What is Essential Research?
Essential Research is the foundational discovery work that reveals how clearly—and consistently—a business communicates its value.
Essential Research is the groundwork at the beginning of any strategic engagement. It’s a focused, structured discovery process designed to uncover the internal and external truths that shape a business’s ability to communicate and deliver value. The process spans five key areas:
How the business currently presents itself across assets, touchpoints, and channels.
Competitive Assessment
How others in the space are positioning themselves—and where meaningful differentiation exists.
Stakeholder Interviews
What internal teams believe, struggle with, and prioritize when no one’s watching.
Audience Interviews
Why customers buy (or don’t), and what they say they actually value.
Observation
How people behave in practice, which often reveals more than what they say in theory.
This research isn’t about overanalyzing—it’s about uncovering the gaps, friction points, and hidden strengths that influence alignment and strategic decision-making. It's called “essential” because it’s the minimum effective dose of insight required to build a go-to-market strategy that’s clear, confident, and capable of driving change.