What is Essential Research?
by Christopher Cureton
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 value and make sound strategic decisions. The process spans five key areas:
Brand Assessment: 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.
Essential Research does not create alignment or execution clarity on its own.
It establishes the factual foundation required for strategy and systems to be designed with confidence.
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 inform a go-to-market strategy that is clear, confident, and structurally sound.