Career in Marketing Research

上一篇 / 下一篇 2007-01-09 09:35:53

Pormising Career opportunities are available with marketing research firms(e.g.,Arbitron,Burke Marketing Research Inc.,M/A/R/C).Equally appealing are careers in businss and nonbusiness firms and agencies with in-house marketing research department(e.g.,Procter & Oamble,Coca-Cola,At&T,the Federal Trade Commission,the U.S. Census Bureau).Advertising agencies(e.g.,BBDO International,Ogilvy&Mather,J.Wlter Thompson,Young&Rubicam) also conduct substantial marketing research and employ professionals in this field.Some of the positions available in marketing research include vice-president of marketing research,research director,assistant director of research,project manager,statistician/data processing specialist,senior analyst,analyst,junior analyst,and field work director.The following figure lists job titles in marketing research and describes their accompanying responsibilities.
The most common entry-level position in markeitng research for people with bachlor degree(e.g. a BBA) is as operational supervisor.These people are responsible for supervising a well-defined set of operations,including field work,data editing,and coding,and may be involvved in programming and data analysis.Another entry level position for those with BBAs is assistant project manager.An assistant project manager will learn and assist questionaire design,will review field instructions,and will monitor timing and costs of studies.In the marketing research industry,however,these is a growing preference for people with master's degree.Those with a MBA or equivalent degree are likely to be employed as a project manager.In marketing research firms such as Elrick and Lavidge,the project manager works with the account director in managing the day-to-day operations of a marketing research project.The typical entry-level position in a business firm would be junior research analyst(for BBAs) or research analyst (for MBAs).The junior analyst and the research analyst learn about the particular industry and receive training from a senior staff member,usually the marketing research manager.The junior analyst position includes a training program to prepare individuals for the responsibilities of a research analyst,including coordinating with the marketing department and sales force to develop goal for product exposure.The research analyst responsibilities include checking all data for accuracy,comparing and contrasting new research with established norms,and analyzing primary and secondary data for the purpose of market forecasting.
Vice-President of Marketing Research:The senior position in marketing research.The vice-president(VP) is responsible for the entire marketing research operation of the company and serves on the top management team.This person sets the objectives and goal of the marketing research department.
Research director:Also a senior position.The research director has the overall responsibility for the development and execution of all the marketing research projects.
Assistant Director of Research:Serve as an administrative assistant to the director and supervises some of the other marketing research staff members.
(Senior)Project Manager:Has overall responsibility for design,implementation,and management of research projects.
Statistician/Data Processing Specialist:Serves as an expert on theory and application of statistical techniques.Responsibilities include experimental design,data processing,and analysis.
Senior Analyst:Participates in the development of projects and directs the operatinal execution of the assigned projects.The senior analyst works closely with the analyst,junior analyst,and other personnel in developing the research design and data collection and perpares the final report.The primary responsibility for meeting time and cost constraints rests with the senior analyst.
Analyst:Handles the details involved in executing the project.The analyst designs and pretests the questionaires and conducts a preliminary analysis of the data.
Junior analyst:Handles routine assignments such as secondary data analysis,editing and coding of questionnaires,and XXXXXX statitical analysis.
Field work director:Responsible for the selection,training,supervision,and evaluation of interviewers and other field workers.
As these job titles indicate,people with a variety of backgrounds and skills are needed in marketing research.Technical specialists such as statistics obviously need strong backgrounds in statistics and data analysis.Other positions,such as research director,call for managing the work of others and thus require more general skills.To prepare for a career in marketing research you should:
1Take all marketing courese you can.
2Take courses in statistics and quantitative methods.
3Acquire computer skill for both mainframe computers and microcomputers.Knowledge of programming languages is added asset.
1Take courses psychology and consumer behavior.
2Acquire effective written and verbal communication skill.
3Think creatively.Creativity and common sense command a premium in marketing research.
4Marketing researchers should be liberally educated so that they can understand the problems confronting managers and address them from a broad perspective.