Market research analysts are frequently used by enterprises to forecast possible sales of a good or service. These experts assist brands and companies in making sure that their marketing and promotional activities are successful by using several data collection techniques and statistics. Knowing what market research analyst does and how they are qualified may help you decide if this is the right job for you. In this post, we explain market research analysts, list their responsibilities, and talk about their schooling and certification needs, as well as their skills, future employment prospects, and working conditions.
What exactly is a market research analyst?
Market research analysts work with brands and organizations to determine which services and products are in demand, what kind of people make up their target market, and the amount of money that the market is prepared to spend on their goods and services. To achieve the best results, businesses can use this information to make educated judgments regarding their offers, marketing plans, and sales methods. To forecast a product’s or service’s effectiveness, track sales patterns, and evaluate the efficacy of marketing efforts, market research analysts utilize a range of experiments, analytics, information gathering, and statistical tools.
Responsibilities of a market research analyst
The duties and tasks that market research analysts perform daily can vary but typically include:
- Track and predict sales patterns
- Analyze the success of marketing initiatives and sales tactics.
- Investigate the likelihood that a service or product will succeed.
- To define promotional goals, consult the sales and marketing departments.
- Create and disseminate data collection tools like polls and surveys.
- Analyze the findings of polls and surveys
- Investigate rivals and evaluate the effectiveness of their tactics
- Give suggestions on how to create, market, and package things.
- Evaluation of consumer preferences
- Utilize tools to gather and assess customer data
How to get into the market research analyst field
To begin your career as a market research analyst, you might take the following steps:
1. Finish an advanced degree in a relevant subject
Most companies demand that market research analysts hold a bachelor’s degree or higher in a subject like marketing. A marketing degree aids prospective marketing research analysts in learning about macroeconomics, consumer behavioral patterns, business communications, and marketing fundamentals.
To comprehend customer behavior better, some marketing research analysts decide to obtain degrees in social sciences, like psychology or business management. Other market research analysts pursue studies in computer science or mathematics to increase their technical understanding of economics and data.
A master’s degree may be pursued by market research analysts who are interested in managing or higher-level employment. Specific graduate courses in marketing research and analysis are offered by some colleges. In addition, acquiring a leadership position as a market research analyst may benefit from earning an MBA.
2. Acquire basic professional experience
The majority of roles for market research analysts are not entry-level. Market research analysts with prior marketing-related experience are typically preferred by employers. Consider starting as an accounting assistant, marketing assistant, intern in market analysis, or in another relevant role to gain experience in the field and boost your employability as a market research analyst candidate.
3. Acquire certificates
Certifications might help you demonstrate to potential employers your proficiency in market research analysis. But most of these certificates necessitate prior marketing-related expertise, just as the bulk of positions involve market research analysis.
The Professional Researcher Certification is one of the most popular credentials held by market research analysts (PRC). By passing the Marketing Research Association (MRA) test, potential market research analysts can earn the PRC. Candidates who meet the requirements must have completed 12 hours of coursework and have at minimum three years of marketing experience.
What kind of research is conducted by a market research analyst?
Research is carried out both qualitatively and quantitatively by a market research analyst. To put it another way, they compile statistical information and ask for feedback on people’s perspectives, experiences, and beliefs.
Research conducted by analysts can cover a variety of topics, such as:
Customers
A corporation can better target its marketing and tailor its products and services to the various demands of its customers by conducting secondary and primary customer satisfaction surveys, which include everything from demography to views. Analysts of market research may also point out ways for businesses to discover, gain, and keep customers while preventing “churn,” or client loss.
Markets
An organization can effectively position every launch as it creates new offers, such as goods, services, or concepts, by conducting market research on rival companies, related goods, and potential customers. Market research experts look into both new and established markets, knowing everything that they can to make exact recommendations.
Brands
Brand research is used by both new and existing businesses to improve their market presence. Researching consumers’ product perception and awareness as well as performing a competitive assessment to determine how effectively an organization’s brand compares to rivals, aids businesses in remaining competitive. These results can also provide information on how to attract, keep, and reward loyal customers.
Campaigns
At all stages of a promotional campaign, it is crucial to comprehend how a company’s consumers feel about advertising to develop a targeted message and, consequently, more effective campaigns. Although market research analysts at smaller organizations may occasionally be asked to examine a company’s advertising strategy, this kind of research normally falls under the purview of a marketing analyst.
Training for market research analysts
Most frequently, a bachelor of science in market research or a closely related discipline is the bare minimum education needed for market research analysts. For prospective market research analysts, these courses offer crucial knowledge and training for success in their line of work. Many degree programs in market research offer classes in:
- Promotion of goods and services through branding
- Targeting of audiences
- Marketing techniques
- Communication
- Consumer actions
- Public relations
- Marketing plan and analysis
- Statistic evaluation
- Marketing software and technology
Certification as a market research analyst
Although certification is not often required in this industry, it may give you the chance to further your training and set yourself apart from your competitors. Prospective analysts with a minimum of three years of schooling in a marketing degree course can get the Certified Market Research Analysis (CMRA) credential from the International Institute of Marketing Research and Analytics (IIMRA). The certification builds on participants’ prior understanding of market study and analysis, is fully online, and has a 90-minute final test. Participants obtain their CMRA designation after passing the final exam successfully.
Competencies for market research analysts
To succeed in your role as a market research analyst, you may find it helpful to have the following abilities and skills:
- Enhanced communication abilities: It’s critical that you can speak clearly with your coworkers as a market research analyst. This could assist you in developing successful marketing plans, communicating the development or effectiveness of campaigns, and working with other departments to reach shared goals. It could also help you comprehend the advertising and sales objectives of your company.
- Reading and comprehension: You’ll likely be required to read and understand a wide range of documents and information when employed as a research market analyst. A high degree of reading comprehension could make you more effective in this career by enabling you to analyze market research, customer information, and sales studies.
- Analytical abilities: A large portion of what market research analysts do is analyze data and statistics to boost the effectiveness of marketing initiatives. To succeed in this career, you must be capable of comprehending graphs, charts, and other statistical data well.
- Organizational abilities: You may oversee multiple campaigns and collaborate with numerous people or departments simultaneously as a market research analyst. To complete each of your activities on time and facilitate effective, strategic communication and teamwork, it’s critical to acquire great organizational abilities.
- Computer proficiency: In your work as a research market analyst, you may use a range of software. Sophisticated computer abilities could make it easier for you to use difficult software applications for data gathering and analysis.
- Understanding of marketing techniques: As a market research analyst, you should gain a specialized understanding of marketing tactics. With the use of this knowledge, you can develop tactics that work and offer brands and companies insightful advice that could enhance their marketing activities and help them meet their promotional objectives.
Technical for a market research analyst
- Data gathering tools: Market researchers compile information from a variety of sources, such as questionnaires, social media sites, keyword statistics, and consumer insights. To find out more about clients, markets, and rivals, market research analysts employ a variety of tools, including SEMrush, SurveyMonkey, Qualtrics, Google Trends, and Typeform.
- Analytical statistics: Because market research often entails dealing with statistical data, it is crucial to comprehend how to employ statistical procedures to organize your data into meaningful and useful discoveries. Although many software packages, including the tools for data visualization listed below, have a statistical analysis component, they shouldn’t be used in place of more fundamental expertise.
- Data representation: A market research analyst must understandably present their conclusions after gathering pertinent data. The ability to communicate key discoveries to other teams through data panels or data science suites is helpful. Data visualization technologies like Plotly, Qlikview, and Tableau are used by market research professionals.
- Programming languages: While it’s not always necessary, some businesses do demand that market research analysts be knowledgeable in a computer language, such as SQL, SPSS, SAS, or R, since this helps with their data collection and data interpretation activities. Be sure to read through job descriptions to find out whether a company has a preferred language.
Workplace competencies in market research.
Data parsing is a crucial component of a market research analyst’s job, according to interpretation. After acquiring the required information, you must analyze the results from the perspective of the product and advertising requirements of a corporation.
- Critical reasoning: Gathering the best information from a market research study requires understanding how to ask the correct questions, and deciphering the meaning of the information so that it can be applied to a company’s advertising plan.
- Communication: Communication is key to a marketing research analyst’s job since it allows them to turn observations into suggestions that other teams can implement. A solid command of clear, productive speech and writing is advantageous.
- Interviewing: While many market research analysts use electronic surveys to get client feedback, the position might also involve holding focus groups or consumer interviews. A crucial talent is being at ease talking to strangers and inspiring them to provide personal information.
Employment prospects for market research analysts
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that between 2019 and 2029, the jobs of market research analysts will increase by 18%. This is much quicker than the average rate for all vocations, which may be attributed to a growth in the use of technology and information in advertising research and strategy formulation.
Salary of a market research analyst
Market research analysts make an average yearly pay of $56,525 in the United States. Your location, amount of experience, and areas of specialization may all affect this number. It might also be influenced by your employer or how much overtime you regularly put in during each pay period. Additionally, you can be eligible for benefits like insurance coverage, paid time off, paid holidays, and dental and medical insurance.
Working conditions for market research analysts
Market research analysts frequently operate in an office or business setting. You might collaborate closely with the marketing and sales teams and speak with senior executives and directors frequently. You may anticipate spending a lot of time sitting down as a market research analyst since many of your duties include working on computers and performing administrative duties.
Market research analysts frequently put in approximately 40 hours a week during the day. You may be required to work overtime based on your employment and workload. To further your education and network with other industry experts, you can also go to events like seminars or conferences.
Comparing a market research analyst to other occupations
Analysts who analyze data and provide strategic insights have a lot in common with those who perform market research.
Marketing analyst
Even though the two jobs are occasionally mistaken for one another and even named marketing analysts, they are not the same. Both jobs use data to drive their suggestions, however, marketing analysts tend to concentrate internally on a firm’s marketing initiatives instead of outside on markets.
Business analyst
A business analyst is a profession that also significantly relies on data; they evaluate sizable data sets and offer suggestions on how to improve a company’s operations.
Data analyst
A data analyst often works with enormous, raw sets of data that need to be cleaned to produce significant insights, making their function far more varied than the three roles that were previously mentioned. Data analysts use their findings to address various organizational and commercial requirements.
Where may a market research analyst find employment?
Only a market research analyst can help marketing teams in firms succeed and achieve their goals. This suggests that, as a specialist in market research analysis, you can operate in any industry.
You will be a part of a marketing team in an entry-level position. However, as your career develops and you get more expertise, you have the option of becoming a consultant or a brand manager.
About 600,000 employments were held by market research analysts as of 2016. The following are some of the sectors that have deliberately sought the assistance of research analysts:
- Retail wholesalers
- Manufacturing
- Consulting businesses
- Insurance and Finance
Conclusion
The rising usage of social media in recent years has significantly raised the need for market research analysts. In a few hours, a product review, comment, or opinion can garner 100,000 people. Research analysts are increasingly required by organizations to channel these bits of information and transform them into meaningful data.
Frequently Asked Questions about Market Research Analysts
- What qualifications are needed to be a market research analyst?
Good communication abilities are necessary for a successful market research analyst while acquiring information, evaluating data, and presenting findings to clients.
- What goes on in a market research analyst’s day-to-day?
Data will be gathered by a market research analyst utilizing several techniques. They might conduct focus groups to get feedback on a new product or conduct statistical analyses to learn more about consumer habits and the state of the market.
- Do market research analysts have rewarding careers?
They are in high demand across numerous industries and are an essential component of a business’s entire marketing plan. In fact, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the number of jobs for market research analysts is expected to rise by 19% by 2031.