What is Supplemental Research?
by Christopher Cureton
Supplemental Research is the ongoing review of external sources like market reports, academic journals, and expert publications.
The purpose of supplemental research is to stay aware of trends, shifts, and emerging ideas beyond your immediate business context.
While Essential Research focuses on what’s happening inside the organization and with your customers, Supplemental Research expands your field of view. It helps you anticipate market dynamics, track cultural shifts, and learn from industry thought leaders.
Supplemental Research does not create strategy or alignment on its own.
It provides context, but clarity only compounds when insight is translated into decisions and systems.
Why It Matters
Supplemental Research keeps you strategically alert. It ensures that your decisions reflect not just where you are, but where the world is heading.
Market Reports: Help you spot emerging trends and forecast changes in your category.
Academic Journals: Offer insight into societal behavior and long-term shifts in consumer thinking.
Expert Publications: Expose you to new ideas, evolving frameworks, and competitive perspectives.