A LEGACY THAT LIVES ON
Directions is a top business insights and analytics company. We were founded over 30 years ago with the distinct mission to form long-term partnerships with marketing, consumer insights, and B2B insights professionals, empowering them to impact strategic business decisions and drive action in their organizations - and we remain as passionate about living that out today as ever!
We are proud to be 100% privately owned by senior staff.
1988
Randy Brooks founded Directions Research with the mission to form long-term business partnerships with clients through superior design, analysis, communication, and unsurpassed responsiveness. His vision was for the business to be owned and operated by senior management.
1989
Randy and a small team of 4 moved into the historic Flatiron Building in Cincinnati, Ohio.
1996
The company reached $10M in annual sales with a total of 50 employees.
2000
'Web' surveys quickly replaced telephone and mall interviews.
2004
Revenue grew a staggering 55% over the previous year, reaching $20M in annual sales, and over $100M cumulative sales, with 100 employees.
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2013
Ownership expanded to almost 30 employee shareholders.
2015
Jim Lane was elected CEO and president of Directions Research. The company released a new logo.
2018
Directions Research shortens its name to ‘Directions.’ Directions acquires SEEK Company, a qualitative insights and analytics consultancy. Randy Brooks retires and assumes the role of Chairman of the Board.
2019
The company reached $50M in annual sales, surpassed 40 employee shareholders, and expanded to a 5-person Board of Directors.
2021
Directions acquired Aimpoint Research® - a global strategic intelligence firm specializing in agri-food. The company moved to a “Work from Anywhere” policy and hired 47 new employees from all across the country for a total of 210 employees.
2023
The company reaches $1B in cumulative sales with 230+ employees and 56 employee shareholders.
Directions is the full-service quantitative marketing research division of Directions Inc, an employee-owned firm headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, with regional offices around the country, conducting work globally.
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