Customer Research International

What Customer Research International does

Customer Research International, Inc. (CRI) is a privately held market research data collection firm headquartered in San Marcos, Texas, founded in 1994 by Sanjay Vrudhula, Michelle Vrudhula, and Lyle Durbin. The firm describes itself as the largest U.S. survey research data collection firm, operating five call center facilities across Texas (San Marcos, Bryan/College Station, Houston, San Antonio, Corpus Christi) with more than 800 CATI (Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing) stations and a workforce of over 1,000 professionally-trained interviewers including bilingual coverage and 100+ work-from-home interviewers. CRI advertises over 100,000 hours of monthly interviewing capacity and 25+ years of operating history across thousands of completed research projects.

The company's core technology is a CATI-based data collection platform supplemented by multi-modal research delivery capabilities including telephone surveys, online surveys, SMS/MMS surveys, and mail surveys, along with hybrid methodologies such as recruit-to-web and multi-wave tracking. CRI's service portfolio spans telephone opinion surveys, perceptual studies, political polling, focus group recruiting, panel recruitment and management, and inbound call center services. The firm holds MBE and/or DBE certifications across nine jurisdictions (Arizona, California State, California Utilities Registry, City of Austin, Massachusetts, North Carolina, North Central Texas, Ohio, and Texas), and explicitly states it will pursue additional certifications on a client-driven basis. The Executive Vice President has maintained a Professional Researcher Certification (Expert Level) since 2006.

CRI operates a project-based professional services revenue model, with no publicly disclosed pricing, rate cards, or fee structures. Customer acquisition is sales-led and direct, targeting state and municipal government entities, universities, media outlets, political pollsters, public policy scientists, retail corporations, high-tech companies, healthcare, B2B, and energy sector clients. Distribution is exclusively direct — no third-party resellers or channel partners are evident — delivered through the firm's Texas call center network and digital survey channels. The company is closely held by its founders and senior leadership team, with no external institutional investment or private equity ownership signaled in the available data.

Name

Customer Research International

Legal name

Customer Research International, Inc.

Website

https://cri-research.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Customer Research International is a privately held, Texas-based telephone and multi-modal market research data collection firm operating the largest U.S. CATI infrastructure with 1,000+ trained bilingual interviewers and five call center locations, serving government, political, healthcare, media, retail, B2B, and energy clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Market Research Services

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910)

akta.pro primary industry

Survey, Panel & Fieldwork Services (BPAHALAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Market Research & Consumer Insights (BPAHALAA)

Keywords

• Market research services
• Survey data collection
• Telephone research
• Political polling
• CATI operations

Headquarters

HQ city

San Marcos

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Market Research Data Collection Services: Project-based market research data collection for government, political, healthcare, media, retail, B2B, and energy sector clients. Services include telephone surveys, online surveys, focus group recruiting, panel recruitment, and multi-modal research delivery.
2. Survey Research Analytics: Data collection with aggregated, anonymized feedback and opinions on social, political, lifestyle, and marketing questions presented back to clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Customer Research International is a full-service market research data collection firm conducting thousands of research projects for government agencies, universities, media outlets, political pollsters, retail corporations, high-tech companies, and B2B/energy clients. The firm delivers quantitative and qualitative survey services via multiple modalities, including telephone (CATI) interviews, online surveys, SMS/MMS, and mail, backed by 1,000+ trained interviewers and 800+ call center stations across Texas.

Product overview

Customer Research International (CRI) is a market research data collection firm offering a comprehensive portfolio of survey methodologies delivered through multiple channels. The core offerings include telephone-based quantitative research services (Telephone Opinion Surveys, Telephone Perceptual Studies, Multi-Wave Telephone Tracking, Telephone Recruit-to-Web), political polling, and qualitative research recruitment services (Focus Group Recruiting, Panel services). These are complemented by digital channels including Online Surveys, SMS/MMS services, and traditional Mail surveys. The company operates a large-scale call center infrastructure with 1000+ professionally-trained interviewers including bilingual support, serving clients across public opinion, healthcare, political, media, retail, B2B, and energy sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Telephone Opinion Surveys
• Telephone Perceptual Studies
• Multi-Wave Telephone Tracking
• Telephone Recruit-to-Web
• Political Polling
• Focus Group Recruiting
• Panel Recruitment, Management, and Maintenance
• Inbound Call Center Services
• Online Surveys
• SMS/MMS Survey Services
• Mail Survey Services

Named customers7 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles7 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Emerging players

• Toluna: Digital-first consumer insights platform combining online panels, survey technology, and community research — competes with CRI's online survey and panel management services and represents the digital modality shift that could pressure CATI-led peers.

Direct peers

• SSRS: Full-service survey research firm specializing in public opinion, political, and social science research with in-house telephone and online data collection — directly comparable to CRI's government, political, and policy work.
• Schlesinger Group: Global data collection and research services firm combining qualitative recruitment, focus group facilities, and quantitative survey operations — directly competing for the same market research buyer budgets as CRI in consumer, healthcare, and B2B research.
• Marketing Systems Group (MSG): U.S.-based CATI-focused market research data collection firm offering telephone surveys, panel management, and B2B/consumer sample — directly comparable to CRI's core CATI service line and target verticals.
• Maru Group: Global data and research services firm combining CATI, online panels, and qualitative capabilities for consumer, B2B, and public sector research — directly competing for the same multi-modal research projects as CRI.
• ReconMR: CATI-focused survey research and data collection firm that grew from a 10-station call center to 300+ stations. Directly comparable to CRI in methodology, vertical mix (government, political, healthcare), and customer base; in fact, Lyle Durbin has overseen ReconMR's operations alongside his role at CRI.
• Quest Mindshare: B2B and healthcare-focused market research data collection firm with telephone and online capabilities — directly comparable to CRI's B2B, energy, and healthcare vertical work.

Broad incumbents

• Ipsos (U.S. Operations): Global market research firm with a major U.S. data collection operation covering telephone, online, and face-to-face research across all of CRI's verticals — a broad incumbent that competes for the same government, political, healthcare, and retail RFPs.
• Westat: Major employee-owned survey research firm with large-scale data collection operations serving federal, state, healthcare, and education clients — overlaps directly with CRI's government, public policy, and academic research segments.
• Abt Associates (Survey Research): Large research and consulting firm with a substantial in-house survey data collection practice serving federal agencies, healthcare, and social policy clients — overlapping with CRI's government and healthcare verticals but operating at much larger scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/custresearch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/customer-research-international

Compliance9 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Customer Research International