With the entry of MNCs into India in all types of industries, the amount of marketing research is likely to grow at a healthy pace. Any competitive industry requires marketing research to keep a company in tune with its customers. Consumer goods companies are typically the highest users of marketing research. But new companies entering the market are also likely to do a lot of research during concept state, prototyping, product testing, promotion, decisions related to pricing and even after the launch of a product to tract customer satisfaction.
All this activity leads to a lot of marketing research being carried out. In the near future, service companies will be big users of research. Industrial manufacturing and marketing companies are also likely to increase their spending on research, due to increasing competition.
JOBS IN MARKETING RESEARCH:
Even though the marketing research industry is small in sales turnover compared with many traditional ones, we should remember it is a service industry, which does not a inflate its figures like say, the advertising industry. In the advertising industry, for example, the billings figure is usually talked about as the turnover. But the revenue to the advertising agency is usually only about 15 percent of the billings. Thus, an advertising agency, which shows billings of Rs.100 crores may be earning only about Rs.15 crores as its commission. This is not the case with marketing research companies. Their billings and revenue are more or less equal.
There are interesting jobs available for people with background in statistics, psychology, managements, and so on in marketing research. Even graduates with a flair for doing field work can find jobs in marketing research companies and make a decent living doing it.
Some of the more common types of positions available in a full-service marketing research companies and a brief description of the jobs follows:
Research Executive:
Statistical Analyst:
The second major type of job found in marketing research companies is that of a statistician. He could be of mathematics or applied statistics background. He would supervise the data collection, tabulation and analysis from a statistical viewpoint. For example, he could assist in sampling, deciding on output formats of tables, and checking the data entry process for possible errors. His major job would be assisting the research executive in the areas of his expertise.
Field Supervisors:
The primary research, fieldwork is the most crucial part of the work, and the field supervisor is a key to doing a good job of this. The field supervisor works under the supervision of the research executive in charge of the project. Usually, for multi-centre projects, field supervisors from brand offices of the agency in the cities are utilized. But in some cases, field supervisors may be required to travel to other cities.
Field Staff:
This can be part-time work, project based, or it can be done as a regular job on daily wage basis. Either way, it is an opportunity for people with good communication skills and pleasing personality to work on marketing research projects on the field. They work be briefed, and mock interviews conducted for the specific questionnaire; before sending them on the field. Field supervisors would be with them to assists with any problems.
Summary of Job Prospects:
As we have seen in the above discussion, we have a wide variety of jobs. In addition to the above, data entry jobs are available for those with less education, but with good typing skills. All the studies are analysed on the computer these days, and the volume of data to be entered is quite high. From tabulators to field staff to supervisors, and from statistical analysts to research executives and above, we have a wide variety of jobs available. In addition, qualitative research is an emerging filed with a lot of promise. Focus group interviews and other qualitative techniques like projective techniques, depth interviews and so on, require people with psychology, sociology, and similar backgrounds.
Growth Prospects:
Thus, we see that diverse skills are required of different people in a marketing research agency, not limited to the MBA. But it is the MBA who may have the best chance of growth, due to his all-round view of the job and because he is the person responsible to the client.
Getting Business:
In the beginning, getting orders is not the responsibility of the research executive. It is his seniors who do the job. But as he reaches higher rungs in the organization, he is expected to make sales pitch for an assignment, and build a network of happy clients who give repeat orders or recommend his agency to their friends. In many ways, this job is like a sales job for any other industry. Like in other industries. Like in other industries, some enquiries come from clients. Some others have to be generated by making cold calls on potential clients. It is also possible for qualified people to start a marketing research company as entrepreneurs. Two or three like-minded people are enough, and a lot of the work can be out-sourced – for example, fieldwork, data entry and so on. But in the long run, clients may prefer a full-service marketing research company.
All this activity leads to a lot of marketing research being carried out. In the near future, service companies will be big users of research. Industrial manufacturing and marketing companies are also likely to increase their spending on research, due to increasing competition.
JOBS IN MARKETING RESEARCH:
Even though the marketing research industry is small in sales turnover compared with many traditional ones, we should remember it is a service industry, which does not a inflate its figures like say, the advertising industry. In the advertising industry, for example, the billings figure is usually talked about as the turnover. But the revenue to the advertising agency is usually only about 15 percent of the billings. Thus, an advertising agency, which shows billings of Rs.100 crores may be earning only about Rs.15 crores as its commission. This is not the case with marketing research companies. Their billings and revenue are more or less equal.
There are interesting jobs available for people with background in statistics, psychology, managements, and so on in marketing research. Even graduates with a flair for doing field work can find jobs in marketing research companies and make a decent living doing it.
Some of the more common types of positions available in a full-service marketing research companies and a brief description of the jobs follows:
Research Executive:
- This is an entry-level position for an MBA with a marketing major.
- This is a client liaison job with full responsibility for carrying out a project involving writing a proposal, discussions with the client, design of the study including sampling, questionnaire design, recruiting and supervising the field force through a field supervisor and supervising the data entry, tabulation, and analysis.
- Finally, it ends with report preparation and a presentation to the client.
- It is very similar to the summer project assignments that some MBA students do for their employers, but usually the scope and responsibilities are a little lighter in the summer jobs.
- While doing the study design, the research executive needs to interact with one or more executives from the client’s company and his communication skills have to be of a high order.
- He has to convince the client of his agency’s capability to do a good job and then deliver on the promise at the end of it.
Statistical Analyst:
The second major type of job found in marketing research companies is that of a statistician. He could be of mathematics or applied statistics background. He would supervise the data collection, tabulation and analysis from a statistical viewpoint. For example, he could assist in sampling, deciding on output formats of tables, and checking the data entry process for possible errors. His major job would be assisting the research executive in the areas of his expertise.
Field Supervisors:
- Recruits, briefs, and supervises the field staff. The supervisors field could be regular workers on daily wage, but they could be housewives, students or part-time workers who do not do this for a regular living, but for more pocket money or for experience.
- Usually a graduate, with experience of having worked on the field staff for some time.
- Familiar with at least the territory or town he lives in.
- Energetic and enthusiastic to lead a team of 15 to 20 people in the field everyday.
- Conversant with the local language of the territory he is in charge of. This is desirable because in India, many studies require meeting respondents who converse in the local language, and field staffs are requited for ability to speak the language.
- Must have the integrity to stick to a given sampling plan and also to complete the quota of given work through his field staff.
The primary research, fieldwork is the most crucial part of the work, and the field supervisor is a key to doing a good job of this. The field supervisor works under the supervision of the research executive in charge of the project. Usually, for multi-centre projects, field supervisors from brand offices of the agency in the cities are utilized. But in some cases, field supervisors may be required to travel to other cities.
Field Staff:
This can be part-time work, project based, or it can be done as a regular job on daily wage basis. Either way, it is an opportunity for people with good communication skills and pleasing personality to work on marketing research projects on the field. They work be briefed, and mock interviews conducted for the specific questionnaire; before sending them on the field. Field supervisors would be with them to assists with any problems.
Summary of Job Prospects:
As we have seen in the above discussion, we have a wide variety of jobs. In addition to the above, data entry jobs are available for those with less education, but with good typing skills. All the studies are analysed on the computer these days, and the volume of data to be entered is quite high. From tabulators to field staff to supervisors, and from statistical analysts to research executives and above, we have a wide variety of jobs available. In addition, qualitative research is an emerging filed with a lot of promise. Focus group interviews and other qualitative techniques like projective techniques, depth interviews and so on, require people with psychology, sociology, and similar backgrounds.
Growth Prospects:
Thus, we see that diverse skills are required of different people in a marketing research agency, not limited to the MBA. But it is the MBA who may have the best chance of growth, due to his all-round view of the job and because he is the person responsible to the client.
Getting Business:
In the beginning, getting orders is not the responsibility of the research executive. It is his seniors who do the job. But as he reaches higher rungs in the organization, he is expected to make sales pitch for an assignment, and build a network of happy clients who give repeat orders or recommend his agency to their friends. In many ways, this job is like a sales job for any other industry. Like in other industries. Like in other industries, some enquiries come from clients. Some others have to be generated by making cold calls on potential clients. It is also possible for qualified people to start a marketing research company as entrepreneurs. Two or three like-minded people are enough, and a lot of the work can be out-sourced – for example, fieldwork, data entry and so on. But in the long run, clients may prefer a full-service marketing research company.
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