FLUVANNA, NY - Moments from getting acquainted with Eric LeBlanc, one of the two Founders behind Perimeter Insights, he already had me on the edge of my seat.
“The most important three things in research: ROI, ROI, and ROI. When you’ve had to go to senior management or a board of directors to get a research investment approved, you know you have to speak the language of any other capital investment: What will it cost, what will we get, and what is the payback period? We can’t hide behind vague claims about value or tropes about ‘the cost of doing business.’ If a dollar gets spent, it has to answer for itself,” he said right out of the gate.
He and partnering Co-Founder Adam Brohimer believe strongly that every dollar spent has to answer for itself.
“We have to build that thinking in the front end. Remember to prioritize it in execution, and unwaveringly measure it on the back end. Because here is the reality: People are counting on us,” he emphasized. “People are counting on us to do great work for them that will grow businesses and careers, feed families, and make life better for the consumer. That’s a higher calling.”
When he and Adam started Perimeter Insights, it was with six principles to both strive for and measure by.
Adam and Eric both have lived through the idea that insights are a cost center, not an investment. The buck of that methodology, they concluded, stops at the desk of people who have not stepped up to require ROI on their work.
“We do not flinch from having our work’s utility and value measured, we insist on it,” Eric promised. “We sell our time, our thinking, our experience, and our commitment to making a difference. We never offer a client a product that doesn’t meet their business objectives and promise to deliver ROI on expectations.”
Eric drove the importance of ROI home further as he pointed out that too much of the industry is trying to sell a product, platform, or service.
“They’re going to keep selling buggy whips as long as they can keep finding buyers for them. Among them are some who will tell you that dashboards are bad (because that is a popular message these days) while their central product is a dashboard. How does that even make sense?” he asked. “Most businesses sell a product they want you to buy. That’s how they pay their bills. We have products, too, but we don’t exist to sell you them. We exist so that we can, after carefully considering your needs and strategies, collaborate with you to find a way to gain new distribution for your products and to drive velocity where you have that distribution.”
Helping suppliers build strategic relationships with their retailers, founded on trust and aligned objectives through work clients respect is the goal.
“We like to say that we did not set out to build the largest strategy and insights firm—we are out to build the most trusted strategy and insights firm,” Eric emphasized. “It’s not about our advertising. It’s not about seeing you at every trade show. Those things don’t show up in our clients’ P&Ls. We will stand by our work and its ability to make a difference to our clients where it matters most—in real, measurable financial results and in the careers of the people who are responsible for them.”
Intentionally small and founder-led, Perimeter Insights points to its work as the standard by which it should be measured.
“We’re simple, in a way. Simple in our convictions. But our work bears the mark of experience and nuance. We see ourselves as craftsmen. We commit to doing things the way they should be done. Not because it is easy, or fast, or profitable—because we take deep pride in what we do and take the responsibility seriously that our clients entrust us with something precious: Their time, energy, and opportunity,” he concluded.
Often, hands-on experience creating and executing business strategies is rare. When an insights firm offers to craft your strategy for you, Eric encouraged to ask what business strategies they have created and managed, and to what results.
If you get an answer that resonates with you, hang on tightly in the promising partner you’ve just found.
Curious about the experience that forged Adam and Eric’s hands-on methodology? Keep an eye on AndNowUKnow as we continue to report.
