Posted on date 2023-03-28
The 6 Best Market Research Firms in the U.S.
Why care about market research? Here are two reasons:
- If you're a consumer, there are opportunities for you to participate with market research firms to help companies determine their strategies and bring more valuable products and services to market.
In addition, as a participant in market research, you can collect cash and prizes for your engagement. - If you're a business leader, you care about pricing, target markets, product features, benefits, etc., all for the sake of the health of your business. There are so many decisions for you to make, and each decision includes a variety of factors to consider.
Conducting market research gathering information about market trends, customers' needs, and preferences affects your business.
Understanding how your audience behaves can help you plan your business strategy to incorporate your learning and deliver to your customers.
Back to Basics—What is Market Research?
Market research is "the process of determining the viability of a new service or product through research conducted directly with potential customers."
Market research can be done by a third-party marketing company specializing in market research or in-house.
There are three ways that most market research is conducted by product testing, focus groups, and surveys. In addition, market research companies usually compensate participants with cash, product samples, or prizes.
By conducting market research, companies can get feedback and opinions from consumers and use the input to understand their target market. Understanding their target market allows them to streamline their product and service design and rollout to the public.
What Are the Top Market Research Firms?
According to softwaretestinghelp.com, a popular portal for software professionals, this is in their Top 10 List.
For this writing, these companies are headquartered in the United States, evaluated based on geographical coverage, revenue in U.S. dollars in billions, and employees.
#1 – Nielsen 📺
An S&P company founded in 1923 covers more than 90% of the world's population. Its revenue is 6.5B and has 46,000 employees.
You may know Nielsen because of its Nielsen ratings, an audience measurement system used to determine the audience size and composition of television programming. Their reporting tells media companies exposed to their content and advertising to price their ad inventory and make programming decisions adequately.
They measure hundreds of networks, stations, thousands of programs, and millions of viewers. Their viewers represent a cross-section of homes across the country in local markets.
To learn more about Nielsen, click here.
#2 – IQVIA 👨👩👧👦
A Human Data Science Company founded in 2016, headquartered in North Carolina and Connecticut, covers over 100 countries, boasts 20,000+ clients, revenue of 4.5B, and 58000 employees.
IQVIA serves the life sciences industry to integrate information, analytics, domain expertise, and technology.
You may not know IQVIA as a household name. Still, their services provide essential information to biomedical, health, and services companies to better serve the people in the U.S.
Click on the IQVIA website to learn more.
#3 – Gartner 🖥
Gartner provides research and analysis solutions to the computer software, hardware, communications, and related information technology industries.
Founded in 1973, they are headquartered in Connecticut, work in 100+ countries, service 15,600 clients, earn 3.4B in annual revenue, and have 15,173 employees worldwide.
They provide information technology research and consulting services to distinct organizations such as Coca-Cola Bottling Company and McDonald's.
While Gartner may not be a household word, they are a significant partner to companies whose products and services are embedded in your life.
#4 – IRI 🛍
IRI was founded in 1979 and headquartered in Illinois. They service companies worldwide, with revenues of 1.2B (2018), and provide work for ~ 5,000 people.
The company provides solutions for the retail, consumer and shopper, media, big data technology, and market performance and strategy companies on the Fortune 100 list.
Their "Consumer Goods Hype Cycle, 2021" report explores emerging technologies that help consumer goods manufacturers address the post-pandemic world.
Search their website for more information.
#5 – Dynata 👨🏽💻
Headquartered in Texas and founded in 1999, Dynata earned 0.509B (2018) and has ~5,000 employees.
Dynata is the world's largest first-party data company with a global reach of 62+ million consumers and business professionals.
They provide high-quality data delivering a mix of consumers, business professionals, and hard-to-reach audiences. In addition, they vet real people with honest opinions for their customers' research needs to strengthen their advertising activities.
Dynata is behind the scenes helping companies provide the products and services to consumers daily.
Check out Dynata's website to learn more.
#6 – Westat ⚕️
Westat, founded in 1963, is headquartered in Maryland, earned 0.056B (2018) and ~ 2,000 employees,
You may not see their name in the news, but they support research behind many federal, state, local, and foundation studies.
Their focus areas include health policy, clinical trials, education, public health & epidemiology, transportation, and more.
Go to their website to learn more about Westat and how they affect your day-to-day living.
A Final Thought💭
Marketing research is usually the first step after ideas for products and services are conceived.
Businesses will conduct marketing research to get information from the marketplace. Then, they use the information to solve their problems, obtain data on their competitors, and determine the needs and wants of consumers and customers alike.
Company marketers will analyze the information gathered and develop marketing strategies with market research.
The above companies are the top ones in the United States. They work behind the scenes to provide the research and information that makes a difference in your life.
