Market Research Analyst: Job Profile and Role

It is all well and good for a company to develop a strong business portfolio, consisting of great products and services, an in-depth knowledge of a target audience and knowing how to stay this one important step ahead of the competition. But let’s be honest: hardly any entrepreneur builds this particular business portfolio on his or her own. These things fall under the responsibility of a market research analyst.

He or she collects and analyses important data that give insights into a target audience’s preferences and the competition. This blog will take a detailed look at the job of a market research analyst. We will tell you what qualifications and skills a market research analyst should have. We will also take a look at the average annual salaries and the possible employers responsible for said salaries. This blog concludes with insights into a day in the life of a market research analyst and tips for thriving in this job.

Short Summary

• As a market research analyst, you are responsible for collecting, analysing and processing data. These data refer to your company and its target audience as well as to the competition and its respective consumers.
• As a market research analyst, you can either do quantitative or qualitative research. Depending on your area of expertise, you either analyse statistics or the reasons behind these statistics and numbers.
• As a market research analyst, you provide viable solutions for your company that will help it develop effective business strategies and make sound business decisions.

Job description

A market research analyst collects, analyses and processes data of a company and a company’s competition as well as the respective consumers. As a market research analyst, you can either specialise in quantitative or qualitative research, analysing either the statistics relevant to quantitative research, or explaining the reasons behind these statistics (qualitative research). By doing this, a market research analyst helps companies to better understand their target audience and their customers’ preferences. A market research analyst is also tasked with providing solutions for effective business models and decisions.

Responsibilities

• Data Analysis
• Data Collection
• Report Generation
• Competitive Analysis
• Market Segmentation
• Technology Utilisation
• Market Trends Assessment
• Consumer Behaviour Analysis
• Forecasting/Predictive Modelling
• Recommendations/Strategy Development

Different types of Marketing Research Analysts

• International Market Analyst
• Social Media Analyst
• Quantitative Analyst
• Qualitative Analyst
• Usability Analyst

One of the most popular Marketing Jobs in the World

The job of a market research analyst currently ranks at number 3 of the most popular marketing jobs/best business jobs worldwide. On the one hand that means that you will have a lot of competition when it comes to applying for a job. On the other hand, it also means that your job prospects are still fairly good since market research analysts are and will be in high demand.

Salary

A UK market research analyst can expect an annual salary between £29,600 and £32,500. In some cases, the annual salary can be as high as £36,700. This mainly depends on the market research analyst position and, therefore, the work experience. Other salary-influencing factors are the employer, the size of the company and the location of said company.

Working hours

As a market research analyst, you usually work a 9 to 5 job from Mondays to Fridays. Looming deadlines and project completions may mean also working in the evenings and on the weekends.

Depending on your employer, you may enquire about the possibility of remote work. This does not lower your weekly working hours. But it enables you to work some of these hours from home. This may fit better with your work-life balance.

Note that national and international travelling can also occur. This usually means an increase in your working hours.

Employers

A market research analyst can find employment in different industries and sectors. Typically, e-commerce companies are often on the lookout for market research analysts. The same goes for market research companies and advertising and marketing companies. As a market research analyst, you also have the option to work client-side. This means that you are employed by a pharmaceutical company, a government agency or a retail company.

Note that most of these companies can be found in the South of England, focusing on the Greater London Area.

Qualifications

The degree specifics to become a market research analyst can range from an academic degree, such as a Bachelor’s or even a PhD, to completing a higher apprenticeship. Both approaches require a certain number of GCSEs and grades and usually include Maths and English. Being familiar with relevant data analyse software, programs and apps is also a good hard skill to have when thinking about becoming a market research analyst.

Skills

Having the necessary soft skills will help you to become an even better market research analyst. Your personal strengths and competencies typically include communication and interpersonal skills. In this section, we will take a close look at three more skills you should have or should develop when you want to become a market research analyst.

Analytical/Mathematical Thinking

A great part of your job as a market research analyst is to analyse data and numbers. Having the matching analytical and mathematical/numerical skills is necessary to read these data. Ideally, you have already developed these skills during your school time and your (academic) education. They will help you to thrive as a market research analyst.

Flexibility and Drive

Your target markets have one defining feature: they change and evolve on a regular basis, making the need to be flexible and adaptable mandatory. Therefore, you should be flexible in order to not only spot changes and trends but also adapt your job requirements and your company’s goals to these changes. This also requires you to be very driven since this is the only way to ensure staying on top of all new developments.

Attention to Detail

Attention to detail is vital for an excellent market research analyst. It is necessary to ensure that research is accurate and reliable. Attention to detail also helps you to design research studies that are based on the data you have collected and analysed.

Career Path

You will start your career as a market research analyst at entry level, quite likely as a junior market research assistant. By gaining more work experience over the next years, you can then hope for promotion to a market research analyst. Depending on your overall performance, there is no reason why you should not become a senior market research analyst at some point in your professional future.

Educational Background

If you want to become a market research analyst, you can approach your future career by doing an academic degree or a higher apprenticeship. Relevant fields and studies can be maths and statistics, marketing and analytics or data science. To be accepted to both university and apprenticeship, you will need to have the relevant number of GCSEs and grades, typically 9 to 4 (A* to C).

Some employers may prefer academic degrees and in lots of cases, the higher the degree, the better your job prospects. In fact, it is not unusual for market research analyst applicants to have completed their PhD in a relevant field.

Gaining Experience

A sure way to gain your first experience as a market research analyst is to do internships, ideally, while you are still at university. If you do an apprenticeship, the practical side of your future job will already be a part of your education and will let you gain your first work experience. Doing further qualifications and certifications can improve and broaden your experience as a market research analyst.

Continuous Learning

And completing those extra qualifications and certificates is one part of your continuous learning as a market research analyst. Your personal and never-ending learning curve also includes staying informed about the latest trends, methodologies and the relevant tools needed to work as a market research analyst.

A Day in the Life of a Market Research Analyst

Every job has its own specific to-do lists that shape a working day. Be it checking emails, having meetings with the team or taking part in teambuilding activities. Some of these things are also part of the day of a market research analyst. In this section, we will explore what other things are important in the day in the life of a data analyst.

Liaising with your Clients

Liaising with your clients is one of the first jobs on your daily to-do list. You need to find out their status quo, their current requirements and needs. This way, you also build a good rapport and therefore, a strong relationship with your clients/company. Based on what they tell you, you can then start compiling a brief that meets their expectations and goals.

Designing Research Guides

Collecting data may be an important part of your job as a market research analyst. But unfortunately for you, these data do not just grow on trees. And you will also not magic them out of an online search engine. In order to know and understand your company’s/clients’ needs, you instead need to design a research guide. This can consist of a certain number of questions that your clients then answer. These answers will then help you to collect and analyse the relevant data.

Interpreting and Presenting Research Results

You have completed the data collection? This now only leaves the interpretation of your findings. What do the statistics tell you about a company, its customers, its competitors and their target audience? By reading the data correctly, you can start coming up with viable solutions. In the last step, you present your findings, interpretations and solutions to your clients.

Tips for Thriving as a Market Research Analyst

Improving your knowledge and your competencies is important for thriving as a market research analyst. This leaves an important question: how can you improve these things? And are there other factors that will help you thrive as a market research analyst? Why not continue reading and find out three tips for thriving as a market research analyst?

In this section, we will detail these tips that will strengthen your career prospects in this profession:

• Develop industry knowledge
• Put data findings into context
• Take multilayered approaches

Develop Industry Knowledge

In order to thrive as a market research analyst, you need to know your industry inside and out. Only this way can you analyse your company’s competitors and their respective target audiences and behaviours to maximum effect. Developing your industry knowledge further includes knowing all there is to know about the dynamics of the relevant markets and how to read all the data that comes with these dynamics.

Put Data Findings into Context

Finding, collecting and analysing data is all well and good. But you may also know that not everything you find online can always be taken at face value. If you want to thrive as a market research analyst, you need to put your findings into context. Where did you find the data? Is there maybe a hidden agenda behind these data? These are only two possible questions you should ask yourself when putting your data findings into context. And this will help you thrive as a market research analyst.

Take Multilayered Approaches

This might sound a bit cryptic, to begin with, but it is a valuable tip for thriving as a market research analyst. You have a vast number of tools at your disposal, and you should use pretty much every single one when analysing data and coming up with solutions. Knowing the technology and software is just as important as applying both quantitative and qualitative research. The icing on this particular cake is a deep understanding of secondary data that are also part of the data you collect as a market research analyst.

Frequently Asked Questions