A Day in the Life of a Market Researcher
“People will tell you market research is a science, and there are scientific parts to it, but
when it’s done well, it’s an art,” wrote one market researcher. Market researchers prepare studies
and surveys, analyze demographic information and purchasing histories, review the factors
that affect product demand, and make recommendations to manufacturing and sales
forces about the market for their product. This multifaceted job requires financial, statistical,
scientific, and aesthetic skills, as well as common sense.
Market researchers work on projects that proceed in
stages. At the beginning of a project, a market researcher may
spend three weeks with other market researchers designing a
survey and testing it on small samples of their intended population.
In later stages, they may define demographics, distribute the survey, and collect and
assemble data. In the final stages, they may analyze survey responses to uncover consumer
preferences or needs that have not yet been identified. Like all scientific experiments, “the
assumptions we make are key. If we don’t get those clear at the beginning, it’s going to affect
our entire study,” wrote one respondent. Those people who specialize in public opinion surveys
are particularly careful about how they phrase their questions, as a single misplaced
modifier can dramatically affect the meaning of a question and, likewise, its responses.
Market researchers work on their own and on teams. Many researchers find it difficult
to adjust to working on a team. As one respondent said, “There are a lot of opinions about
what constitutes the perfect survey. Four market researchers are going to have four different
opinions.”This diversity of opinion, while celebrated in the world at large, can make for difficult
strategizing sessions and even more difficult interpretations of results. Good market
researchers are careful listeners and remain flexible in their assumptions. They have to be
good at communicating their results; a miscommunication between the market research
department and management can lead to a financial disaster.
Paying Your Dues
An entry-level market research position requires only an undergraduate degree. Employers
look favorably on a degree in marketing and courses in statistics, mathematics, survey design,
advertising, and psychology. Graduate degrees in marketing, business, or statistics are becoming
more common among individuals in management positions. Work experience that demonstrates
a creative intellect and the ability to work on teams is also well received. Prospective market
researchers should be aware that early jobs in the field entail plenty of menial work—copying,
proofreading, inputting data, and the like. Individuals who are willing to carry out these
entry-level tasks go on to fill positions of responsibility.
Present and Future
Market research as a distinct profession emerged out of the multiple-product nature of
large companies. In the 1950s, many successful organizations began to analyze who their customers
were and what other products they might be interested in buying. As advertising and
marketing techniques became more sophisticated, so did market research techniques.
Companies found customer information so valuable that they established in-house research
departments to examine all aspects of a product, from concept to price, and to make recommendations
to the company’s top executives.
The job market for market research remains strong as the brisk pace of manufacturing
consolidation, growth, and development continues. The pendulum has come full swing as
today’s companies move away from in-house research, finding it more profitable to contract
out than to support their own marketing staff. New technology continues to redefine the role
of the market researcher, as computers expedite, expand, and sometimes even replace their
functions. But thanks in part to an increasingly competitive economy, the outlook of the
market research profession looks bright, with the field expected to grow faster than average
for all jobs in the next five years.
Quality of Life
PRESENT AND FUTURE
During these years, market researchers hand out surveys, record information, set up
appointments, proofread, etc.—any task that more senior-level market researchers
need done. Although these tasks are not very stimulating intellectually, understanding
all the steps required to conduct supportable market research is crucial to a market
researcher’s long-term success. The hours and salaries are average. Responsibilities and satisfaction
are low. After two years, market researchers emerge from administrative assistant
duties and begin to have limited input in market research decisions.
FIVE YEARS OUT
By the five-year mark, most professionals are members of research teams and have
earned the title of market researcher. Many of them have sole responsibility for
areas of a given project and meet with team members to coordinate the project into
a whole. The hours, salary, responsibilities, and satisfaction increase.
TEN YEARS OUT
Ten-year veterans of this profession are senior market researchers and often are
more involved in policy and the focus of research than in project coordination. A
number of them have moved into higher management. Those researchers who
remain in the field work more closely with upper management than with other market
researchers. The hours decrease, but responsibilities skyrocket. Mobility becomes important,
but opportunities depend on the industry and the market for the industry at the time.