What AboutFace Corp. does

AboutFace Corp. is an Atlanta-based customer experience (CX) research and mystery shopping firm founded in 1998 (per company history; firmographics cite 1994). The company designs and operates on-site, telephone, and online mystery shopping programs, NPS and indicator ratings, competitive intelligence studies, and compliance audits for consumer and B2B organizations. Its named customer base spans large enterprise brands including Target, Home Depot, Publix, Comcast, REI, Behr, MetroPCS, Bass Pro Shops, Dyson, Shiseido, NARS Cosmetics, and Centex Homes/Pulte Group/Ashton Woods, with relationships extending 8+ years for some clients.

AboutFace's core technology is the IGNITE8 (I8) platform, a proprietary analytics and gig management system that includes dashboards, dynamic drill-down analytics, visual performance mapping, foundational reports, and a marketplace for routing mystery shopping and field research assignments to a network of 200,000+ pre-qualified evaluators, panelists, auditors, and inspectors across all 50 U.S. states and Canada. The company has also built proprietary methodological frameworks (ARCHIE, ACES, Customer Experience Profile, LOVEQUAD, Ruthless Differentiation, Customer ForensiX) that are sold as subscription or add-on products.

The business model combines professional services (project-based mystery shopping, research, consulting) with a subscription layer through ARCHIE, positioned as the first B2B CX research subscription service and priced from $5,500/month with a direct-cost-plus-zero markup structure for clients spending more than $150,000 annually on research. Go-to-market is sales-led enterprise field sales with dedicated account management, supported by content marketing, case studies, and event presence. The company is privately held, female-led (CEO Paige Hall-Hartsfield), and operates with 11–50 employees.

Name

AboutFace Corp.

Legal name

AboutFace Corp.

Website

https://aboutfacecorp.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

AboutFace Corp. is an Atlanta-based, privately held customer experience research and mystery shopping firm serving enterprise clients with proprietary technology (IGNITE8), a 200,000+ evaluator panel, and a subscription CX service (ARCHIE).

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Atlanta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. ARCHIE CX Subscription: Monthly subscription model for enterprise clients spending over $150,000 annually on research. Includes direct cost of research (Cost + $0), monthly subscription fee starting at $5,500, and convenience services paid per selection.
2. Mystery Shopping Services: On-site, telephone, and online mystery shopping programs for consumer and B2B organizations. Payment to evaluators via PayPal, 30-45 days from shop submission.
3. CX Research Services: NPS & Indicator Ratings, Customer Laboratories, Employee & Culture Research. Strategic advisory and consulting services.
4. Compliance & Auditing Services: Compliance audits for ID verification, safety, fair treatment, regulatory protocols.
5. Competitive Research: Ruthless Differentiation annual studies to identify competitor weaknesses for positioning.
6. Exclusive Products: Advanced Customer Experience Strategy (ACES), Customer Experience Profile (CXP), Ruthless Differentiation, LOVEQUAD, Sentiment Analysis, Guestumentary video documentaries.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

AboutFace Corp. provides customer experience (CX) research, mystery shopping, competitive intelligence, and compliance auditing services for enterprise and mid-market organizations. It bundles these services through its ARCHIE subscription platform, supported by the proprietary IGNITE8 (I8) analytics platform, a network of 200,000+ panelists, and exclusive methodologies such as ACES, Customer ForensiX, Ruthless Differentiation, LOVEQUAD, and Sentiment Analysis.

Product overview

AboutFace Corp. offers a portfolio of customer experience (CX) research and mystery shopping products organized around a subscription model (ARCHIE™) and modular add-on services. The core offering combines mystery shopping programs, CX research services, competitive intelligence, and compliance auditing with proprietary technology (IGNITE8 platform). Exclusive products include game-based solutions (Customer ForensiX™), assessment tools (Customer Experience Profile™), segmentation frameworks (LOVEQUAD™), video storytelling (Guestumentary™), and sentiment analysis. The company operates Gig Central, a marketplace connecting 200,000+ panelists and evaluators with research assignments across North America.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ARCHIE™: The first-ever B2B customer experience research subscription service that guarantees the lowest price, promotes flexibility, provides an expert team, and offers exclusive services for companies spending more than $150,000 on research annually.
• Customer ForensiX™
• Advanced Customer Experience Strategy (ACES)™
• Customer Experience Profile™ (CXP)
• Ruthless Differentiation™
• LOVEQUAD™
• IGNITE8 (I8)
• Obsessive Care™

Products and services

• ARCHIE The first-ever B2B customer experience research subscription service, providing companies with guaranteed lowest pricing, complete flexibility for project modifications, a dedicated expert team, and exclusive services. Targets organizations spending more than $150,000 annually on research.
• IGNITE8 (I8) Platform Business intelligence platform that guides leaders through 8 best practices for driving predictable growth. Includes research technology, gig management system, product testing application, and reputation management features with dashboards, drill-down analytics, and visual performance mapping.
• Mystery Shopping Onsite, telephone, and web-based mystery shopping programs for consumer and B2B organizations across various business categories. Includes quality control processes, proof-of-visit verification, and evaluation grading.
• CX Research Services Suite of customer experience research services including NPS and indicator ratings, customer laboratories, and employee and culture research.
• Competitive Research Ethical competitive intelligence gathering through front-line engagement to help organizations understand their industry competition, local to international.
• Compliance & Auditing Compliance audits that objectively monitor non-negotiable standards including operating procedures, employee behaviors, age verification for restricted products, safety compliance, and fair treatment practices.
• Advanced Customer Experience Strategy (ACES) Organizational reinvention model that supports companies transitioning from business-centric to customer-centric behaviors through customized way-finding based on financial targets.
• Customer ForensiX Engaging, game-based CX solution applying forensic science to the collection, examination, and analysis of evidence to engage entire organizations in solving customer problems and pioneering solutions that capture adoring customers.
• Ruthless Differentiation Annual competitive intelligence study that isolates competitor weaknesses in areas including people, processes, products, promotions, pricing, and revenue driving habits to help brands position more effectively.
• LOVEQUAD Customer segmentation framework that segments customers into four quadrants to determine account value and upward trajectory, helping brands focus sales and account teams on priority opportunities.
• Guestumentary Video documentary product featuring random representation of actual customers responding to questions about the total brand experience, produced in an easy YouTube-style format for use at conferences, orientations, and keynotes.
• Customer Experience Profile (CXP) Non-threatening mystery shopping alternative that feels like a personality assessment for employees, removing intimidation of traditional mystery shopping through an easy-to-digest evaluation process.
• Sentiment Analysis Research methodology that categorizes qualitative commentary from various sources into positive, negative, and neutral sentiments for topic areas such as service, support, product quality, and delivery, notifying companies when sentiment impacts revenue.
• Gig Central Network platform connecting mystery shoppers, panelists, and contractors with evaluation and research assignments across North America.

Quantifiable outcome

• Clients improve their own best practices an average of 8.5% in the first year
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability8 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Strategic Partnership NetworkcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAboutFace has established key partnerships to provide seamless coverage through Europe, Asia, and Australia in addition to their core North American operations. These partnerships extend their mystery shopping and CX research capabilities globally for enterprise clients with international operations.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Qualtrics: Large experience management platform with deep CX, NPS and VoC analytics capabilities — a wider portfolio incumbent that competes with AboutFace at the enterprise level for CX research, survey, and customer feedback budgets.
• InMoment: Cloud-based customer experience (CX) intelligence platform combining VoC, text analytics and operational insight — broader offering than AboutFace but overlaps in CX analytics, NPS, and survey-driven feedback programs for enterprise customers.
• Medallia: Enterprise customer experience and experience management platform with omnichannel feedback analytics — overlaps with AboutFace's CX analytics positioning and competes for the same enterprise CX research and feedback budgets.

Direct peers

• MaritzCX: Long-standing mystery shopping and CX research arm of Maritz — competes head-to-head with AboutFace on CX measurement programs, mystery shopping, NPS tracking, and customer journey analytics for enterprise clients.
• PeopleMetrics: CX research and customer/employee feedback measurement firm serving multi-unit and enterprise clients — comparable to AboutFace across CX surveys, mystery shopping-adjacent measurement, and VoC analytics engagements.
• IntelliShop: Mystery shopping and CX research provider serving multi-unit retail and consumer brands — directly comparable to AboutFace across onsite and digital mystery shopping, compliance audits, and customer feedback programs.
• HG Practice: CX strategy, research and mystery shopping consultancy focused on retail and consumer brands — directly comparable to AboutFace in delivering customer experience measurement, strategy, and training engagements.
• A Closer Look: U.S. mystery shopping and customer experience measurement company — competes with AboutFace for enterprise CX research, mystery shopping, and compliance auditing engagements across retail and consumer services.
• Service Performance Group (SPG): Mystery shopping, compliance auditing, and customer experience measurement firm — directly comparable in delivering frontline performance evaluations and CX insight programs to enterprise and multi-location clients.
• Market Force Information: Large, established U.S. mystery shopping and customer experience measurement firm — directly comparable to AboutFace in onsite/phone/web mystery shopping programs and CX research services for enterprise clients including retailers and restaurants.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/canyouaboutface
• Facebookfacebook.com/aboutfacemysteryshopping
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aboutface-corp.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about AboutFace Corp.