Market research for AEC firms: The questions to answer before you begin
- Kayla McCause, LSSGB, CPSM
- Jan 22
- 5 min read
AKA, why “we don’t know what we need to know” is actually a perfectly reasonable place to start.
As firms finalize marketing and business development plans for 2026, market research often shows up as a line item. Sometimes it is tied to a specific growth initiative. Other times it appears as a general commitment to “getting smarter about the market.” Most market research conversations begin the same way. Someone says, “We don’t know what we need to know, but we know we need research.”
It is easy to picture the meeting that led to that moment. A few people nodding. Someone saying, “We should really get data.” Everyone agreeing because it sounds responsible and vaguely strategic, and because no one wants to be the person who asks the annoying follow-up question.
Other times, the ask is very specific. “We’re thinking about opening an office in Toledo. Who are the competitors and what are we walking into?” Or, “We’ve committed to pursuing ABC University and need to understand how decisions actually get made.”
Both scenarios are completely valid. Both can also fall apart quickly if a team jumps straight into gathering information without pausing long enough to get aligned on why the work is happening in the first place.
There is a moment that shows up in almost every research kickoff. Someone says, “Our goals are pretty straightforward,” and shortly thereafter, it becomes clear that each person in the room had a slightly different definition of straightforward. That is not a failure. It is simply how group decision-making works. It is also a sign that slowing down early will save time, money, and at least one future meeting that could have been an email.
Before anyone opens a spreadsheet, a few things are worth sorting out:
Start with the decision this research is meant to support
Every research effort has a decision sitting underneath it. Sometimes it is obvious. Sometimes it is buried under layers of “we just want to understand the market better.”
Clarity improves dramatically once the actual decision is named, even if that decision still feels a little uncomfortable or unfinished.
Is the firm evaluating whether a new market is viable?
Trying to understand why a once reliable sector has gone quiet?
Testing whether an office location makes sense beyond gut instinct?
Trying to get ahead of shifting client expectations before they show up in the backlog?
When the decision is clear, the research sharpens almost immediately. When it is not, the work tends to drift, often resulting in a very long report that everyone agrees is interesting but no one quite knows how to use.
Pause and take stock of what your firm already knows
Most firms have more market knowledge than they realize. It is just scattered. Some of it lives in proposals or CRM notes. A lot of it lives in the heads of principals who have been around long enough to “know how this works.” What makes this tricky is that the knowledge is not always consistent. Three smart, experienced leaders can confidently describe the same client in three completely different ways, and all three sound equally convincing. All are plausible. None fully align.
Before commissioning anything new, it is worth rounding up what already exists. Past proposals, CRM notes, project debriefs, win and loss patterns, even old org charts someone saved three years ago, and swears are still accurate. Seeing it all together makes the gaps obvious. It also separates what is documented and current from what is outdated, assumed, or based on one person’s memory.
Identify what still feels unclear or unresolved
Once existing knowledge is on the table, the gaps tend to reveal themselves. This is usually where the original “we don’t know what we need to know” starts to turn into something more useful.
Maybe there is uncertainty around who really influences decisions.
Maybe the competitive landscape feels crowded or oddly empty.
Maybe it is unclear what target clients care about now, not five years ago.
Maybe there is a general sense that risk exists, but no one can quite point to where.
The goal is not to create a perfect list. It is simply to understand what clarity would help the team move forward with more confidence than it has today.
Be clear about what can be learned from data and what cannot
Beyond what already lives inside the firm, some answers are already out there. Capital plans, procurement patterns, public reports, competitor positioning, and demographic data. When it is available, start there. Secondary research can move things along quickly and provide helpful context.
When the answers are not publicly available, primary research earns its keep. Conversations, interviews, surveys, targeted outreach. This is where nuance shows up, along with the occasional insight that makes everyone pause and say, “Well, that explains a lot.”
Neither approach is better by default. The right mix depends on the decision being made, not on which method sounds more sophisticated in a proposal.
Think about who actually needs to use the findings
This is where research efforts often go sideways. The team commissioning the work is not always the team that needs to apply it. Leadership, business development, marketing, technical teams, boards, and hiring managers all consume insight differently. Format matters. Depth matters. Translation matters more than most teams expect.
Be honest about who is best positioned to do the work
Some research belongs inside the firm. Some benefits from distance. If objectivity, confidentiality, or the ability to ask uncomfortable questions without political fallout is important, an external partner may be a better fit. The same is true when synthesis, pattern recognition, or a fresh set of eyes is the real need. This is not about prestige or outsourcing for the sake of it. It is about matching the work to the situation.
Get real about timing and expectations
Research takes as long as it is allowed to take. If the answer is needed next week, expect directional insight. If there are a few weeks, meaningful clarity is possible. If there are a few months, nuance starts to emerge. Timeline shapes methodology. It also shapes expectations, which is often half the battle.
Where this lands for 2026 planning
As AEC firms head into 2026 with defined growth goals, limited bandwidth, and increasing pressure to be intentional about where they focus, market research has the potential to be either a powerful decision-making tool or an expensive distraction. At its best, research gives a team shared clarity and a clearer path forward, not just another document to file away and collect dust.
When teams slow down long enough to get honest about why the work is happening, what is already known, and what still feels uncertain, the research tends to be sharper. So do the decisions that follow.
If the starting point is “we don’t know what we need to know,” that is not a problem. It simply means the real work is about to start, and the clarity needed for 2026 will show up once the right questions are on the table.
Unsure what you need to know to hit growth goals in 2026? A focused market research approach can bring clarity. Connect with us today to start aligning your goals, questions, and strategy with the insights needed to pursue them confidently.