FUTURE TALENT MEETS THE INDUSTRY

ESOMAR CONGRESS 2010

Esther García García Name: Esther García García
Nationality: Spanish
University: Universidad Pontificia Comillas Madrid; Reims Management School, Madrid, Spain
Title of course/programme: MSc in International Business Administration
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How do you see the market research industry evolving?

The market research industry is constantly evolving and changing in response to technological, societal and economic changes.

I believe that one of the main changes which the market research industry encounters is the move from transactional to relational marketing. As opposed to the traditional, transactional-based marketing approach focused on understanding and meeting consumer needs, relationship-based marketing seeks to retain consumers and increase their loyalty.

This change in the face of market research will drive the need to review and update many of the approaches and methodologies employed nowadays adapting them to the new environment.

On the technological side, Internet and new technologies are shaping a fundamentally different way to do market research and the industry is leveraging the vast potential that this channel offers, for example taking advantage of the new opportunities in social networking for data mining purposes and better understanding consumer behavior while reaching large pools of people in a more efficient way.

At the same time, the 2008-2010 financial crisis implies a serious challenge for the market research industry. Companies are being forced to review their marketing spending in a context of increased competition and mature markets having to satisfy a more cost-conscious, but also quality-demanding customer.

How can I contribute to the market research evolving?

Market research is definitely the career I want to pursue. My deep interest in this area is grounded not only on my educational background in Business Administration with a focus on Marketing, but also on my international profile and language skills and my genuine interest for understanding consumer behavior and the means to influence it.

I believe that both my background and my previous work experiences in the Marketing and Advertising sector for multinational companies represent an excellent asset that will enable me to make good contributions to market research.

At the same time I am very interested in further growing my skills and continue my education in the market research area.

What are, in your opinion, the necessary skills for market researchers in the present environment?

Three skills are in my view essential for a market researcher:

  • Passion and curiosity: Passion is the basis of motivation. To be passionate in what we are doing is essential to differentiate an extraordinary job from a good/average performance. Passion needs to be linked to curiosity: curiosity is a fundamental feature of any market researcher in order to never stop questioning status quo and proposing new approaches
  • Analytical, observant and critical. to be able to interpret data and transform it into valuable information: gathering relevant consumer information, understanding their behavior and reasons motivating them. Thus, not accepting results as they are but also scrutinizing and questioning them.
  • Flexibility: adaptability to change has become even more critical in the last years. In a fast-changing world, market researchers have to adapt to the evolving industry and create new approaches to understand the changing marketplace, etc.

    How do you see your career unfolding and what are your aspirations?

After graduating in International Business Administration from ICADE university last June, I am now actively looking for a full-time career opportunity in the Marketing department of a large multinational company where I can further develop my practical experience and leverage my profile.

With the underlying objective in mind of always maintaining a steep learning curve in what I do, I eventually consider enrolling in a Master Degree after a few years of working experience to deep-dive into those areas of Marketing that interest me most (for the time being Communication and Social Marketing) and broaden adjacent areas of Marketing.

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