Tom H. C. Anderson - More Than Market Research

Market Researchers, Who are We? 

What kind of people go into the market research? How are we different from those in other areas? Can anyone suggest a link to demographic/psychographic differences? I suppose a Quirks or Marketing News or American Demographics advertising/media kit may have some of this info. I will look into it and report back if I see anything interesting.

In the meantime I’ll try to hypothesize a bit. It seems like there are a few different types of people in the industry.

GroupI
Social Researchers, i.e. people who have Masters degrees or PhD’s in psychology, sociology etc. who feel that marketing research pays better then academia. They probably feel they are getting to do research with bigger budgets than in academia, which is true. Down side is they can’t pick their research topics, nor can they get too much personal publicity. I assume some think that this is higher level thinking/more academic work then is available in most other occupations, which I believe is also true for the most part…

Group II
Then there are those that fall into it accidentally somehow, right after college. If you poll project directors or junior analysts you will find many who either happen to get hired by a marketing research company as a co-op, intern or first job, or perhaps think it’s a good way to get into management consulting or a larger consumer goods organization through the back door. Some might see it as a stepping stone before entering an MBA program?

Group III
Then there are Sales people or Account Executives, some probably come up via the (Group II) project manager/jr analyst positions above, others directly into sales from another sales position in another industry.

I think these may be the three main groups. They are probably quite different in terms of motivation/psychographics? However they start out though, they probably end up thinking sort of similarly. At least the first two groups. Over analytical, not likely to take risks or move fast. Sound familiar?

Career path wise, I wonder what the norms are. For those who stay in market research, sales and management seem to be the only decently compensated tracks. Unfortunately, surprisingly few supplier side firms take seriously their deep thinkers when it comes to compensation. So the truly smart from group 1 would have to migrate out of marketing research if compensation is of any importance.

Group 2 above also depending on skill would move into either group 1 or 2 or move out of the industry, or go out on their own. Group I lack the risk taking and sales skills to head out on their own, and group 3 lack the know how/statistical ability to consult, if not initially then after several years of just selling research without doing much.
I think the summary above is a bit negative. But I think that is because a handful of large firms through several years of acquisitions have tried to turn the job into a factory line type process in order to increase specialization and lower costs. In the meantime making the job less rewarding/interesting.
The good news of course is that due to the internet, the few meaningful barriers of entry previously enjoyed by some of these firms (mail rooms with hundred of people for instance) are gone.  Clients are starting to see the value of well rounded, tech savvy, strategic thinkers. This will possibly save the profession.

Do you agree/disagree? Can anyone offer other perspectives on the people in market research?

- Tom H. C. Anderson