Before founding market research firm Kelton Research, Tom Bernthal was
in journalism. He was an Emmy-winning producer for NBC News, and also worked
in the White House Communications Office.
"I worked a lot on incorporating focus groups into live television broadcasts
during the 2000 election season, and a career in market research grew organically
from there," says Bernthal. Bernthal sees lots of opportunities for aspiring
market researchers.
"The demand for market research is stronger than ever these days, as the
economy rapidly evolves and produces a whole new set of consumer needs that
need to be quantified and closely examined," says Bernthal. "This in turn
bodes well for anyone considering a career in market research, especially
those with a passion for marketing."
Those with a passion for numbers will also find plenty of opportunities,
according to Sherry Schneider. She recruits market researchers for a staffing
firm in Detroit. She has placed more than 200 marketing analytical and research
professionals over the past six years.
"I don't think enough math and science people realize there's a [big] niche
in marketing that's untapped," says Schneider. "So it does create a demand
as more and more companies are interested in being able to understand psychologically
and behaviorally why consumers buy what they buy."
Subbu Sivaramakrishnan is an example of someone whose aptitude with numbers
led him to market research. He is a professor of marketing and also works
as a market research consultant.
"I like numbers -- that's part of the reason [I got into market research],"
says Sivaramakrishnan. His undergraduate degree was in math. "If you're a
person that's not scared by numbers, that really helps in marketing research.
"And the other thing I really find exciting about marketing research is
how sometimes the data can tell the exact opposite story of what you expected,"
says Sivaramakrishnan. "That's always exciting to see -- wow, this is not
what I expected at all!"
Technology also leads to interesting developments. For example, the Internet
is changing how a lot of market research is done.
"In recent years, online surveys have become far more popular than telephone
surveys, as Americans are dropping their landlines in droves," says Bernthal.
"Online polling is a great option because it's quick, cost-effective, and
allows for additional capabilities such as testing responses to images or
audio. The Internet has also opened the research world up to a host of new
and innovative methodologies, such as online focus groups, web communities,
and social media monitoring."
Technology is improving market researchers' ability to gather and analyze
data.
"The computing power nowadays has made many things possible that were not
possible before," says Sivaramakrishnan.
"Back in the old days, companies would simply advertise or send out a blanket
promotional mail to pretty much anyone they could send it to," says Sivaramakrishnan.
"But nowadays companies are finding that they can analyze customer data well
enough that they know if you golf or not before they send you an invitation
to Golf Digest, for example. Back in the old days companies did not have that
ability.
"Databases are being bought and sold out there, so companies are able to
analyze our consumption patterns pretty well," Sivaramakrishnan adds. Sivaramakrishnan
gives the example of membership cards at grocery stores.
"They swipe that, and right at that moment they have registered all your
purchases and they've tied it to your name," says Sivaramakrishnan. "And they
can go back and analyze your purchases over the last three years and they
can tell you a lot more about your consumption than you might know yourself...
"So when you use your club card in [a grocery store], it's not just to
give you a member discount, it's because they get a lot of valuable information
about your consumption and your price sensitivity," Sivaramakrishnan adds.
"This is just one of many examples of how technology has made marketing
research a lot more effective nowadays."