Rochester’s BRX Research: providing survey expertise for 30 years

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Back in 1995, Eric Bourgeois was well on his way to a business degree from SUNY Brockport, even if he wasn’t sure precisely what benefit he would derive from said degree once he entered the real world.

That’s because he hadn’t settled on what he wanted to do. He had no desire to deal with accounting, and marketing wasn’t exactly his dream job either.

But then, while perusing Brockport course electives, he stumbled upon a class in market surveys. His only question: Where do I sign up.

“I loved surveys, I loved taking them,” he said. “Even as a kid, my mom would say, ‘Do you want to fill out this survey?’ ”

“I loved that class. It didn’t intimidate me like accounting and didn’t bore me like economics.”

Now, 31 years later, he’s still immersed in survey world. Only now he is overseeing creation and implementation of those market probes, ensuring clients — primarily in the Rochester area — find the answers they need about consumers and trends.

Bourgeois operates BRX Research, which is celebrating its 30^th anniversary. He has gone from a part-time staffer while still in school at Brockport to company owner, continuing to provide in-depth surveys for a loyal client base.

The firm has transitioned through the years, launching in 1996 after a merger of Gutenberg Marketing Research (founded by Jeff Gutenberg in 1986) and BRX Global (1973). The primary goal hasn’t changed. BRX is still providing clients with precise insight that allows them to make informed decisions on products or services.

“Reaching 30 years represents not just longevity, but is a testament to the lasting relationships we’ve built through quality and affordable work and meaningful partnerships,” Bourgeois said.

Bourgeois himself forged a partnership with Gutenberg, first as an employee and then as the new owner in 2018 when Gutenberg retired. How he got his foot in the door at Gutenberg Marketing Research wasn’t exactly through conventional methods, however.

As his junior year at Brockport was ending, Bourgeois grabbed the Yellow Pages, looked up survey firms and began cold-calling to see if anyone was hiring.

“Jeff was the only one who answered,” Bourgeois said. “I was just looking to get experience.”

That initial phone call has turned into three decades of work in the field, more than 20 alongside Gutenberg, who also was a business professor at SUNY Geneseo.

BRX has had a working relationship with ESL Federal Credit Union for 23 years. The research firm has worked for a decade with Genesee County Village & Museum. The Strong National Museum of Play, MVP Health Care, DurstUS and the Golisano Institute for Business and Entrepreneurship are among other local companies that have relied on the firm for survey insight.

“Most work is word of mouth and repeat business,” Bourgeois said.

That’s because sometimes being the small fish in a big pond of survey firms is very beneficial. It’s far easier for the little guy to react quickly. The price is right, too. Affordability has played into longevity. So, too, has flexibility.

“When your clients need things, do them,” Bourgeois said. “And develop relationships. Let your clients know they can rely on you; ‘Eric’s there, he’ll do it, he’s done it before for us.’ ”

That includes providing solutions beyond your expertise. BRX Research doesn’t specialize in qualitative surveys such as focus groups or one-on-one interviews. But if client requires those insights, BRX will bring on market research partners to do the work.

Bourgeois is the only full-time employee but he has a half-dozen to a dozen contract workers that fill gaps when necessary. One of those contractors has worked with BRX for 22 years. Another has been on board for 10 years. They’re not officially employees, yet they are.

“Even a small company like this needs some type of culture, so maybe 15 or 20 times a year we all work together,” he said.

The firm recently relocated from High Falls in downtown Rochester, where it was based since 2017, to the Golisano Institute at 150 Sawgrass Dr. in Brighton. The school combines real-world learning with a collaborative campus culture, so the small companies and nonprofits that are housed in the school are available to provide mentorship to students.

But moving out of downtown wasn’t an easy decision for Bourgeois. Outside of the Mayor’s Office and the offices of Visit Rochester, few people promote the city like Bourgeois, either through interactions at work or through his social media accounts.

“I think some of it is being naïve,” he said. “I’ve never lived anywhere else. But to me, Rochester is a good place to live. Other than property taxes, it’s affordable, it has the four seasons, the Amerks (hockey team) and Red Wings (baseball team) aren’t minor league. So I get annoyed at the naysayers.

“Also, I have a business here, so I owe it to the area and especially the city. And it feels good to be positive. It’s easy to be positive about the good things that are happening in Rochester.”

He said his favorite two projects over the years at BRX Research both dealt with driving business to Rochester: the Made for Living and the Climate is Perfect campaigns for the Greater Rochester Visitors Association (the predecessor of Visit Rochester).

“I got to work with site selectors and I was encouraged to find that there are so many intelligent decision-makers around the country that think so highly of Rochester,” he said.

Because he also holds the city in high regard, he leases space at Serendipity Labs on 24^th floor of Innovation Square.

“That gives me 24-hour access, so when our team needs to work together we just go up there,” he said. “That keeps me with a foot in downtown. I hated moving out of downtown, so I love having that little office there. It’s like heaven on the 24^th floor.”

That belief in community is also why he provides sponsorship support to several local organizations.

“It’s not really for the advertising,” he said. “I’m doing it to support something I care about — the Amerks, the Red Wings, the RPO, the Charlotte Community Association, Genesee Country Village & Museum, The Strong National Museum of Play.”

The firm has adapted with technology over the first 30 years and is doing so again with Artificial Intelligence. But Bourgeois isn’t ready to dive in head-first with AI just yet. It’s more important, he said, that surveys are done correctly and consistently.

And, he said, it’s imperative that survey responses be real. That’s why there are far more questions about the application of AI than there are answers.

An AI program can provide information, “but there’s synthetic data, where the AI agent scours the internet and tries to answer survey questions from that,” Bourgeois said. “Or you’re building avatars off of that information and then surveying the avatars.

“There are AI bots that are being used to answer surveys, and yet that same technology that is cheating, we’re saying we’re going to harness and be able to use it for good?”

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