According to Burns, the many different tools he has used in researching these solutions have paid off.

In one case, Burns looked at why one portion of a client's business--its cookies--were losing money and market share.

"We know that for a competitor to make money on a product, it must be investing in it, and that money must be coming from somewhere else," Burns says.

After identifying the competitor's moneymaking product, Burns did everything up to and including analyzing its packaging costs.

In the end, Burns says his team was able to advise its client which brand it must strengthen in order to cut off its competitor's money flow at the source.

"Walking down the aisle in the supermarket, I can still see the changes in packaging that I was part of," Burns says.

"Our work only means something if our clients change," he adds.