What Evans Research does

Evans Research Associates is an independent, privately held market research firm founded in 1975 by Richard P. Evans and headquartered in San Bruno, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The firm specializes in quantitative market research for high-technology and financial services clients, conducting project-based engagements that include telephone research, online surveys, mail questionnaires (including disk-by-mail designs), conjoint and factor analysis, phone-mail-phone concept testing, multi-location intercept studies, database segmentation, legal research, advertising claim support, and international research. Notable named clients across its history include Adobe, Apple, Google, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel, Oracle, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Charles Schwab, Levi Strauss, Starbucks, and Safeway, reflecting a long-standing enterprise orientation.

The firm's technology stack is centered on a traditional in-house data collection and processing infrastructure rather than a modern software platform. This includes a 30-station Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) phone bank that allows offsite client monitoring, 10 dedicated computer stations for processing, tabulation, and database management, a mailing area, and capabilities for WWW online surveys, telephone interviews, mail questionnaires, and database segmentation. The senior team — Founder/Chairman Richard P. Evans (former P&G Senior Statistician who coordinated with A.C. Nielsen), President William Magoolaghan III (since 1985), and Vice President Lucinda Gonion (since 1981, former VP of the Marketing Research Association) — collectively brings over 100 years of combined market research experience.

The business model is a classic boutique professional services model: custom, project-based research engagements priced per scope and methodology, with revenue generated through direct client relationships rather than self-service or productized offerings. The go-to-market is referral-driven and relationship-led within the high-tech and financial services verticals, with no disclosed pricing tiers, no productized SaaS or platform offering, no API, no disclosed funding, and no institutional investors. The company operates as a closely held, expertise-driven enterprise with national reach from a single Bay Area facility.

Name

Evans Research

Legal name

Richard P. Evans & Associates

Website

https://evansres.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Evans Research Associates is an independent, privately held market research firm founded in 1975 in San Bruno, California, providing custom quantitative research services—including telephone, online, and mail surveys plus statistical analysis—to enterprise clients in the high-technology and financial services sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Market Research Services

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Industry & Sector Research (Syndicated/Custom) (BPAHALAE)

Keywords

• Market research services
• Quantitative research
• Data collection
• Survey research
• Consumer insights

Headquarters

HQ city

San Bruno

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Market Research Services: Project-based market research services including quantitative telephone research, conjoint analysis, concept testing, mail studies, and multi-location intercept studies. Revenue generated through custom research project fees tailored to client objectives.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Evans Research Associates is an independent marketing research firm that designs and executes custom quantitative research projects for enterprise clients. Services span the full research lifecycle — problem definition, research program design, sample selection, questionnaire design, multi-mode data collection (telephone, online, mail, disk-by-mail, intercept), tabulation, statistical analysis, database segmentation, and final reports and presentations — all performed in-house at its San Francisco Bay Area facility.

Product overview

Evans Research Associates offers a comprehensive suite of market research services delivered through multiple methodologies. The core offerings include quantitative telephone research (conducted via an in-house 30-station phone bank), WWW Online Surveys, and Mail Questionnaires (including disk-by-mail designs). These data collection services are supported by analytical capabilities including Conjoint and Factor Analysis, Database Segmentation, and full statistical analysis and reporting. The company also provides specialized services such as Legal Research, International Research, and Multi-Location Intercept Studies. All research phases from study design through data collection, tabulation, and analysis are conducted in-house at their San Francisco facility, with the company specializing in high-tech and financial services industries since 1975.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Quantitative Telephone Research Phone-based survey collection delivered through an in-house 30-station phone bank with CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing) capabilities, allowing clients to monitor data collection offsite in real time.
• WWW Online Surveys Web-based survey methodology used for customer satisfaction, staff satisfaction, product and service feedback, and conference evaluations.
• Mail Questionnaires and Disk-by-Mail Designs Self-completion survey methods distributed by postal mail, including disk-by-mail designs for respondent convenience, used for market and consumer research studies.
• Conjoint and Factor Analysis Statistical techniques for trade-off analysis and market research, including price elasticity assessment and product concept testing.
• Database Segmentation Database management and segmentation analysis using factor and cluster analysis techniques to segment markets based on demographics, behavior, or needs.
• Phone-Mail-Phone Concept Testing Multi-mode concept testing methodology combining telephone and mail data collection phases for comprehensive product and advertising evaluation.
• Multi-Location Intercept Studies Coordinated pre-recruit and intercept studies conducted across multiple locations for field data collection.
• Legal Research Research services specifically designed to support legal proceedings and litigation requirements.
• International Research Research capabilities for cross-border market studies and global market assessment.
• Statistical Analysis and Reporting Comprehensive data tabulation, statistical and multivariate analysis, and report presentation services including database management.

Named customers34 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• A. C. NielsencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoordinated projects and plans with national syndicated data vendors such as A.C. Nielsen. Founder Richard P. Evans previously worked with syndicated data vendors including A.C. Nielsen at Procter & Gamble.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Regional players

• Rakuten Insight: Online panel and custom research firm operating large APAC consumer panels with global custom research delivery. Comparable in custom research services for technology and consumer clients, but primarily competing in the Asia-Pacific region rather than the US Bay Area enterprise market where Evans operates.

Broad incumbents

• Ipsos: Global market research and consulting firm operating across technology, financial services, and consumer verticals. Comparable to Evans Research in offering custom quantitative research, but at vastly greater scale, geographic reach, and with proprietary syndicated assets.
• Kantar: Global market research and insights business covering brand, advertising, consumer, and retail research. Comparable to Evans in delivering custom research for major enterprises, but operating at network scale with proprietary audience panels and analytics platforms.
• GfK: Global research organization offering custom and syndicated insights across consumer, technology, and financial services markets. Comparable in methodology and vertical overlap with Evans Research, but operates at multinational scale with deeper technology infrastructure.
• NielsenIQ: Global consumer measurement and analytics firm combining syndicated and custom research with large-scale panel and retail data. Evans coordinates with A.C. Nielsen historically, and NielsenIQ represents the scaled, data-platform incumbent that boutique custom research firms like Evans complement or compete against.

Direct peers

• Abt Associates: US-based research and consulting firm delivering custom survey research, evaluation, and policy analysis. Comparable to Evans in offering rigorous, project-based custom research with strong statistical and methodological credentials, though at substantially larger scale.
• Schlesinger Group: Data collection and research services firm operating qualitative and quantitative panels with in-house CATI and online capabilities. Directly comparable to Evans in methodology mix (telephone, online, mail), custom research delivery, and B2B enterprise client focus.
• Westat: US-based employee-owned professional research corporation delivering custom survey research, statistical analysis, and program evaluation. Most structurally comparable to Evans Research as a US-headquartered, privately held custom research firm with deep methodological expertise and multi-decade client relationships.
• Maru Group: Research and insights firm offering custom quantitative research, panel access, and technology-enabled data collection across North America and Europe. Comparable to Evans in custom B2B research execution and enterprise client focus, with broader geographic and panel infrastructure.

Emerging players

• Toluna: Technology-led consumer insights platform combining a global online panel with automated survey tooling. Comparable to Evans Research's custom quantitative work, but competes via faster, lower-cost technology-enabled delivery rather than bespoke CATI-led fieldwork.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/evans-research-assoc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Evans Research