. You can also send surveys on a recurring basis to spot changes in responses or compare data from two groups. Plus, expert advice is only a click away when you aren’t sure about choosing market research tools or reaching market research goals.

Attest has been really instrumental in driving home the reality of the consumer need, and surfacing that it is much harder to get a younger demographic to engage with pensions. Georgie Burks , Head of Brand Marketing, Penfold

Trustpilot relied on the Attest market analysis solution to research consumer attitudes among marketers and engage them in eight key markets. Here’s what they think about the value Attest brings.

We were thinking about how businesses could look within their reviews and understand what was important to their consumers, but we didn’t actually know what the most important things consumers cared about were. So we decided the best way to find out was just to ask consumers themselves. Gillian Harris , Global Marketing Program Manager, Trustpilot

Location: London

Founded: 2015

Pricing: Pricing on request

Best for: 

• Market analysis: unlocks new market opportunities
• Brand tracking: measures brand health and performance
• Creative testing: validates the creative impact of ad campaigns
• Consumer profiling: dives deep into existing and future customers
• New product development: tests product ideas or marketing messages with your target market

Get reliable consumer insights fast with Attest

With Attest you get high-speed insights, so you can make informed decisions when they matter. And you get designated research advice from the experts in the Customer Research Team—they’re with you at every step of your research journey!

Bixa is a market research studio specializing in mobile youth research and custom UX research services. Their qualitative and qualitative research offerings are best for those trying to validate new markets, gather product feedback, or understand the target audience better. 

They make marketing research a breeze by completing the entire cycle of participant recruitment to report delivery in three to four weeks. Besides conducting customer surveys, user testing, and mobile ethnography, Bixa also offers market research consulting for companies looking to jumpstart their product and marketing research.

Location: Alexandria, Virginia

Founded: 2012

Pricing: Available on request

• In-depth interviews
• Product research
• Hyper-profitable targeting
• Customer surveys
• Usability testing
• Website and app review
• Team coaching

Suzy is a leading qualitative market research software with iterative research capabilities. Its end-to-end consumer insights platform offers qualitative insights into complex research questions. The best part is that you can get real-time data from Suzy’s proprietary audience of one million consumers. On the other hand, Attest offers a larger audience in more countries, making it ideal for those with market research campaigns spanning the globe. In addition, Attest provides designated advice from experienced researchers for all customers.

Suzy offers qualitative research solutions such as product development, advertising, shopper and behavioral insights, and tracking and measurement. Industries ranging from finance to media use Suzy to improve business performance through qualitative studies.

Location: New York

Founded: 2017

• Concept testing
• Competitive analysis
• Consumer profiling
• Positioning strategy
• Shopper and category insights
• Tracking research services
• UX design research

Remesh is one of the top market research firms in New York City. They offer artificial intelligence-driven research solutions to companies looking to streamline qualitative and quantitative insight discovery. This marketing research firm makes it easy for companies or governments to speak to thousands of customers or citizens at the same time. Then it analyzes interactions and opinions to offer key insights. 

Market researchers use Remesh to get actionable feedback on product ideas, messaging, and packaging from online focus groups. You can also use their online surveys to improve employee listening and boost corporate reputation. 

Founded: 2013

• Packaging testing
• Civic engagement
• Consumer insights
• Collective intelligence
• Employee engagement
• Shelf placement testing
• Product issue identification
• Employee experience and engagement

Pollfish is a modern survey research platform that uses artificial intelligence to help you create surveys in seconds. This DIY market research company helps you gain real-time insights from over 250 million consumers worldwide. The platform also comes loaded with cutting-edge technology capabilities for dynamic sampling and random device engagement.

Attest is a great alternative to Pollfish for conducting primary market research. Attest’s platform detects bad-quality responses that contain non-relevant, incomplete, and conflicting answers. Additionally, Attest is much easier to use and provides advice from experienced researchers.

Pricing: Starts at $95

• Brand awareness
• Brand perceptions
• Advertising testing
• Logo testing
• Brand diagnostics
• Product concept testing

Ascendant Consulting Firm is one of the best in the marketing research industry. They specialize in competitive intelligence, consumer insights, and market feasibility services. With 95+ years of collective experience in market research analysis, they help you make data-driven business decisions for business expansion, market entry, and assessments. 

The team at Ascendant is also adept at advanced quantitative analytics suitable for financial and strategic marketing analyses. Other key capabilities include full service market research, survey design, and secondary data research. 

Location: Miami

Founded: 2010

• White label research
• Product market research
• Market opportunity evaluation
• Survey reporting and analysis
• Employee experience and satisfaction research
• Consumer attitude, usage, and trends research

Isurus offers bespoke market research services to B2B and technology companies. This market research company leverages multiple statistical analysis tools to help you gain a 360° understanding of markets and decision-makers. Moreover, they also make it effortless for you to evaluate competitors for competitive advantage or validate market opportunities. 

Business software, manufacturing, and financial services companies rely on Isurus to keep a pulse on what customers want and find the right pricing strategies. The team at Isurus can also help you with brand tracking and creative performance testing. They specialize in quantitative, qualitative, international, and secondary research.

Location: Burlington

Founded: 2000

• Persona analysis
• Competitor profiling 
• Pricing strategy research
• Brand perception research
• Market segmentation research
• Customer satisfaction analysis
• Market assessment and planning
• Brand audit, tracking, and management

Ready to Launch Research is a California-based market research agency that serves a wide variety of industries with qualitative, quantitative, and digital research strategies. Whether you want to quantify consumer behavior or get qualitative consumer journey insights, they have the expertise to handle all your needs.

They leverage the following research methods to get you the insights you need.

• Creative testing
• Online discussions
• Home use test (HUT)
• Focus group moderation

Ready to Launch Research serves many dynamic industries ranging from pet to education to consumer electronics. Once you reach out to them with research requirements, they’ll get in touch to know more details and design the research process.  

Location: Los Angeles

Founded: 2014

• Ethnography
• Focus group discussions
• Advertising research
• Online communities research services

Antedote is an innovation consultancy that delivers strategic market research insights by combining data science, in-depth research, and next-generation digital tools. What makes them different is their ability to use different qualitative and quantitative research tools instead of relying on a one-size-fits-all approach. 

The team at Antedote helps you uncover insights in various areas such as user research, cultural research, and scenario planning. You can also partner with them for creating innovation roadmaps or concept development and visualization. Antedote’s plug-and-play approach means you have an agile and collaborative team that makes problem-solving easy with guidelines and blueprints. 

Location: San Francisco

• Brand positioning
• Concept crafting
• Demand space segmentation
• Internal engagement programs
• Price and proposition optimization
• Product and portfolio development
• Workshop design and facilitation

B2B International by Merkle is one the largest market research agencies in London , with several locations in the United States. This market research company serves B2B companies looking to gather business insights and intelligence. They can help you with customer loyalty testing, pricing effectiveness, and market size analysis. 

B2B International also specializes in delivering research services for go-to-market strategy, customer journey mapping, and voice-of-customer surveys. Their experience of working across different industries ranging from chemicals to media to logistics makes them uniquely qualified for B2B market research. 

Location: London (with offices in Boston, Chicago and New York)

Founded: 1998

• Market sizing research
• Customer journey research
• Thought leadership research
• Product and proposition research
• Customer research and segmentation

Ipsos is one of the top market research companies trusted by top brands and companies across the Americas, Africa, the Middle East and Europe. Besides market strategy and innovation services, Ipsos also offers marketing management analytics, brand health tracking, and advisory services. 

With tailored market research solutions for every need, Ipsos helps you optimize brand positioning, discover shopper journeys, and understand consumers. The team can also help you with product testing, package research, and creative idea assessment. Other services include brand health tracking, employee engagement research, and channel performance optimization. 

Location: Paris (with locations in New York)

Founded: 1975

• Mystery shopping
• Brand health research
• User experience study
• Innovation and forecasting
• Social intelligence analysis 
• Creative development and assessment

Dynata is a first-party data platform that helps you gather and analyze business intelligence for efficient decision-making. Their platform streamlines the entire research workflow so you can focus more on insights. Dynata lets you ask questions to their proprietary 67 million consumers and visualize those responses effortlessly. 

The Dynata insights platform lets you build surveys for concept testing, creative testing, and ad-hoc market research. Other research services include market segmentation, brand health monitoring, campaign measurement, and voice of the customer surveys. With real-time dashboards and research reports, Dynata makes it easy for you to gain useful data insights. 

Location: Plano, Texas

Founded: 1940

• Survey authoring
• Digital ethnography
• Online research panel
• Online qualitative research
• Data analytics and reporting
• Brand performance tracking

Nielsen is a global data, analytics, and audience measurement company that offers bespoke research solutions to help you discover audience intelligence across channels and platforms. This market research company divides its services into four core categories:

• Media planning
• Content metadata
• Marketing optimization
• Audience measurement

Audience measurement is all about using quantitative and qualitative research to discover shifting habits of audiences. Media planning, on the other hand, offers a comprehensive understanding of competitive intelligence, audience segmentation, and scenario planning. Marketing optimization research services help you analyze and boost campaign performance. Finally, content metadata improves customer experience with easy audio and video content discovery.

Founded: 1923

• Scenario planning
• Competitive intelligence
• Audience segmentation
• Cross-platform audience measurement
• Marketing campaign performance analysis

Westat is a 100% employee-owned market research company that delivers superior quantitative and qualitative research services in transportation, health, social policy, and education. They specialize in survey research, statistical sciences, and providing technical assistance. 

Westat’s expertise in integrated data collection strategies helps them create focus groups, run web surveys, and create questionnaires for finding the right data. Plus, they use a research-driven communications framework to engage audiences effortlessly. They also use machine learning and artificial intelligence-assisted interviewing systems to solve your research challenges. 

Location: Rockville

Founded: 1963

• Custom research
• Clinical trials
• Survey and analytical needs
• Biomedical science research
• Behavioral health and health policy research

Forrester Research Services is the market research wing of the global research and advisory firm Forrester. Their customer-obsessed approach helps companies turn their strategic research needs into reality. They currently offer market research services to companies in technology, sales, B2B marketing, product, B2C marketing, customer experience, and digital business space. 

Forrester offers research services in the following domains:

• Sales operations optimization
• Marketing strategy formulation
• Competitive market intelligence
• Product lifecycle process research
• Corporate communications strategy
• Integrated campaign strategy planning
• Business change management strategy
• Customer insights collection and analysis
• Customer acquisition and retention research
• Route-to-market configuration and optimization
• Account-based marketing and demand generation research 

Location: Cambridge

Founded: 1983

• Public sector research
• Sales and product management 
• Customer experience analysis
• Digital business transformation
• B2B and B2C marketing research

Momentive is an artificial intelligence-powered market research platform that helps you gather on-demand customer and market feedback for actionable insights. This market research company is known for its agile experience management solution that lets you better understand markets, competitors, or even internal teams.

Their purpose-built market insights solutions offer you actionable insights from consumer panels. You can also decode buyer attitudes, understand consumer segments, and monitor buyer preferences. Mometive’s AI solutions also make it easy for you to conduct customer experience research, track product experience, and transform employee engagement. 

Location: San Mateo

Founded: 1999

• Market sizing
• Idea screening
• Industry tracking
• Shopper insights
• Customer effort score
• Mobile app experience 
• Customer segmentation
• Post-purchase experience
• Product and price optimization
• Custom market research services
• Employee engagement and retention

Veridata Insights is another top-rated market research company with recruitment capabilities to serve 100+ countries. Whether you want to analyze complex data with quantitative methodologies or need qualitative insights, they can help you with it all. 

The team at Veridata Insights strives to deliver stress-free, budget-friendly, and timely research services that keep you ahead of the competition. Apart from their proprietary technology and global reach, they’re known for data quality and panel strength. They can also help you gather business intelligence with data processing and easy-to-understand dashboards. 

Location: Dallas

Founded: 2019

• Consumer research
• Online data collection
• Survey programming
• B2B audience research
• Dashboards and analytics

Break into your US target market with Attest

Choosing the right agency isn’t easy, especially with so many players in the market research industry. Businesses often struggle with finding one that delivers accurate and valuable insights while simplifying their findings. Plus, the biggest challenge is targeting the right audience that matters to your business. 

Attest solves all these problems by letting you handpick the target audience you want to reach. You can use filters and quotas to filter the most appropriate audience from 125 million people in 59 countries. Moreover, the platform empowers you to run surveys that bring in results in days instead of weeks. With hybrid research and a three-layer data quality check, you’ll never have any nonsense answers. And you also get to interact with the data, thanks to the interactive dashboard. 

Ready to transform your business with easy-to-access consumer insights? Sign up for a dem o to see how Attest can be your ally in conducting market research effortlessly.

Make decisions based on reliable consumer insighs

Insights with Attest are triple-checked for data quality, so you know that you’re making smart decisions based on data you can trust.

Nikos Nikolaidis

Senior Customer Research Manager 

Nikos joined Attest in 2019, with a strong background in psychology and market research. As part of Customer Research Team, Nikos focuses on helping brands uncover insights to achieve their objectives and open new opportunities for growth.

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13 Top Market Research Companies in 2024

Your choice of market research firms — from traditional firms like Ipsos and Kantar to innovative platforms like StartUs Insights — can significantly influence strategic decision-making and product development. Ensuring that your selected partner offers the specific industry insights and data depth required is crucial for receiving accurate information that can drive your business strategy and innovation forward.

Market research companies play a pivotal role in simplifying the complexities of today’s business environment, blending traditional and innovative methodologies for exhaustive market insights.

Traditional market intelligence companies have evolved, while non-traditional entities are transforming the sector through the early identification of startups, scaleups, emerging companies, future trends, and technologies to provide a 360° view of opportunities.

13 Top Market Research Companies:

• Frost & Sullivan
• StartUs Insights
• Zion Market Research
• MarketsandMarkets
• Forrester Research
• Kantar Group
• Kline & Company
• MarketResearch

Credit: Ipsos

Ipsos connects businesses with online communities, offering insights across multiple industries including retail, healthcare, transportation, politics, and automotive. With Ipsos, companies can:

• Assemble custom panels of consumers
• Conduct brand, packaging, and product testing
• Develop studies on healthcare quality and patient satisfaction
• Engage in public opinion polling

Ipsos’ customizable services and global reach provide businesses with the insights required to make informed decisions.

2. Frost & Sullivan

Credit: Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan is renowned for its extensive industry research and strategy solutions, focusing on innovation opportunities, market trends, and disruptive technologies. Collaborating with Frost & Sullivan offers businesses:

• Detailed market research and analysis
• Growth strategy consulting

Frost & Sullivan’s strategic insights enable companies to identify growth opportunities and navigate market challenges.

3. StartUs Insights

Credit: StartUs Insights

StartUs Insights is a non-traditional market research company that specializes in identifying startups, scaleups, and emerging technologies early on. With access to data on over 4.7 million startups, scaleups, and tech companies, as well as 20 000 trends & technologies, we leverage both AI and human expertise to deliver tailored market reports and custom research services. This unique approach enables businesses to proactively engage with the latest innovations and market shifts across more than 20 industries, including automotive, pharmaceuticals, logistics, mobility, biotechnology, manufacturing, and energy. Services offered by StartUs Insights include:

• Customized market research reports plus competitive intelligence
• Tailored startup and technology scouting
• Innovation scouting and technology tracking
• Detailed analysis of industry trends

Collaborating with StartUs Insights allows you to make informed, confident decisions that not only future-proof your business but also foster strategic growth. To explore how StartUs Insights can transform your market research approach, get in touch for a free consultation.

4. Zion Market Research

Credit: Zion Market Research

Zion Market Research provides comprehensive market research reports, offering insights into global and regional markets across various industry sectors such as healthcare, technology, chemicals, and consumer goods. Working with Zion Market Research, businesses benefit from:

• Extensive market analysis and forecasting
• Sector-specific research reports
• In-depth studies on consumer behavior and market trends
• Custom research services tailored to specific business needs

Zion Market Research’s deep industry knowledge enables companies to navigate market dynamics effectively, ensuring strategic decision-making.

5. MarketsandMarkets

Credit: MarketsandMarkets

MarketsandMarkets is known for its focus on identifying high-growth emerging markets and the technologies driving these sectors. Its market research reports and custom research services are designed to provide:

• Comprehensive market analysis and forecasts
• Insights into technological advancements and innovations
• Custom research tailored to client-specific requirements

By partnering with MarketsandMarkets, organizations gain access to actionable insights that support strategic planning.

6. TrendFeedr

Credit: TrendFeedr

TrendFeedr is an innovative market research platform designed to keep businesses ahead of the curve by identifying and analyzing over 20 000 trends in real-time. TrendFeedr.com specializes in sifting through data from industry reports, company websites, news outlets, social media, and more to deliver actionable insights directly relevant to your market. Services provided by TrendFeedr.com include:

• Real-time trend tracking and analysis
• Competitive intelligence gathering
• Customizable alerts for emerging trends and technologies

With TrendFeedr.com, companies can rapidly adapt to market changes, identify new opportunities, and stay competitive in their respective industries. Moreover, the platform’s focus on emerging trends makes it an invaluable tool for businesses looking to innovate and grow.

7. Forrester Research

Credit: Forrester Research

Forrester Research offers detailed market analysis with a focus on the impact of technology on businesses and consumers. Companies working with Forrester can access:

• Strategic market research reports
• Consumer and business technology insights
• Custom advisory services

Forrester’s forward-looking research assists businesses in anticipating customer needs and technological shifts, enabling them to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving market.

Credit: Mintel

Mintel provides comprehensive market analysis, insights, and forecasts across a range of sectors, including consumer goods, finance, and automotive. Mintel’s services allow businesses to:

• Understand market trends and consumer behavior
• Test and develop new products
• Conduct brand and packaging research

Mintel’s global presence and in-depth industry knowledge empower companies to make strategic decisions.

9. Kantar Group

Credit: Kantar Group

Kantar Group delivers services that cover brand guidance, media effectiveness, creative excellence, and retail & shopper insights. Kantar enables businesses to:

• Understand and leverage brand equity
• Optimize media planning and effectiveness
• Enhance creative development and execution
• Gain insights into shopper behavior and retail strategies

Kantar’s comprehensive approach to market research enables companies to achieve brand and business growth.

10. Gartner

Credit: Gartner

Gartner provides technology-related insights through its research and advisory services that inform business decisions in IT, marketing, and supply chain management. Gartner allows organizations to:

• Navigate IT investments and strategies
• Develop marketing plans and customer engagement
• Optimize supply chain operations and management

Gartner’s expert analysis and advice support businesses in leveraging technology for strategic advantage.

Credit: IQVIA

Specializing in health information technology and clinical research, IQVIA offers:

• Data analytics and research services to the healthcare industry
• Insights into patient care, drug development, and market dynamics
• Custom solutions for healthcare organizations

IQVIA’s expertise in healthcare data and analytics enables businesses to improve patient outcomes and operational efficiency.

12. Kline & Company

Credit: Kline & Company

Kline & Company provides market research and management consulting services focusing on the chemicals, materials, energy, life sciences, and consumer products sectors. Kline offers:

• Market analysis and strategic planning
• Competitive intelligence and benchmarking
• Custom research and consulting services

Kline’s industry knowledge and strategic insights assist companies in navigating market complexities and identifying growth opportunities.

13. MarketResearch.com

Credit: MarketResearch.com

MarketResearch.com is a comprehensive source for market research reports and services, offering data from hundreds of research firms across a range of industries. Services include:

• Access to an extensive collection of market research reports
• Insights into industry trends, forecasts, and market analysis

MarketResearch.com’s vast resources and expertise allow businesses to make data-driven decisions.

Which Company’s Best Suited for Your Needs?

For tailored research insights that align closely with your specific business needs, consider partnering with specialized companies such as StartUs Insights , Zion Market Research, or MarketsandMarkets. These firms offer the expertise and depth of data necessary to dive deeper into emerging technologies and market trends.

If you’re leaning towards more autonomous or flexible market exploration, platforms like TrendFeedr.com may serve your needs more effectively, offering real-time trend analysis.

Ultimately, the selection of a market research partner should be informed by the relevance of their industry focus and the richness of their data sources. This ensures that the insights you receive are both precise and actionable, driving forward your strategy, product development, and broader business objectives.

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Top 10 Market Research Companies [2024 Review & Comparison]

Edited by Kamila

Read this In-depth Review and Comparison of Top Market Research Companies to Select the Best Market Research Firm for your Business:

What is Market Research?

Market Research can be defined as an attempt at understanding consumer behavior. This involves gathering data systematically about people or companies – a market – and then analyzing it to better understand the needs of that group of people/companies.

This type of research can be undertaken by the company itself (i.e. in-house) or by a third-party agency specialized in market research.

Table of Contents:

Market Research Companies

Market research company types, faqs for market research firms, comparison of market research agencies, #1) nielsen, #4) gartner, #10) intage, was this helpful, recommended reading.

Advantages of conducting business market research include:

• Identify problem areas in business.
• Identify changing market trends and associated business opportunities as well as new areas for expansion.
• Understand the existing customer’s needs and comparative analysis of services offered to customers vis-à-vis competitors.
• Develop effective strategies and make well-informed decisions about the services.
• Set achievable targets for sales, business growth, and the latest product developments.

There are two types of market research: Qualitative research and Quantitative research .

• Qualitative research is focused on descriptive words and symbols. It usually involves questioning consumers about their product or service consumption experiences or observing them in a marketing setting. The data collection methods used in this case include in-depth interviews, focus groups, bulletin boards, uninterrupted observation, and ethnographic participation/observation.
• Quantitative research is the one that looks to quantify a problem which often involves statistical analysis since it requires significant attention to the measurement of market phenomena. It collects data through audits, points of purchase (purchase transactions), surveys in different modalities (online, phone, paper), and click-streams.

The two ways through which data is collected include Primary Data and Secondary Data.

• Primary data is the original data that is collected first hand by the researcher. The most common primary research tools are surveys, focus groups, in-depth interviews, and observation.
• Secondary data is the data that has already been collected and is readily available. This data is pre-existing public information, for instance , the data shared in public sources like magazines and newspapers, government statistics; commercial sources like paid industry reports; and internal sources i.e. the market data that the organization already has in-house.

The procedures that are used to analyze the data collected include (but not limited to) product testing, market segmentation, advertising testing, usability testing, key driver analysis for loyalty and satisfaction, awareness and usage research, and pricing research (using techniques such as conjoint analysis).

Below are the top 10 Market Research Companies by revenues (2018):

Upon comparing the revenues of the top 5 Companies for 2019 as well, these 5 Companies have been observed to retain the top slots with some minor changes in the rankings.

Market research companies can be large corporate companies, small business companies, or product-specific companies. These companies are usually categorized based on clients they take up rather than based on market research work they undertake.

#1) Syndicated market research firm: Such companies look at the market requirements and then prepare their reports accordingly. These research reports are for the open market rather than for specific companies.

#2) Custom market research firm: Such firms offer customized market analysis basis for the client’s needs.

#3) Specialty market research firm: A firm with a focus on one specialty falls under this category. Such firms are involved with an in-depth analysis of the client’s specific requirements, for instance , conducting market feasibility studies for a soon to be launched pilot product.

#4) Online market research firm: These firms are considered to be useful for online marketers, bloggers, and online e-commerce portals. They connect the brands/website owners with their desired users while also conducting online analysis at the same time.

This online analysis enables the website owners to land up on top in search engines, understand the gist of their brands in the online community, and thereby improvise their existing product lines. Brands, for instance, taking a cue from the ‘trends’ showcasing top websites like Twitter and Facebook.

Pro-Tip: Once the said company has decided to hire a market research firm, the following factors need to be considered before choosing the one:

• The extent of understanding of its sector by the market research firm.
• Capabilities of the market research firm – qualitative/quantitative/both.
• Timelines expected by the company vs. promised by the firm.
• A clear understanding of the company’s research objectives and methods to be used by them – focus groups vs. survey vs. secondary search.
• The company’s scale of project and affordability as a market research agency usually does not takes on projects with a budget below £3,000. So, for small-scale field research, the best option may be a freelance researcher.
• Cost calculations as a majority of market research firms charge per hour. However, researching the published material is considered easier than conducting focus groups and surveys.

Q #1) Which is the best methodology for undertaking Market Research?

Answer: Depending on the needs and objectives of the market research i.e. measuring or exploring, the company can choose between focus groups and in-depth interviews as part of a qualitative approach or online surveys as part of a quantitative approach.

Q #2) Should the research be done as in-house or get expert help?

Answer: The first question that arises once a company has decided to undertake market research is whether to conduct the study in-house or do it using a third-party help. While hiring a third-party market research firm ensures confidentiality (for surveyed customers) and expertise ait increases the overall cost allocated for a project.

The ideal solution therefore of hiring a market research firm or not boils down to the cost/benefit analysis. Once the company is aware of its research budget, which as per Philip Kotler, is 1-2 percent of company sales, it can compare the cost of hiring a marketing research firm with the cost of paying one or more of its employees to do the work.

The end objective of the study expected should also be kept in mind.

Q #3) How much does market research cost?

Answer: Costs vary greatly depending on the scope and methodology. A professional survey usually starts from £1,000 while in-house research costs not much money but time.

A 1,000 complete telephone survey will be costlier than a 100 complete online survey while 50 in-person interviews will be costlier than 10 in-depth interviews conducted over the phone. A 10-question survey targeted at 200 general consumers will be less expensive than a 40-question survey targeted at 800 B2B C-Level decision-makers.

Q #4) How much time does market research take?

Answer: Qualitative research takes comparatively lesser time for completion than a quantitative one.

An email survey is completed (~75%) usually within 24 hours of the initial invite and an online survey project can be done in ~2 weeks while focus groups (using 2 groups) and in-depth interviews typically last 4 to 5 weeks owing to the time involved in recruiting participants in addition to the fieldwork.

List Of Top Market Research Companies

Review of the top market research companies:

Nielsen, an S&P 500 company, offers measurement and data analytics services on a global scale. It claims to cover more than 90 percent of the world’s GDP and population through its services.

The services delivered include marketing and media information, analytics, and retailer and manufacturer expertise related to what and where consumers buy and what consumers read, watch, and listen to. The Company caters clients primarily from the CPG, media, and advertising industries.

Headquarters: New York, United States Founded In: 1923 Employees (2018 and 2019): 46,000

Core Services: Measurement and data analytics – Consumer Purchasing Measurement & Analytics; Media Audience Measurement & Analytics. The former includes Retail Measurement Services, Consumer Panel Measurement, and Analytical Services while the latter includes key activities of Planning, Activation, Audience Measurement, and Advertising Effectiveness.

Revenues (2018 and 2019): USD 6.5 billion

Clients: Top clients include NBC Universal/ Comcast Corporation, Nestle S.A., The Coca-Cola Company, Twenty-First Century Fox, The Procter & Gamble Company, and the Unilever Group

Website: Nielsen

IQVIA, formed through the merger of IMS Health and Quintiles, is a Human Data Science Company serving the life sciences industry. The company has been able to integrate information, analytics, domain expertise, and technology through its IQVIA CORE solution, thereby enabling its clients to tap into a deeper understanding of human behaviors, diseases, and scientific advances.

Headquarters: North Carolina and Connecticut, United States Founded In: 2016 Employees: 58,000+ (2018); 67,000 (2019)

Core Services: Research & Development Solutions, Technology & Analytics Solutions, and Contract Sales & Medical Solutions. The Technology & Analytics Solutions offerings include Technology platforms, Analytics and consulting services, and Information offerings.

Revenues (Technology & Analytics solutions): USD 4.1 billion (2018); USD 4.5 billion (2019)

Clients: The company serves other companies from the life sciences industry including pharmaceutical, consumer health, device and diagnostic, and biotechnology. Nearly all of the top 100 global biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, measured by the revenue, are its clients.

Some of the clients identified include Noble Analytics & Consulting, Minerva Surgical, PatientPoint, Young & Ellison LLC, Providence Health and Services, Nova Biomedical, and Georgetown University.

Website: IQVIA

Kantar, a part of WPP, is a data, insights, and consulting company. The company offers its services across the entire lifecycle of sales and marketing with research solutions ranging from in-depth qualitative research expertise to the latest AI-based technology.

In April 2019, Kantar unified all its legacy brands, including Kantar Consulting, Kantar IMRB, Kantar Health, Kantar Media, Kantar Public, Kantar Millward Brown, Kantar Worldpanel, Kantar TNS, Lightspeed, all country-specific brands into Kantar. Further, WPP sold Kantar’s 60% stake to Bain Capital in Dec 2019 and hence shown as discontinued operations by the WPP group as of Dec 31, 2019.

Headquarters: London, UK Founded In: 1993 Employees (2018 and 2019): 30,000

Core Services: Research capabilities include Consumer Panels, Data Solutions, Managed Services including Survey Design & Fielding, DIY Solutions, Panels & Audiences, Virtual Reality, Eye Tracking, and Behavioral Sciences.

Revenues: USD 3.4 billion (2018); USD 3.0 billion (2019)

Clients: Kantar serves over half of the Fortune 500 companies. Some of them include Diageo, Volkswagen, Unilever, SAB Miller, PepsiCo, European Commission.

Website: Kantar

As a member of the S&P 500, the company is engaged in providing research and analysis solutions to the computer software, hardware, communications, and related information technology industries.

The company research services are offered through a subscription-based model that includes on-demand access to published research content, direct access to a network of approximately 2,300 research experts located globally, and data and benchmarks.

Headquarters: Connecticut, United States Founded In: 1979 Employees: 15,173 (2018); 16,724 (2019)

Core Services: Research, Conferences, and Consulting. Research service is offered to clients through reports, briefings, access to its research experts, proprietary tools, peer networking services, and membership programs.

Revenues (research segment): USD 3.1 billion (2018); USD 3.4 billion (2019)

Clients: Gartner serves 73% of the Global 500 companies. It serves 15,600+ distinct organizations in more than 100 countries, Coca-Cola Bottling Company United being one of them.

Website: Gartner

Ipsos is a market research company offering advertising, media, public opinion, marketing, and social research services.

Headquarters: Paris, France Founded In: 1975 Employees: 18,130

Core Services: Brand Health, Creative Excellence, Clinics & Mobility Labs, Innovation, Ipsos MMA, Ipsos UU, Market Strategy & Understanding, Social Intelligence Analytics (excl. pharma and the public sector), Observer, Customer Experience, Mystery Shopping, Market Measurement, Quality Measurement, Retail Performance, Audience Measurement, ERM, Media Development, Corporate Reputation, Public Affairs, and quantitative and qualitative research services for Pharma sector

Revenues: USD 2.1 billion (2018); USD 2.2 billion (2019)

Clients: Some of the clients include Budweiser, Clorox, Ad Council, and Zillow.

Website: Ipsos

GfK is a market research institute engaged in conducting consumer response tests, providing data as well as analysis of consumer purchasing behavior, and tracking retail sales data for consumer technology products.

It has been able to provide one of the world’s largest retail panels for technical consumer goods and user experience (UX) research and design for a large number of devices and interfaces.

As of October 2018, Ipsos acquired four global divisions of custom research business of GfK: Customer Experience; Experience Innovation; Health; and Public Affairs.

Headquarters : Nuremberg, Germany Founded In: 1934 Employees: 13,000+ Revenues: USD 1.6 billion (2018)

Website: GfK

Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) is engaged in providing big data and predictive analytics solutions to CPG, retail, OTC healthcare, and media companies. The company claims to be catering 95% of CPG, health and beauty, and retail companies in the Fortune 100 list.

Headquarters: Illinois, United States Founded In: 1979 Employees: ~5,000 Revenues: USD 1.2 billion (2018)

Website: IRI

Dynata is a provider of first-party data contributed by business professionals and consumers. The company claims to be one of the largest providers of technology-based research solutions and online panel data based on opted-in data.

The company is a result of a merger between Research Now and SSI that happened in December 2017 and was rebranded as Dynata in January 2019.

Headquarters: Texas, United States Founded In: 1999 Employees: ~5,000 Revenues: USD 0.509 billion (2018)

Website: Dynata

Westat offers research services to help clients in improving outcomes in health, social policy, education, and transportation. Westat undertakes studies on health conditions, employment, medical expenditures, science, technology, and earnings.

Headquarters: Maryland, United States Founded in: 1963 Employees: ~2,000 (only HQ) Revenues: USD 0.506 billion (2018)

Website: Westat

Intage offers marketing research services as well as marketing system solutions and consulting services based on data obtained from custom research and panel research. The company primarily serves consumer goods clients, companies from the services sector, and government agencies.

Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan Founded In: 1960 Employees: 2,829 Revenues: USD 0.489 billion (2018)

Website: Intage

Nielsen, Ipsos, and Kantar are the three top picks for a majority of research offerings globally. In retail measurement, Nielsen along with Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) are the two major players while consumer panel services and analytics services witness Nielsen, GfK, Ipsos, Kantar as the major ones.

For audio audience measurement, Nielsen, along with Kantar and GFK, are the global players while in television audience measurement, Nielsen, Kantar, GfK, and Ipsos are the major ones.

The emergence of new technologies, particularly software technologies associated with artificial intelligence and machine learning, has a significant impact on the research market. Further, the very nature of the research conducted has changed owing to the advent of other technologies such as virtual reality.

Companies like Ipsos and Nielsen have already adopted artificial intelligence and machine learning while IQVIA has adopted machine learning.

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The 50 Most Innovative Companies in Market Research

The heavily anticipated GRIT ‘Top 50 Most Innovative Suppliers’ list is here.

by Leonard Murphy

Chief Advisor for Insights and Development at Greenbook

What is GRIT?

The GRIT (GreenBook Research Industry Trends) Report is the leading survey of the insights industry worldwide. Over 30,000 market researchers, marketers, and executives—both clients & suppliers—use each edition to understand the trends impacting the industry and profession. They see GRIT as an invaluable resource to future-proof their organizations and careers, in ways both strategic and tactical.

The Business & Innovation Edition looks at the insights industry and individual organizations (on both sides of the table) in the context of their external environment. The report explores the challenges this environment creates and the opportunities it presents. We look at how external changes spur innovation and how they impact business outcomes, expectations, and strategies.

What is the GRIT Top 50?

For almost a decade, the GRIT Top 50 has become one of the key metrics many companies use to understand their position in the marketplace. It has also become a badge of “bragging rights”, with many companies proudly proclaiming their rankings in their own marketing campaigns. However, being on the GRIT Top 50 serves a far more useful purpose than an accolade; fundamentally, it is a brand tracker using the attribute of “innovation” as the key metric. It has become a reliable way for the players in the insights and analytics ecosystem to measure their own brand awareness and perception. 

The Process

The process is simple. Each year we measure how insights Suppliers and Clients are leveraging the brand attribute of innovation through a simple question series:

• Using an unaided awareness verbatim question, we ask respondents to list the insights and analytics Suppliers they consider to be most innovative.
• We then ask them to tell us of the Suppliers they listed, which do they consider to be the most innovative.
• Finally, we ask another verbatim as to what factors make the Supplier they chose the most innovative.

We also ask respondents to help us segment the Suppliers mentioned in their responses into a few broad categories aligned with our overall segmentation schema.

Then, after rigorous data cleaning (see the Report’s Appendix for more details) and adhering to a set of rules we established based on industry dynamics, we simply count the mentions of each company. It is a pure “top-of-mind” question type with no prompting from pre-defined lists determined by us; GRIT respondents create the list based on their responses.

Now, after providing the appropriate context and other details, without further ado, here are the Top 10 most innovative suppliers from the GRIT Top 50 rankings:

See the Full GRIT Top 50 List

About greenbook.

GreenBook is a leading voice in the market research and consumer insights space. We inspire, inform, and connect insights professionals across the globe through our online directory , webinars , articles , reports , and the IIeX global event series .

Leonard Murphy

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The views, opinions, data, and methodologies expressed above are those of the contributor(s) and do not necessarily reflect or represent the official policies, positions, or beliefs of Greenbook.

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21 Top Full-Service Research Companies in 2021

A Quirk's resource guide covering full-service research companies

SPONSORED CONTENT

The advantage of full-service agencies lies not only within their ability to offer end-to-end research solutions but also within the expertise required to understand and execute the entire research process.

If you’re looking for an agency that can take your research initiative from start to finish, these companies offer full-service solutions for a wide range of industries and research needs. Let the experts from the following companies solve your business needs, whether CX or UX, B2B or consumer, health care or IT.

Founded 2016 | 30+ employees

Julia eisenberg, svp.

Phone 1-888-802-1330 AspenFinn.com

Decision Analyst Inc.

Founded 1978 | 150 employees, jerry w. thomas, ceo.

Phone 1-817-640-6166 www.decisionanalyst.com/services/strategy

The Dieringer Research Group Inc. (The DRG)

Founded 1974 | 75 employees, lanie johnson, president and ceo.

Phone 1-888-432-5220 www.thedrg.com

Global Survey

Founded 2008 | 25 employees, mayank bhanushali, founder and managing dir..

Phone 91-740322-0322 www.globalsurvey.gs

Founded 2006 | 50 employees

Jeffrey kelsch, managing partner.

Phone 1-208-809-7117 (U.S.) www.holdendata.com

Information Specialists Group Inc. (ISG)

Founded 1996 | 13 employees, robert mcgarry jr., president.

Phone 1-800-279-5314 or 1-952-279-5314 isgmn.com

InsightsNow

Founded in 2003 | 35+ employees, dr. david lundahl, ceo and founder.

Phone 1-541-757-1404 www.insightsnow.com

Ironwood Insights Group LLC

Founded 2017 | 320 employees, brad larson, founder and ceo.

[email protected] Phone 1-801-569-0107, x2110 www.ironwoodinsights.com  

Founded 1982 | 219 employees  

Jacqueline rosales, president.

[email protected] Phone 1-818-989-1044 www.isacorp.com

Issues and Answers Network Inc.

Founded 1988 | 400+ employees, mohit gour, evp.

[email protected] Phone 1-757-456-1100 www.issans.com

Just The Facts Inc.

Founded 1994 , bruce tincknell, managing director.

Phone 1-847-506-0033 www.justthefacts.com www.justthefacts.com/testimonials-x-30

Karchner Marketing Research LLC

Founded 2003 , helen karchner, ceo and co-founder.

Phone 1-610-564-9624 www.KMRResearchStudio.com  

Murray Hill National

Founded 2013 | 30 employees, susan owens, coo.

Phone 1-972-707-7645 www.murrayhillnational.com

NextON Services

Founded 2013 | 20 employees, naim ul qadar, founder and ceo.

Phone 1-971-50-941-9689 (UAE); 1-818-453-1793 (U.S.) www.NextONServices.com

Founded 2010 | 45 employees

Frank nappo, ceo, frank hayden, coo.

Phone 1-603-766-5858 www.op4g.com

Founded 2017 

Jim whaley, ceo.

Phone 1-212-653-8750 www.ovationmr.com

Radius Global Market Research

Founded 1960 | 150 employees, jamie myers, executive director.

Phone 1-212-633-1100 radius-global.com

Research America Market Research Solutions

Founded 1985 | 300 employees, robert porter, ceo.

Phone 1-610-356-1800 www.ResearchAmericaInc.com

RTi Research

Founded 1979 | 40 employees, david rothstein, ceo.

Phone 1-203-653-4221 www.rtiresearch.com

Founded 2008 | 100+ employees

Andrew cooper, founder and ceo.

Phone 1-312-205-7417 www.addverve.com

Wakefield Research

Founded 2008 | 50 employees, paul bragan, managing partner, nathan richter, managing partner.

Phone 1-888-527-WAKE www.wakefieldresearch.com

Real answers from real respondents on how to create better B2B surveys Related Categories: Business-To-Business, Research Industry, Consumer Research Business-To-Business, Research Industry, Consumer Research, Bus.-To-Bus. Research, Survey Research, Consumers, Incentive Payment & Processing, Marketing Research-General, Respondent Cooperation/Satisfaction

In Case You Missed It...July/August 2024 Related Categories: Research Industry, Consumer Research, CX/UX-Customer/User Experience Research Industry, Consumer Research, CX/UX-Customer/User Experience, Consumers, Psychological/Emotion Research, Shopper Insights, Data Security

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Quirk's Time Capsule – February 2014 Related Categories: Research Industry, Consumer Research Research Industry, Consumer Research, Consumers, Financial/Investment/Banks, Generation Y / Millennials, Marketing Research-General

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Top 20 Market Research Companies

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Discover the market research industry’s leaders with our thorough list of the Top 20 Market Research Companies. These organizations have created a name by providing meaningful and actionable data to businesses trying to remain ahead of the competition. Their ultimate goal is to provide businesses with a thorough grasp of their target audience and the market landscape through various duties ranging from consumer surveys to market analysis. ⚡ Join us as we look closer at the top market research players and discover what sets them apart.

Market Research Analyst What They Do

Market research analysts are the business world’s data detectives. They probe into consumers’ brains, evaluate industry trends, and glean useful insights that assist businesses in making educated decisions. Market research analysts play a significant role regardless of whether you are researching the potential success of a new product launch, exploring customers’ opinions of a brand, or assessing the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors.

These specialists are in high demand across various industries, including research and management, tourism, logistics, and even cryptocurrencies. With a bachelor’s degree in a field such as marketing, business administration, or psychology and a set of technical abilities, market research analysts can transform data into actionable insights that contribute to the success of an organization.

On a normal day, a market research analyst may create data collection instruments, analyze data sets, contribute to marketing strategy, and do product testing and brand research. Utilizing qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, they collect statistical data and replies to comprehend individuals’ views, opinions, and experiences. This extensive and diverse research can assist businesses in several areas, including client acquisition and retention, market analysis, brand positioning, and marketing campaign analysis.

A market research analyst is your best bet if you’re looking for a career that puts your analytical skills, attention to detail, and innovative problem-solving abilities to the test. With a growing demand for their services and many chances for professional advancement, market research analysts are positioned to play a significant part in creating the corporate landscape of the future.

Market Research Analyst Salary

The world of market research is an exciting and dynamic field filled with opportunities to learn, grow, and make a real impact on the business world. A Market Research Analyst plays a crucial role in this industry, helping gather, analyze, and interpret consumer behavior, trends, and market conditions to help companies make informed decisions about their products, services, and marketing strategies.

So, what can you expect from a career as a Market Research Analyst regarding salary? According to recent data, the median salary for this role was $63,920 in 2023. The best-paid 25% of Market Research Analysts earned a whopping $97,600 that year, while the lowest-paid 25% brought in a still-respectable $48,400. These figures show a wide range of earning potential within this field, with plenty of room for growth and advancement. Data based on:

• Market Research Analyst Salary | US News Best Jobs U.S. News & World Report

Whether you’re just starting in your career or looking to make a change, a role as a Market Research Analyst is worth considering. With the right skills, knowledge, and experience, you could be well on your way to a successful and rewarding career in this dynamic and ever-evolving industry.

List of Best 20 Market Research Companies

Many corporations hire special marketing agencies to conduct market research on their products. These are teams that study product value and features to take certain actions to designate how much your service is in demand. In addition, the agency conducts quantitative and qualitative investigations. These are examinations and work with focus groups, in-depth interviews, bulletin boards, promotions, and more. Opportunities of such market research companies are aimed at servicing corporate and medium-sized business clients in diversified fields of activity.

The company conducts market research and offers conferences, digital market evolution, consultation, and consulting services. The team has established itself as responsible, punctual, and reliable people who study each business and create favorable client relations. Significant clients in Stamford, CT, include BBVA, Infosys, ICONIC, and others. Chief is Eugene Hall .

A Group of experts uses modern tools and personal know-how to communicate with potential clients and analyze their sight. The company aims to collect trustworthy information that will lead to better business and improved interaction with the auditory, causing a partnership. The main office is located in Paris; the director is Didier Truchot . More than 5000 customers worldwide: Sopra Steria, ESOMAR, CIESMORI, and others.

Specialists provide the necessary information to give the customer knowledge for well-being. Proactive data acquisition opens more routes to fix mistakes and take your business to the overhead. This is not just consulting; it is an exact mechanism based on artificial intelligence for global analysis. The most prominent clients are Euronics, Kvik, etc.; the central office is in Nuremberg, Bavaria. Wilhelm Vershofen conceived the company’s concept, and six specialists now manage it.

The team of this market research company provides you with high-quality data collection and analysis and shares the latest innovations in the field of working with information. Business would be strengthened and could grow due to the new customer touchpoints. Achievements and innovative strategies have allowed the agency to cooperate with clients like Adobe, Google, Yahoo, and Pinterest. President is Kirk Perry ; the company is headquartered in Chicago.

Dynata offers a variety of advertising, insights, and information products. The group of experts does not just analyze; it is a different set of actions and proposals to simplify, standardize, and automate any field of activity. The agency’s clients are small companies and large corporations: Nestle, Spotify, Verizon, etc. The main office is located in Dallas, Texas. It was founded in 1999 by Hal Brierley and Mort Meyerson, but its first name was E-Rewards.

Marketing Maven

The company’s experts offer integrated marketing, web portal rehabilitation, multi-channel company integration, and more. Take business to the next level with higher profitability and more customers. Expand capabilities with customized strategies and operations. President is Robin Behar ; head offices are in Los Angeles and New York. Clients are Umbro, Relizen, Kingston Technologies, HPRA, etc.

The agency helps you get investigation results directly from clients. You use this data to refine your business. Experts help you comprehend whether consumers need your product, website or service and what opportunities should be corrected to increase demand. The firm’s customers are PayPal, I.B.M., Coplex, and others. The principal office is in Alexandria, VA, Sarah Weise’s founder.

STAM Research

The company’s main principle – business prosperity lies in its clients. Experts offer market research for different fields of activity so that customers get more data about the need for their products. A team of connoisseurs goes deep into each project to bring it to enhancement. Founder of the agency Yasen Stamatov , head office is in Sofia City, Bulgaria. Clients are Paralect, Flow X.O., and others.

The agency defines market research through unusual strategies. Experts for over 20 years have involved customers in the middle of business. All research is economical and efficient, so you do not have to reduce the product’s price and raise its attractiveness by other means. The company’s founder is Tony Lewis; offices are in London, Midlands, and Northern. The firm’s clients are Coca-Cola, Tui, Kettle Foods, etc.

Fellowship, novelty, and consumer trust create a bond between your business and customers. Get meticulous product studies and their relevance among potential customers. 2Europe provides itemized information and global B2B insight to improve operations and reach more people. The company’s clients are Panasonic, Siemens, and others. The office is in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, and Rob Weisner’s headmaster.

The company works with large and large companies, promotes startups, and looks for varied marketing and intelligent solutions for the welfare of any business. Specialists help advertise products and carry them to multiple markets. The team helps at all stages of development, from the initial level to full scaling. The founder is Vlad Sapozhnykov; the head office is in Dnipro, Ukraine. Adloonix clients contain Ghent Altarpiece, YouPerfect, Toleap, and others.

Adept Research

These are real professionals in the field of B2B market investigation. The group helps you understand how perspicaciously you know customers and create an encouraging, almost friendly relationship with them. Many years of attempts, innovative approaches, and strategies will show your other product’s appearance so that it is the only person’s needs. The founder is Duncan Buchanan ; the agency is headquartered in Kew, Australia. Clients are Cambridge University Press, Pharmore Pharmacies, MARS, and others.

The Yard Creative

Become a true pro in your business, and make the product unique. The company’s team will help bring your product to a new level with advertising, research, strategy, and physical frame possibilities. Clients are NIKE, A.R.M. Holding, Max Factor, etc. The main office is in London; the founder is Steve James-Royle .

Visiongain Limited

The company helps to discern the critical points of business to mend them. Each project is the attentive work of specialists in the market research process: advertising, market investigation, strategies, analysis of client necessities, and so on. The agency’s office is in London; the leader is Spencer Glover. Clients are Bayer, Pfizer, Shell, and others.

RTi Research

A group of experts offers innovative tools for more detailed market analysis. These are not just your friends; this is an extension of your team to go to success together. The bureau founders are Mel Rothstein and Richard Tauber, headquartered in Norwalk, CT. But at the moment, it is managed by David Rothstein . The firm’s clients are ICON, T2, Pega, and others.

Bellomy Research

The company offers an entire construction of the market research process steps. You receive comprehensive information that is analyzed by a team of experienced professionals. This collects traditional, behavioral, and operational data from various sources in social networks. The Head office is in Winston-Salem, NC. The agency’s clients are Gundersen Health System, Entergy, and others. The founder of this full-service market intelligence company is Lacy Bellomy.

This agency is a hybrid, combining advanced technology with market analysis. The group uses various strategies to provide the company with accentuated information about the benefits of its product and people’s reactions to it. Susan Schwartz McDonald took over the company in 2004 and is headquartered in Philadelphia, PA. Clients go from sports, technology, government, and so on.

Chadwick Martin Bailey

This agency uses strategies, the best-advanced analytics, people psychology, and market methodology to implement various business plans. Bring your activities to the pinnacle of success by getting consummate information about the potential audience and product. The office is in Boston, MA, and Anne Berman is its co-founder. Clients are Meta, Dell, Amazon, etc.

The Link Group

The company’s task is to carefully study the business to delve into its heart and identify weak characteristics against pro-market research. The team uses diverse methods and instruments to complete every project perfectly. The founders are Tom Pfeil & Brad Camrud; the major office is in Atlanta, GA. The firm works in technology, telecom, energy, transportation, and others.

A Group of experts creates a common picture of business based on data collection in different directions. First, get the necessary information and take action to improve your business. Then, the company puts on your shoes to detect and apply the most optimal decisions for the company’s elaboration. Main office is in Livonia, MI; its CEO is Melissa Sauter . Clients are YouTube, Intel, Delta, etc.

Examples of Reports Marketing Research

The Europe Plant Protein Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.80% between 2023 and 2028, reaching a value of USD 4.33 billion by 2028. The market is growing because plant proteins are becoming more popular. People are switching quickly to plant-based diets because they are becoming more interested in veganism. Another key driver is the growing demand for functional and clean-label food products high in plant-based ingredients. In addition, the thriving food and beverage sector in well-developed economies such as the UK, France, and Germany, supported by rising disposable income and increasing urban population, is also a key market trend. Based on source, the market is segmented into plant sources like algae, soy, wheat, pea, potato, and more. By application, the market is classified into food and beverages, animal feed, and supplements. The comprehensive report provides an in-depth market assessment, including a SWOT analysis and a competitive landscape of key players like DuPont de Nemours, BENEO, A.D.M. Specialty Ingredients, Arla Foods, Cargill, and others. Based on the source, the potato segment holds a healthy market share. In contrast, the food and beverage segment holds a significant share based on application.

Exploring Market Research Mastery: Unveiling the Giants of the Industry

In the competitive expanse of market research, a handful of firms have consistently distinguished themselves as industry giants. These powerhouses – hailing from various global hubs like N.Y.C., Mumbai, and Hong Kong – are not just large in scale but influential trendsetters in data-driven decision-making. These top market research companies stand out for their exceptional ability to tailor their services to diverse industry needs, ranging from tech to consumer packaged goods (C.P.G.).

Key to their success is a blend of technological prowess and human insight. Whether it’s a tech giant in Silicon Valley or a manufacturing behemoth, these firms provide unparalleled insights. They are not merely data suppliers but strategic partners that help organizations navigate complex market dynamics. This has made them indispensable to businesses in sectors as varied as healthcare, finance, and retail. The spectrum of services offered by these industry leaders is vast and varied:

• Custom Research Solutions: Tailored to meet specific client needs, these bespoke services help businesses tackle unique challenges and leverage opportunities.
• Syndicated Research: Offering cost-effective, comprehensive insights, these studies are valuable for understanding broader market trends.
• Advanced Analytics: Leveraging cutting-edge tech, these companies provide deep dives into data, offering actionable insights.
• Consultancy Services: Beyond data, these firms offer strategic guidance to help businesses optimize their market position.

Among these titans, certain names resonate with particular strength. From Kolkata to Chennai, these market research mavens are not just the biggest but also the most innovative, constantly evolving to meet the ever-changing needs of a dynamic business world. Their ability to combine traditional research methods with modern analytics positions them uniquely in the landscape, making them not just service providers but crucial business allies.

The top 20 market research companies have combined millions in revenue, with thousands of employees globally (U.S.A., E.U., etc.) working tirelessly to deliver quality research services. These companies have a percentage of their operations outside the U.S., catering to international clients in the entertainment, retail, financial, and media industries. The companies have expert consultants, advisors, and analysts who develop, execute and optimize research strategies that help drive strategic communication. These market research companies use a combination of scientific, design, and financial perspectives to tackle complex research challenges, connecting with clients to build relationships and engage in meaningful business discussions. They benchmark their services and continuously improve to ensure they deliver value to their clients. By combining qualitative & quantitative methodologies, such as hypothesis testing, segmentation, measurement, and data analysis, they help their clients navigate the complex business landscape. The journey to success in the market research industry is a continuous process of innovation and optimization. Companies strive to combine the best resources and platforms to deliver unparalleled services. With their deep expertise in the field, the top 20 market research companies are a valuable resource for businesses looking to drive growth.

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Where to Get the Best Stock Research

Forget Wall Street’s calls. We tell you which newsletters and Web sites are the most helpful.

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Unless picking stocks is your full-time job, you can probably use some help finding attractive opportunities or getting a feel for what makes a company tick. But with everyone from Jim Cramer to your broker vying for your attention, you face a surfeit of options.

How to Be a Better Stock Investor

As with choosing an adviser, the key to finding good stock research is to identify an outfit that shares your investment philosophy, says Robert Stammers, director of investor education for the CFA Institute, which administers the chartered financial analyst designation. “You’re using them to reduce time and effort, so you need to find someone who thinks the same way and asks the same questions you do.” Here are our reviews of a few sources you may be considering.

Wall Street Research

This is also called sell-side research because it’s produced by investment banks, which sell securities to clients. In general, you should disregard the “buy,” “sell” and “hold” ratings of sell-side analysts. Their compensation is often tied to the fees their firms earn for trades on stocks an analyst covers (the hotter a stock, the more clients want to trade it). Plus, analysts often follow their employer’s investment-banking clients. Those considerations may lead to unwarranted bullishness or cause an analyst to pull his punches when the facts might otherwise dictate a bleaker view.

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But analysts’ profit estimates are helpful when figuring a stock’s price-earnings ratio. Moreover, revisions to estimates can provide an indicator of how informed players see a company’s business prospects changing. You can find data on estimates free at Yahoo Finance .

Independent Research

This category includes firms that offer access to their reports on a subscription basis or through discount brokers. S&P Capital IQ , formerly known as Standard & Poor’s, tracks 1,600 stocks. Its reports reach some 20 million people, including clients of many discount brokers. S&P analysts seek companies with strong growth prospects that also trade for meaningful discounts to the analysts’ price targets, says Stephen Biggar, S&P Capital IQ’s global director of stock research. “We try to provide the basis for our opinion in a way that leaves the reader with a good understanding of the company,” he says.

Reports from Argus Research are also ubiquitous among discount brokers. Rather than boil the ocean, Argus focuses on 450 U.S. stocks, including the largest 200 companies by market value and about 250 stocks “that clients are asking about,” such as Facebook and LinkedIn , says president John Eade. Analysts use a six-step process that begins by examining the outlook for the economy and a firm’s industry. They then study a firm’s business model, financial strength and management, analyze the risks and conclude by looking at a stock’s price.

A premium subscription to Morningstar gets you access to reports on 1,800 companies. In the spirit of Warren Buffett , Morningstar’s analysts favor com­panies with a wide “moat,” or defensible advantage, and stocks that sell at a discount to a firm’s true worth, which they estimate by forecasting future cash flows. Morningstar says that since it started rating stocks in June 2002 through July 31, wide-moat companies with “buy” ratings returned 17.8% a year, compared with 5.6% for Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index. Among stocks fitting the bill today are Cisco Systems , Martin Marietta Materials and Western Union.

For a quick study, it’s hard to top the Value Line Investment Survey , which reduces its analysts’ research on about 1,700 stocks down to one-page summaries that contain a dazzling array of numbers and succinct commentary. In addition to offering its analysts’ opinions, Value Line spits out Time­liness Rankings, which factor in earnings trends and stock-price movements. The top 100 names represent Value Line’s best ideas for stock-price results over the next six to 12 months. Over the past decade, the top picks gained an average of 3.6% annualized.

Newsletters

Mark Hulbert, who produces the Hulbert Financial Digest, has been tracking investing newsletters for decades. Among the 180 letters he follows, The Prudent Speculator is a top pick for long-term perform­ance. Its recommendations have returned 10.6% annualized over the past ten years. John Buckingham, who also manages the Al Frank Fund, edits Speculator. He assumed the solo lead role at the fund and the newsletter when founder Al Frank died in 2002. Buckingham looks for stocks that are cheap according to such measures as price to earnings, sales and book value (assets minus liabilities).

Hulbert also maintains an honor roll of newsletters that have produced above-average returns in both bull and bear markets for more than ten years. Investor Advisory Service is the top performer since Hulbert created the list in 1998; it has returned 10.2% annualized over the past ten years, compared with 6.3% annualized for the S&P 500.

The newsletter is published by ICLUBcentral, which also sells stock analysis software to investment clubs, but its analysis comes from Seger-Elvekrog, a money manager based in Novi, Mich., that oversees about $300 million. Scott Horsburgh, president of Seger-Elvekrog, says his team looks for firms with sustainable, double-digit earnings growth and stocks whose P/Es are below their long-term average P/Es. The aim is to pick stocks that can double in five years. “We look often and buy seldom,” he says.

Another top performer on Hulbert’s honor roll is Zacks Premium. The letter’s strategy is based on research by CEO Leonard Zacks, who found 30 years ago that stocks tended to perform well when analysts raised earnings estimates for the underlying companies and typically performed poorly when analysts trimmed profit forecasts. In addition, when quarterly earnings top or trail estimates, the trend is likely to repeat in the next quarter, causing the stock to rise when profits beat estimates or fall when they lag them. Zacks Investment Research’s 85 analysts bird-dog brokerage analysts’ estimates and earnings surprises to produce a portfolio of up to 100 stocks. The letter’s picks returned 9.7% annualized over the past ten years.

Web Resources

David Jackson, founder and CEO of Seeking Alpha , says too many sources of stock research underestimate the intelligence of their readers by assuming their audience needs to be told what to think. “There are always two sides to any stock story,” he says. “There are bulls and bears.” His Web site tries to provide investors with a broad range of perspectives, “so they’re empowered to make up their minds.”

Points of view abound. This is a great place to get a sense of how other investors view a company’s fortes and foibles. Jackson thinks the writing on the site is more compelling than other sources because Seeking Alpha’s authors have real money at stake on the ideas they share (writers must disclose any positions relevant to a post, although the site is limited in how stringently it can enforce this). Seeking Alpha also offers free transcripts of conference calls that company officials hold after releasing quarterly earnings reports. The calls are a great source for getting a sense of the boss’s own expectations.

For the self-directed investor, little can beat the comprehensiveness and depth of Yahoo Finance . Fan Barry Ritholtz, author of The Big Picture blog , says he can still remember the dinosaur age when instead of sailing through a few clicks, investors had to thumb through a physical tome to find analysts’ estimates, biggest shareholders and other facts about a company. “Yahoo Finance has a ridiculous amount of information in one space,” he says. “It’s mind-blowing how much stuff is free.”

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9 Best Marketing Research Methods to Know Your Buyer Better [+ Examples]

Published: August 08, 2024

One of the most underrated skills you can have as a marketer is marketing research — which is great news for this unapologetic cyber sleuth.

From brand design and product development to buyer personas and competitive analysis, I’ve researched a number of initiatives in my decade-long marketing career.

And let me tell you: having the right marketing research methods in your toolbox is a must.

Market research is the secret to crafting a strategy that will truly help you accomplish your goals. The good news is there is no shortage of options.

How to Choose a Marketing Research Method

Thanks to the Internet, we have more marketing research (or market research) methods at our fingertips than ever, but they’re not all created equal. Let’s quickly go over how to choose the right one.

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1. Identify your objective.

What are you researching? Do you need to understand your audience better? How about your competition? Or maybe you want to know more about your customer’s feelings about a specific product.

Before starting your research, take some time to identify precisely what you’re looking for. This could be a goal you want to reach, a problem you need to solve, or a question you need to answer.

For example, an objective may be as foundational as understanding your ideal customer better to create new buyer personas for your marketing agency (pause for flashbacks to my former life).

Or if you’re an organic sode company, it could be trying to learn what flavors people are craving.

2. Determine what type of data and research you need.

Next, determine what data type will best answer the problems or questions you identified. There are primarily two types: qualitative and quantitative. (Sound familiar, right?)

• Qualitative Data is non-numerical information, like subjective characteristics, opinions, and feelings. It’s pretty open to interpretation and descriptive, but it’s also harder to measure. This type of data can be collected through interviews, observations, and open-ended questions.
• Quantitative Data , on the other hand, is numerical information, such as quantities, sizes, amounts, or percentages. It’s measurable and usually pretty hard to argue with, coming from a reputable source. It can be derived through surveys, experiments, or statistical analysis.

Understanding the differences between qualitative and quantitative data will help you pinpoint which research methods will yield the desired results.

For instance, thinking of our earlier examples, qualitative data would usually be best suited for buyer personas, while quantitative data is more useful for the soda flavors.

However, truth be told, the two really work together.

Qualitative conclusions are usually drawn from quantitative, numerical data. So, you’ll likely need both to get the complete picture of your subject.

For example, if your quantitative data says 70% of people are Team Black and only 30% are Team Green — Shout out to my fellow House of the Dragon fans — your qualitative data will say people support Black more than Green.

(As they should.)

Primary Research vs Secondary Research

You’ll also want to understand the difference between primary and secondary research.

Primary research involves collecting new, original data directly from the source (say, your target market). In other words, it’s information gathered first-hand that wasn’t found elsewhere.

Some examples include conducting experiments, surveys, interviews, observations, or focus groups.

Meanwhile, secondary research is the analysis and interpretation of existing data collected from others. Think of this like what we used to do for school projects: We would read a book, scour the internet, or pull insights from others to work from.

So, which is better?

Personally, I say any research is good research, but if you have the time and resources, primary research is hard to top. With it, you don’t have to worry about your source's credibility or how relevant it is to your specific objective.

You are in full control and best equipped to get the reliable information you need.

3. Put it all together.

Once you know your objective and what kind of data you want, you’re ready to select your marketing research method.

For instance, let’s say you’re a restaurant trying to see how attendees felt about the Speed Dating event you hosted last week.

You shouldn’t run a field experiment or download a third-party report on speed dating events; those would be useless to you. You need to conduct a survey that allows you to ask pointed questions about the event.

This would yield both qualitative and quantitative data you can use to improve and bring together more love birds next time around.

Best Market Research Methods for 2024

Now that you know what you’re looking for in a marketing research method, let’s dive into the best options.

Note: According to HubSpot’s 2024 State of Marketing report, understanding customers and their needs is one of the biggest challenges facing marketers today. The options we discuss are great consumer research methodologies , but they can also be used for other areas.

Primary Research

1. interviews.

Interviews are a form of primary research where you ask people specific questions about a topic or theme. They typically deliver qualitative information.

I’ve conducted many interviews for marketing purposes, but I’ve also done many for journalistic purposes, like this profile on comedian Zarna Garg . There’s no better way to gather candid, open-ended insights in my book, but that doesn’t mean they’re a cure-all.

What I like: Real-time conversations allow you to ask different questions if you’re not getting the information you need. They also push interviewees to respond quickly, which can result in more authentic answers.

What I dislike: They can be time-consuming and harder to measure (read: get quantitative data) unless you ask pointed yes or no questions.

Best for: Creating buyer personas or getting feedback on customer experience, a product, or content.

2. Focus Groups

Focus groups are similar to conducting interviews but on a larger scale.

In marketing and business, this typically means getting a small group together in a room (or Zoom), asking them questions about various topics you are researching. You record and/or observe their responses to then take action.

They are ideal for collecting long-form, open-ended feedback, and subjective opinions.

One well-known focus group you may remember was run by Domino’s Pizza in 2009 .

After poor ratings and dropping over $100 million in revenue, the brand conducted focus groups with real customers to learn where they could have done better.

It was met with comments like “worst excuse for pizza I’ve ever had” and “the crust tastes like cardboard.” But rather than running from the tough love, it took the hit and completely overhauled its recipes.

The team admitted their missteps and returned to the market with better food and a campaign detailing their “Pizza Turn Around.”

The result? The brand won a ton of praise for its willingness to take feedback, efforts to do right by its consumers, and clever campaign. But, most importantly, revenue for Domino’s rose by 14.3% over the previous year.

The brand continues to conduct focus groups and share real footage from them in its promotion:

What I like: Similar to interviewing, you can dig deeper and pivot as needed due to the real-time nature. They’re personal and detailed.

What I dislike: Once again, they can be time-consuming and make it difficult to get quantitative data. There is also a chance some participants may overshadow others.

Best for: Product research or development

Pro tip: Need help planning your focus group? Our free Market Research Kit includes a handy template to start organizing your thoughts in addition to a SWOT Analysis Template, Survey Template, Focus Group Template, Presentation Template, Five Forces Industry Analysis Template, and an instructional guide for all of them. Download yours here now.

3. Surveys or Polls

Surveys are a form of primary research where individuals are asked a collection of questions. It can take many different forms.

They could be in person, over the phone or video call, by email, via an online form, or even on social media. Questions can be also open-ended or closed to deliver qualitative or quantitative information.

A great example of a close-ended survey is HubSpot’s annual State of Marketing .

In the State of Marketing, HubSpot asks marketing professionals from around the world a series of multiple-choice questions to gather data on the state of the marketing industry and to identify trends.

The survey covers various topics related to marketing strategies, tactics, tools, and challenges that marketers face. It aims to provide benchmarks to help you make informed decisions about your marketing.

It also helps us understand where our customers’ heads are so we can better evolve our products to meet their needs.

Apple is no stranger to surveys, either.

In 2011, the tech giant launched Apple Customer Pulse , which it described as “an online community of Apple product users who provide input on a variety of subjects and issues concerning Apple.”

"For example, we did a large voluntary survey of email subscribers and top readers a few years back."

While these readers gave us a long list of topics, formats, or content types they wanted to see, they sometimes engaged more with content types they didn’t select or favor as much on the surveys when we ran follow-up ‘in the wild’ tests, like A/B testing.”  

Pepsi saw similar results when it ran its iconic field experiment, “The Pepsi Challenge” for the first time in 1975.

The beverage brand set up tables at malls, beaches, and other public locations and ran a blindfolded taste test. Shoppers were given two cups of soda, one containing Pepsi, the other Coca-Cola (Pepsi’s biggest competitor). They were then asked to taste both and report which they preferred.

People overwhelmingly preferred Pepsi, and the brand has repeated the experiment multiple times over the years to the same results.

What I like: It yields qualitative and quantitative data and can make for engaging marketing content, especially in the digital age.

What I dislike: It can be very time-consuming. And, if you’re not careful, there is a high risk for scientific error.

Best for: Product testing and competitive analysis

Pro tip:  " Don’t make critical business decisions off of just one data set," advises Pamela Bump. "Use the survey, competitive intelligence, external data, or even a focus group to give you one layer of ideas or a short-list for improvements or solutions to test. Then gather your own fresh data to test in an experiment or trial and better refine your data-backed strategy."

Secondary Research

8. public domain or third-party research.

While original data is always a plus, there are plenty of external resources you can access online and even at a library when you’re limited on time or resources.

Some reputable resources you can use include:

• Pew Research Center
• McKinley Global Institute
• Relevant Global or Government Organizations (i.e United Nations or NASA)

It’s also smart to turn to reputable organizations that are specific to your industry or field. For instance, if you’re a gardening or landscaping company, you may want to pull statistics from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

If you’re a digital marketing agency, you could look to Google Research or HubSpot Research . (Hey, I know them!)

What I like: You can save time on gathering data and spend more time on analyzing. You can also rest assured the data is from a source you trust.

What I dislike: You may not find data specific to your needs.

Best for: Companies under a time or resource crunch, adding factual support to content

Pro tip: Fellow HubSpotter Iskiev suggests using third-party data to inspire your original research. “Sometimes, I use public third-party data for ideas and inspiration. Once I have written my survey and gotten all my ideas out, I read similar reports from other sources and usually end up with useful additions for my own research.”

9. Buy Research

If the data you need isn’t available publicly and you can’t do your own market research, you can also buy some. There are many reputable analytics companies that offer subscriptions to access their data. Statista is one of my favorites, but there’s also Euromonitor , Mintel , and BCC Research .

What I like: Same as public domain research

What I dislike: You may not find data specific to your needs. It also adds to your expenses.

Best for: Companies under a time or resource crunch or adding factual support to content

Which marketing research method should you use?

You’re not going to like my answer, but “it depends.” The best marketing research method for you will depend on your objective and data needs, but also your budget and timeline.

My advice? Aim for a mix of quantitative and qualitative data. If you can do your own original research, awesome. But if not, don’t beat yourself up. Lean into free or low-cost tools . You could do primary research for qualitative data, then tap public sources for quantitative data. Or perhaps the reverse is best for you.

Whatever your marketing research method mix, take the time to think it through and ensure you’re left with information that will truly help you achieve your goals.

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These AI firms publish the world’s most highly cited work

• Elizabeth Gibney

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Google’s parent company Alphabet has published the world’s most highly cited papers in AI. Credit: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty

US tech giants Alphabet and Microsoft produce more highly cited research papers on artificial intelligence (AI) than any other company — but Chinese firms Baidu and Tencent are ahead on patents.

That’s according to PARAT , the Private-sector AI-Related Activity Tracker, a tool run by the Emerging Technology Observatory (ETO). The tool gathers data on AI trends and has received a major update.

PARAT’s update includes data on the number of AI jobs at companies, as well as publication and patent outputs. AI research and its products — in particular generative models that create text and images — have become big business. Governments are working out how to regulate the technology as it disrupts industries and raises safety questions .

How does ChatGPT ‘think’? Psychology and neuroscience crack open AI large language models

In a field where cutting-edge research happens as much in industry as it does in universities, monitoring commercial activity is important, says Ngor Luong, who tracks AI investment and corporate activities at the Center for Security and Emerging Technology, a think tank focusing on AI at Georgetown University in Washington DC, which hosts the ETO. Companies are at the forefront of innovation in AI, she says.

International expertise

The data show that large Chinese firms are very competitive in AI, including when adjusting for the quality of the work produced, says Zachary Arnold, lead analyst at the observatory. Three Chinese tech giants — Tencent, Alibaba and Huawei — feature in the top ten when companies are sorted by the number of highly cited AI papers and preprints (see ‘AI giants’). “There’s still a bias here in DC, and probably elsewhere, that China is big and can produce a lot, but it’s not really in the top tier,” says Arnold. However, the ETO calculates multiple quality-adjusted metrics and Chinese companies are “putting up impressive numbers” for these, he says.

Source: PARAT/ETO

The most cited paper in all AI research, according to PARAT data, is a 2017 paper 1 entitled ‘ Attention is all you need ’. The work is by US-based researchers at Alphabet subsidiary Google and is famous for describing the ‘transformer’ architecture that now underlies many generative AI models. One highly cited example including authors from China is a paper 2 called ‘ ICNet for Real-Time Semantic Segmentation on High-Resolution Images ’, co-authored by researchers at Tencent, which describes an improved method for identifying objects in images.

US firms account for just three of the ten companies that have filed the most AI patents over the past decade — the rest are in China, Germany and South Korea. The Chinese government has long incentivized patenting, but in the past few years there has been a drive against doing so gratuitously, adds Luong.

Top employers

The data also highlight the diversity of the sector, says Arnold. There is a long tail of firms well beyond the ‘big five’ companies — Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft. And when ranked by highly cited AI research, famous names such as OpenAI and Apple appear alongside companies less known for their AI innovation, such as Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi and US entertainment firm Disney. Luong points out that PARAT’s paper and patent data go up to only the end of 2023, so they miss recent developments.

Other metrics reveal sometimes overlooked AI activity, says Arnold. PARAT now includes figures on the number of AI jobs at a company, a metric based on data from the social-media platform LinkedIn, which are most accurate for US firms. It reveals companies with “a critical mass of talent in AI”, he says. Amazon tops the table by this measure with 14,000 jobs, but is closely followed by multinational consulting firm Accenture. Large consulting companies now act as ‘guns for hire’ for AI projects at other firms and in government, says Arnold.

It is important to be able to examine companies’ activities through a variety of lenses, he adds. “We saw a lot of discussion around ‘who’s ahead in AI?’ We’re data nerds and we know there’s many different types of data you can use to answer that question, and it doesn’t always point in exactly the same direction.”

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-02515-1

Vaswani, A. et al. Proc. 31st Int. Conf. Neural Inf. Proc. Sys . 6000–6010 (2017).

Zhao, H., Qi, X., Shen, X., Shi, J. & Jia, J. In Computer Vision — ECCV 2018 (eds Ferrari, V., Hebert, M., Sminchisescu, C. & Weiss, Y.) Lecture Notes in Computer Science vol. 11207, 418–434 (Springer, 2018).

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Top Pharma Companies

Johnson & johnson, 20 top pharmaceutical companies.

Pfizer is a global pharmaceutical and biotech company best known for developing the first FDA-authorized Covid-19 vaccine. Founded in 1849, the New York City-based company specializes in the development and production of drugs, vaccines and therapies for disease treatment and prevention as well as overall wellness. Well-known medications like the antidepressant Zoloft and the antibiotic Zithromax are a part of its product pipeline, which also includes treatments for metastatic breast cancer, heart failure, ulcerative colitis, atopic dermatitis and sickle cell disease.

Headquartered in Switzerland, Novartis is a multinational pharmaceutical company developing medicine through five different biotherapeutic platforms . The company has championed breakthrough treatments in cardiovascular, renal, metabolism, immunology, neuroscience and oncology. Operating in over 150 countries, Novartis’ therapeutics treat 800 million patients worldwide.

Roche, short for F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, develops pharmaceutical and diagnostic solutions while delivering personalized healthcare to more than 28 million patients every year. It’s recognized as one of the world’s largest drugmakers in cancer treatment, with over 30 medicines named by the World Health Organization as essential medicines. The Swiss company’s top selling products include multiple sclerosis therapy Ocrevus, blood clotting medication Hemlibra and Perjeta, an antibody used to treat metastatic breast cancer.

Johnson & Johnson is a multinational corporation that sells consumer healthcare products, manufactures pharmaceuticals and develops medical devices. Pharmaceuticals make up more than half of the New Jersey-based company’s total sales, which reached 95 billion in 2023 . In addition to Listerine, Band Aids and disposable contact lenses, Johnson & Johnson’s portfolio includes innovative antiretroviral drugs that treat HIV, cancer therapies and the only single-shot vaccine for Covid-19.

Sanofi is the world’s largest producer of vaccines, currently protecting half a billion people around the world. The company is known for delivering the first injectable polio vaccine. It was also the first to vaccinate influenza, meningitis and rabies. Today, the Parisian company operates in over 90 countries, developing therapies across several sectors, including diabetes, cardiovascular and rare diseases as well as oncology, immunology, multiple sclerosis and rare blood disorders.

GSK , formerly known as GlaxoSmithKline, is a London-based biopharma company that specializes in the development and production of innovative medicines, vaccines and over-the-counter healthcare products. Founded in 2000, the company primarily focuses its attention across four core areas: infectious diseases, HIV, respiratory and immuno-inflammation therapies as well as oncology. GSK is known for developing the first malaria vaccine.

Headquartered in New Jersey, Merck is a global pharma company that has developed prescription medicines and vaccines for more than 130 years. Its product portfolio includes the world’s top selling drug, Keytruda, an immune modulator for the treatment of cancer that raked in $25 billion in sales in 2023 , and vaccines to protect patients from measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox, as well as HPV-blocker Gardasil.

Research-based biopharma company AbbVie spun off of medical device company Abbott Laboratories in 2013. It operates in over 70 countries and — working with universities, nonprofits, local governments and biotech startups — has created a legacy of developing advanced therapies for complex and serious health conditions. Its flagship product, Humira, treats a variety of autoimmune diseases. Other well-known Abbvie products include antidepressants Celexa and Lexapro, Loestrin birth control pills and potent pain reliever Norco. About 50 million people are treated by Abbvie’s products every year.

AstraZeneca

Headquartered in Cambridge, AstraZeneca is a global biopharma company that specializes in the development of innovative medicines across oncology, cardiovascular, renal, metabolic and respiratory diseases. Its invention of lidocaine put the company on the map in 1948. More recently, AstraZeneca gained global esteem for developing a Covid-19 vaccine in collaboration with the University of Oxford. Its beginning can be credited to a group of Swedish doctors and apothecaries that banded together in 1913, forming the beginnings of AstraZeneca, which now operates in more than 60 countries.

Eli Lilly and Company

Eli Lilly is an Indiana-based pharma company that was founded in 1876 and named after a chemist who served in the Union army during the American Civil War. The company was the first to mass produce the polio vaccine and commercialize insulin for diabetes treatment. Today, it conducts research in over 55 countries, and focuses on developing therapies for diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer's and pain relief. Some of its top selling products include antidepressants Prozac and Cymbalta, as well as erectile dysfunction medicine Cialis.

Novo Nordisk

Danish multinational pharma company Novo Nordisk develops drugs for diabetes, hemophilia and hormone-replacement therapy. The company has production sites in 16 different countries, with research and development centers in 10 countries. Its main product is a drug known as Semaglutide, sold under the brand name Ozempic and Wegovy, which is used to treat diabetes and obesity, respectively.

Bristol Myers Squibb

Bristol Myers Squibb is a New Jersey-based biopharma company that develops therapies across oncology, hematology, immunology, cardiovascular and neuroscience. It has over 55 compounds in development , and is testing new drugs in more than 40 different disease areas. Bristol Myers Squibb has partnered with other major players in the space, including Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Pfizer.

Headquartered in Tokyo, Takeda is a biopharma company with a legacy that stretches all the way back to 1781. It’s credited with selling some of the first proton pump inhibitors, designed to quell heartburn. With 200-plus collaborations across the globe, the company innovates across four core areas: oncology, rare genetics and hematology, neuroscience and gastroenterology. Takeda also claims to be one of the world’s top three plasma organizations, with more than 20 plasma-derived therapies and a network of plasma collection centers across the globe.

Amgen is a California-based biopharma company that uses artificial intelligence and generative biology to innovative biologic therapies for serious illnesses. Founded in 1980, its key areas of focus span oncology, cardiovascular disease, nephrology and inflammation, with top selling products like TNF inhibitor Enbrel used to treat autoimmune diseases and Repatha for cholesterol management. Today, Amgen products are sold in over 100 countries. 

Gilead Sciences, Inc

Gilead Sciences is a research-based biopharma company that develops antiviral drugs designed to treat life-threatening conditions, such as HIV and AIDs, hepatitis C and influenza. The company is responsible for developing remdesivir, an antiviral used to treat severe cases of Covid-19. Through its Patient Assistance Program , Gilead has provided access to no-cost treatment for thousands of people in the U.S. who are without insurance, while reducing its prices for HIV and AIDs medications in more than 130 low-to-middle-income countries.

Bayer is a global pharma and biotech company headquartered in Germany that sells health and nutrition products. It made its mark as the original creator of aspirin, first marketed in 1899. Bayer is also responsible for over-the-counter household products like MiraLAX, Claritin, Alka-Seltzer, Midol and Aleve. In biotech, Bayer develops genetically modified, high-value seeds, regenerative farming and sustainable practices within crop science.

Boehringer Ingelheim

Germany-based biopharma company Boehringer Ingelheim delivers prescription medication, therapies, vaccines and healthcare products for both humans and animals. It also acts as a contract manufacturer that fulfills the full production lifecycle of biologics and brings them to market. Its key treatment areas are cardiovascular, respiratory, metabolic, oncology, immunology and the central nervous system. Boehringer Ingelheim has about 90 clinical and preclinical in its projects pipeline, with the potential to deliver up to 20 new therapies over the next seven years.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals is a Boston-based biopharma company that develops drugs for the treatment of serious and life-threatening conditions. With the majority of its staff dedicated to research and development, the company is determined to deliver therapies for some of the hardest to treat viral infections, inflammatory and autoimmune disorders and cancers, like sickle cell disease and genetic blood disorder beta thalassemia. In 2024 Time named Vertex one of its TIME100 Most Influential Companies.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals is a New York-based biotech company that’s founded and led by physician-scientists. Its primary focus is developing medicine to treat serious and life-threatening diseases within the areas of ophthalmology, immunology, oncology, cardiovascular, metabolic, neurology and hematology, as well as rare and infectious diseases. To date, the company has 12 FDA-approved or authorized medicines with about 35 product candidates in clinical and preclinical development.

Sun Pharmaceutical

Sun Pharmaceutical is the largest pharma company in India . Headquartered in Mumbai, the global pharma company manufactures and sells formulations and active pharmaceutical ingredients to over 100 countries. Its product portfolio also includes specialty and generic medications, over-the-counter products and antiretrovirals that can be delivered in a variety of dosage forms, from tablets and creams to injectables and inhalers. Sun Pharma sells over 30 billion doses of its products every year.

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Best Healthcare Stocks of August 2024

Updated: Jul 30, 2024, 8:22pm

Healthcare stocks belong to companies that develop pharmaceuticals, manufacture medical devices or provide medical care or health insurance.

The sector’s strong numbers appeal to many investors: Health spending accounted for almost 18% of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) at the end of 2019, and it’s expected to top $6 trillion annually by 2028.

If those numbers have you ready to load up on healthcare stocks, you’ve got thousands of options. To help you cut through the noise in your research, these are the 10 top healthcare stocks by market capitalization.

Why you can trust Forbes Advisor

Our editors are committed to bringing you unbiased ratings and information. Our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and companies, so all are measured equally. You can read more about our editorial guidelines and the investing methodology for the ratings below.

• 138 stocks analyzed
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Eli Lilly and Co (LLY)

Novo nordisk a/s (nvo), unitedhealth group inc (unh).

• Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)
• Merck & Co Inc (MRK)
• Roche Holding AG (RHHBY)

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (TMO)

Danaher corp (dhr), abbott laboratories (abt), pfizer inc (pfe), types of healthcare stocks, advantages of investing in healthcare stocks, risks of investing in healthcare stocks, how to buy healthcare stocks.

$794 billion

Dividend Yield

10-Year Avg. Annualized Return

Indiana-based pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly employs more than 34,000 employees across 18 countries and sells its products in 120 different countries. The company was founded in 1876 by Colonel Eli Lilly, who was a veteran of the Civil War. One of the first products it developed was quinine, a medication used to treat malaria.

$609 billion

Headquartered in Bagsværd, Denmark, Novo Nordisk is led by CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, who also serves as vice president elect of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), of which Novo is a member.

Currently, Novo employs more than 45,000 people and sells its wares in over 160 countries. It has also been named one of the best companies to work for for over a decade and in 2012 was named the most sustainable company in the world by Canadian media company Corporate Knights.

$458 billion

UnitedHealth Group is the biggest publicly traded health insurance company in the U.S. by market capitalization. Through its network of companies, UnitedHealth offers numerous health insurance plans as well as owns Optum, which provides, among other things, healthcare benefits like health savings accounts ( HSAs ).

UnitedHealth was founded in 1977, and it has a strong track record of paying shareholders regular dividends . The company is headquartered in Minnesota and its provider networks span the country.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)

$352 billion

While Johnson & Johnson is often thought of for its consumer products, it actually makes far more than Q-tips and baby powder. For example, researchers at the company developed one of the three FDA emergency authorized Covid-19 vaccines, the only single-shot option currently available. Started in 1886, J&J has a whopping 130,000 employees spread across operations in 60 countries.

Merck & Co Inc (MRK)

$328 billion

Merck traces its history back to 1668, making it the oldest company on our list. The company’s predecessor firm was founded by the Merck family in Germany, and the modern incarnation of Merck was actually started as an American affiliate of the German enterprise in 1891.

Merck was nationalized during World War I under the Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917—being an offshoot of a German company. However, the firm was bought back at government auction in 1919 for $3.5 million by George Merck, a member of the Merck family, with help from Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers.

Roche Holding AG (RHHBF)

$224 billion

Roche Holding is a Swiss multinational corporation that operates in two primary areas: pharmaceuticals and medical diagnostics. Among other things, the company produces reagents and drugs, including for treating cancers and depression. Roche is also an old and established company, founded in 1896—more than 30 years before the discovery of penicillin.

$221 billion

Waltham, Mass.-based Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. manufactures scientific equipment, instruments and software used in medical research and development as well as reagents and consumables.

Like many other healthcare companies, Thermo Fisher has jumped into the Covid-19 business. The company already offers a test that it says can detect the new omicron variant, making it presently the only FDA-authorized test capable of detecting the variant.

$198 billion

Danaher is an American conglomerate headquartered in Washington, D.C. The company is relatively young—its predecessor firm was founded in 1969. It gets its name from Danaher Creek in western Montana, where co-founders Steven Rales and Mitchell Rales first conceptualized the company while on a fishing trip.

Like many other companies on our list, Danaher’s operations are vast and diverse. The company operates primarily in environmental sciences, diagnostics and life sciences. The life sciences division represents the core of its healthcare operations, through which it produces a wide array of medical devices and instruments.

$181 billion

Abbott Labs was founded in 1888 and is headquartered outside of Chicago, Ill. The company is a large developer of pharmaceuticals and medical devices, including tests. Abbott is perhaps best known for some of its more innocuous consumables, such as PediaSure, Pedialyte and Similac. But, like other healthcare companies responding to the pandemic, it also has a Covid-19 test.

$163 billion

Headquartered in New York City, Pfizer is a pharmaceuticals giant that makes medicines, vaccines and some consumer healthcare products. Pfizer has operations in more than 50 countries around the world—in 2020, only about half of its revenue came from the United States.

Pfizer’s top-selling pharmaceuticals are household names, including the antidepressant Zoloft, the erectile-dysfunction drug Viagra and the anti-anxiety drug Xanax. The company has also developed one of the leading Covid-19 vaccines, which it expects will defend against the new omicron variant of the disease.

*All data is sourced from StockRover, current as of June 6, 2024.

Each stock market sector comprises many industries, each with their own nuances, and healthcare is no different. Four of the most important of subtypes of stocks in the case of the healthcare sector include:

• Drug stocks. These are companies that develop and manufacture pharmaceuticals used in the treatment and prevention of diseases or infections.
• Medical devices stocks. These include companies that design and manufacture medical tests, instruments and equipment, many of which are used in medical research and development processes, including by pharmaceutical companies.
• Health insurance stocks. This healthcare industry consists of companies that offer health insurance plans to meet the cost of healthcare for employers and individual consumers. It also includes pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs).
• Medical services provider stocks. This subgroup includes hospital operators, home health companies, managed care facility operators and other companies that provide healthcare services.

As defensive stocks, healthcare companies provide steady returns in any market. Because people will always need healthcare, the healthcare sector provides very steady, consistent returns that are uncorrelated with the overall direction of the stock market.

The U.S. healthcare sector is growing faster than the rest of the economy. Growth in the sector is being propelled by technological advances, an aging population and improving treatments for chronic diseases and conditions.

Healthcare spending in the U.S. is seeing strong, sustained growth. National health spending is projected to grow at an average annual rate of 5.4% through 2028, reaching $6.2 trillion and 19.7% of the country’s GDP.

The rising costs of U.S. healthcare appear unsustainable. This phenomenon is nothing new, but there are increasing calls for government action and regulatory changes to do something about the ever-climbing cost of care and health insurance. Payers and patients are demanding better care at lower prices.

Disruption by new players is a constant threat for established healthcare stocks. More and more tech companies are getting involved in the healthcare sector. Firms like Amazon may significantly disrupt old ways of doing business. Nimble biotechs may outperform stodgy huge pharmaceutical firms.

Sustaining growth can be challenging for some types of healthcare stocks. Companies that make drugs and medical devices must convince health insurers and government agencies to continue buying their products. If these players fail to grant reimbursement approvals, their growth prospects can dim.

If you have a regular brokerage account, you can easily add healthcare stocks to your taxable investment portfolio. If you don’t already, check out our listing of the best online brokerage accounts to get started.

Retirement investors can buy healthcare stocks in tax-advantaged retirement plans, like individual retirement accounts ( IRAs ). But if you have a 401(k), you’ll likely instead have to look into mutual funds that focus on the healthcare industry, rather than individual stocks.

Read More: How To Buy Stocks

When you’re considering a new investment, in healthcare stocks or any other market sector, doing your due diligence is always the first step. While the large-cap stocks listed above can be very safe bets, more volatile small-cap biotech stocks can be incredibly risky investments.

But really, buying any individual stock is a risky game. Instead, consider purchasing exchange-traded funds ( ETFs ) or index funds that track diversified indexes focused on the healthcare sector. These are less swayed by the individual ups and downs of any one company but provide solid, steady long-term growth. That’s why financial advisors recommend them for most people.

The author(s) held no positions in the securities discussed in the post at the original time of publication.

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Moscow Patriarchate Speaks with TNH about Holy and Great Council

His Eminence Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk with His Beatitude Patriarch Kirill of Moscow.

Source: The National Herald

By Theodore Kalmoukos

BOSTON, MA – The Moscow Patriarchate’s Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, spoke with TNH about the Orthodox Church’s Holy and Great Council, scheduled to begin on June 16 in Chania, Crete.

Essentially, Metropolitan Hilarion is first in ranking after His Beatitude Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. The interview follows.

TNH: Your Eminence, what are your thoughts about the upcoming Holy and Great Council?

MH: The Holy and Great Council ought to be the most wide-ranging and representative of the Councils of the past thousand years. It was been in direct preparation for more than half a century, and should become a historical event…The unity and unanimity, which, God willing, we will bear witness to at the Council, is not the end, but the rather the beginning of joint labors on the path to deepening fraternal cooperation between the Local Churches and the strengthening of pan-Orthodox unity. The great responsibility for a successful Council rests upon us.

TNH: What is the significance of the Council for the Orthodox Church as a whole and for the Church of Russia in particular since this is the first time the latter will participate in such a synod?

MH: It is a Council of the whole Orthodox Church, and therefore I would not say that its significance is any different for the Russian Church than for the other Local Churches. First of all, the fact that it is being held is a confirmation of our ecclesiology, it bears witness to us and the whole world that the Orthodox Church is a catholic Church…and the Council is also a visible expression of Church unity, testimony that in spite of the different political conditions  in which the Local Churches live, we are capable of achieving unanimity on the most important issues, since we comprise one Church.

TNH: What concerns that today’s faithful have do you anticipate will arise at the Council?

MH: The Council will not examine any topics other than those that have been put on the agenda. The sole exception is the Encyclical, the draft of which still has to be finalized. If we look at the agenda items, the most relevant, in my opinion, is the “The Mission of the Orthodox Church in the Contemporary World.” It gives the Church’s view on the many challenges of the modern-day world, the problems of the economic crisis, on what the Church thinks of the problem of discrimination, and military conflicts.

TNH: What do you say to those hierarchs, monastics, and priests in Greece who oppose the convening of the Council? Do you have similar cases in your Church?

MH: I know that in the Greek Church and the other Local Churches there is a critical attitude by some of the episcopate, clergy, and laity toward the Council, both in process and regarding some of its draft documents.

I will not evaluate this criticism here…as it would be wrong to interfere in the internal life of another Local Church. I can only say that among the bishops, clerics and laity of the Russian Church there is also a critical attitude toward the Council. I believe that criticism of the conciliar documents, if it is constructive and founded, is completely normal. This is why the draft documents were published, so that every interested member of the Church can have his say on them. Moreover, I believe that the more important critical remarks should certainly be taken into account and the corresponding amendments should be made in the documents when they are discussed at the Council. This is vital if we want the conciliar documents to  be accepted so that as a result they will not be later rejected by the people of God.

TNH: Could the Synod discuss issues such as a priest’s second marriage, rediscovering the ancient Church tradition of bishops who marry, deaconesses, and a common celebration of Easter?

MH: As I said, no other topics and issues, apart from those on the agenda, will be put forward for discussion. At January’s assembly of First Hierarchs of the Orthodox Churches in Chambésy, the calendar issue was removed, and the issue of reinstituting deaconesses was not even discussed. Thus, these two topics will not be reviewed at the Council. As for second marriage for clergy and a married episcopate, the already-prepared and published draft document “The Sacrament of Marriage and Obstacles To It” does not provide for any reforms in these areas.

Some attendees may propose similar amendments during discussions, but I am confident that such proposals, which would entail such important changes of the Church canons, will not be accepted by the majority of the Local Churches, including the Russian Church. I think that we should all remember that the aim of the Council is to strengthen Church unity and not to undermine it by proposing reforms which go against already established Church tradition.

TNH: Has the issue been resolved between Antioch and Jerusalem over the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Qatar?

MH: As far as I know, no positive resolution of this issue that is acceptable to both sides has yet been found, though I hope one will. For this reason the Church of Antioch probably will not participate in the Council’s work.

TNH: How are the relations between the Patriarchate of Moscow and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople?

MH: For the Moscow Patriarchate, the Church of Constantinople is the Mother Church.

For many centuries, the Russian Church was part of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. This circumstance makes our Churches especially close to each other, and at present, in spite of the differences in views concerning certain issues, the mutual relationship between the Patriarchates of Moscow and Constantinople is at the highest level.

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New biomaterial regrows damaged cartilage in joints

• Feinberg School of Medicine
• Nanotechnology
• Weinberg College

Northwestern University scientists have developed a new bioactive material that successfully regenerated high-quality cartilage in the knee joints of a large-animal model.

Although it looks like a rubbery goo, the material is actually a complex network of molecular components, which work together to mimic cartilage’s natural environment in the body.

In the new study, the researchers applied the material to damaged cartilage in the animals’ knee joints. Within just six months, the researchers observed evidence of enhanced repair, including the growth of new cartilage containing the natural biopolymers (collagen II and proteoglycans), which enable pain-free mechanical resilience in joints.

With more work, the researchers say the new material someday could potentially be used to prevent full knee replacement surgeries, treat degenerative diseases like osteoarthritis and repair sports-related injuries like ACL tears.

The study will be published during the week of August 5 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“Cartilage is a critical component in our joints,” said Northwestern’s Samuel I. Stupp , who led the study. “When cartilage becomes damaged or breaks down over time, it can have a great impact on people’s overall health and mobility. The problem is that, in adult humans, cartilage does not have an inherent ability to heal. Our new therapy can induce repair in a tissue that does not naturally regenerate. We think our treatment could help address a serious, unmet clinical need.”

A pioneer of regenerative nanomedicine, Stupp is Board of Trustees Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Chemistry, Medicine and Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern, where he is founding director of the Simpson Querrey Institute for BioNanotechnology and its affiliated center, the Center for Regenerative Nanomedicine . Stupp has appointments in the McCormick School of Engineering , Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and Feinberg School of Medicine . Jacob Lewis, a former Ph.D. student in Stupp’s laboratory, is the paper’s first author.

What’s in the material?

The new study follows recently published work from the Stupp laboratory, in which the team used “dancing molecules” to activate human cartilage cells to boost the production of proteins that build the tissue matrix. Instead of using dancing molecules, the new study evaluates a hybrid biomaterial also developed in Stupp’s lab. The new biomaterial comprises two components: a bioactive peptide that binds to transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGFb-1) — an essential protein for cartilage growth and maintenance — and modified hyaluronic acid, a natural polysaccharide present in cartilage and the lubricating synovial fluid in joints.

“Many people are familiar with hyaluronic acid because it’s a popular ingredient in skincare products,” Stupp said. “It’s also naturally found in many tissues throughout the human body, including the joints and brain. We chose it because it resembles the natural polymers found in cartilage.”

Stupp’s team integrated the bioactive peptide and chemically modified hyaluronic acid particles to drive the self-organization of nanoscale fibers into bundles that mimic the natural architecture of cartilage. The goal was to create an attractive scaffold for the body’s own cells to regenerate cartilage tissue. Using bioactive signals in the nanoscale fibers, the material encourages cartilage repair by the cells, which populate the scaffold.

Clinically relevant to humans

To evaluate the material’s effectiveness in promoting cartilage growth, the researchers tested it in sheep with cartilage defects in the stifle joint, a complex joint in the hind limbs similar to the human knee. This work was carried out in the laboratory of Mark Markel in the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

According to Stupp, testing in a sheep model was vital. Much like humans, sheep cartilage is stubborn and incredibly difficult to regenerate. Sheep stifles and human knees also have similarities in weight bearing, size and mechanical loads.

“A study on a sheep model is more predictive of how the treatment will work in humans,” Stupp said. “In other smaller animals, cartilage regeneration occurs much more readily.”

In the study, researchers injected the thick, paste-like material into cartilage defects, where it transformed into a rubbery matrix. Not only did new cartilage grow to fill the defect as the scaffold degraded, but the repaired tissue was consistently higher quality compared to the control.

A lasting solution

In the future, Stupp imagines the new material could be applied to joints during open-joint or arthroscopic surgeries. The current standard of care is microfracture surgery, during which surgeons create tiny fractures in the underlying bone to induce new cartilage growth.

“The main issue with the microfracture approach is that it often results in the formation of fibrocartilage — the same cartilage in our ears — as opposed to hyaline cartilage, which is the one we need to have functional joints,” Stupp said. “By regenerating hyaline cartilage, our approach should be more resistant to wear and tear, fixing the problem of poor mobility and joint pain for the long term while also avoiding the need for joint reconstruction with large pieces of hardware.”

The study, “A bioactive supramolecular and covalent polymer scaffold for cartilage repair in a sheep model,” was supported by the Mike and Mary Sue Shannon Family Fund for Bio-Inspired and Bioactive Materials Systems for Musculoskeletal Regeneration.

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Moscow's Mercenary Wars: The Expansion of Russian Private Military Companies

As the United States withdraws its military forces from parts of Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia, Russia is expanding its influence in these and other areas. But instead of deploying conventional Russian soldiers, Moscow has turned to special operations forces, intelligence units, and private military companies (PMCs) like the Wagner Group to do its bidding. Russia’s strategy is straightforward: to undermine U.S. power and increase Moscow’s influence using low-profile, deniable forces like PMCs that can do everything from providing foreign leaders with security to training, advising, and assisting partner security forces.

Moscow’s use of PMCs has exploded in recent years, reflecting lessons learned from earlier deployments, a growing expansionist mindset, and a desire for economic, geopolitical, and military gains. Ukraine served as one of the first proving grounds for PMCs, beginning in 2014. The Russians then refined the model as these private mercenaries worked with local forces in countries such as Syria and Libya. Over time, Moscow expanded the use of PMCs to sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and other regions—including countries such as Sudan, the Central African Republic, Mozambique, Madagascar, and Venezuela. PMCs now fill various roles to undermine U.S. influence and support Russia’s expanding geopolitical, military, and economic interests.

With operations suspected or proven in as many as 30 countries across 4 continents and an increasingly refined and adaptable operational model, PMCs are likely to play a significant role in Russian strategic competition for the foreseeable future.

Spread of Russian PMC Activity since 2014

Dates represent the earliest credibly documented PMC presence in each country. Not all PMC deployments are ongoing.

Roles & Missions

Russian Special Forces soldiers from the army's intelligence unit take part in a military drill at a training ground near the village of Mol'kino, Krasnodar region, on July 10, 2015. Photo by SERGEI VENYAVSKY/AFP via Getty Images.

Russian Objectives

PMCs play key roles executing Moscow’s policy objectives and advancing Russian national security interests across the globe. Even though PMCs are technically illegal under Article 13.5 of the Russian Constitution, some of President Vladimir Putin’s closest allies—such as Yevgeny Prigozhin—head Russian PMCs. A core component of Russia’s "hybrid warfare" strategy, PMCs provide the Kremlin a quasi-deniable means through which to pursue Russian objectives, complementing or substituting for more traditional, overt forms of statecraft.

PMCs conduct training before deploying abroad, including at bases inside Russia and likely with the support of Russian military and intelligence agencies. Russia’s largest and most capable PMC, Wagner Group, conducts training at two camps attached to the location of 10th Special Mission Brigade of GRU Spetsnaz in Mol’kino, Krasnodar region, Russia.

The main base features a headquarters, an airborne training and obstacle course, weapons and munitions storage, and other military facilities.

North of the main military base, Wagner has a separate facility. The Wagner base was likely built between 2015 and 2016, encompasses approximately six acres, and consists of approximately nine permanent structures of varying sizes. Images show numerous and varying numbers of cargo trucks, small trucks, and civilian vehicles.

Features south of the main base include a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) unit—shown here—as well as an unidentified internal base and other training areas.

Date of Arrival: 2014

PMCs first began operating in Ukraine during Russia's annexation of Crimea in March 2014 before taking on a central role in Moscow's ongoing covert war in Eastern Ukraine's Donbas region. Operating independently or augmenting regular Russian forces, PMC personnel in Ukraine including from Wagner Group reached between 2,500-5,000 during peak of fighting in 2015.

PMCs provided Moscow an ideal tool through which to pursue its geopolitical, military, and ideological objectives in Ukraine: destabilizing then consolidating control over Crimea and Donbas, undermining and pressuring Kyiv and its Western backers for diplomatic concessions, and doing it all while denying any official Russian involvement. However, while PMCs enabled Moscow and its Donbas proxies to seize and secure control over new "independent" republics in Donetsk and Luhansk, their battlefield achievements largely stalled since 2015, rendering the frontlines of Eastern Ukraine another Russian-backed frozen conflict. Moreover, Russian attempts to maintain "plausible deniability" for their actions fooled few Western governments, resulting in sanctions on Kremlin and PMC officials and organizations.

Nonetheless, Russia’s intervention in Ukraine was one of the first battlefield applications of its new "hybrid warfare" doctrine, and Moscow integrated PMCs into its military operations. Russia applied several lessons, such as exploiting the military-like capabilities of PMCs and their official " deniability ," to its next major foreign operation: Syria.

PMC combat support to Donbas separatists, particularly from Wagner Group, was decisive in pivotal early battles of the war in Eastern Ukraine from 2014 to 2015.

Click on the map for more information about an event.

• Annexation of Crimea March 2014
• Battle of Luhansk Airport Spring 2014
• Shootdown of Ukrainian Il-76 June 2014
• Battle of Debaltseve Early 2015

Date of Arrival: 2015

Building off its experience in Ukraine, Russia again turned to PMCs in Syria to help achieve important goals —including stabilizing the Assad regime and countering efforts by the United States and its partners. In addition, PMCs played a crucial role capturing oil fields , refineries, gas plants, and other energy infrastructure from rebels. Russian PMCs played an increasingly direct role in pro-regime combat operations over the course of the Syrian civil war and were often synchronized with Russian economic priorities, including securing key energy infrastructure. PMC personnel in Syria reached up to 1,000-3,000 personnel, including contingents from Wagner Group, Vegacy, E.N.O.T., Vostok Battalion, and other PMCs.

Syria was an important testing ground for the application of a hybrid-PMC deployment model, which is now being exported to other battlegrounds. PMCs acted as a ground force with skill sets similar to Russian Spetsnaz through which Moscow could limit regular Russian military casualties and provide deniability for high-risk Russian actions. PMCs synchronized military advances with economic priorities: capitalizing on ground advances in oil- and gas-rich areas, securing key pipelines, oil fields, refineries, and gas plants to stage future ground advances and draw profits. The Wagner Group’s advance on the Conoco Plant in Dayr az Zawr in February 2018 demonstrates how Moscow used PMCs to take risks in a deniable manner. In this case, Wagner attempted to seize the U.S.- and partner-controlled Conoco gas plant both to secure an economically valuable site and test U.S. resolve.

T-4 airbase in central Syria served as a key airbase for Russia in January 2017 as part of its strategy and planning to retake eastern Syria. Battlefield needs in 2017 precipitated a steady increase in specialized ground forces, including Russian PMCs, which led the ground component of this stage of the war. By 2019, Russia had expanded its presence at T-4 to become an all-purpose, air, ground, and intelligence base for its missions in Syria. The following imagery of T-4 identifies possible PMC positions at the airbase in 2017 and 2019.

Full airbase shot of T-4, January 23, 2017.

Left: An infantry battalion position observed at T-4 was likely Russian since the Syrian Arab Army no longer displayed this type of formation six years into the war.

Right: A likely Russian logistics facility at T-4.

A tank company and support element position at T-4. Russia expanded its presence at the airbase since battlefield needs required increased ground forces.

Russian ground attack aircraft, rotary-wing aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles in May 2019 indicate Russia’s expanded presence at T-4.

This multi-mission role of PMCs—military, political, economic—and integration into host-nation proxy forces would next be employed in Libya.

With lessons learned from supporting the Assad regime in Syria, Russia deployed PMCs to Libya's civil war to bolster General Khalifa Haftar, his Libyan National Army (LNA), and the eastern-based government in Tobruk. Since 2017, PMCs such as Wagner Group have been at the vanguard of Russian efforts, advising and enabling Haftar's LNA offensive into western Syria and assault on the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli in 2019. Moscow deployed up to 800-1,200 PMC personnel, primarily from Wagner Group, to multiple training sites, forward bases, and key energy and infrastructure facilities as of early 2020, conducting a variety of missions vital to Haftar's offensive and to Russian interests.

1,600 Russian "Wagner" PMC militants left the west of Libya after the defeat and flight of the Russian-Haftar troops. View original tweet.

One of Russia’s primary deployment sites has been Al Jufra Air Base in central Libya, which has served as the launching pad for Wagner Group forces and Russian air support to the Tripoli campaign. A close examination of Russia’s deployment at Al Jufra Airbase reveals an expansion of Russian air and ground forces. In particular, satellite imagery shows a growth in the presence of the Russian PMC Wagner Group, a core component of Russia’s intervention in Libya.

Full airbase shot, June 6, 2020.

The arrival of a large contingent of Russian artillery and PMC Wagner Group forces, May 28, 2020.

A Russian Su-24 attack aircraft taxiing on an Al Jufra runway, demonstrating continued Russian military activity, June 8, 2020.

PMCs have been Moscow's spearhead for advancing its foreign policy, military, and economic interests in Libya. With the Libyan civil war, Russia saw a power vacuum and chance to exploit the instability to expand Russian influence, using PMCs to bolster Haftar , tip the conflict in their favor, and reap the rewards. In exchange, Moscow sought economic and military concessions , deploying PMCs to key oil and gas facilities and Mediterranean ports as those areas fell to the LNA. Russia also used Libya to strengthen ties to traditionally U.S. partners, namely UAE and Egypt. Since 2017, Russian PMCs have deployed to Egypt’s Sidi Barrani airfield to direct joint Russian-Egyptian military support to Haftar. Newly acquired CSIS imagery shows the deployment of Russian equipment at Sidi Barrani in March 2017.

Left: A recently arrived Il-76 transport aircraft in March 2017 at Sidi Barrani. Russian special operations forces and private military contractors deployed to Sidi Barrani as part of a bid to support Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar.

Right: Vehicles on the aircraft apron at Sidi Barrani in March 2017.

Russia's deployment of PMCs to Libya has strengthened its geostrategic position and diplomatic influence in the country, ensuring Moscow's role in any resolution of the conflict and an end-state amenable to Russian interests . However, there were also limits to Moscow’s use of PMCs. Despite assistance from PMCs, the LNA was unable to seize Tripoli and even triggered an expanding intervention from Turkey to bolster the GNA. Wagner Group alone has lost hundreds of fighters and key weapons systems in Tripoli's heavy ground fighting and from Turkish drone strikes. Nonetheless, through its PMC-led intervention, Moscow has gained a new strategic foothold and geostrategic position on the Mediterranean, as well as a bridgehead into the rest of the African continent.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Though Russian PMCs first appeared in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as early as 2014, Russia significantly expanded the geographic scope and missions of PMCs in Sub-Saharan Africa following its interventions in Ukraine, Syria, and Libya. Russia has primarily used PMCs to target resource-rich countries with weak governance, such as Sudan, the Central African Republic, Mozambique, and Madagascar. Though PMC tasks have varied from case to case to meet local needs, in each of these countries Russia exchanged military and security support for economic gains and political influence.

In Sudan, Russia used Wagner Group to provide military and political support to President Omar al-Bashir in exchange for gold mining concessions. Russia also had a strategic motive to seek basing rights in the Red Sea. In November 2017, Moscow facilitated a mining operations agreement for M Invest, a Russian company tied to Yevgeny Prigozhin. PMC troops, who arrived the following month, provided training and military assistance to local forces. In addition, PMCs orchestrated a disinformation campaign to discredit protesters through many of the same techniques the Internet Research Agency, linked to Prigozhin, used in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Central African  Republic

Russia has followed a similar model in the Central African Republic, where the Wagner Group and Patriot—another Russian PMC—have reportedly been active. Beginning in January 2018, Russia exchanged military training and security—primarily for President Faustin-Archange Touadéra and mining operations—for access to gold, uranium, and diamonds . New CSIS imagery sheds light on the training camp these troops established southwest of Bangui in the ruins of the Palace of Berengo.

Wagner PMC Base in Berengo Progress

Following their arrival in 2018, PMC troops established a training camp in the ruins of former-emperor Jean-Bedel Bokassa’s palace at Berengo, southwest of Bangui. Troops repaired existing facilities and constructed new housing, storage structures, and training areas—including firing ranges and revetments. The imagery below shows the year-by-year development of the main base on the palace grounds and the two adjacent training areas, beginning with the conditions in 2017 before PMCs arrived.

In early spring 2018, Wagner Group sent a small group of political analysts to Madagascar to support incumbent President Hery Rajaonarimampianina's reelection bid in exchange for economic agreements on mining (chromite and gold), oil, agriculture, and the port of Toamasina . In April, additional troops arrived to provide security and military training, allegedly with the assistance of Federal Security Service and GRU officers . Though Rajaonarimampianina lost the election, he facilitated the promised agreements prior to leaving office. Ferrum Mining , a Russian company involved in one such deal, began operations on the island in October 2018 but soon paused due to strikes.

In Mozambique, Russia traded Wagner's military support against Islamist insurgents in Cabo Delgado province for access to natural gas. Wagner troops arrived in early September 2019 but were unprepared for the mission. They had little experience conducting operations in the brush and difficulty coordinating with local forces. After significant losses, Wagner troops retreated south to Nacala in November 2019 to regroup. Despite sending additional equipment and troops in February and March 2020, Wagner was replaced in April by the Dyck Advisory Group , a South African PMC. It is unclear whether any Wagner troops remain in the country.

Latin America

Date of Arrival: 2017

Russia’s global use of PMCs has also extended to Latin America, though they are not as widespread as in Africa. PMCs have most notably played a role in Venezuela, though their presence has also been rumored in countries such as Nicaragua.

PMCs have been present in Venezuela since at least 2017 to guard Russian business interests and companies, such as Rosneft . Despite investments in the Venezuelan economy, Moscow's relationship with Caracas is primarily driven by a geostrategic desire to reassert its influence in the region at the expense of the United States. In response to the Trump administration's calling for the ouster for Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and recognition of opposition leader Juan Guaidó as interim president in January 2019, Russia deployed approximately 100 security contractors, likely from Wagner, the same month to provide security to president Maduro amid political upheaval. These contractors conducted surveillance and cybersecurity protection in addition to physical security.

Outlook & Implications

August 4, 2018: Victor Tokmakov, first secretary of the Russian Embassy, presents diplomas to graduating recruits in Berengo. Russian military consultants have set up training for the Central African Armed Forces and the Internal Security Forces after delivering weapons to the country. Photo by FLORENT VERGNES/AFP via Getty Images

These examples demonstrate Russia’s expanding global use of the PMC model to advance its geopolitical and economic goals and undermine U.S. interests. PMCs provide the Kremlin a deniable means to project power and influence into its "near-abroad," as recent PMC activity in Belarus has demonstrated. They offer a glimpse of how Russia plans to compete with the United States in the future, particularly in weak, strategically located, and resource-rich states.

PMCs are an important instrument in a broad Russian toolkit that includes covert action, cyber operations, and other irregular activity across the globe. Yet PMC activities have not always been successful. In Libya, for example, Russia and its PMCs suffered a serious setback following the battlefield losses of Khalifa Haftar. Despite such problems, U.S. efforts to counter Russian PMCs have been weak and ad hoc. A more effective response should include several steps.