Smart Skills
If Hindustan Levers wants to launch a new soap, they need to first decide on who will buy the soap. Is the target consumer, a man or a woman? Should it be a face or bath soap? What fragrance should it have? These and other such questions will need to be asked to help the company take important decisions regarding the new product. Detailed data is required to be collected before planning a campaign in order to explore possible markets for a product or service. This is what market research is all about. Market research is, therefore, a marketing technique that collects information about consumers and their choices, usually through surveys, analyses and interprets the information before providing it to clients to help in decision making. It acts as a decision support system, widely used, not only for new products and services, but also for working on any marketing strategy, as also for collecting data on social and development indices, voting patterns for electoral purposes and so on. Role of market researcher
There are three broad areas of work in market research — Research, Fieldwork and Data Analysis. The Research Department handles the client, finds out about the various marketing problems, decides how to analyse and collect the data. This data is categorised as quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative research has to do with numbers, or percentage of people to use a product or service, or have an opinion about a certain subject, while Qualitative research is more in-depth and deals with motivations and reasons behind people buying or not buying a product or service. According to the responses acquired the researcher prepares the questionnaires for conducting the research, and decides upon the location and mode for the survey. The researcher also designs research reports and proposals. The Field Work Department organises and manages the people that conduct the surveys, training them, if necessary, and briefing them in techniques that will elicit the right information. Surveys can be carried out through door-to-door interviews, by phone or mail. Sometimes students with spare time and an interest in this work are called to carry out the field work, visit homes, markets study, visits to other cities, towns or villages. The Data Analysis Department feeds the raw data collected by the fieldwork team into the computer, developing the software for each specific problem, and through statistical and other methods analyses this data and hands it over to the researcher. Then researchers interpret the data from the analysis, and based on this information, advise clients. Eligibility Research executives are normally MBAs with a specialisation in marketing, while those handling data interpretation would need to be post-graduates in sociology, psychology or anthropology, social work and related fields. Those going into field work would need a general degree, although economics, psychology, statistics, geography or the social sciences is preferred along with strong communication skills. A good area for college students who get hands-on experience for a possible career in market research. With a statistics or computer background you could enter the data analysis area. Placement prospects While most multinational and marketing organisations, governments departments and research institutes handle some in-house market research operations, there are market research agencies that specialise in providing this service. Most agencies have specialised in the kind of research services they handle, with a huge data bank of information. Some advertising agencies have also set up their own special departments in market research. Today, market information is required in practically every kind of organisation. Market research is the most essential tool for this purpose. Government departments too have realised the importance of getting information on the public’s opinion on a range of issues, and have often used the services of market research organisations. Political parties use market research to conduct opinion polls and find out polling patterns. Social and economic research organisations use market research companies to collect data. Television channels use market research to find out the popularity of programmes shown on television through television rating points (TRPs). While the MR industry has not shown much growth, in recent years the research BPOs and knowledge process outsourcing work has grown substantially for market research organisations. Many MNCs and FMCG companies outsource their research work to MR agencies, while international companies outsource their analyses work and data mining to Indian MR agencies before venturing into Indian markets. Skill sets Market research is the right field for you if you have a keen analytical mind, numerical ability, enjoy working under pressure, are skilled in time management, self-confident, and able to communicate easily with colleagues and clients, whatever their temperament and degree of expertise. An interest in socio-economic trends, patience and an organised approach is important to get into this field. One way to check if you have what it takes, is to get yourself a summer job handling fieldwork in a market research organisation. If you like your work, it could really pave the way for a successful career in a widely expanding field. Training talk Broadly, MBA programmes and courses in sales and marketing usually include training in the different aspects of market research. Some courses in advertising and communications, such as those offered by the Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad, and the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi, also cover subjects on market research, as do institutes for sales and marketing. A postgraduation in economics, psychology, statistics, or geographical information systems can also be useful for a career in market research. Prominent institutions providing training in marketing and communications management include:
The writer is a noted career expert
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The
work of a market researcher is to plan out what kind of information is
required to be gathered, the most systematic and effective way to
collect data, the actual collection of the data and the analysis and
interpretation of this data. The research is normally carried out to
identify consumer choices with regard to the product or service, areas
where the demand is likely to be concentrated, the price and any other
expectations of the potential consumer. The data is then finally
submitted to the client with a list of suggestions, based on which the
client can take a decision, or chalk out a marketing plan.
