Unlocking Insights: The Exciting Career of a Market Research Analyst

If you read news on social media, many times you might have come across some interesting facts, like 30% of India prefers iPhone over Samsung, etc. You might be interested in where this information comes from. Who is the person responsible for it? How accurate is it? If this is true for you, you have a brain of a market researcher, and you should look for this career.

Market Research Analyst is an expert who conducts different kinds of market research. As a market research analyst, you will collect data through different sources (like Census, UN data, International Monetary Fund data, Company data, etc.) or through interviews, surveys, observations, etc. and you will analyze this data to come with results. You will then analyze these results to give a final conclusion that can be useful for organizations, the public, or the government. Ost of companies today take major decisions based on research data and results.

Why become a Market Research Analyst?

Market Research Analyst is an analytical and management professional who works to interpret data, formulate reports and discuss results and draw conclusions from the report. Thus, the market researcher starts the research by understanding the problem, figuring out the key variables, the type of research that will be required, how many samples will be needed, how samples will be collected, etc. 

Once they are ready with all these answers, they prepare the questionnaire, collect data, interpret data with different tools and software, draw conclusions, and present the result in graphical, tabular, etc. forms. Here variables are factors that have some quantity or quality, and they can change. Samples could be random Facebook users who take part in the survey from the Universe which is the total Facebook users in India.

Data is mostly analyzed with several software. The most convenient is Excel. However, it has limited features, so many experts use SPSS (a statistical tool) or even SAS. Once the research is done, more of the results are shared in graphical form. Some use infographics (with pictures and data) while others use traditional bar graphs, pie charts, etc.

An example of market research could be “What are the factors that make you spend more time on Facebook? Let’s say, once the research is done, it concludes that people spend more time on FB when they see videos, and images from a friend. They also spend more time when their fav topics’ content in video format is shared. People don’t spend time when they see fake news. 

Now, this conclusion is helpful for Facebook because they can change their coding in such a way that now people generally see more videos from friends or from their fav. topics.  This will help them as more people will start spending time on Facebook than at present time. Here, variables can be time spent on Facebook, the number of times you open FB app per day/per week. The data is collected by different methods like paper surveys, e-mail surveys, online surveys, interviews, phone calls, observation, etc. In the above example, a survey (online) can be easily used.

What does a Market Research Analyst do?

As a Market Research Analyst, depending upon your specialization, your duties and responsibilities will vary. Few common duties and responsibilities are:

• You will be required to do primary and secondary research. Primary research involves collecting data by yourself whereas secondary research involves using data already available in the public domain. An example of primary research could be to find what are the factors that affect people while they buy their mobile phones. Here, the research will collect data by asking questions to people. Thus, data is collected by them. An example of secondary research will be finding the relation between Delhi pollution and the number of cars and bikes in the city. For this research, the researcher will take data of vehicles in Delhi in the last 10 years and the pollution level in those 10 years. All these data are already available. 
• If you are working in a market research firm, you may be required to work closely with business clients across all continents understanding the need of the client, inquiring from them about the business need and creating a research problem.
• You should be able to collect information from different sources and databases. These sources and databases can be the International Monetary Fund and similar International websites, UN websites, and National databases like Census, GDP, etc.
• You will perform industry research and develop a report on different topics as required by the client’s problem.
• You will prepare reports of your findings using graphs and charts to illustrate data. You will also translate complex problems, solutions, and findings in simple language.
• You will collect and analyze data-based customer demographics, preferences, needs, and buying habits to identify potential markets and factors affecting product demand. Some of the methods to collect primary data are interviews, surveys, phone calls, observation, etc. Some of the methods to collect secondary data are: taking a government website, using IMF, UN, and other international institutes, using private consulting firm’s data, etc.
• You will also conduct research on consumer opinions, marketing strategies, etc. You will be required to collaborate with several other experts like marketing professionals, pollsters, etc. to make the research successful.
• You might also be required to use research methods to measure the satisfaction level among customers and employees.
• You will also be required to monitor sales trends in the market and do forecasting accordingly.
• You will do research on the effectiveness of marketing and sales strategies.
• You will evaluate different methods for processing collected data from surveys, questionnaires, opinion polls, etc.
• You will need to use different statistical tools, excel, software, etc. to analyze data. Some of the tools are MS Excel, SPSS and SAS.
• Prepare reports and present results to clients and management

Popular Specialization in Market Research Analyst career

1. A Data Scientist is an expert who can use scientific methods, processes, and algorithms to extract knowledge and insights from different kinds of data. The data can be structured or unstructured. They first mine the data and then use scientific methods to deduce the knowledge. They define the problem and then solve it using new statistical models, machine learning, etc. As a data scientist, you will not solve a problem, but you will find a problem and then solve it creating new parameters around the problem.
2. The Data Analyst is an expert who inspects, cleanses, and transforms data to get useful information forming a conclusion. As a data analyst, you will be given the question by the business house; you will solve this question using data and give results back to the business house. You will also not build new statistical models but use already present models to solve the problem
3. Qualitative Researcher is an expert of research based on non-numerical data. They do research where the focus is on concepts, characteristics, definitions, symbols, and descriptions of things and not on their count. An example of this research type is finding if a company has a market for its new product or what are the buying habits of people purchasing Apple Mobile. As a researcher, you will seek an answer to how and when something can happen. One of the most convenient data collection methods for qualitative research is interviews.
4. Qualitative Researcher is an experts of research based on numerical data. They do research on observable numerical data based on statistical and mathematical tools. All surveys that come on TV around the election are based on quantitative research. As a quantitative researcher, you will either collect the data or use already available data and use statistical tools, graphs, etc. to conclude the result and derive the answer. Some of the data collection methods that you will use are surveys, observation, opinion polls, etc.

How to become a Market Research Analyst – Educational Requirement

Undergraduate studies after school:

• To become a Market Research Analyst, you can take multiple pathways. You can study Business Management \ Business Administration in under graduation as B.B.A. or B.B.M.
• You can also study Engineering by taking a course in B.E. or B.Tech.
• Alternatively, you can study Mathematics / Market Research / Statistics / Computer Science / Computational Science / related field.
• You can also study Science, Commerce, and Arts with any subject in under graduation.

Post Graduate studies:

• After graduation, you can study Business Administration (M.B.A.) in Marketing / Market Research / Data Science / Data Analytics / Business Analytics / similar subjects.
• Alternatively, you can also study 1 year or 2 years Post Graduate Programs \ and Post Graduate Diplomas in Marketing / Market Research / Data Science / Data Analytics / Business Analytics / similar subjects.

Alternatively, you can also study Statistics / Mathematics / related subjects

Educational fees

The cost of becoming a Market Research Analyst in India can vary depending on several factors such as the level of education, type of institution, and duration of the program.

Here are some estimated costs:

1. Bachelor’s degree: Pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in market research or a related field from a public institution can cost between INR 50,000 to INR 2,00,000 per year. Private institutions may charge higher tuition fees, ranging from INR 1,00,000 to INR 4,00,000 per year.
2. Master’s degree: Pursuing a Master’s degree in market research or a related field from a public institution can cost between INR 50,000 to INR 3,00,000 per year. Private institutions may charge higher tuition fees, ranging from INR 2,00,000 to INR 8,00,000 per year.
3. Professional certification: Market research professionals may also choose to obtain professional certifications, such as the Market Research Society of India (MRSI) certification, which can cost around INR 50,000 to INR 1,00,000.

Job Opportunities

• If you are inclined more towards the market research side, where you would be working on creating research questions and finalizing the research type, you may be hired as a Research Associate / Research Trainee with different Market research companies, research consulting companies, media, retail, and finance research companies. Some examples of Market Research companies are IMRB International, Nielsen, Millward Brown, IDC India, IPSOS Indica Research, Hansa Research, etc. 
• If you are inclined towards the analysis of the data, then you may be hired as Data Analyst / Research Analyst / Management Trainee in different consulting firms as well as MNCs. Some of the leading consulting firms are Accenture, Bain & Company, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG, McKinsey, PwC, etc.
• If you are inclined towards the business side of analytics where you use the results for strategies, you might be hired as Business Analyst Trainee by different MNCs, Media Houses, and Retail and finance organizations.

Salary of a Market Research Analyst

At the entry-level, as a Data Analyst, you will be earning anything between Rs. 15,000 to 2,00,000 per month. As a Market Research Associate, you will be earning anything between Rs. 10,000 to 1,00,000 per month. As a Business Analyst Trainee, you will be earning anything between Rs. 25,000 to 3,00,000 per month.

At the junior level after 2-6 years of experience, you will be earning anywhere between Rs 30,000 – 4,00,000 INR per month.

At the middle level of 6-12 years of work experience, your earning will rise to Rs 50,000-6,00,000 INR per month.

At the senior level after 12 years of work experience, your earning will be between Rs. 1,00,000 to 10,00,000 per month.

Career progression in this profession

If you start your career as a Data Analyst / Research Analyst / Management Trainee, you can then become, Business Analyst or Financial Analyst. Later you can become Lead Business Analyst and then senior Business Analyst, and finally Analytics Manager. If you were a Financial analyst, then you can become a Senior Financial Analyst and then Finance Manager.

If you start your career as a Market Research Associate / Research Trainee, then you will be promoted to either Research Scientist / Senior Research Associate and then Senior Research Scientist or even Senior Research Analyst.

If you start your career as a Business Analyst Trainee, you may soon become a Business Analyst and then Senior Business Analyst. You may then become Lead Business Analysts and then Management Consultant.

What does industry trends say – future prospects

According to a report by Analytics India Magazine, the Indian Market Research and Data Analytics industry is worth USD 2.71 billion currently. At the same time, it is projected to grow at 33% per annum. With the current rate, it is estimated that by 2025, the Data Analytics industry will be USD 20 Billion in India. This is almost 8 times the current market size. Around 45% of the market is related to the export of Research services to the USA, and this market is growing at a rate of 45% per annum. With such high staggering growth in the market, it is clear that not only India but even the International market are using Indian Market research services.

Another industry hiring Market Researchers is consulting firms even the consulting industry in India is growing at a rate of 9% per annum (according to Statista). Thus, overall, the market has a very high future prospect for Market Researchers. Presently the growth is substantially high in core MR companies and Consulting companies.

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