Future Talent Meets The Industry

ESOMAR Asia Pacific 2011

Jaisurya Pavithran Name: Jaisurya Pavithran
Nationality: Indian
University: Amrita School of Business, Ettimadai, India
Title of course/programme: MBA in Marketing
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How do you see the market research industry evolving and how can you contribute to it?

Market Research today is a rapidly evolving science, caught between the crosshairs of today’s sweeping changes. There are four major factors today that are shaping the trajectory of Market Research:

  1. Technological advancement:
    This is probably the single most powerful catalyst for change in Market Research methodologies today. There are two major technological advancements that have forced a rethink on traditional methods of Market research:
    • The Web 2.0 and Social Networking revolution
    • Ease of access to data And gone are the days when Market researchers spent hours gathering secondary research. Online databases and the power of “googling” have resulted in an information glut. The focus today is more on “scanalysing” data than “analysing’ it. The ability to scan data, drill down to the essentials and analyze the relevant data is paramount for a good researcher today.

    The Social Networking revolution has made the entire business of Market Research more personal. Relational methods in Market Research are slowly replacing the old transactional methods.

  2. Societal changes:
    The Market Research industry is seeing an increasing focus on Demographics – especially generational profiling (The Baby boomers, Generation Xers , the Slackers, etc). The industry has coined a whole new term for this- “Generational Marketing”. In order to effectively carry out generational marketing, we need to understand the motivation and underlying values of the target generation. Such finer aspects of consumer psyche are not always captured through traditional methods of Market Research. This again highlights the need for a shift towards Relational methods of Market Research.

  3. Globalization:
    Globalization has significantly expanded the impact of local Market Research techniques. Similarities in global markets conditions and consumer behavior have ensured that Market Research techniques used in Saudi Arabia to gather information on shoppers in supermarkets, is equally relevant to study consumer behavior of shoppers in say, Pakistan. Today, Market research techniques and data have become trans-national.
    Besides, the concept of Market Research itself as a tool for effective marketing has spread to more regions in Asia, Latin America and Africa.

  4. Evolving standards and guidelines:
    New vistas for conducting Market Research, such as social network sites, blogs, and mobile phones have thrown up a host of concerns over Data protection, Individual privacy and Mutual rights. Just as in any other industry, Market Research bodies are struggling with defining frameworks and policies that would effectively regulate these new mediums of Market research. Organizations such as ESOMAR are the forefront of framing these regulations.

    All the above key change agents seem to point to one direction: the future of Market Research lies in shifting from old Transactional methods, to new Relational methods. Consumers are no longer respondents. They are co-creators of data. Relationships are no longer limited to short durations of focus groups and expert interviews; they are spread over months of observation and relationship building via social networking and in-house surveying methodologies. The focus is no longer on consumer preference, but on long-term consumer psyche.

    As a product of the modern technology era, I have had the privilege of being raised amidst Facebook, Google, and Twitter. Coming from an engineering background, I understand the nuances of technology better. I find myself in a position to leverage the evolving tech-savvy methodologies in Market Research. Having Grown up in metropolitan neighborhoods and shopped at metro-malls, I understand the synergies that globalization has brought about across the world. And finally, coming from the new generation, I identify well with the hopes, aspirations and preferences of this generation. All of these, combined with my MBA knowledge, analytical skills and interpersonal flair, poise me well to leverage the three major factors shaping the future of Market Research: Technology, Globalization and Generational change.

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

New age marketing has thrown up a host of additional skills that Market Researchers require, to thrive today. But age-old skill sets such as analytical ability, interpersonal skills, and the ability to listen are still critical to become an effective Market Researcher.

  1. Being Tech-savvy:
    This is probably the most critical new-age requirement to become a successful Market Researcher. Being tech-savvy doesn’t stop short at owning an email account or being on Facebook. Researchers today also need to be well versed in statistical analysis and data mining tools such as SPSS, R, SAS and WEKA. Knowledge of effective online search techniques is an added plus.

  2. Interpersonal skills:
    This is Perhaps the most important skill for a Market Researcher. The ability to listen to people, understand their responses, put them at ease and eliciting required information from them are critical to being a successful Market Researcher. Market Research is all about exploring the mind of your respondent. Good people skill is the first step to get there.

  3. Analytical skills:
    A good Market Researcher always has a mind full of questions. Why does the client want this information? What is the appropriate methodology? Why did the respondent say what he did? When is a good time to take a survey? Who should be our family of respondents? …. The list is endless. Only a focused analytical mind can cut through these uncertainties with clear logic and reason.

    Making sense of all the data gathered calls for a systematic application of statistical and analytical tools. A good grasp of statistical tools and an ability to draw patterns and inferences from given data are very important to a Market Researcher. Knowledge of statistical software such as SPSS, R and SAS are definitely a plus.

  4. Collaborative skills
    Market Researchers hardly ever work alone. They are usually required to work in groups where each one would cover a territory or own up a part of the work. Market Researchers often have to work closely with those around them to define the problem and elicit information. Good team skills are a pre-requisite to be succeed in this field.

  5. Organized and systematic creativity
    It is said about Market Research that you can never be too right in your inferences. The only way to ensure that you are close to right is to meticulously plan out your methodology and check, check and recheck your results. While being organized and systematic helps, sometimes conventional methodologies do not yield desired results. Market Researchers on the field would tell you that they often have to resort to innovative ways of going about their business of eliciting information. The key to a great Market Research is striking that fine balance between organized approach and out-of –the-box creative thinking.

  6. Passion, Patience and Perseverance:
    The three P‘s is what differentiates a good Market researcher from a great one. Market Research often entails days of interviewing unresponsive subjects, analyzing through reams of data sets and scores of rejections from potential respondents. There are days when none of your data seems to make any sense. There are days when you have to go to extraordinary lengths to survey a single respondent. And there are days when just can’t figure out how to get the data you want. It is times like these that call for extraordinary grit and determination. To the say the least, Market Research is not for the light hearted.

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

The marketing bug caught me quite early on in career. I was fortunate enough to find my calling immediately out of Under Graduate College. Having worked for four eventful years in marketing and sales, I decided to do an MBA to further understand the nuances of effective marketing and sales. After my MBA, I intend to go back into the thick of Marketing, where I always belonged. But this time, there will be difference. This time, I would like to apply the reason and logic of market research to all my marketing decisions; for that has been the biggest take away from my MBA program. I see myself joining an organization as a Marketing professional, post MBA. I see myself working on teams that devise new marketing strategies based on customer insights from extensive market research and analysis.

Within the next 4 years, I see myself leading a team of young marketing enthusiasts. I see myself being given charge of expanding market share (Business development) in uncharted markets, especially global markets. My ultimate aspiration is to plan, execute, and consolidate an entry into a market where my firm has no presence. Conquering uncharted territories- that will be my holy grail.

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