Career Spotlight: Becoming A Market Research Analyst

by

12 September 2024

Marketing

Market Research Analyst

Do you know how a company just knows what you want? They collect a few surveys, and suddenly they know more about your requirements than you! Is it all automated? Short answer, no!

Someone is sitting and analyzing every behavioral data of a consumer to create profiles. They are called market research analysts!

Are you just fascinated with the idea of a market research analyst? Or someone who is planning to become one?

This is how you can become a market research analyst –

Let’s begin with understanding who a market research analyst is.

What Is A Market Research Analyst?

What is a Market Research Analyst

Market research analysts are the strategic brains behind a company’s marketing decisions. Their job is to gather data on consumers and competitors and then use that information to guide business strategies.

Whether a company is launching a new product or planning a marketing campaign, market research analysts are the ones who determine the best approach. They don’t just guess; they rely on cold, hard data.

What Do They Do?

What Do They Do

A market research analyst’s role involves several core responsibilities. Why don’t we go through them to know the responsibilities a little better?

Data Collection: Gathering data is the starting point of any market analyst. This could be through surveys, interviews, focus groups, or analysis of existing market data.

Trend Analysis: After gathering the data, they identify patterns and trends that provide insights into market behavior. For example, what products are gaining popularity, or which consumer needs are currently unmet? How can the company they work for help meet them?

Market Forecasting: Analysts will often predict future market trends. However, this is not just through guessing. However, when a company plans to launch a product next year, these professionals will forecast whether the market will be favorable or not.

Furthermore, they also inform about whether the product will launch in the right direction and be liked by the audience you are targeting.

Consumer Segmentation: By analyzing consumer data, they segment the market into groups based on behavior, preferences, or demographics.

Reporting and Presentations: Then, they communicate their findings to decision-makers through reports, presentations, and visual data displays.

Competitor Analysis: Understanding competitors’ moves and strategies is key. Market research analysts monitor what competitors are doing and how they’re positioning themselves in the market.

What Degrees Do You Need To Get?

What Degrees do You Need to Get

There isn’t one fixed path to becoming a market research analyst, but certain degrees, and conceptual skills can give you a strong foundation:

Bachelor’s Degree: A degree in marketing, business, economics, or statistics is often the starting point. Subjects like research methods, consumer behavior, and data analysis are crucial.

Advanced Degrees: Unfortunately, just a bachelor’s degree wouldn’t do for more senior roles. Therefore, a master’s degree in market research, data science, or business analytics can be advantageous. An MBA is also beneficial if you’re aiming for leadership positions.

Your educational qualifications should focus on building a mix of analytical, research, and communication skills, as these are the backbone of a successful career in this field.

Later you can also upskill by becoming a data scientist, and it can open more doors for you.

Tools You Will Need To Learn

Tools You Will Need to Learn

As a market research analyst, you’ll need to know the art of upskilling. You can do so with various tools and software that streamline your work:

Data Analysis Software: Tools like SPSS and Python are complex tools. Mastering them might take you years. However, you should still try to master it because it is great for running statistical analysis and handling large datasets.

Survey Platforms: Software like Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey, and Google Forms help design and analyze surveys.

CRM Tools: Understanding tools like Salesforce and HubSpot are essential for tracking customer data and trends. This ensures that market research analysts do not depend on guesswork.

Data Visualization Tools: Tableau, Power BI, and Google Data Studio are crucial for presenting data in a visually engaging way.

Competitive Analysis Tools: SEMrush, SimilarWeb, and BuzzSumo provide insights into your competitors’ strategies and their market performance. After all, you will need to know what others are doing for their customers. That is always a sign of a good market research analyst.

Mastering these tools will enhance your efficiency and make your work more impactful.

Life Of A Day Of A Market Research Analyst

Life of a Day of a Market Research Analyst

What does a typical workday look like for A Market Research Analyst?

We will go through it step by step to have a better idea of their role as a Market Research Analyst.

1. Morning: Data Collection And Initial Analysis

The day often begins with reviewing the latest data from surveys, focus groups, or market reports.

Analysts spend the early hours gathering information that will guide their day’s analysis.

2. Midday: Deep Dive Into Analysis

The core part of their job kicks in around midday. This is when they run statistical models, crunch numbers, and identify key insights.

Meetings with product teams or marketing departments often happen around this time to discuss early findings.

3. Afternoon: Reporting And Strategy Discussions

After the analysis, it’s time to translate data into actionable strategies. Analysts prepare detailed reports highlighting key trends and recommendations.

Then, they might deliver a few presentations to senior management to guide their decision-making.

4. Late Afternoon: Market Monitoring And Competitor Analysis

Keeping a pulse on market trends and competitors is crucial.

Analysts usually allocate some time in the late afternoon to social media updates, reviewing industry news, and studying competitors’ moves.

5. End-of-the-Day Planning And Strategy Tweet

Before wrapping up, their main job is to refine strategies based on the latest social media insights and plan for the next day’s tasks.

After all, without understanding whether your current plan is working or not.

The final work would involve technical analytics, strategic thinking, and effective communication, which would also include talking to their team.

How To Get A Job As A Market Research Analyst

How to get a Job as a Market Research Analyst

Getting your foot in the door as a market research analyst requires more than just the right degree.

Here’s a practical guide:

Start with Internships: Right after you have finished your bachelor’s degree, many companies offer internships in market research, allowing you to gain real-world experience while studying.

Create a Portfolio: Build a collection of your best work. Whether from academic projects, freelance jobs, or case studies. A strong portfolio can showcase your analytical and research skills.

Get Certified: Professional certifications, such as the Professional Researcher Certification (PRC) or Google’s Data Analytics Certification, can give you an edge.

Network Actively: Next, join industry groups, attend webinars, or engage in professional forums. Networking can open doors to job opportunities and keep you updated on industry trends.

Tailor Your Applications: When applying for jobs, customize your CV and cover letter for each position. Highlight skills like data analysis, research methodologies, and strategic thinking.

Best Career Options & The Potential Salary

Best Career Options & The Potential Salary

The field offers diverse career paths. Depending on your interests, you might specialize as:

Consumer Insights Analyst: Focus on understanding consumer behavior and preferences.

Product Research Analyst: Specializes in product development and testing.

Brand Analyst: Concentrate on evaluating brand performance and strategy.

Competitive Intelligence Analyst: Monitor competitors and track industry trends.

When it comes to salaries, market research analysts can get a reasonably good salary, provided you have the skills to back it up. Especially when your analysis begins to work for a company and starts bringing in a lot of profit.

Entry-level positions typically offer between £25,000 to £35,000 annually. With experience, salaries rise to £50,000 or more.

For those in specialized roles or with advanced degrees, six-figure jobs are not uncommon.

Final Note!

The path to becoming a market research analyst combines curiosity, a knack for numbers, and strategic thinking. It’s about more than just crunching data; it’s about turning data into insights that drive real business results.

Whether you’re just starting out or looking to advance in this field, there are plenty of opportunities for growth and impact in the business world.

Especially with the advent of digital marketing, you will have enough opportunities in terms of SEO, and website data analysis.

So, are you ready to dive into this world where data meets strategy?

You could be the one predicting market trends and helping businesses shape their futures.

Read Also:

Content Rally wrapped around an online publication where you can publish your own intellectuals. It is a publishing platform designed to make great stories by content creators. This is your era, your place to be online. So come forward share your views, thoughts and ideas via Content Rally.

View all posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related

Trade Show Booth

Getting a Return on Investment From Using a Trade Show Booth

It's easy to find people who will swear that getting a massive ROI from a trade show booth is nearly impossible. That is not the case, by any means. Most likely, those people failed to use some of the tips in this article. Companies that have, however, have experienced massive success with their trade show booth. Here's what they did. 1. Putting Branding First For people who have never heard of your organization before, your booth is their first impression of your brand. If you can make it a positive one, that will result in them being more eager to do business with you. That's why it's crucial to make sure that your booth reflects the unique features of your brand. Incorporating creativity into your branding can help, as it allows you to stand apart from other booths, encouraging more people to take an interest. 2. Having a Friendly Design It's almost certain that there will be other booths around, and attendees might not have enough time to have an in-depth interaction with all of them. That's why having a design that not only showcases your brand but invites people is important. Brands that have worked with ExpoMarketing to create high-performing booths have been presented with unmatched designs. It also helps to have staff surrounding the booth, so that people have someone to talk to and interact with when they decide to explore it. Attendees can also be treated to interactive such as touchscreens, through which they can learn more about your business while having fun. 3. Capitalizing on Word-of-Mouth Marketing A successful trade show booth generates buzz long after the trade show itself. To do this, you need to have something that ensures that people keep talking about your business and the way you presented it. One of the most successful ways to achieve that is to hand out things like stickers and wearables. StickerYou has wide options of premium custom stickers for all your business printing and branding needs. At the end of the event, you can give out prizes to people who wear your merch. It's important to be strategic about the prizes and to make them things that people are likely to display in full view of others. That way, you'll keep generating conversations about your brand and winning over new customers and clients. 4. Networking  Meeting attendees before the trade show can have a profound effect on how your booth performs. You'll also be able to gather contact information from people so you can stay in touch and have a chance to convert them later on. When meeting people before a booth, you can On the day of the trade show, people will be more likely to visit your booth because they'll feel a sense of familiarity with it, unlike others that will seem completely alien. When meeting them, however, it's important to focus less on talking about your business and what it does. Rather, you can try to gather as much information about them and what they do. When people do visit your booth, you'll be able to start a conversation based on how you're equipped to help them with the problems they mentioned to you earlier. Combining all these tips will ensure that you have a booth that will have a huge positive ROI, resulting in more clients and customers. The sooner you start thinking about how you're goese tips, the more success you're likely to have with your trade show booth. Read Also: Execute The Perfect Expo With This Trade Show Checklist A Well-Oiled Trade Show Machine: The Ones Running The Show

READ MOREDetails
Email List

3 Easy Ways to Grow Your Email List

The email marketing industry is expanding and there is growing competition between brands: they all want to get people’s attention. Sometimes, acquiring more subscribers seems hard. If you are looking to grow your email list, we have three easy ways maybe you never thought of.  Whether you offer a service, product or content is the product, use these tips to add more subscribers to your database and become more successful at email marketing. Why you should grow your email list There are good reasons to build your email database. It can be an instantaneous way to reach the people who want to hear from you. Also, it’s cheaper than advertising or mass mailings. Every marketer wants a large email list which is understandable. In general, the more people you reach, the better results and this has never been more true than with emails. The typical ROI for email is $42 for every $1 spent. However, before you try any email list growth strategy, remember it’s not always about the numbers. You want true engagement and a long-term relationship with your audience. To build that, focus on adding real subscribers to your list – people who genuinely want to connect with your brand. How do you do that? Let’s get into three ways to grow your email list without much effort. Is it easy for someone to sign up? Many organizations and freelancers have only one sign-up form and you’d be surprised how much you have to search the website to find that form. So, the first tip: make your email sign-up visible and easy to find. For instance, you could place it at the top of your website and not buried down by the copyright notice. Also, avoid making the text so small that someone can’t read it. Instead, let your signup form be the first thing people see when they land on your platform. Are you promoting your email list on your social media channels? Maybe you’ve been working hard to gain followers on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. There’s certainly inherent value in this, but a lot of marketers make the mistake of not cross-promoting channels. Who’s to say that someone can’t follow you on Facebook and be a subscriber to your email list? Just remember that people will frequently leave social media channels for one reason or another. You don’t want them forgetting about your brand and what you offer, so do your best to get them on your list. Post periodically on social media and invite people to subscribe to your emails. Your newsletters’ content should have real value and be unique from your website or social media content. This is a great incentive to gain an email audience. Plus, you can think outside the box to gain new followers. Maybe you can run a contest or offer a freebie, such as an e-book to anyone who signs up – whatever you think would entice your audience. Do you include an email subscribe button in every email you send? Word of mouth is the best marketing.  If someone on your list really likes your email and forwards it on to a friend, they need an easy way to subscribe. A “subscribe” button makes it simple by saving them the trouble of looking you up, going to your website, and finding your form. So, at the end of every email you send, include a call-to-action. It could be as simple as: “Did you get this email from a friend? Get yours” + “Subscribe” button. The more convenient you make it for people to subscribe, the faster your email list will grow! Also, it doesn’t hurt to encourage your subscribers to forward your email. Some of them will do that and that’s a great way to grow your audience. It’s not all about numbers Now that we’ve gone over a few easy ways to grow your email list, it’s important to keep in mind that it’s not all about numbers. There is another aspect to growing your campaign: email list quality. Gathering lots of subscribers is great for email marketing, but you have to make sure those subscribers are real. You may be asking, “Well, why wouldn’t they be?” In the world of email marketing, there are quite a few types of emails that degrade your sender reputation. A sender reputation is a score that every email sender has. It’s the rating Internet Service Providers use to determine your behavior as an email sender. Some of the factors that influence your sender score are: your bounce rate your overall engagement: open and click-through rates are vital metrics the number of spam complaints and unsubscribes you get Bad email addresses you could have in your list All these factors are in direct connection with the quality of your email list. Unfortunately, every organization or marketer will acquire some bad email addresses over time. Some of the most damaging yet prevalent ones include: Fake email addresses: for a number of reasons, people sometimes provide fake email addresses. Sometimes they just want to take advantage of a freebie and have no intention of being a subscriber. Abuse emails: some people are malicious and others just careless. Abuse email owners have a habit of marking emails as spam, even those they signed up for. You don’t want these people on your list because they will hurt your sender reputation. Temporary email addresses: would you believe there are websites that exist for the sole purpose of generating temporary emails? These email addresses are sometimes called disposable because the person uses them for a day or two and never again. Then, they only cause your bounce rate to go up. On top of these, we can’t forget there’s always natural decay of the list. People simply change email addresses. Some people use their school or work email and they graduate or quit. You must get those email addresses off of your list. Use an email verifier to keep your database clean Thankfully, there is a healthy way to grow and maintain your list. The first thing is to never buy or trade email addresses to add to your list. First of all, it’s illegal to email people without their consent. Furthermore, a purchased list isn’t likely to result in anything positive and most likely the people you add will mark you as spam. The simplest way to keep your list healthy is to: The first clean it in bulk using an email verifier then, install an email verification API on your sign-up forms. Clean your list in bulk If you already have a substantial number of contacts in your list, but are not sure about their validity, run your list through a bulk email verifier. The process is simple and doesn’t take much time: you upload your list into the system and get it back clean within hours or even minutes. Install an email verification API This simple piece of software checks every new email address in real-time. It grants permission to good emailers and keeps out any of the problematic accounts mentioned above. Once your list is clean, consider adding the API to all your sign-up forms to ensure it stays in good shape. The sky’s the limit You would be surprised what a difference email marketing makes. It’s the most personal way to reach people and is an incredible tool to communicate the story of your brand and service. Using careful planning, creativity and email verification tools you are on the right path to growing your email list and getting good results. Read Also: How to Integrate Email Marketing With SEO Why Email Marketing is the BEST Digital Marketing Outreach in Singapore

READ MOREDetails
Content Marketing Mistakes

Content Marketing Mistakes You Shouldn’t Be Making

By now, most people know the value of a content marketing campaign to your business. Given the reach and convenience of the internet, most brands are bound to hop onto the content marketing bandwagon. The only problem here is that not everyone who hops onto trends completely understands them. Before you fully commit to a content marketing campaign, it’s important to know what you’re getting yourself into so you can avoid making catastrophic errors. In this article, we have outlined some horrible content marketing mistakes many marketers are making these days. Read this article if you don’t want to make these mistakes. Why Should I Consider Investing In Content Marketing? ROI: The first reason that content marketing is beneficial is that it significantly contributes to your return on investment (ROI). ROI can come in different forms, such as a customer subscription, better brand visibility, improved brand reputation, increased inbound traffic, and customer loyalty. Establishing Brand Authority: Content marketing also helps establish your brand as an authority, so long as your content is of good quality. You can even become your niche’s primary source of information. When this happens, customers are more likely to remember your brand whenever they need a product or service that you offer. Interact with Target Audience: Finally, content marketing is a potent means to interact with your target audience (and your target demographic). Sharing content helps you build trust with your audience, and it also acts as a means to extend your reach even further whenever your audience shares your content. Lead Generation: Furthermore, frequent followers and readers eventually become actual customers. Content marketing is a useful method to bolster your business’ performance, but only if you utilize it properly. It’s not a silver bullet that’s going to solve all your marketing problems. Generally, your best course of action is to hire a content marketing agency to launch and implement your campaign properly, but for those who want to try their hand at doing their own content marketing, there are some mistakes that you need to avoid. Poor Audience Understanding At the core level, it boils down to how well you know your audience. Your marketing message will work through the content you publish when you know who you are speaking to. The digital mediums, the analytics, and the other technical aspects come way later. Publishing content without knowing your audience is simply shooting arrows in the dark. It negatively impacts the different marketing and sales metrics you are trying to achieve. Here’s how your digital presence might suffer if you make the mistake of not  understanding your audience – Low Engagement When your content isn’t aligning with your audience, your website will suffer from low engagement. Low Traffic: Your website can also suffer from low traffic. Poor Brand Reputation: when your business content is everywhere, your audience doesn’t recognize what you are posting. You also don’t get to build your brand image which can sustain your business for the long term. Poor SERP Ranking: readers will not stick around to read content that isn’t engaging, giving your website a poor search engine presence. Publishing Content Without A Goal In Mind: If you aren’t doing anything for free then you shouldn't also do anything without a purpose in mind. Whenever we publish content, it’s important to always have a goal in mind. You have to determine whether the goal of your content is to sell, generate leads, inform, or engage with your audience. These goals or purposes shape your content strategy, which dominates the core function of your content journey. What’s the content journey, you ask? It’s your process to create, publish, distribute, promote, and measure your content. Then there are your content channels and promotion tactics based on the type of channel and the type of content you are putting out. Yes, we are talking about everything starting from Social Media and YouTube to Blogs. If you are posting it on Instagram, you’ll use Instagram analytics. But, for blogs, you’ll need to use tools like Google Analytics. Your goal will determine things about your content, such as your call to action and tone (whether conversational, informative, or imperative). For example, if your content is meant to sell a product, it needs to sound friendly yet informative. A post that’s meant to engage with your audience is best written in a sincere, genuine tone. Failing To Utilize Paid Content Amplification: The internet is currently oversaturated and highly competitive. Content brands are constantly vying to get their message on the feeds of prospective customers. The brand that gets relegated to the background will surely lose customers, even if its product is superior to that of its competitor. Paid amplification helps your content reach your intended audience, and it almost always produces quality leads. Consider the fact that even industry giants make use of paid content amplification. This means that you should do so as well if you want to stay relevant in your chosen industry. Forgoing The Use Of Social Media Stories: Social media stories are mobile-viewed vertical videos and images that appear outside a user’s regular feed and last only 24 hours. Storytelling will be the key to distributing your content successfully. Stories are perfect for building emotional connections with your audience because they are more casual and are mostly used as a medium for real-time engagement. Stories also have a natural progression. This means that users can arrange their content to be more cohesive to viewers. Stories also allow users to enable their viewers to react to the story while also helping users determine the type of content that viewers want. Limiting Your Content Form: In today’s market, text and image content alone will not differentiate you from your competitors, especially when you consider that users are gradually shifting away from written content because of the increasing popularity of video content, podcasts, and infographics. This is especially true considering how these types of content are also searchable on major search engines. It’s important to invest in other content channels to maximize your reach. This also allows your users to choose how they consume your content. The best part about this is that you don’t necessarily have to generate new content to fill these channels. In fact, you can repurpose written content and simply change the channel they’re published on. An old blog post can serve as your framework for your video and audio content. Your users will appreciate the variety of your content, and this variation will also help improve your website’s SEO ranking. Ignoring Data Analysis: Successful content marketing is not just based on artistic taste and content popularity. It is also heavily influenced by data. Running an analysis of your campaign’s performance grants brands the insight needed to make informed decisions regarding content. The numbers will help you determine which approach is better for a particular demographic. This also allows users to correct a wrong approach. For example, if you’ve discovered that most of your users are active at a certain time, then use that data to determine the best time to publish your content. Simply ignoring the data will not only rob you of the traffic you would have gotten otherwise, but it will also convey that you’re indifferent to your audience, which will eventually spell the failure of your campaign. Conclusion Content marketing is a boon to business owners because it grants them the ability to grow their businesses quickly. It requires a lot of work and experience to get it right the first time, but since you’re posting your content on the internet, it essentially means that as long as your website is up, your content will continue to do its job. Whether your content becomes effective or not depends on whether you do things correctly. Read Also: 4 points to consider when creating a Great Content Marketing Strategy Crucial Role of Content Marketing in Local Business Required Content Marketing for Your E-Commerce Know Why Content Marketing Is Important For SEO 

READ MOREDetails