Discover the Exciting Career of a Market Research Analyst: Learn about the Roles, Requirements, and Benefits

Market research analysts play a vital role in helping businesses succeed by gathering and analyzing information about target markets, customers, and competitors. They examine data from various sources, such as keywords, surveys, and social media, to understand what makes the market tick.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts significant growth in this career field in the coming years. In fact, the employment of market research analysts is projected to grow by 19% by 2031 [1].

This role is in high demand across a variety of industries, making it a lucrative and rewarding career path for those interested in understanding market trends and consumer behavior.

Responsibilities and Requirements of a Market Research Analyst

Market research analysts are responsible for collecting, analyzing and interpreting information about consumers, competitors, and markets. They look at data from a variety of sources, including survey results, social media, and trends, and use that information to make informed decisions about a company's product offerings and marketing strategies.

In this role, you may be tasked with creating methods for collecting data, using computer software to analyze data sets, presenting your findings, and making suggestions for how a company can improve its offerings or marketing campaigns. You may also conduct research into products and brands to see how they are perceived by consumers.

If you're interested in a career in market research, be prepared to develop strong analytical skills and a deep understanding of data collection and analysis methods. You'll also need to be an effective communicator, able to translate complex data into insights that are easy to understand and use.

Focus Areas of Market Research Analysts

Market research plays a key role in helping companies understand their customers and competitors. They gather information through both statistical data and by directly asking people about their beliefs, opinions, and experiences. This allows the analyst to build a comprehensive picture of the market.

Some of the areas that market research analysts might focus on include:

1. Customers: By studying primary and secondary research about customer demographics, opinions, and experiences, market research helps a company tailor its marketing efforts and align its products and services with customer needs. They also help companies find, acquire, and retain customers while avoiding customer loss.

2. Markets: When a company is launching a new product, service, or idea, market research analysts investigate new and existing markets to provide precise suggestions and help position the launch successfully.

3. Brands: Both new and established companies use brand research to understand how their brand fares against competitors and to improve customer awareness and perception. Market research helps companies remain competitive by conducting a competitive analysis and researching customer acquisition, retention, and loyalty.

4. Campaigns: Understanding customer opinions and experiences with advertising during all stages of a marketing campaign helps to create more impactful campaigns. Market research analysts may also be involved in analyzing a company's marketing strategy, especially at smaller companies.

Education Requirements for Market Research Analysts

Becoming a market research analyst often requires a college degree, with most positions requiring a bachelor's degree and a few years of experience. For senior-level market research analyst jobs, you may need to have a master's degree.

Consider studying the following majors to prepare for a career as a market research analyst if it interests you:

• Business Administration

• Economics

• Marketing

• Psychology

• Sociology

• Statistics

Tools and Techniques Used by Market Research Analysts

Market research analysts gather information from various sources such as surveys, social media, keyword trends, and customer insights. They use tools such as Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey, Typeform, Google Trends, and SEMrush to gain more knowledge about their customers, markets, and competitors.

It is important for market research analysts to understand how to use statistical techniques to group and analyze data. They may use programs like Tableau, Qlikview, or Plotly to help present their findings in a clear and understandable way.

Having knowledge of programming languages such as R, SQL, SAS, or SPSS may be desirable for some companies when seeking market research, although it is not always a requirement. If a programming language is required, it should be specified in the job description.

If you want to learn a popular programming language for data analysis, you can take a course like IBM's Introduction to R Language, which is available on Coursera.

Key Responsibilities in Market Research Analysis

1. Interpreting the Data: A big part of a market research analyst's job is analyzing data. After collecting the information, they must make sense of the results in a way that helps the company's product and marketing plans.

2. Thinking Critically: Doing market research means figuring out the best way to gather information by asking the right questions, making sense of the data collected, and using those insights to improve the company's marketing strategy.

3. Communicating Clearly: As a market research analyst, success requires the ability to communicate findings and recommend modifications to other teams. Good communication skills, including clear speaking and writing, are important.

4. Interviewing Customers: Many market research analysts use surveys to get information from customers, but they may also need to do face-to-face interviews or focus groups. It's important to be comfortable talking to strangers and getting them to share their experiences.

Career Overview and Salary Information for Market Research Analysts 

Career Opportunities

Market research jobs are in high demand and will continue to be an important part of many companies' efforts to understand customer behavior and stay ahead of the competition. In 2021, there were over 792,000 market research analyst jobs, and this number is expected to grow by over 150,000 by 2031, which is much faster compared to other jobs.

Salary Information

US is $63,920, as reported by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, however, the salary can differ based on the industry.

Similar Career Paths for Market Research Analysts

Market research analysts have similar responsibilities to other professionals who interpret data and provide valuable insights. There are some similar jobs in this field, including:

1. Marketing Analyst: Market researchers are sometimes referred to as marketing analysts, but the two jobs have some differences. Marketing analysts concentrate on a company's marketing activities, while market research analysts focus on studying markets and customers. Both jobs use data to make suggestions.

2. Business Analyst: Another job that relies heavily on data, business analysts examine large sets of data to recommend improvements to a company's operations and processes.

3. Data Analyst: This is a broader role than market research analyst, business analyst, or marketing analyst. Data analysts typically work with big, raw data sets that need to be cleaned before they can provide useful information. Data analysts then apply their findings to various business and organizational needs.

Steps to become a Market Research Analyst:

1. Start with a related entry-level job: While there are a few entry-level market researcher positions, most employers prefer at least two years of experience. You can gain experience by starting with a related role such as a marketing assistant or data analyst.

2. Improve technical skills: Market research analysts use various tools to collect and analyze data about customers, markets, and competitors. Familiarizing yourself with tools through researching popular programs and watching tutorials is a good idea. You can also improve your skills by completing guided projects like creating a survey with SurveyMonkey or using Qualtrics to create a brand awareness survey.

3. Take courses: Taking courses in market research can help you understand the work of a market research analyst and develop the necessary techniques. You can start with the Market Research Specialization from UC Davis on Coursera or consider other courses like the Data Visualization with Tableau Specialization. You can also earn a credential like the Meta Marketing Analytics Professional Certificate designed for beginners with no prior market research experience.