Better decisions start with deeper insights.

Businesses are made of people - people who work together to deliver value and the people who buy and use it. So developing a deep understanding of the people you’re working with gets you where you need to be, faster.

Subtextual uncovers the needs and motivations driving your peoples' behavior through deeply human-centered research. Questions we help leaders answer include:

Our customers aren’t doing x. Why not?
What does [insert new technology name here] offer me and my team?
What’s holding my team back from greater success and how can I help them past it?

Each project is as unique as our clients: below is a selection of some of our most frequently delivered services, but we're happy to discuss what your needs are to figure out what approach - and budget - make sense. Click below to drop us a line and start the conversation.

Dive Deeper With Us

Here's what we offer.

Needs and Behavioral Research

We'll design and execute mixed-methods research that delivers insights you can use to make better decisions, more confidently.

Strategic Roadmapping

Using tools from digital product management and strategic foresight, we'll work with you to map out near and mid-term futures, leaving you with a clear sense of how to get there from here.

Cultural Assessment

Understand the structure of your unique organization's cultural network so you can magnify its impact on your strategic outcomes.

Narrative Development

Clear compelling narratives move teams forward. We can help you structure and deliver presentations, pitches, papers - anything that benefits from good storytelling (which we think is pretty much everything).

Knowledge Work Technology Audit

Learn what your employees are actually using to get their jobs done and get recommendations on how to optimize the tools they use for stronger teams and better outcomes.

Emerging Technology Contextualization

Our trend reports and facilitated explorations help you separate the signal from the noise and understand where you can best leverage emerging technologies and achieve your strategic goals.

Let's chat.

I'm C. Merrell Stone, Founder and Chief Researcher of Subtextual Research & Strategy.

I help organizations work better with - and through - technology. With over a decade shaping technology strategy at Avanade, Nordstrom, Starbucks, and beyond, I combine research and strategic foresight with hands-on implementation—translating what's next into what to do now, and ensuring teams remain strong long after the engagement ends.