Dr Marc Rutschmann AG

What Dr Marc Rutschmann AG does

Dr. Marc Rutschmann Research AG is a Zurich-based behavioral research and consulting firm that analyzes consumer purchase processes for enterprise clients. The company was founded as a spin-off of Dr. Marc Rutschmann AG in 2021/2022, responding to growing demand for behavioral analysis methods originally developed by the parent firm since 1990. Its core offering, Kaufprozessanalyse (Purchase Process Analysis), uses a proprietary episodic memory interview technique to capture customer journeys audiovisually, then processes the resulting data with artificial intelligence to identify actual drivers, triggers, and inhibitors along the purchase path. The firm complements this research with Handlungsauslösende Kommunikation (Action-Triggering Communication), a creative service that translates research insights into targeted on- and offline marketing materials, and a productized Sales Automation Tool for online lead generation.

The firm's customer base comprises named enterprises across six verticals — insurance, banking, healthcare, media, industry, and retailing — in Switzerland and international markets. Engagement is consultative and project-based, with pricing provided on a quote basis. The methodology is grounded in modern behavioral and neuroscience research, and the firm's intellectual authority is anchored by founder Dr. Marc Rutschmann's longstanding teaching position at the University of St. Gallen (HSG) and four published monographs on purchase-process-oriented marketing.

Operationally, the company runs with a small specialist team of approximately six named professionals covering research, creative, project management, art direction, and web development. A proprietary IT platform launched in autumn 2022 underlies the purchase process modeling. The firm is privately held and founder-owned with no external institutional investors, and its distribution is entirely direct and relationship-driven, supplemented by content marketing through its website, LinkedIn presence, and published books.

Name

Dr Marc Rutschmann AG

Legal name

Dr. Marc Rutschmann Research AG

Website

https://mrutschmann.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Dr. Marc Rutschmann Research AG is a Zurich-based behavioral research firm that analyzes consumer purchase processes using proprietary episodic memory interviews and AI processing for enterprise clients across insurance, banking, healthcare, media, industry, and retailing in Switzerland and international markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Marketing Research Services

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910), Direct Mail Advertising (54186)

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Shopper Insights & Path-to-Purchase Research (MPAAAJAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Shopper & Retail Insights (In-Store/Path-to-Purchase, Category Insights) (MPAAALAJ)

Keywords

• Purchase process research
• Consumer behavior analysis
• Action-triggering communication
• Marketing consulting services
• Customer journey analysis

Headquarters

HQ city

Zürich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Kaufprozessforschung (Purchase Process Research): The company conducts purchase process analyses for corporate clients, identifying behavioral drivers, triggers, and inhibitors along the customer journey from first touchpoint to purchase completion. Deliverables include audiovisual recordings of customer journeys and AI-processed insights.
2. Handlungsauslösende Kommunikation (Action-Triggering Communication): Creative communication services that translate purchase process insights into marketing materials (on- and offline), including concept development, copywriting, design, landing pages, and direct mailings designed to trigger specific consumer actions.
3. Sales Automation Tool: An online persuasion-dialogue tool that guides prospects to a clear 'yes' to products or services, generating leads and measurable conversion rates. This represents a productized, repeatable deliverable component.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The company conducts purchase process analyses for enterprise clients using a proprietary episodic-memory interview technique combined with AI-powered data processing and a dedicated IT platform. Deliverables identify actual behavioral drivers, triggers, and inhibitors in customer journeys, which are then translated into action-triggering communication (concepts, copy, design, landing pages, direct mailings) and an online sales automation tool for lead generation.

Product overview

Dr. Marc Rutschmann Research AG offers a unified research and consulting service focused on purchase process analysis and action-triggering communication. The core offering consists of Kaufprozessanalyse (Purchase Process Analysis) — a research service that uses specialized interview techniques, audiovisual recording, and AI processing to identify consumer purchase drivers and inhibitors — combined with Handlungsauslösende Kommunikation (Action-Triggering Communication), which creates targeted communication measures based on these insights. The company also offers a proprietary Sales Automation Tool for online lead generation. All services are grounded in behavioral research and psychology methodologies developed since 1990, with the spin-off company established in 2021/2022 to focus specifically on behavioral analysis demand. The company has published several books on purchase-process-oriented marketing and is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Kaufprozessanalyse (Purchase Process Analysis) Research service that analyzes customer buying journeys using a specialized interview technique that activates consumers' episodic memory. Customer journeys are audiovisually recorded and processed with artificial intelligence to identify drivers, triggers, and inhibitors in the purchase process. Delivered to enterprise clients in insurance, banking, healthcare, media, industry, and retail.
• Handlungsauslösende Kommunikation (Action-Triggering Communication) Creative communication services that translate purchase process insights into targeted on- and offline marketing materials, including concept development, copywriting, design, landing pages, and direct mailings designed to trigger specific consumer actions. Targeted at enterprise marketing and sales decision-makers.
• Sales Automation Tool Online persuasion-dialogue tool developed based on behavioral research, psychology, and neurobiology. Generates leads and delivers measurable response and conversion rates by guiding consumers to a clear 'yes' to products or services.
• Proprietary IT Solution for Purchase Process Analysis Proprietary IT platform in place since autumn 2022 on which purchase processes are modeled and analyzed, enabling precise identification of leverage points for marketing and sales interventions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Measurable high response rates and conversion rates achieved through sales automation tool
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature3 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• NielsenIQ: Global consumer intelligence and retail measurement firm with deep shopper and path-to-purchase data assets. Comparable in retail and consumer behavior research, though anchored in panel and point-of-sale data rather than qualitative interview methodology.
• Salesforce: Broad incumbent CRM and sales automation platform competing for the same enterprise marketing and sales budgets that the firm's Sales Automation Tool targets. Comparable end-customer (enterprise sales/marketing), though a vastly broader software suite.
• GfK: Consumer behavior research firm (now part of NielsenIQ) with strong European heritage and shopper intelligence practice. Comparable target verticals (insurance, banking, retail) and consumer decision research methodology.
• Kantar: Global market research and shopper insights powerhouse with established practices in path-to-purchase, brand effectiveness, and consumer behavior. Highly comparable as a research services peer, though far larger and broader in scope than the boutique Rutschmann offering.
• Ipsos: Global market research firm with behavioral science and shopper insights practices that compete for the same enterprise marketing research budgets. Comparable in customer journey and consumer driver research, but with much broader service portfolio.

Emerging players

• Trax: AI-driven retail/shopper insights platform using computer vision and machine learning to measure purchase triggers in-store. Comparable in combining AI with shopper behavior research, though focused on in-store execution versus purchase journey interviews.
• Brains & Company: Consumer neuroscience consultancy using implicit measurement and brain-based methods to inform marketing decisions. Directly comparable neuroscience-rooted methodology targeting enterprise marketing teams.

Direct peers

• Dunnhumby: Specialist in shopper insights and customer data science with a strong focus on path-to-purchase and behavioral drivers of buying decisions. Highly comparable as a research-led, insights-to-action firm, though anchored in retail customer data.
• The Behavioural Architects: Boutique behavioral science consultancy applying behavioral economics and psychology to marketing effectiveness. Comparable niche positioning around uncovering unconscious purchase drivers, similar size and consultative GTM.

Regional players

• GIM Gesellschaft für innovative Marktforschung: German market research firm with deep implicit and behavioral research methods and a Heidelberg base. Comparable qualitative/behavioral methodology and DACH regional footprint, though operating primarily in Germany.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInch.linkedin.com/company/dr.-marc-rutschmann-ag

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 Dr Marc Rutschmann AG