The DRG

What The DRG does

The Dieringer Research Group, Inc. (The DRG) is a U.S.-based marketing insights and analytics consultancy founded in 1974 and headquartered in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, with a secondary office in Minneapolis. The firm delivers bespoke research, consulting, and advisory services centered on Customer Experience (CX), Brand Experience (BX), and Employee Experience (EX) for enterprise clients. Its delivery framework is anchored in the proprietary Insight Catalyst System, a program design and execution methodology refined over decades, complemented by additional proprietary assets including the Customer Experience Maturity Model (a five-stage assessment framework), Experience Fusion (an integrated CX/BX/EX service), and the Mastering CX Goal Setting online training course.

The DRG's core product set spans CX research and VoC programs, brand health measurement, market segmentation, new product testing (IHUTs, CLTs, soft launches), qualitative research, employee insights, insights socialization services, and North Star Metric advisory. Delivery is human-consultant-led rather than automated/SaaS-based, using Qualtrics as the primary survey platform and supplemented by content marketing, free assessment tools, and a deep case-study library. Primary customer segments are Banking & Financial Services, Health Insurance, and Healthcare, with secondary presence across marketing/business consultancies, retail, utilities, nonprofit, and government clients including named enterprise accounts such as a Top 5 Health Insurance Company, a Major Bank, Stanley, Goodwill, and Midwest DOT.

Revenue is generated through professional services engagements on a project-based and retainer basis, with no public pricing disclosed. The firm operates a sales-led, relationship-driven go-to-market model emphasizing long-term partnership over transactional delivery, supported by referral networks, content marketing, and thought leadership. Following the 2025 strategic merger with Cortico-X (an experience-led, AI-enabled transformation consultancy), The DRG operates as a Cortico-X company, expanding its capability surface into experience-led strategy and human-centered, AI-enabled transformation consulting.

Name

The DRG

Legal name

The Dieringer Research Group, Inc.

Website

https://thedrg.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The DRG is a 50-year-old U.S. marketing insights and analytics consultancy that delivers bespoke Customer Experience, Brand Experience, and Employee Experience research for enterprise clients in banking, health insurance, and healthcare, now operating as a Cortico-X company.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Marketing Research & Analytics Services

NAICS

Marketing Consulting Services (541613), Management Consulting Services (54161)

akta.pro primary industry

Customer Experience (CX) & Digital Experience (BPAHAEAC)

Keywords

• Marketing research services
• Customer experience insights
• Brand experience research
• Employee experience research
• Market segmentation analytics

Headquarters

HQ city

Brookfield

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Marketing Research and Analytics Consulting Services: The DRG generates revenue through professional services engagements providing marketing research, customer experience, brand experience, employee experience, and market insights consulting. Services include bespoke research studies, ongoing CX tracking programs, segmentation research, brand health measurement, win-loss analysis, new product testing, and advisory consulting. Revenue is project-based and retainer-based for ongoing client partnerships.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The DRG is a marketing insights and analytics consultancy that delivers bespoke customer experience (CX), brand experience (BX), employee experience (EX), and market research programs for enterprise clients across banking, health insurance, healthcare, and other verticals. Engagements are executed through the firm's proprietary Insight Catalyst System and supported by specialized offerings including market segmentation, brand health measurement, new product testing, qualitative research, the Experience Fusion integration service, and the Mastering CX Goal Setting online training course.

Product overview

The DRG is an analytics and insights consultancy (not a software/SaaS product company) that offers a portfolio of research and consulting services centered around their proprietary Insight Catalyst System. Core offerings include Customer Experience (CX), Brand Experience (BX), and Employee Experience (EX) research programs, supplemented by the Experience Fusion service which integrates all three experience types. The DRG provides a free CX Maturity Assessment tool for self-evaluation, and a premium online training course called 'Mastering CX Goal Setting' for professional development. All services are delivered by human consultants using established research methodologies rather than automated/AI-powered software platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Customer Experience Resilience Solutions Bespoke customer experience research and consulting services that grow client CX programs into integrated, empowering, growth-driving sources of customer truth, helping organizations hear their Voice of Customer loud and clear. Targets enterprise CX, marketing, and insights leaders.
• Brand Resilience Solutions Brand experience research services that turn brand research programs into strategic, competitive assets, helping organizations strengthen perceptions, influence behaviors, and drive connections with their audience. Targets enterprise brand and marketing leaders.
• Market Research Services Market research services that enable companies to anticipate trends, uncover new opportunities, and stay ahead of competition through dynamic and insightful market intelligence. Targets enterprise strategy and marketing leaders.
• Employee Insights Services Employee experience research services that leverage employee perspectives as a crucial component of CX strategy, fostering a customer-centric culture that drives both employee engagement and customer loyalty. Targets enterprise HR, CX, and people analytics leaders.
• Experience Fusion Service Holistic research service that integrates an organization's Customer Experience (CX), Brand Experience (BX), and Employee Experience (EX) data, layering proprietary studies, secondary research, and internal business intelligence. Targets enterprise strategy, CX, and brand leaders seeking integrated experience insights.
• Market Segmentation Research Market segmentation studies that reveal motivations and identify ways to connect with customers on a deeper level through stakeholder engagement, target audience definition, and multidimensional surveys covering demographics, behaviors, needs, and psychographics. Targets enterprise marketing and strategy teams.
• Brand Health Measurement Services Comprehensive brand health assessment covering Vital Signs (external and internal metrics), Wellness Diagnostics (root causes of brand well-being), and Longevity Plan (brand agility and resilience), including awareness, loyalty, perceptions, competitive position, and industry developments monitoring. Targets enterprise brand and marketing leaders.
• New Product Testing Research Pre-launch product testing services including in-home usage tests (IHUTs), central location tests (CLTs), and test market/soft launch studies to identify product features, refine marketing strategy, and assess potential success before full product rollout. Targets enterprise product and innovation teams.
• Qualitative Research Services Qualitative research services using projective techniques such as Brand Personification, Picture Sort exercises, and Mind Mapping to uncover deep-seated consumer brand perceptions that quantitative methods may not capture. Targets enterprise brand, marketing, and insights teams.
• North Star Metric Consulting Advisory services that help organizations identify and implement their North Star Metric—the single metric that reflects core value delivered to customers—and link it to customer behavior and growth strategy. Targets enterprise CX, strategy, and analytics leaders.
• Insights Socialization Services Consulting and methodology services to help organizations communicate and share insights across the enterprise, including executive summaries, dashboards, stakeholder work sessions, customer dialogs, and centralized knowledge-sharing platforms. Targets enterprise insights, CX, and marketing leaders.
• Mastering CX Goal Setting Online Training Course Comprehensive on-demand training course with lifetime access that empowers CX professionals to set meaningful, measurable, and achievable CX research goals across six modules (introduction to goal setting, identifying aligned metrics, evaluating internal/external factors, establishing CX north star metrics, and implementing monitoring), with tools, templates, and expert instruction. Targets individual CX practitioners and teams.

Quantifiable outcome

• Named one of Wisconsin's Fastest Growing Firms (Milwaukee Business Journal, 2019)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration12 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Cortico-XflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Cortico-X, a leading experience consultancy helping organizations build trust, drive growth, and navigate change through human-centered AI-enabled solutions, has merged with The DRG. The merger unites deep marketing insights with bold, experience-led transformation. The combined entity positions The DRG (now 'a Cortico-X Company') to deliver expanded capabilities in insight-driven consultancy and accelerate the path from insight to organizational impact.
• Anderson, Niebuhr & Associates (ANA Research)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2024The DRG acquired ANA Research, a Minneapolis-based marketing research firm with shared expertise in healthcare and health insurance industries. The acquisition deepens The DRG's client base, capabilities, and market presence in these key verticals. ANA's CEO John Steinlicht transitioned the company with focus on team well-being and client continuity. The DRG's CEO Lanie Johnson cited shared values and mutual dedication to quality as the foundation of the acquisition.
• Probe Research ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2017The Dieringer Research Group (The DRG) acquired Probe Research Services, another Wisconsin-based marketing research company, expanding its research capabilities and market presence within Wisconsin.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Kantar: Global market research and insights giant offering brand, consumer, and CX research across virtually every industry. A much larger incumbent that competes for the same enterprise research budgets The DRG serves, but at significantly greater scale and geographic reach.
• Mintel: Global market research firm producing syndicated consumer and product intelligence across CPG, retail, and adjacent verticals. A broader incumbent that competes for some of the same market-research budgets The DRG targets with its custom research services.
• Ipsos: Global market research and analytics firm with deep capabilities in brand, customer experience, and healthcare research. Competes with The DRG for enterprise CX and market research mandates in financial services, healthcare, and insurance verticals.
• Forrester Research: Global research and advisory firm producing syndicated research and CX consulting. Overlaps with The DRG's CX and customer experience advisory offerings, particularly for enterprise clients seeking research-backed recommendations.

Direct peers

• Walker Information: Long-standing CX research and advisory firm specializing in customer experience measurement and benchmarking. A direct peer to The DRG in CX research services for enterprise clients, with overlapping methodology and vertical focus.
• InMoment: CX platform and research firm combining VoC software with professional services across CX strategy, benchmarking, and insights. Directly comparable as a CX-focused research and consulting firm targeting many of the same enterprise verticals as The DRG.
• Strativity Group: CX strategy and research consultancy helping organizations assess CX maturity and design customer-centric strategies. Closely aligned with The DRG's CX Maturity Model and Experience Fusion methodology.
• Heart of the Customer: CX consulting firm focused on VoC program design, CX journey mapping, and customer-centric transformation. A comparable mid-sized CX consultancy serving enterprise clients in similar verticals to The DRG.
• C-space: Custom market research and insights consultancy building proprietary consumer communities and delivering qualitative and quantitative research. Comparable to The DRG in its custom, insight-driven research services for enterprise clients.
• Material: Strategy and experience consultancy combining CX research, brand strategy, and digital experience design. Closely comparable to The DRG's experience-led, research-grounded consulting model for enterprise clients.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Subsidiaries2 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 The DRG