Market Insights

What Market Insights does

Market Insights, Inc. is a privately held, consultant-owned consulting firm headquartered in Seattle, Washington, founded in 1993 to serve community banks and credit unions across the United States. The firm translates demographic, competitive, and product data into strategic recommendations for financial institution clients, delivered through a portfolio of eight core consulting services: Market Prioritization, Branch Optimization, Market Profiling, Targeting Study, Segmentation Snapshot, Product Gap Analysis, Culture Analysis, and Strategic Planning. Service delivery is customized and quote-based, with no publicly disclosed pricing or packaged offerings. Two principals lead client delivery: Joe Sullivan (President & CEO, 30+ years in community banking) and Jim Perry (Senior Strategist, frequent industry podcast voice and co-founder of the Fintech Book Club). The firm pairs consulting engagements with a thought leadership distribution strategy spanning the Banking Forward newsletter (LinkedIn), conference keynotes (Finovate, Money 20/20, Financial Brand Forum, state banking associations, credit union leagues), and guest contributions to industry publications including American Banker, The Financial Brand, S&P Global Market Intelligence, Reuters, and the Financial Times.

The firm is not a technology product company. Underlying capability rests on proprietary consulting methodologies developed across decades of client engagements rather than on a scalable software platform; data analysis tools support but do not define the delivery model. The go-to-market is enterprise field sales: direct engagement with C-suite and board-level executives at community banks and credit unions, generated through speaking engagements, industry conferences, and educational workshops. A core strategic partnership with Beyond the Arc, Inc. extends the offering into M&A readiness advisory. Revenue is generated exclusively through professional services engagements with no recurring subscription, licensing, or product revenue disclosed. The firm is founder/management-controlled with no parent company, private equity backing, or institutional investment indicated in the data.

Name

Market Insights

Legal name

Market Insights, Inc.

Website

https://formarketinsights.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Market Insights, Inc. is a Seattle-based consulting firm founded in 1993 that delivers data-driven market research, branch optimization, segmentation, and strategic planning services exclusively to community banks and credit unions across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Banking Strategy Consulting

NAICS

Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services (541611), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Strategy Advisory (BPAHADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Market Research & Consumer Insights (BPAHALAA), Corporate Development & Strategic Partnerships Advisory (JVs, Alliances, Carve-outs) (BPAHAOAG), Financial Management & Performance Improvement Consulting (BPAHACAF)

Keywords

• Community bank consulting
• Market research services
• Strategic planning consulting
• Branch optimization analysis
• Credit union advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Strategic Consulting Services: Customized consulting engagements including market prioritization, branch optimization, market profiling, targeting studies, segmentation snapshots, product gap analysis, culture analysis, and strategic planning. Delivered to community banks and credit unions through direct client engagements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Market Insights, Inc. is a consulting firm that translates complex market data into clear, actionable insights that drive growth for community banks and credit unions. The firm delivers customized consulting engagements including market prioritization, branch optimization, market profiling, targeting studies, segmentation snapshots, product gap analysis, culture analysis, and strategic planning. Services are delivered directly to financial institution clients through project-based engagements tailored to specific organizational needs, supplemented by speaking/presentation services and thought-leadership content.

Product overview

Market Insights offers a suite of consulting services for community banks and credit unions centered on data-driven market intelligence and strategic planning. The core portfolio includes Market Prioritization, Branch Optimization, Market Profiling, Targeting Study, Segmentation Snapshot, Product Gap Analysis, Culture Analysis, and Strategic Planning services. These services work together as a comprehensive consulting engagement model: Market Prioritization and Branch Optimization help identify growth opportunities and optimize distribution networks; Market Profiling and Targeting Study provide market-specific insights; Segmentation Snapshot and Product Gap Analysis analyze customer and product dynamics; Culture Analysis assesses organizational readiness; and Strategic Planning translates insights into actionable plans. Additionally, the firm offers speaking/presentation services covering topics like AI in banking and the longevity economy, and publishes the Banking Forward newsletter.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Market Prioritization Analysis of a defined geographic area using specific screening criteria (demographic, product, competitive) to identify and prioritize communities best suited for acquisition, growth, or capital investment objectives. Designed for community banks and credit unions seeking data-driven expansion guidance.
• Branch Optimization Comprehensive branch-specific analysis describing segmented customer profiles and delineating growth potential per branch, including recommendations for channel optimization and branch consolidation or closure. For community banks and credit unions optimizing their physical distribution networks.
• Market Profiling Site-specific summary of each defined market area with assessment of opportunities, including demographic profile, business profile, market level segmentation, product behaviors, financial propensity, and competitive analysis. Targeted at community banks and credit unions evaluating specific geographies.
• Targeting Study Detailed insights on defined markets including demographic profile, business profile, market level segmentation, product behaviors, financial propensity, competitive analysis, and assessment of opportunities available in each market. For community banks and credit unions evaluating market-level opportunities.
• Segmentation Snapshot Household-level segmentation system analyzing customer and market households, including market segment growth opportunities and review of dominant segment characteristics and product-specific behaviors. Designed for community banks and credit unions seeking customer/member-level insight.
• Product Gap Analysis Evaluation of current product suite against competitor offerings and market-level propensity for product demand and usage to recommend product/service additions or deletions. For community banks and credit unions refining their product portfolios.
• Culture Analysis Assessment methodology for evaluating current organizational culture and making recommendations to shape an agile, sustainable culture aligned with strategic goals, including customized training and follow-up support. For community banks and credit unions undertaking organizational transformation.
• Strategic Planning Planning process emphasizing clear choices, measurable action, and accountability, gathering perspectives and concerns to build consensus and cultivate ownership, resulting in a strategy that translates goals into specific actions. For community banks and credit unions executing strategic initiatives.
• Speaking and Presentation Services Educational presentations for bank and credit union conferences, workshops, or webinars, covering topics such as AI in banking, longevity economy, future consumer trends, M&A strategy, and marketing for the agentic era. Delivered to community banks, credit unions, fintech conferences, state banking associations, and graduate banking schools throughout the United States and internationally.

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Beyond the Arc, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Steven Ramirez at Beyond the Arc, Inc. for M&A readiness strategic planning engagements. The partnership combines Market Insights' market expertise with Beyond the Arc's consulting capabilities to deliver a diagnostic framework for assessing strategic readiness before formal M&A conversations begin.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Wipfli: Wipfli is a top-25 US accounting and consulting firm with a dedicated financial institutions practice serving community banks and credit unions. It is a broader incumbent that competes on consulting engagements but offers a much wider portfolio including audit, tax, and technology services.
• Abrigo: Abrigo is a technology and advisory platform serving community banks and credit unions, combining risk management software with consulting services including its ThinkBIG conference where Market Insights' leadership presents. It is a broader incumbent — part vendor, part advisor — competing for the same strategic wallet.
• Baker Tilly: Baker Tilly is a large advisory, tax, and assurance firm with a financial services practice serving banks and credit unions. It competes for board-level strategic and risk advisory work that Market Insights also targets, but as part of a much broader portfolio.
• KPMG (Financial Services Consulting): KPMG's US Financial Services practice serves retail and commercial banks with strategy, risk, and technology consulting. It is a broad incumbent that competes for large strategic planning and M&A advisory mandates, but typically at much larger institution scale than Market Insights' community bank focus.

Direct peers

• Capital Performance Group: Capital Performance Group is a management consulting firm focused on retail banking strategy, distribution optimization, and performance improvement. It overlaps directly with Market Insights on branch optimization, market prioritization, and customer segmentation work for community and mid-sized banks.
• Novantas: Novantas provides customer analytics, retail banking consulting, and channel optimization services to banks and credit unions. It is directly comparable on the market prioritization and segmentation analytics offerings that are core to Market Insights' portfolio.
• Strunk Performance Group: Strunk Performance Group is a consulting firm specializing in performance improvement, retail delivery, and operational strategy for community banks. It is a direct peer on branch optimization and customer/member acquisition work targeting the same C-suite buyer.
• Cornerstone Advisors: Cornerstone Advisors is a Scottsdale-based consulting firm serving community banks and credit unions with strategy, technology, and performance advisory services. It is the closest direct peer to Market Insights, competing for the same C-suite buyer on strategic planning and digital transformation engagements.

Others

• The Financial Brand: The Financial Brand is a media and content platform for bank and credit union marketing, strategy, and digital transformation leaders. It publishes Market Insights' contributors and competes for the same executive audience's attention, making it an adjacent ecosystem peer rather than a direct consulting competitor.
• BAI (Bank Administration Institute): BAI is an industry association that delivers research, training, and advisory insights for retail banking leaders. It is an adjacent ecosystem player — not a direct competitor for consulting engagements — but occupies overlapping thought leadership and benchmarking territory.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/market-insights-inc

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 Market Insights