What Customer Faithful does

Customer Faithful Limited is a privately-held UK research consultancy founded in 2009 by Rick Harris and headquartered in the Cambridge/Peterborough area. The firm provides bespoke qualitative and quantitative research across three practice areas: patient experience, customer experience, and employee engagement. Its core proprietary offering is Lifelines®, a registered methodology anchored in Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) and in continuous use since 2010, which turns patient and carer experience into structured, ethics-approved evidence. The Evidence Continuum™ framework packages Lifelines® outputs for HTA submissions, peer-reviewed publication, market access, and patient support programme design, extending the utility of a single research programme across multiple downstream applications. A sub-product, Lifelines Social Landscapes, extends the methodology into social media listening.

The firm operates as a small collective of multidisciplinary experts, with Rick Harris personally overseeing all projects. Revenue is generated through project-based professional services engagements with enterprise and public-sector clients spanning pharmaceuticals (Pfizer, Teva, Amgen), retail (Argos, QVC, World Duty Free, Crabtree & Evelyn), transport (Stagecoach), legal (DLA Piper), employment services (Ingeus), government (Ordnance Survey, RCVS), and healthcare providers (NHS West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust, Circle). Work is delivered directly to enterprise clients across the UK and selected European and US markets. Go-to-market relies on thought leadership content, industry conference presence (BHBIA, Cambridge Network), referrals, and testimonials.

Ancillary offerings include Employee Engagement services (Listening Groups, Surveys, Comment Boxes with text/emotion analytics), Customer Experience Research, and a fixed-price GDPR Compliance Training session for SMEs. Industry association memberships (BHBIA, MRS, AQR, EphMRA) anchor the firm's credibility within healthcare and qualitative research standards. The firm voluntarily complies with the Modern Slavery Act 2015 despite turnover falling below the £36 million mandatory threshold. AI capabilities, where present, are limited to third-party text analytics and social media listening tools used to process unstructured survey responses.

Name

Customer Faithful

Legal name

Customer Faithful Limited

Website

https://customerfaithful.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Customer Faithful is a UK-based qualitative research consultancy providing bespoke patient, customer, and employee experience research via its proprietary Lifelines® IPA methodology, serving enterprise clients across pharmaceuticals, retail, healthcare, and government.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Market Research Services

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (541910), Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Market Access, Pricing & Reimbursement (Evidence Generation) FSP (HLAGAOAN)

Keywords

• Patient experience research
• Customer experience research
• Employee engagement research
• Qualitative market research
• Phenomenological analysis methodology

Headquarters

HQ city

Peterborough

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

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. Research Consultancy Services: Custom qualitative research projects covering patient experience, customer experience, and employee engagement. Projects include patient-centred insight programmes, customer journey mapping, engagement surveys, focus groups, and analysis techniques. Revenue is generated through project-based professional services engagements with clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Customer Faithful is a multi-disciplinary research consultancy providing bespoke qualitative research projects covering patient experience, customer experience, and employee engagement. The firm's core proprietary asset is Lifelines®, a registered methodology anchored in Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis that turns patient and carer experience into structured, durable evidence for HTA submissions, peer-reviewed publication, market access, and patient support programme design. Services are sold project-by-project to enterprise clients across pharmaceuticals, healthcare, retail, transport, government, and professional services.

Product overview

Customer Faithful is a multi-disciplinary research consultancy offering a portfolio of qualitative research methodologies. Its core proprietary offerings are Lifelines® (a registered IPA-based methodology for patient/customer experience research since 2010) and the Evidence Continuum™ framework for packaging research outcomes for HTA, publication, and market access. The company also offers Lifelines Social Landscapes for social media analysis, Customer Experience Research, Employee Engagement Services (including Listening Groups, Surveys, and Comment Boxes), and GDPR Compliance Training. The offerings are service-based rather than a software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Lifelines®: A registered methodology for patient experience research using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, in continuous use since 2010. Used for HTA submissions, peer-reviewed publication, market access, and patient support programme design.
• The Evidence Continuum™

Products and services

• Lifelines® Patient Experience Research A registered qualitative research methodology anchored in Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) that uncovers the lived experience of patients and carers with academic-standard rigour. Sold as part of bespoke research engagements to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and healthcare clients needing evidence suitable for HTA submissions, peer-reviewed publication, market access, and patient support programme design.
• Evidence Continuum™ A framework that packages Lifelines® methodology outputs for HTA submissions, peer-reviewed publication, market access, and patient support programme design from a single auditable evidence base. Sold to pharmaceutical and biotech clients as part of Lifelines-based engagements.
• Lifelines Social Landscapes A methodology variant extending Lifelines® to social media listening and analysis, exploring how patients and customers discuss health conditions and experiences across digital platforms. Sold as a sub-component of Lifelines-based engagements to healthcare and pharmaceutical clients.
• Customer Experience Research Bespoke qualitative and quantitative research into customer attitudes, feelings, and behaviour, providing understanding of and response to the voice of the customer across multiple industry sectors. Sold project-by-project to enterprise clients in retail, transport, travel retail, and leisure.
• Employee Engagement Services Research services including Listening Groups (facilitated external moderation), Employee Surveys (aligned for tracking), and Free Comment Boxes for unstructured feedback. Engagements range from baseline discovery for new organisations to ongoing Pulse surveys and senior team programmes. Sold project-by-project to enterprise clients in professional services, employment services, and government.
• GDPR Compliance Training A 4-hour 1-to-1 coaching session for SMEs to achieve GDPR compliance in personal data handling and outbound marketing activities, conducted by Managing Director Rick Harris at £499 plus VAT on client premises.

Quantifiable outcome

• Patient engagement initiatives for NHS West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Association for Qualitative Research (AQR)minorOthersIndustry association membership. Customer Faithful expects suppliers to be members of appropriate industry associations and comply with codes of conduct regarding legal and ethical standards.
• Market Research Society (MRS)minorOthersIndustry association membership. Customer Faithful expects suppliers to be members of appropriate industry associations and comply with codes of conduct regarding legal and ethical standards.
• British Healthcare Business Intelligence Association (BHBIA)minorOthersIndustry association membership. Customer Faithful expects suppliers to be members of appropriate industry associations and comply with codes of conduct regarding legal and ethical standards.
• European Pharmaceutical Market Research Association (EphMRA)minorOthersIndustry association membership. Customer Faithful expects suppliers to be members of appropriate industry associations and comply with codes of conduct regarding legal and ethical standards.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Adelphi Values (OPEN Health Group): Specialist patient-centred outcomes and qualitative research consultancy serving pharma clients. Highly comparable to Customer Faithful's Lifelines offering for HTA, market access, and patient evidence generation.
• Research Partnership: Healthcare-focused market research agency providing patient and physician research to pharma clients. Comparable in customer base (pharma), service model (qualitative and quantitative research), and use cases (market access, brand insights).
• Lumanity (formerly HRW): Patient-centred evidence and healthcare consultancy supporting pharma market access, HTA, and communications. Directly comparable to Customer Faithful's Evidence Continuum offering for HTA submissions and peer-reviewed publication.
• Cello Health: Healthcare-focused insights and strategy consultancy serving global pharma clients with qualitative patient, customer, and employee research. Comparable methodology depth and pharma vertical focus.
• Branding Science Group: Independent research consultancy specialising in qualitative brand, customer, and patient research across pharma and consumer sectors. Closely aligned in firm size profile, qualitative rigour, and enterprise pharma client base.
• Hall & Partners: Brand and customer experience research consultancy with a healthcare practice. Comparable in qualitative research methodology and customer/patient insights work, though at larger scale.

Broad incumbents

• IQVIA: Largest global CRO and healthcare data science company offering patient experience, market access, and real-world evidence services. Operates at vastly greater scale than Customer Faithful but overlaps in HTA-grade evidence generation.
• ICON plc: Global CRO with patient-centred outcomes, market access, and commercial services. Comparable end-to-end pharma services portfolio but as a broad incumbent rather than a specialist qualitative firm.
• Kantar (Health): Global market research and insights group with a dedicated health practice covering patient experience, brand, and CX research. Overlaps in methodology and pharma/CX clientele as a broad incumbent.
• Ipsos Healthcare: Healthcare-focused division of global market research group Ipsos, covering patient, physician, and consumer research for pharma. Comparable offerings but at much larger scale and broader geographic footprint.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/CustomerFaithful
• Xtwitter.com/CustomerFaithful
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/customer-faithful-limited

Compliance2 records

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 Customer Faithful