Insights in Marketing

What Insights in Marketing does

Insights in Marketing (IIM), founded in 1989 and headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, is a privately held, bootstrapped marketing research consultancy serving enterprise consumer brands and selected startups. The firm operates a horizontal segmentation model spanning food and beverage, retail, beauty, insurance, household goods, health and wellness, personal care, travel, beer/wine/spirits, durable goods, financial services, and entertainment; disclosed clients include Tropicana, Frito-Lay, Paychex, Farmers Insurance, Adobe, Molson Coors, Quaker Oats, Delta Air Lines, Haagen-Dazs, Royal Caribbean, Danone, and Champion Petfoods. With 11-50 employees (firmographics) and a stated "10+ employee" core team of which over 50% have ten-plus-year tenure, IIM positions itself as a senior-consultant-led practice rather than a scalable analyst pyramid.

The service portfolio is anchored in qualitative research (ethnographies, focus groups, online and mobile research) and quantitative research (concept testing, brand equity, pricing optimization, segmentation, attitudes and usage), supplemented by IIM Branded Solutions for fast-turn work. The proprietary technology layer consists of SpeakEasy™, a virtual qualitative research platform with dedicated project management and respondent screening; iimForum, a continuous consumer insights community with configurable engagement plans; and i2Q Same Day Research and iimPronto, which deliver qualitative and quantitative insights within tight deadlines.

Revenue is generated entirely through custom professional services engagements sold via direct enterprise sales; pricing is quote-based following a free consultation, with multi-year contract cadences disclosed. Distribution is exclusively direct-to-client with no channel partners. IIM is self-funded with no institutional investment, no parent company, no disclosed M&A, and no subsidiaries. In 2026 IIM completed a SOC 2 Type 2 examination, signaling formalization of information security controls appropriate for enterprise procurement.

Name

Insights in Marketing

Legal name

Insights in Marketing, LLC

Website

https://insightsinmarketing.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Insights in Marketing is a privately held, bootstrapped marketing research consultancy founded in 1989 and headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, providing qualitative and quantitative consumer research services to enterprise consumer brands across CPG, financial services, travel, and other categories.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Market Research Consulting

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Market Research, Analytics & Consumer Insights (BPAFAAAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Market Research & Consumer Insights (BPAHALAA), Shopper Insights & Path-to-Purchase Research (MPAAAJAL), Market, Shopper & Category Insights / Research Services (CRAOAOAI)

Keywords

• Qualitative market research
• Quantitative market research
• Consumer insights consulting
• Brand positioning research
• Virtual focus groups

Headquarters

HQ city

Northbrook

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, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Market Research Consulting Services: IIM generates revenue through providing qualitative and quantitative market research services to B2B clients. Services include ethnographic research, focus groups, online research, mobile research, concept testing, brand equity tracking, pricing optimization, segmentation studies, and attitudes & usage research.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Insights in Marketing is a B2B marketing research consultancy that designs and executes qualitative and quantitative consumer research for enterprise clients. Core services include ethnographies, focus groups, online and mobile research, concept testing, brand equity tracking, pricing optimization, segmentation, and attitudes-and-usage studies, delivered via proprietary platforms SpeakEasy™, iimForum, i2Q, and iimPronto.

Product overview

Insights in Marketing operates a multi-method market research consultancy offering qualitative and quantitative research services. The core portfolio consists of Qualitative Research and Quantitative Research as primary service offerings, supplemented by IIM Branded Solutions for fast-turn research needs. Supporting these are two technology platforms: iimForum (a consumer community platform for continuous insights access) and SpeakEasy™ (a virtual market research platform for online discussions). Together, these products enable collaborative, holistic research design with actionable insights translated into clear direction and easy-to-digest deliverables.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SpeakEasy™: A bespoke, user-friendly virtual market research platform designed by Insights in Marketing for online qualitative research discussions.
• iimForum
• i2Q

Products and services

• Qualitative Research Market research services exploring consumer attitudes and behaviors through methods including ethnographies, focus groups, online research, mobile research, and individual discussions. Designed for brand and marketing teams at consumer-facing companies seeking deep consumer understanding.
• Quantitative Research Market research services employing statistical-based techniques to uncover concrete data on target market wants, needs, and desires, including concept testing, brand equity evaluation, pricing optimization, segmentation, and attitudes and usage research.
• IIM Branded Solutions (i2Q Same Day Research and iimPronto) Fast-turn research solutions delivering qualitative and quantitative insights within tight deadlines. Includes i2Q In Person (combining in-person quantitative measurement with in-depth qualitative discussion) and i2Q Online (national/representative sample online survey with qualitative follow-up) for same-day delivery, plus iimPronto for rapid consumer insights with unique sampling requirements.
• iimForum A continuous consumer insight community platform providing ongoing access to real-time consumer insights through online chats, face-to-face interactions, customizable consumer recruitment, and various research engagement methods over time. Allows brands to watch, chat, ideate, and understand consumers with changeable plans to match specific goals.
• SpeakEasy™ An online virtual market research platform designed to transform the market research experience with a user-friendly interface, dedicated project management, technical support, and expertly screened consumer groups for engaging online qualitative discussions. Replicates the richness and effectiveness of in-person interactions in a digital space.

Quantifiable outcome

• Client confidently landed on positioning and moved forward to develop new packaging (HMS Design case study)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers22 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• C Space: Custom consumer insights and market research consultancy serving global brands across CPG and beyond. Highly comparable to IIM in service mix (qualitative + quantitative), CPG-heavy client base, and continuous community/insight offerings.
• Schlesinger Group: One of the largest qualitative and quantitative research data collection firms, with deep CPG and consumer reach. Comparable to IIM on core qualitative services and Fortune 500 client profile, though at significantly larger scale.
• Kadence International: Global market research consultancy focused on consumer insights across categories including F&B, retail, and beauty. Closely comparable to IIM on consultative qualitative/quantitative model and category breadth.
• Toluna: Consumer insights platform combining automated research with community panels. Comparable to IIM in serving enterprise consumer insights needs, with overlap on continuous community engagement (analogous to IIM's iimForum).
• Curion: Consumer insights and product testing firm specializing in CPG and sensory research. Closely comparable to IIM on CPG client base, qualitative + quantitative methodology, and Fortune 500 enterprise focus.
• Marketcast: Data and research firm serving entertainment, media, and consumer brands with audience and brand insights. Comparable to IIM on consultative insights delivery and category breadth including entertainment/travel clients.

Emerging players

• Suzy: Tech-enabled consumer research platform offering fast-turn insights to enterprise brands. Comparable to IIM on quick-turn research capability (analogous to i2Q), though delivered through a self-serve platform model rather than high-touch consulting.
• Fuel Cycle: Enterprise insights platform for community-based consumer research. Direct overlap with IIM's iimForum continuous insight community offering, though delivered as a SaaS platform versus IIM's service-led model.
• AYTM (Ask Your Target Market): Automated consumer research platform for fast-turn quantitative studies. Comparable to IIM's i2Q Same Day offering in speed/value proposition, though positioned as a self-serve automated alternative to IIM's full-service model.

Broad incumbents

• Dynata: Large-scale first-party data and research operations company providing sample, panels, and insights. Comparable as a broader incumbent in the same market research and consumer insights space, though focused on scale data collection rather than IIM's boutique qualitative depth.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/insightsinmktg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/insights-in-marketing
• Facebookfacebook.com/insightsinmarketing

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 Insights in Marketing