Primary research in consulting and private equity: Improving market intelligence

The business questions consulting and private equity teams need to answer, from competitive positioning to market sizing to pricing, carry real risk when they're built on assumptions instead of evidence. Primary research replaces those assumptions with direct insight into markets, customers, competitors, and industry dynamics that strengthens recommendations and supports confident decision-making.

That need for evidence is only growing.

According to IncQuery’s latest report, The State of Primary Research in Consulting and Investment Research, 70% of respondents said they expect their research needs to increase over the next 12 months. The top research priority for those respondents was to improve the quality of insights.

What do teams use primary research for?

When asked about their research objectives, respondents most commonly selected the following:

• 93% — Competitive analysis and benchmarking
• 89% — Market size and opportunity assessment
• 81% — Voice of customer
• 80% — Strategic planning and decision making
• 64% — Market segmentation and targeting
• 55% — Market or product expansion
• 52% — Barrier to entry/likelihood to switch
• 43% — Pricing sensitivity and optimization
• 39% — Brand awareness and perception
• 29% — Product development and innovation

Percentages exceed 100% because respondents could select more than one objective.

What do these objectives have in common?

These objectives all relate to specific business questions teams need to answer to make decisions and recommendations with both evidence and confidence. The goal is defensible market intelligence which, in turn, improves the quality of insights.

Another common thread is that these research objectives can do more than just validate assumptions. They can uncover unmet customer needs, hidden competitive threats, pricing trends, and other insights that reveal opportunities and risks.

How does primary research improve insight quality?

Primary research, especially survey research, provides direct market evidence that is:

• Designed around specific research questions
• Gathered from qualified respondents
• Based on real-time responses, not historical data
• Owned exclusively by the team

Secondary research from publicly available data, reports, and desktop sources provides valuable context and high-level understanding, but it can’t answer the specific questions that need to be answered to validate assumptions, perform due diligence, and create value. Primary research bridges that intelligence gap.

Primary research provides a strategic advantage

As firms seek better market intelligence, primary research is becoming more than a due diligence exercise. It is evolving into a strategic capability that helps teams make better recommendations, support decisions with defensible evidence, and reduce uncertainty at every step for consulting and private equity teams.

Download The State of Primary Research in Consulting and Investment Research.