Market research analyst
Overview
In today’s fast-paced globalisation, organisations are increasingly adopting market research as a pivotal element for understanding customer requirements (Louth, 2020). Market research is often seen as a predictive insight in many organisations. However, leading market players in the global scale have invested huge capital in market research which enables them to understand the growing consumer base quickly. Having conducted career research, I chose to pursue a market research analyst as my profession. A market research analyst is responsible for studying the market conditions and assessing potential sales from the current business models and strategies (Truity, 2020). The goal of market research analysts is to enable companies to identify, market trends such as products in demand, target customers, and the prices they are willing to pay.
The market research analyst utilises data from the customer and the clients’ side to arrive at a consensus. They gather customer data, competitor data, and prepare reports of how the management can enhance their market prevalence. Having developed the product or service, the market research analyst formulates and pilots a marketing campaign to ensures that brand awareness is taken to the target customer base (Truity, 2020). What I find most interesting about this profession is that you can work in the gig economy without the need to take a fulltime job with one company. I can enter into contracts with different companies and help them gain a better understanding of their market segmentation. I will not be based only in the UK since marketing is broad, and every company across the globe may require the services of a market research analyst.
Contemporary Issues and Challenges in the Market Research Analyst Profession
Many organisations have reported that getting actionable reports that relate directly to their business needs is a huge concern (Murphy, 2015). They often face challenges in developing successful business models and forecasting market trends based on the available data. That said, the two most essential themes in market research are technology proliferation and rapid changes in the market place. There are ever-increasing options for marketing and competition which overwhelms the ideas of most companies. As a market research analyst, I am prepared to face several contemporary issues and challenges as seen below.
Market Research in the 4th Industrial Revolution
The rise of unlimited opportunities in the market place has resulted in the combination of the business practice and the endless possibilities of digital media and technological innovations. As such, the fields of artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, and automation are increasingly getting used to improve diversity in market research endeavours. The utilisation of technology has enabled every business to be diverse from the original inflexion point and adopt the marketing methods that guarantee them a differentiating advantage form their competitors (Kranz, 2016). Therefore, it is common that the type of market research for one company may not deliver the same results for the other in the current digital era. As a market research analyst, I find it as a challenge that results from personalisation and ubiquitous expectations for every business. It appears that there is no “catch all solutions” or predictive insights that existed in the past. Every market research must remain updated with the latest trends in market research intelligence solutions which delivers a significantly unique source of untapped information about the market.
The shift in Consumer Behaviour and Demographics
When the veteran marketers say that “things have changed” in the current market, they can attest that people are increasingly developing different tastes, preferences, and trends that cannot be easily defined or clarified. The state of the current marketplace is overwhelmed with diverse landscapes of interests, values, demographics, and psychographics (Wilson, 2020). This possesses a huge challenge in obtaining consumer information. According to research, the customers can easily change their behaviour which requires the market research analyst to remain cognisant of the market dynamics. Consumer behaviour is ever-changing, which has impacted the rate at which consumers uninstall mobile applications and lose interest in specific marketing campaigns. The demographic factors such as age, income, education, occupation, and geographic factors are the most significant contributors to the varied tastes and preferences (O’Reilly et al., 2020). Since the market research analyst is destined to read the pulse of every customer, the attempt is hampered by the changing behaviour of the consumers
Ethical Issues
Ethics has become an enormous challenge in market research due to the underlying conflicts and disagreements between parties with different tastes and preferences (Resnik, 2018). Also, the invasion of privacy and stereotyping has tarnished the image of market research analysts use the opportunity to invade sensitive data. Therefore, the profession requires responsibility to avoid the variety of undesirables actions that are bound to happen. There arises a difference in the ability of the market research analysts to transform information into understanding and understanding into strategies. While data is availed, relevant skills and competence must be coupled with decision making to find opportunity spaces and paths based on key learning. Ethical issues are often associated with a lack of proper lines of communication. Based on crucial learning from communication with the employees and consumers, the research analyst can develop the best approach to reposition themselves into strategic partnerships. The key to proper lines of communication is to stay close to the clients and the employees to learn their needs without a breach of ethics.
Having acquired the desired market information and data, there is a huge challenge of using the resources ethically. Undoubtedly, the market research analyst has a moral obligation to ensure credibility by upholding every available code of conduct. One of the latest market research that spurred the need for ethics in market research is the Cambridge Analytics scandal involving a data leak of millions of Facebook users (Granvile, 2018). The repercussions of the scandal that occurred in 2018 have swirled around, and every organisation is determined to learn the extent of the researcher’s credibility before they can enter into any contractual terms. Marker researchers have been bound to a role to promote national values of moral values when obtaining any data about the market. Also, market research analysts must demonstrate efforts to improve the lives of the people and promoting social changes, identity. They should not submit research outcomes that constitute perceived negativity on the people regardless of the strength of the brand.
The future ahead is full of uncertainty, and no one is aware of the barrier to ethics that may occur as time goes by. Therefore, it is a requirement for market researchers to ensure constant revision of methodologies, ongoing learning, and continuous renovation of their approaches. These would build on their flexibility and adaptability that makes market research more thrilling and impactful.
Result Accuracy and Timeliness
Business activities are moving fast, and the business leaders require the market research analysts to give insights immediately to remain on demand. Even the tools and artificial intelligence used in the collection and interpretation of market insights cannot meet the speed of set standards in today’s global economy. Several pieces of research have sought to explain that result accuracy and timeliness are the biggest demonstrators of investment to innovation (Price and Rigley, 2016). Therefore, for an organisation to capture a large fraction of the benefits of market research, the research outcomes must be obtained within the shortest time possible. The competition in the market requires businesses to adopt aggressive research and development to enhance payoffs. This condition poses a challenge for market research analysts operating in the gig economy as they may need some time to understand the dynamics of the particular market that the business is performing before deriving outcomes to preempt the rivals. Due to the fast-paced condition, research outcomes are always hampered by a lack of integrity and honesty as the analysts seek to work within the timeline rather than produce material results. They promise good results but are unable to execute proper analysis that can derive useful results.
Assessment of Personal Implications
From the contemporary issues and challenges identified in the above literature, it is clear that technology forms an integral component in the current market research. There has been endless online integration as most consumers have shifted to the internet where they can obtain their desired product or service more conveniently. As a market research analyst, I must be aware that web data extraction is a necessity in the current market conditions. That said, the professions require me to heighten my technological know-how to eliminate manual errors and derive the expected outcomes. I will equip myself with the various market research automation to improve my abilities in the on-demand profession. Despite the increased technology and artificial intelligence in market research, the tools require an individual who has to derive sense from the outcomes of the analytics. Market research in the 4th industrial revolution requires an individual who is well equipped with the latest technologies. There is an organisation that wishes to hire a market researcher who will try to conduct market research using the error-prone manual methodologies.
Considering the dynamism in market research, it is always important to remember that research is an ongoing process (Bergmann, 2017). The outcome derived today might be rendered invalid tomorrow due to the rapid changes in the needs and wants of the consumers. In that regard, I need to adopt a learning process for market trends and processes. It is vital to keep an open mind to the need for change. This is a call-to-action to have different research methodologies in every market research project, which again requires the setting of different objectives for the same expected outcomes. Sometimes, multiple courses of action are involved when changing focus groups which may not be possible if the researcher lacks the best consumer understanding. A well-established market research analyst is well aware of the consumer behaviour and demographics of the target customers, which gives them an upper hand to achieve the best outcomes (Lawes, 2020).
Another aspect of market research I learned from contemporary issues is that individuals are both emotional and cognitive beings, and the intent of their actions and behaviours will change unevenly. As a market research analyst, the best tool is to gain useful knowledge in the buyers’ perspective. There is a need to adopt the best skills that can give an upper hand in understanding the emotions and rational thoughts of every consumer. This underpins the necessity of being an excellent communicator. Communication is key to achieving the best research results as it enables the researcher to establish resourceful connections between the employees and the customer base (Carter and Paulus, 2010). An excellent communicator is not a skill that everyone possesses. However, it is possible to develop by fitting oneself in common ground for a distinct context. The future of market research requires the ability to increase engagement which can be facilitated by good communication with the target consumers. As a market research analyst, I must develop the ability to motivate and orientate the respondents to collect abundant data which provides better answers on market trends and requirements.
Conclusion
We have learned that market research is becoming a growing practice in the business field as the market players seek to understand the specific needs and want of their target customers. In that regard, I identified that market research professionals would offer an opportunity for diversity, as every sector involves marketing and research. A market research analyst profession is bound by several contemporary issues, most of which result from the fast-paced technological advancement. As a market research analyst, keeping an open mind is the key to success. I must be in a position to utilise the various technologies and artificial research intelligence being introduced in the profession.
References
Bergmann, W., 2017. Market research: gathering information about Commercial Products and Services. Washington, USA Department of Defense.
Carter, I. and Paulus, K., 2010. Research communication: Insights from practice (Vol. 128). A working paper of the Research Communication Strategy Group. London, England: Department for International Development (DFID).
Granville, K., 2018. Facebook And Cambridge Analytica: What You Need To Know As Fallout Widens. [online] Nytimes.com. Available at: <https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/19/technology/facebook-cambridge-analytica-explained.html> [Accessed 25 August 2020].
Kranz, M., 2016. Building the internet of things: Implement new business models, disrupt competitors, transform your industry. John Wiley & Sons.
Lawes, R., 2020. Using Semiotics in Marketing: How to Achieve Consumer Insight for Brand Growth and Profits. Kogan Page Publishers.
Louth, J., 2020. The Changing Face Of Marketing. [online] McKinsey Quarterly. Available at: <https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/marketing-and-sales/our-insights/the-changing-face-of-marketing> [Accessed 25 August 2020].
Murphy, L., 2015. The Top 10 Challenges In The Market Research Industry. [online] GreenBook. Available at: <https://www.greenbook.org/mr/market-research-industry/the-top-10-challenges-in-the-market-research-industry/> [Accessed 25 August 2020].
O’Reilly, R.A., Pannier, L., Gardner, G.E., Garmyn, A.J., Luo, H., Meng, Q., Miller, M.F. and Pethick, D.W., 2020. Influence of demographic factors on sheepmeat sensory scores of American, Australian and Chinese consumers. Foods, 9(4), p.529.
Price, R. and Wrigley, C., 2016. Design and a deep customer insight approach to innovation. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 28(2), pp.92-105.
Resnik, D.B., 2018. The ethics of research with human subjects: Protecting people, advancing science, promoting trust (Vol. 74). Springer.
Truity. 2020. Market Research Analyst. [online] Available at: <https://www.truity.com/career-profile/market-research-analyst> [Accessed 25 August 2020].
Wilson, J.A., 2020. Understanding branding is demanding…. Journal of Marketing Management, pp.1-12.