Marketing is an essential aspect of any organization. It serves to increase awareness, sell products or services and drive interest. Without marketing, a business may have a hard time surviving among the competition.
This field involves complex and detailed sets of tasks that rely heavily on data. Every great marketing department and their resulting strategies rely on exceptional market research analysts to collect, compile and communicate data-driven insights with the rest of the team. These insights assist everyone involved to carry out more effective and efficient marketing strategies.
What does a market research analyst do?
Market research analysts work closely with creative, advertising, sales and executive leadership to manage and analyze detailed information on an organization’s industry, competitors, consumers and products.
The role of a market research analyst is integral to almost every business. They assemble critical data about market conditions and consumers to help businesses market products and services in a way that resonates with specific consumer audiences.
Daily activities for market research analysts revolve around aggregating data to help their teams build successful marketing strategies. This can include:
Analyzing consumer data and creating digestible graphs, charts and other communications material to share insights with team members.
- Consulting on marketing strategies and initiatives based on the data they’ve collected.
- Evaluating competitors to understand their marketing efforts, consumers and pricing practices.
- Monitoring the performance of marketing programs to guide current and future strategies.
- Researching their organization’s market share, consumer sentiment and other marketplace data.
How does a market research analyst gather data?
Market research analysts use a variety of methods such as focus groups, surveys and public poll opinions to gather data and consumer insights. Some of these consumer and market insights include:
- Attitudes towards competitors.
- Demographics.
- Marketing trends.
- Purchasing behavior.
With these insights, market research analysts answer questions about consumer behavior and product preferences, as well as recommend solutions. Some of these questions may include:
- Who are our customers?
- What do they want?
- Why do they want it?
- How much are they willing to pay for it?
Determining answers to these questions ultimately informs marketing analysts of how they’ll apply data to marketing initiatives, thus improving a business’s profitability and customer loyalty.
Market research analyst salary and career outlook
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median wage for market research analysts was $63,920 per year in 2021.
The BLS also reported that growth in this profession is projected at an above-average rate of 19% from 2021 to 2031 — much faster than the average. This is likely the result of companies continuing to focus on marketing initiatives and other efforts to better understand their consumers.
A market research analyst is just one role in the much larger field of marketing and analytics. Opportunities for career advancement are possible with the appropriate knowledge and work experience. The most direct promotion involves moving into a market research manager position. This is similar to the role of an analyst, except in a managerial capacity with a team of staff who report directly to them.
Additionally, there are market research analysts who have reported promotions into positions such as marketing managers, marketing directors, vice presidents of marketing and other senior-level roles. While many professionals in this career path have undergraduate degrees in marketing, communications or a related field of study, having a graduate degree may increase your hiring potential when applying for such high-level promotions.