Research America - A Leader in Market Research

Behind the Scenes with Robert Porter, CEO…
What was your thesis in starting Research America?

It started with my dog, Emma, an attic with no incoming emails or phone calls, and a small successor company.
I decided to go “all-in” after selling my first business. In 2014 the Research America we know today, a full-service market research company, was born. We operate as a startup every single day and every team member is an entrepreneur. With no safety net, degree, or experience in market research I started this “boutique-of-boutiques” with companies that had been established for more than 35 years.   

We hit the ground running and worked our tails off. I was still working around the clock, but now I had a president in Rex Repass that I could trust beside me. Then came the vice presidents and directors. The work was grueling, but the results were greater than anything I could have dreamed of…we grew tenfold in just five years acquiring 14 companies.

People began embracing our brand, and thanks to how our services in-field and full-service capabilities complement each other’s, we could scale without worrying if we could follow through on our promises. We were knocking down challenges as they came.

During the past few years, demand for market research and meaningful consumer insights have grown exponentially. Our team of two has now grown to more than 300 people and 14 locations. We made the GreenBook Research Industry Trends Report (GRIT) Top 50 market research companies based on revenue within our first five years.

I believe that even if your business is small, your brand can be BIG. You may not have heard of us, but many of the largest brands in the world know us.

The Big Brand System shows you how to harness the power of well-designed, strategic marketing for your business - with a strong emphasis on empowering you – so we can help you interpret the future as best we can.

This is what keeps me coming back to my attic week after week, and it’s the motivating force behind all the insights businesses we’ve folded in.

We help clients target customers and products, devise a product lifecycle, test the product.
We are unique to the industry.

A boutique of boutiques.

One-stop-shop with innovative techniques, data security, and investments in technology. 
We are scalable and nimble.

If we keep asking why and what if, we will get to new answers, new insightful knowledge that moves our clients toward new solutions.

Faster.

We never give a cookie cutter proposal or leave you with a pile of data wondering "what does it mean?”

Our mission is to answer the "SO WHAT.”

If we don’t provide insight, interpretation or implications for your project, then we haven't completed the job.

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