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CUSTOMER RESEARCH CONSULTANCY SPECIALIZED IN AI PRODUCTS
Customer Research
We build the canonical knowledge base of who your customers are, how they think and what products they want.
Why teams choose PH1
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Kickoff and finish research studies faster
Stop waiting around for research. We match your sprints and timelines. Get constant visibility on insights so you can act.
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Experts at complex & challenging projects
14 years of working with executives, complex orgs, sensitive audiences & topics, and in regulated environments.
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Deliverables that move leaders to act
We champion the last mile: evidence, roadmaps and strategies that give leaders the confidence to act.
The research & strategy partner for teams building intelligent experiences
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FOUNDED IN 2012 /FROM STARTUPS TO THE FORTUNE 500
TRUSTED BY 300+ COMPANIES
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USER RESEARCH & CUSTOMER INSIGHT
Get clarity on what your customers need & which solution to build
Product and research leaders bring us in when:
Customers drop off and your analytics cannot say why.
Leadership disagrees about who the core customer is.
You are entering a market with no behavioural baseline.
The journey spans teams and nobody owns the whole path.
You hold research that was never framed for a decision.
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INTERVIEWS · PERSONAS · JOURNEY MAPPING · SURVEYS
Insights that will power your most important product & markting decisions for years
We work with teams who need an urgent, complex project completed, and with teams who need a trusted partner to lead a major transformation. Everything is delivered AI-ready, often as an interactive repository with the scaffolding and skill files your team needs to build on our work. PH1 has deep expertise across discovery research, 0 to 1 research, service design, in-depth interviews, complex stakeholder engagements, and product testing.
We take care of everything including the strategy, recruitment, discussion guides, facilitation, reporting, and presentations.
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BLOG
Latest insights
digital-transformation
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Jul 9, 2026
Search: The Digital Transformation Project Quietly Hurting Your Customers
Broken site and enterprise search quietly erodes perception, acquisition, retention, and revenue. See why it's the transformation fix to prioritize now.
digital-transformation
/
May 23, 2026
AI Will Destroy University Website Traffic. There's Only One Path Forward.
Google's AI is replacing your website in the applicant journey. Here's how university marketing teams should respond before it's too late.
/
BLOG
Latest insights
digital-transformation
/
Jul 9, 2026
Search: The Digital Transformation Project Quietly Hurting Your Customers
Broken site and enterprise search quietly erodes perception, acquisition, retention, and revenue. See why it's the transformation fix to prioritize now.
digital-transformation
/
May 23, 2026
AI Will Destroy University Website Traffic. There's Only One Path Forward.
Google's AI is replacing your website in the applicant journey. Here's how university marketing teams should respond before it's too late.
/
BLOG
Latest insights
digital-transformation
/
Jul 9, 2026
Search: The Digital Transformation Project Quietly Hurting Your Customers
Broken site and enterprise search quietly erodes perception, acquisition, retention, and revenue. See why it's the transformation fix to prioritize now.
digital-transformation
/
May 23, 2026
AI Will Destroy University Website Traffic. There's Only One Path Forward.
Google's AI is replacing your website in the applicant journey. Here's how university marketing teams should respond before it's too late.
/
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you run both qualitative and quantitative research?
Both, usually in the same project. Qualitative work — in-depth interviews, journey research, moderated sessions — explains why customers behave the way they do. Quantitative work — surveys from around 100 to 4,000+ respondents, demand measurement, willingness to pay, ranked preference — tells you how widely it applies and produces figures a business case can carry. Most decisions need one to explain and the other to size.
What customer research methods do you use?
Moderated in-depth interviews, remote or in person. Stakeholder interviews across every internal team that owns part of the experience. Journey mapping across channels and teams. Survey design, fielding and weighting, with segment analysis and significance testing. Behavioural segmentation, personas and mental models. Market and audience sizing, demand measurement and willingness to pay. Concept testing and design sprints where the product does not exist yet. We pick the method that answers your decision rather than leading with a house method.
What are some examples of customer research projects PH1 has worked on?
Customer experience strategy and personas for Spotify’s creator analytics tools. Three engagements for Simon Fraser University covering stakeholder, applicant and experience research. Rider research and journey mapping for TransLink. Audience research and personas for the BC Securities Commission. Similar work for Microsoft, Schneider Electric, Property.ca and The Weather Network, across technology, financial services, healthcare, higher education, public sector, retail, nonprofit, travel and transportation.
How quickly can you start a customer research project?
Most projects start within two weeks of a signed agreement, and recruitment adds roughly a week before the first session — less when we are talking to your own customers. If you need something faster, an audit of the research and analytics you already hold turns around in about a week, and it regularly removes the need for a new study.
What advantages does working with PH1 offer compared to doing the research internally?
Three that clients name most often. Capacity, because in-house teams are booked on roadmap commitments and the question you need answered is the one nobody has calendar for. Independence, because an external researcher can report what stakeholders will not say to each other, and can tell you a study is not worth running. Operations, because recruitment, screening, scheduling, incentive payments, consent and privacy handling sit with us rather than consuming your team’s week.
What is the difference between customer research and user research?
Customer research covers the whole relationship: how people come to a category, what they value, how they decide and why they leave. User research studies how people use a product. The distinction matters because customer research includes the people who never became users, and the moments that happen outside your interface.
Can you work alongside our existing research team, or under our agency’s brand?
Both, regularly. Alongside an in-house team we take the workstream they have no calendar for, work inside their tools and templates, and leave their standard intact. For agencies we run studies under your brand as project lead, with complete confidentiality, and your client relationship stays yours.
Do you work with public sector and higher education organisations?
About a third of our portfolio is public sector, higher education and nonprofit. The research is the same; the stakeholder map is wider, consent and privacy handling has to meet a public standard, and procurement usually sets the timeline. We are experienced with enterprise and government security review, and scope for all three.
What does a customer research project cost?
It depends which deliverables you need, which is why there is no single figure on this page. Each expertise page carries its own budget range, and a free consultation will tell you which combination answers your question for the least money.
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FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you run both qualitative and quantitative research?
Both, usually in the same project. Qualitative work — in-depth interviews, journey research, moderated sessions — explains why customers behave the way they do. Quantitative work — surveys from around 100 to 4,000+ respondents, demand measurement, willingness to pay, ranked preference — tells you how widely it applies and produces figures a business case can carry. Most decisions need one to explain and the other to size.
What customer research methods do you use?
Moderated in-depth interviews, remote or in person. Stakeholder interviews across every internal team that owns part of the experience. Journey mapping across channels and teams. Survey design, fielding and weighting, with segment analysis and significance testing. Behavioural segmentation, personas and mental models. Market and audience sizing, demand measurement and willingness to pay. Concept testing and design sprints where the product does not exist yet. We pick the method that answers your decision rather than leading with a house method.
What are some examples of customer research projects PH1 has worked on?
Customer experience strategy and personas for Spotify’s creator analytics tools. Three engagements for Simon Fraser University covering stakeholder, applicant and experience research. Rider research and journey mapping for TransLink. Audience research and personas for the BC Securities Commission. Similar work for Microsoft, Schneider Electric, Property.ca and The Weather Network, across technology, financial services, healthcare, higher education, public sector, retail, nonprofit, travel and transportation.
How quickly can you start a customer research project?
Most projects start within two weeks of a signed agreement, and recruitment adds roughly a week before the first session — less when we are talking to your own customers. If you need something faster, an audit of the research and analytics you already hold turns around in about a week, and it regularly removes the need for a new study.
What advantages does working with PH1 offer compared to doing the research internally?
Three that clients name most often. Capacity, because in-house teams are booked on roadmap commitments and the question you need answered is the one nobody has calendar for. Independence, because an external researcher can report what stakeholders will not say to each other, and can tell you a study is not worth running. Operations, because recruitment, screening, scheduling, incentive payments, consent and privacy handling sit with us rather than consuming your team’s week.
What is the difference between customer research and user research?
Customer research covers the whole relationship: how people come to a category, what they value, how they decide and why they leave. User research studies how people use a product. The distinction matters because customer research includes the people who never became users, and the moments that happen outside your interface.
Can you work alongside our existing research team, or under our agency’s brand?
Both, regularly. Alongside an in-house team we take the workstream they have no calendar for, work inside their tools and templates, and leave their standard intact. For agencies we run studies under your brand as project lead, with complete confidentiality, and your client relationship stays yours.
Do you work with public sector and higher education organisations?
About a third of our portfolio is public sector, higher education and nonprofit. The research is the same; the stakeholder map is wider, consent and privacy handling has to meet a public standard, and procurement usually sets the timeline. We are experienced with enterprise and government security review, and scope for all three.
What does a customer research project cost?
It depends which deliverables you need, which is why there is no single figure on this page. Each expertise page carries its own budget range, and a free consultation will tell you which combination answers your question for the least money.
/
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you run both qualitative and quantitative research?
Both, usually in the same project. Qualitative work — in-depth interviews, journey research, moderated sessions — explains why customers behave the way they do. Quantitative work — surveys from around 100 to 4,000+ respondents, demand measurement, willingness to pay, ranked preference — tells you how widely it applies and produces figures a business case can carry. Most decisions need one to explain and the other to size.
What customer research methods do you use?
Moderated in-depth interviews, remote or in person. Stakeholder interviews across every internal team that owns part of the experience. Journey mapping across channels and teams. Survey design, fielding and weighting, with segment analysis and significance testing. Behavioural segmentation, personas and mental models. Market and audience sizing, demand measurement and willingness to pay. Concept testing and design sprints where the product does not exist yet. We pick the method that answers your decision rather than leading with a house method.
What are some examples of customer research projects PH1 has worked on?
Customer experience strategy and personas for Spotify’s creator analytics tools. Three engagements for Simon Fraser University covering stakeholder, applicant and experience research. Rider research and journey mapping for TransLink. Audience research and personas for the BC Securities Commission. Similar work for Microsoft, Schneider Electric, Property.ca and The Weather Network, across technology, financial services, healthcare, higher education, public sector, retail, nonprofit, travel and transportation.
How quickly can you start a customer research project?
Most projects start within two weeks of a signed agreement, and recruitment adds roughly a week before the first session — less when we are talking to your own customers. If you need something faster, an audit of the research and analytics you already hold turns around in about a week, and it regularly removes the need for a new study.
What advantages does working with PH1 offer compared to doing the research internally?
Three that clients name most often. Capacity, because in-house teams are booked on roadmap commitments and the question you need answered is the one nobody has calendar for. Independence, because an external researcher can report what stakeholders will not say to each other, and can tell you a study is not worth running. Operations, because recruitment, screening, scheduling, incentive payments, consent and privacy handling sit with us rather than consuming your team’s week.
What is the difference between customer research and user research?
Customer research covers the whole relationship: how people come to a category, what they value, how they decide and why they leave. User research studies how people use a product. The distinction matters because customer research includes the people who never became users, and the moments that happen outside your interface.
Can you work alongside our existing research team, or under our agency’s brand?
Both, regularly. Alongside an in-house team we take the workstream they have no calendar for, work inside their tools and templates, and leave their standard intact. For agencies we run studies under your brand as project lead, with complete confidentiality, and your client relationship stays yours.
Do you work with public sector and higher education organisations?
About a third of our portfolio is public sector, higher education and nonprofit. The research is the same; the stakeholder map is wider, consent and privacy handling has to meet a public standard, and procurement usually sets the timeline. We are experienced with enterprise and government security review, and scope for all three.
What does a customer research project cost?
It depends which deliverables you need, which is why there is no single figure on this page. Each expertise page carries its own budget range, and a free consultation will tell you which combination answers your question for the least money.