Cornerstone Research & Marketing

What Cornerstone Research & Marketing does

Cornerstone Research and Marketing Inc. is a privately held, founder-owned full-service custom market research firm established in 1989 by Rhonda Ried and headquartered in North Tonawanda, New York. The firm designs and executes custom research studies from study and questionnaire design through data collection, analysis, and reporting, delivering both qualitative (focus groups, intercept studies, mystery shopping) and quantitative (telephone interviewing, online surveys, public opinion polling) methodologies. Its service portfolio spans 15+ named offerings including advertising effectiveness research, consumer opinion and motivation studies, customer satisfaction studies, new product development research, market analysis and competitive intelligence, employee surveys, media and readership studies, and specialized healthcare/dental/pharmaceutical and financial industry research.

The firm serves enterprise and mid-market clients across financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, media, nonprofit, and B2B/industrial sectors, with named logos including HSBC, The Buffalo News, Kaleida Health, and the Diocese of Buffalo. The business model is project-based professional services priced competitively but not publicly disclosed, sold through direct client engagement with company president Rhonda Ried personally involved in all phases of each study. GTM is sales-led, with no intermediaries, resellers, or external investors documented; ownership remains with the founder. The firm claims over 50 years of combined staff experience, thousands of clients served since inception, and recognition as one of the premier research companies in Western New York, while operating from a single office with no disclosed subsidiaries, funding rounds, partnerships, or M&A activity.

Name

Cornerstone Research & Marketing

Legal name

Cornerstone Research and Marketing Inc.

Website

https://ruthdiamond.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Cornerstone Research and Marketing Inc. is a privately held, full-service custom market research firm founded in 1989 in North Tonawanda, NY. It provides qualitative and quantitative research services to enterprise and regional clients across financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, and media.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Market Research Services

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191), Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910)

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Market Research & Consumer Insights (BPAHALAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Product & Innovation Research (Concept, Pricing, Packaging, Conjoint) (MPAAALAI)

Keywords

• Market research services
• Consumer survey research
• Focus group research
• Advertising effectiveness studies
• Competitive intelligence research

Headquarters

HQ city

North Tonawanda

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

Revenue model

1. Market Research Services: Custom market research services delivered on a project basis, including study design, questionnaire design, data collection, detailed analysis, and reporting. Services span advertising effectiveness, consumer surveys, focus groups, telephone interviewing, and other research methodologies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Cornerstone Research and Marketing Inc. delivers custom-designed full-service market research from study and questionnaire design through data collection, detailed analysis, and reporting. Each project is tailored to the client and led directly by company president Rhonda Ried, spanning qualitative methods such as focus groups and mystery shopping and quantitative methods such as telephone interviewing, online surveys, consumer surveys, and public opinion polling.

Product overview

Cornerstone Research and Marketing Inc. is a full-service marketing research firm established in 1989 that provides custom-designed research studies from study and questionnaire design through detailed analysis and reporting. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of research services including qualitative methods (focus groups, intercept studies, mystery shopping, street intercepts, taste testing) and quantitative methods (telephone interviewing, online/internet research, consumer surveys, public opinion polling). Their services span multiple industries including consumer goods, financial services, healthcare, media, and industrial/B2B sectors. Each research engagement is custom-designed in collaboration with clients, with direct involvement from company president Rhonda Ried, incorporating over 50 years of combined expertise in marketing, analysis, interpretation, and statistical modeling.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Advertising Effectiveness Research

Quantifiable outcome

• 5% sales increase in first year, 12% in second year for major Pennsylvania newspaper client
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Schlesinger Group: Global qualitative and quantitative research firm offering custom focus group, in-depth interview, and online research services. Directly comparable to Cornerstone as a custom market research provider across multiple verticals.
• Kadence International: Full-service custom market research firm with qualitative and quantitative capabilities serving enterprise clients globally. Comparable in service breadth, custom engagement model, and multi-industry coverage.
• SIS International Research: Custom market research and competitive intelligence firm offering qualitative and quantitative services for enterprise clients. Directly comparable boutique-style research provider with cross-industry work.
• Hall & Partners: Custom brand and communications research agency working with global enterprises on advertising effectiveness and consumer insights. Comparable for advertising effectiveness and brand research offerings.
• Kelton Global: Insights and strategy agency delivering custom consumer and B2B research, including advertising effectiveness, concept testing, and customer experience work. Comparable as a custom research boutique for enterprise clients.
• C Space: Custom market research and customer community firm helping enterprises develop actionable insights. Comparable for custom qualitative and co-creation work aimed at enterprise marketing teams.
• Savanta: Full-service market research agency offering custom research, brand tracking, and B2B studies. Comparable in delivering custom research solutions across verticals to enterprise clients.

Broad incumbents

• Material+ (formerly LRW Group): Large insights and strategy firm with broad consumer, brand, and B2B research capabilities. Comparable category (custom market research) but operates at significantly greater scale and breadth than Cornerstone.
• Macromill: Global digital market research provider offering custom research alongside automated solutions. Overlaps with Cornerstone in custom research services while serving enterprise clients at much larger scale.
• Westat: Established research firm offering custom survey, evaluation, and qualitative research for government and commercial clients. Comparable in custom research delivery but at much larger scale and with broader capabilities.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ruth-diamond-market-research

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Cornerstone Research & Marketing