North East market research agency celebrates 25 years of customer insight

Explain Market Research, a leading customer insight agency based in Newcastle upon Tyne, is celebrating 25 years of business in 2019 which comes on the back of a string of new contract wins and year on year growth for the company.

Founded in 1993, the company has established itself in core sectors and is currently one of the UK’s leading experts in utility and healthcare research as well as providing research solutions in the finance, retail and social housing sector with a national portfolio of clients spanning from Fort William to Guernsey.

Over the last 25 years Explain has always strived to stay ahead of the digital curve, in the early years investing in its own Research Centre and more recently an online community platform for its clients who want to truly understand their customers and identify insights to distinguish their offer.

Discussing how he has seen the business change over 25 years, David Shiel, founder and chief executive of Explain, said:
“Explain started with three people in the business and we now have a team of 65, working with many of the UK’s biggest companies from our head office in the heart of Newcastle.

“I am incredibly proud of everything we have achieved over the last 25 years and truly excited by the team that we have built along the way.”

Kim Davis, managing director, joined the Explain team 20 years ago as a research assistant before rapidly making a name for herself and progressing in the business.

Kim commented:
“It’s incredible to have been part of an exciting and successful business for the past 20 years and I have no doubt that my talented team is the key driver behind the success of Explain.

“The market has changed dramatically over the years as research and engagement have become much more aligned. The work we do at Explain is not just about asking for opinions in the traditional survey style but engaging with customers and encouraging an ongoing two-way conversation.

“We would like to continue to see the business grow nationally whilst always being based in Newcastle and be known within our region as a great place to work. Continuing to help the team develop themselves to be the best they can be will remain at our core.

“Over the next few years, I think ‘in the moment’ research will continue to grow as the attention span of customers gets shorter and therefore the requirement to capture somebody’s view point at the point of interaction will become ever more important.”

To find out more about Explain Market Research visit www.explainresearch.co.uk.