Research support for recreation & outdoors businesses that can't afford to guess

Whether you're evaluating a new product line, scoping out a competitor's tour packages, or trying to understand what outdoor enthusiasts are actually buying this season, research takes hours you don't have. Trusty Oak connects recreation and outdoors businesses with US-based specialists who can dig into market data, customer sentiment, and industry trends — and hand you findings you can actually act on. If you're making decisions about gear, programming, pricing, or expansion, this is where that work gets done.

Fractional research support for outdoor recreation businesses

How Trusty Oak handles research for outdoor recreation businesses

A Trusty Oak EA handling research for a recreation or outdoors business typically starts by getting clear on the decision you're trying to make — not just the topic. From there, they work through sources like Outdoor Retailer trade publications, REI Co-op Journal, industry reports from Outdoor Industry Association, Google Trends, and competitor websites to pull together structured findings. They use tools like Airtable or Notion to organize and present data in a format you can scan quickly, not a wall of links. Day-to-day, your role is to answer clarifying questions upfront and review a summary when it's ready — the EA handles the sourcing, filtering, and synthesis. Most clients in this space use research support for recurring needs like seasonal trend tracking, competitor pricing sweeps, or vetting new vendors and gear suppliers.

What your EA takes off your plate

Before handing off a research task, write down the specific decision it's meant to support — not just 'research kayak rentals' but 'I need to decide whether to add kayak rentals to our summer lineup and at what price point.' The most common mistake is giving an EA a broad topic with no decision context, which results in a thorough document that doesn't actually move anything forward. The tighter your brief, the faster and more useful the output.

1

Competitor Pricing & Package Analysis

Research pricing structures, tour packages, rental rates, or retail pricing from direct competitors and compile findings into a comparison table.

2

Outdoor Industry Trend Research

Pull current consumer and market trends from Outdoor Industry Association reports, trade press, and search data to inform product or programming decisions.

3

Gear & Supplier Vetting

Evaluate potential vendors or equipment suppliers by reviewing specs, warranty terms, minimum order requirements, and customer reviews across retail and wholesale channels.

4

Customer Sentiment & Review Mining

Aggregate and summarize customer reviews from Google, TripAdvisor, Yelp, or REI product pages to surface recurring feedback themes relevant to your offerings.

5

Location & Permit Research

Research land access requirements, permit processes, or regulatory considerations for new trail, campsite, or activity locations through agency websites and local government sources.

Tools our team works with

We adapt to your existing stack — no forced migrations.

Apollo.io
G2
SimilarWeb
Statista
LinkedIn Sales Navigator
SEMrush

...and many more!

Trusted by outdoor recreation businesses

Trusty Oak supports outdoor recreation businesses including NRT Guides — handling everything from research to broader operational support.

What research support costs for outdoor recreation businesses

Drag the sliders to build a monthly plan that fits your workload.

Executive Assistants
~$35/hour
10 hours $350
Specialists
~$50/hour
20 hours $1,000
Fractional Executives
~$95/hour
0 hours $0
Your monthly budget
$1,350

Starting at $1,000/month. One-time $300 onboarding fee includes your Strategic Delegation Plan.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Yes — this is exactly the kind of targeted research a Trusty Oak specialist handles well. They'll work through agency websites like Recreation.gov, USFS, BLM, and state park portals to pull the specific information you need. You'll want to flag the geographic region and use case upfront so they're not casting too wide a net.
Most focused research tasks — like a competitor pricing sweep or a vendor comparison — take between two and five hours depending on scope. Broader market or trend research may run longer, but your EA will check in before going deep if the scope starts to expand.
Absolutely — Trusty Oak's model is built for exactly this kind of variable need. Unused hours roll over month to month, so you're not losing budget during your off-season. Many recreation businesses bank hours in the winter and use them for pre-season research and planning in the spring.

Put someone on the research so you can run the business

Trusty Oak matches recreation and outdoors businesses with US-based specialists who know how to find what you need and present it clearly. Start with a $1,000/month budget and a Strategic Delegation Plan built around your actual workflow.