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Office Hours is our one-of-a-kind, on-the-fly mentor program designed to connect industry thought leaders and professionals with the WIRe community.
As of Q1 2020 we’ve re-tailored our Office Hours program to support more mentors, more dialogue, and more opportunities for remote connection and growth than ever before!
From Mentor Winnie Wong: Firstly, I think it depends on what industry they are currently in to know whether or not they have the relevant skills and industry knowledge to bring across. For example, moving from a product marketing role to a market research role on new product development can be seamless.In my opinion, ‘market research’ and ‘insights’ roles are used interchangeably when you’re working in the client-side. When working in the client-side, you will need to apply the insights from your research findings to improve the organization’s brand, products or services or to support other teams to do their work better using data and evidence from research. Most often, when working in market research agencies, the process ends in delivering the research findings.
Enrolling to a market research course would be a good first step to learning more about the MR industry and the technical side (basic research and data analytics), and it will prepare them to work in insights too. For both market research and insights, these skills generally would include problem solving, project management communication, collaboration, writing, and data analytics. This would help with the end to end management of a research project from research planning, fieldwork, analysis and reporting to presenting. If they are wanting to gain experience in research, it would be good to take up a course like the one mentioned. It might be useful as well to have a chat to the research or marketing team in their company (if they have one) just to get an understanding of what the day to day role is like.
from Mentor Horst Feldhaeuser: Hello and thanks for your interest in market research. It’s an exciting profession, however, as many other professions, market research was hit hard by Covid-19, in particular when it comes to face-to-face interactions, like in-depth interviews or focus groups. But we’ve also pivoted as an industry with more and digital options. What parts of market research and insights are you most interested? What can you add to a company from your current experiences whether that’s your previous studies, from raising a family or any volunteer work you might have done.
Also start following WiRe, Insights Association, Greenbook, MrWeb and any other industry relevant organizations and look out for free webinars etc. to slowly start building some understanding of the industry. As Laura mentioned in another reply, do your homework, look at new techniques, tools, processes, or business practices, invest in learning for the future. There are also a couple of MR specialist study and training options like the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education and their Market Research Institute International (MRII) program: https://www.georgiacenter.uga.edu/courses/market-research or Research Rockstar.
It’s not going to be easy in the current environment, but building and highlighting any/all ongoing learning at the top of your resume/cover letter or in direct outreach conversations can help you overcome that “1 year minimum experience”. Good luck!
from Mentor Sima Vasa: Great question. There is no doubt that things will change. My suggestion is that you think about how you can differentiate yourself that is in line with your passion or area of interest. Here are some specific ideas:
from Mentor Baillie Buchanan: My advice is to be as custom, thorough and helpful as possible in your outreach to a prospective employer. You’ll stand out if you can demonstrate in your email that you’ve thoroughly researched the company – including reading recent blog posts or research reports that the company has shared. Be clear about the value you could bring to the table, and even go so far as to demonstrate that value with a specific idea or two for the company. For example, did you read a recent research report they published and have a unique idea about a follow-up project? Mention you’d like to discuss it. Or, see a gap in their marketing that you could fill, tell them and share how you could execute it. It may feel forward, but hiring managers respond to someone who is going to bring new ideas to the table and not be shy about demonstrating additional value they can bring to the company.
from Mentor Horst Feldhaeuser: Thanks for your question and great that you are interested in market research and insights as a career. There are many people who have come into MR through other studies and programs, so most MBA programs should set you up nicely. You might want to look into Statistics, coding/programming and/or more qualitative aspects like psychology etc. There are also a couple of MR specialist study options like the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education and their Market Research Institute International (MRII) program: https://www.georgiacenter.uga.edu/courses/market-research.
from Mentor JD Deitch: Hello! It is absolutely possible to make a transition from academia. I for one am living proof! While I had less experience, I was able to convince my first employer that the techniques we use to study behavior are the same — this was my ‘marketable skill’. You would do well to ‘connect the dots’ between your research and what your prospective employer is doing so they see the link. I would also tend to use terminology that is in vogue now related to statistical modeling, behavioral science, and such. You should look at the marketing that some of the supplier firms use to see how they are pitching. It is hard to say why your efforts have not met with success. I have some suggestions of people to talk to (including an excellent recruiter) who may be willing to help. Message me in LinkedIn and I will connect you.
from Mentor Horst Feldhaeuser: Hello and welcome on board the market research and insights train. The good news is that most of us would have joined market research from other professions and/or industry. The challenge is that market research, as many other professions, was hit hard by Covid-19, in particular when it comes to face-to-face interactions, like in-depth interviews or focus groups. But we’ve also pivoted as an industry with more and digital options. What parts of market research and insights are you most interested? What can you add to a company from your current experiences whether that’s your studies or otherwise. As Laura mentioned in another reply, do your homework, look at new techniques, tools, processes, or business practices, invest in learning for the future. There are also a couple of MR specialist study options like the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education and their Market Research Institute International (MRII) program: https://www.georgiacenter.uga.edu/courses/market-research. Hope that helps. All the best.
from Mentor Sima Vasa: At the current time, most roles are virtual or work from home. As you look for MR jobs, I would share your vision and plan for working virtually for a majority of time. For employers – they want employees to be available for collaboration and workflow- that might mean working odd hours depending on where you live etc. Also, might also help to make a commitment to travel to meet in person a certain amount of times when travel becomes more the norm. I hope that helps!
from mentor Sima Vasa: I think this all depends on where you are in your career trajectory and what you are looking to accomplish. For me going from a practionar of research, to operator, to entrepreneur, to advisor and now investment banking for the sector have been driven by my goals of continuous learning, lifestyle as well as my passion for the industry. Moving from where you are now to VC - I would ask that you consider what role will play? What are the skills required to execute on the role? I personally love investment banking and helping founders figure out their path/investment thesis etc. However there is a fair amount of work to getting to a successful mandate.
from Mentor JD Deitch: Hard to answer this without understand whether there is a manager's role already in the company. If there isn't then you need to create an agenda that demonstrates value to that company. More degrees and volunteer work isn't going to do that. You need to create a compelling vision and then enlist people in support of that vision to fund it or promote it. If they believe in your vision, then they may choose you to lead it.
from Mentor Winnie Wong: One way to do this is to start/ continue taking on a leading role (without the official title). This could include leading projects and managing them from end to end and documenting these processes and the end result (how you’ve improved the business). It’s also important to involve the leadership team in your work where possible. I find that this makes it easier when you ask for a promotion as you can then create a compelling business case on your leadership skills and performance record in the company.
From mentor Laura Chaibi: Going client side typically requires a focus on the vertical that you are trying to get into for example FMCG, retail, automotive or tech/telco for example. Most of the vertical industries have trade bodies and I would suggest you find the trade bodies and start to network this way. Review the case studies, awards and companies heavily engaging with their trade bodies and see if you can find out opportunities through the trade body itself amongst its membership.Creativity in networking to open doors can lead to new opportunities.
from Mentor Laura Chaibi: Hello! Thanks for your questions and it’s understandable that getting back into a rhythm can feel a bit daunting, with or without Covid.The first thing to say is that a sabbatical does not take away any of your foundation skills and experience unless you are in a fast-moving field of research (digital) in which case it would be wise to invest in brushing up on your skillsets to ensure you have contemporary skills. Next, refresh your network and find out how peers in your line of work have been impacted (lost jobs, business as usual or busier than ever). Get a feel for the market and how proactive you’ll need to be. Most businesses have hiring freezes right now, at best you might need to have open conversations with the aim to be first in line when the freeze lifts. Network, get informed, hunt for the windows of opportunity to be at the right time, right place. Ask for senior connections you have to make introduction/referrals for you. Endorsements go a long way. Finally, if the market has stalled, do your homework on where you think your line of the industry is going and get ahead of the curve. If you see new techniques, tools, processes, or business practices, invest in learning for the future – a future that your hiring company wants to get to and you may be the right solution to help them get there faster. Lastly, there are a few other similar questions that have been asked with further suggestions that can help you. Have a look through them for more tips and good luck!
from Mentor Horst Feldhaeuser: Thanks for your question, which applies to many research and insights professionals. There is no silver bullet, but there might be a few pointers. Automating your reports becomes harder when looking at ad-hoc and custom research. Due to its nature, you will need to drill into the data first before you know what the story is. But there are still a few things that you can do. Firstly, depending on your data collection and analysis platform, you might opt for a solution that is integrated or has an API feed. That way you get data as soon as it’s available.
Secondly, you might want to look at your data half-way through the fieldwork. There might be some specific topics standing out already, which you might want to further explore once you have the full data set.
Thirdly, really understand what the objective of the research is. We often ask a lot of additional questions in our surveys, but try to get to the crux of the project first.
Lastly, use technology where possible. There are some good tools out there that help with coding or finding insights faster. Here’s a cool approach to look at an entire data set and quickly determine where the story is. You can view a short DISCOVER video here.
For trackers, look at an analysis software that automatically updates your previous reports/analyses. Even better if it can point out significant changes without you going through the whole report yourself. There are many good tools out there, one is Harmoni from Infotools. Shameless self-plug here, so happy to show you what it can do.
from Mentor Sarah Ryan: Adding on to what Horst says, I think there are great opportunities to use the creation of an analytic plan to frame up a story. I find that crafting one of these when the survey is being written helps reporting go quicker- I know what I want to look at, I have outlined my hypotheses, I have defined all of my variables, etc. This also helps keep the key business questions top of mind.
from Mentor Laura Chaibi: Hello, Thanks for your questions and welcome to steps deeper into research! It’s great to hear you are from a Digital background and seeking to move more towards Research. I’m from a similar background and aim to give you clarity around how you can frame your thinking and next move. Firstly, it’s important to highlight that research is becoming more and more a skill set in digital businesses while larger corporations maintain research functions. Many activities that would have previously been done by a research department such as user research, focus groups, customer surveys have become parts of other roles in digital businesses. Equally, statistics has been moved under ‘science and measurement teams’.This happened over the last 5 years with data access that was ‘cheaper and faster’ enabling staff to self serve. Examples include design thinking to map out consumer needs, solutions like usertesting.com or running polls on zappi store or via survey monkey. If you have a digital background it’s your advantage to potentially recognise these shifts and navigate them. As consumers take back their privacy, research is making a comeback to compliment incomplete data, there are doors opening :)You’ll need to decide where you want to focus your efforts and what part of the value chain interests you, this will help you determine where to invest your focus on upskilling to cross over. Look at the research buyers information guides to get a feel for all the options and read up on companies and their specialisms as well as methodologies:
https://www.mrs.org.uk/researchbuyersguide-results/market_sectors/NUTR
Reviewing job descriptions to determine skills matching will also help. Research is multidisciplinary and it may be you already have the right mindset and skills to move into Research teams that have other team members to compliment areas you want to develop. Once you find areas of interest draw up your shortlist and the best advice I can give you is to maintain a T shaped skillset – broad business and research skills with a honed specialism that is as future-proofed as possible. Aim to go forward with your skills rather than ‘step back’. Map out the paths you would like to consider and start networking to learn if the ‘day in the life’ of these roles sounds suitable. Research is an extremely rewarding career and with your seasoned background agency side, you’ve likely been exposed to many industries and have a great wealth of acumen to add. Good luck!
from Mentor Sarah Ryan: Two additional thoughts (or rather, one thought with two branches): As data use becomes more prolific within organizations, it is incumbent upon researchers and analysts to ensure that it is being interpreted and used correctly. While I agree with the T shaped skill set recommendation, I think every researcher going forward will need a few key skills: 1) the ability to storytell to make research and insights actionable and 2) a solid base understanding of data sources (often data collection in our case) in order to be able to gauge the reliability of data or identify potential risks and weaknesses in interpretation. What can you do with the data/ insights at hand? What can you NOT do with them? When data can easily be manipulated to serve many masters, I find myself and my counterpart in analytics often playing the role of guiding that translation. If these skills are not currently in your toolbox, I would work to acquire or strengthen them.
from Mentor JD Deitch: There is absolutely ZERO reason to start over, and by extension ZERO reason to take a pay cut! First, don’t be discouraged by the present situation. The bigger research agencies really took it on the chin during the second quarter. Many have frozen hiring and even conducted layoffs. The purse strings are loosening a bit now, but I believe the market is likely to remain tight for analysts. Second, does your current company use certain suppliers? Typically suppliers love to recruit from corporates because it gives them good insight into the thinking and additional credibility in front of clients. If you don’t, do your competitors? Who are the big suppliers for your industry/vertical? I would expect it to be an easier sell for you to translate your experience for a supplier who operates in the sector already. Hope this helps.
from Mentor Sarah Ryan: From my personal opinion, I see their role increasing. I use APIs to feed dashboards with data that I monitor regularly, such as comscore data. The API removes some of the manual reporting time my team used to spend each month, and allows all of my stakeholders access to the data on demand. We are regularly talking about how to streamline tasks and optimize our limited resources, and things like APIs can help once they are implemented. If I expand my CSAT program to make it more robust, I could see an API being a very helpful tool there as well.
from Mentor Jd Deitch: I could write a 2000 word article on this, but the simple answer is that APIs are everything. Literally. This is how diverse data collection platforms are connected, data are transferred, sample is bought and sold... This is the inevitable push toward automation in the industry. If you look just on the supplier side right now, you could say that virtually the entire supply-side ecosystem is networked via APIs.
From mentor Laura Chaibi: As a freelancer, you can still create problem / solution / impact slides without naming a client. Uplevel to the category or problem solved?
Normally clients do not want the competitive intelligence, they want to see how you approach problem solving, what is the breadth (or specialism) of your skills and where / how you can add value. A case study can be one slide with 3 sentences and an image for example. As long as there is enough to get clients curious!
For example as a freelancer, I was brought onto a project and I streamlined the questionnaire from 1 hour to under 35 mins for fieldwork making a $300k in savings. I optimised vendors and merged two projects into one making a 5X savings and cutting projevt turn around times by 6 weeks.
Clients want to see faster, more efficient, more cost effective, better quality, higher value for money etc... Focus on this in the case study irrespective of the client.
from Mentor Laura Chaibi: I follow Kevin Gray on LinkedIn and he lists loads of books / sources to aid in media research. SPSS give a two weeks free trial on their platform, but you need to have a data set ready to load up to practice your techniques? They also have videos for many of the features to use. If you’re looking for more details, the market research society and esomar also point to courses available through the year on statistics / Quant analysis. Good luck!
from Mentor Sima Vasa: There are many industry resources you can leverage to keep up with the latest trends. There are many conferences that share new and innovative methodologies. Typically presentations with a vendor and client side showcases a case study share the newest and latest innovation practices. Walking the conference expo and speaking with different vendors even though they might want to sell you solutions , etc. The conferences that highlight innovation such as IIEX and Insights Association. Outside of conferences, read blogs, news articles, follow people you respect and see what they are posting and gain insight from them. Industry podcasts is another way to learn about new things in the industry. Many times you might hear an episode and you want to learn more about the content and guest, you can reach out the guest on linked in and set up a time to learn more.
from Mentor Laura Chaibi: First of all, thank you for your question. Many people, including yourself are facing uncertainty at the moment. Having more open communication will help you feel more clarity and hopefully confident to be able to perform at your best given the circumstances. In this case, there are two things I would suggest. 1. Ask for feedback and frame it like this… ‘if you were in my place (or shoes) what would you suggest I ask you to feel more confidence in the tasks I’m managing and the contributions I’m making to help the business succeed?’
This technique can be helpful as you’re asking the person ‘what is the best way to ask for feedback from you.’ You essentially are asking them to put themselves in your shoes which can create empathy and compassion. Person to person we can build strong bonds of trust… This is a bridge.
Point 2. This situation is overwhelming for everyone and if you’re being asked to be on the front line reading everything, and if you’re not able to contribute to doing something about it (business actions) this can lead to you feeling very helpless and without control. I would suggest when you share the information, you also start collecting brainstorming ideas of what CAN be done so rather than focus all your attention on the doom and gloom, here is your chance to grasp opportunity and look forward… One small idea at a time and ask if you can coordinate making these small wins happen. This is a marathon ahead of us, not a sprint. Taking those small steps will help you feel like you are back in a place of control and help you, your boss and your business build momentum to get through. This way you will know the value you are also bringing to the business and build your confidence back up. Hopefully you’ll bring the business closer together too as you all try to get through it. Good luck!
from Mentor Horst Feldhaeuser: I would suggest to openly discuss with your manager what exactly the problem is. Not sure that this is really clear. Is it the type of language you use or the way you present your results? Are you looking at the bigger picture beyond your actual research results? We often hear the research providers don’t have the full internal company view to fully understand the impact of their research on a corporate. Maybe something similar happens here. All of this might help to understand whether there is something you can do to adjust or whether you are working in an environment that’s not meant for you. Questioning your findings simply because you are too young is not acceptable.
from Mentor Horst Feldhaeuser: Looks like you have a very unique point of difference in terms of your experiences, so that should put you in a good position whether or not you are working for a large MR company. Have you had these challenges before Covid-19 already? Do your potential clients fully understand your unique point of experience? What is it that they are looking for in a large company that you supposedly can’t provide? While many companies have slowed down in their MR spend, there is still an appetite there to do thinks differently. So this should put in you a good place if you have an unique offer. Also, if it’s a diverse offering that your prospects are looking for, consider partnering with other freelancers, tech providers etc. Build your own little pool of MR partners.
from Mentor Sima Vasa: Research ties into business decisions. Taking business courses or even pursuing a part time MBA will help you understand more about how research fits into the entire decision making process. I believe WIRe helps you find mentors. In addition, if you approach people directly – be specific of what you are asking.. perhaps a quarterly check in call or meeting to review goals/issues/ opportunities etc.?
from Mentor Laura Chaibi: Hello and thank you for your question. It is really important and many people are asking. The first thing I would do is review your CV and only list jobs in the last ten years. What I do for everything else is add a list of logos of the companies I’ve worked for with no further details. Time and experience right now can potentially work against you if the company is seeking progressive mindsets to embrace future problems. The second thing is start taking courses tied to future facing methods and solutions. If you’ve never worked on digital solutions or direct to consumer (D2C / ecommerce solutions) you need a way in. Prove you are a valuable resource for the future not from the past. It is common for researchers to list their competencies and what the hiring manager wants to see is the problems you solve and we’ll you do it (impact / outcomes for the business). If the hiring manager is not a researcher, they will not be in a position to understand your value. Language will be the difference here.
Third thing, operational grit. Are you prepared to field research end to end on your own with no team? Research tools and digital products have commotised our industry, researchers are moving into product roles, think hard if you’re prepared to do the whole gamut and prove it. Lastly, network ruthlessly, find out for your industry how things have changed and where your kind of work went and if you are prepared to follow that path. If you’re not interested in how the industry changed, then get out and upskill/reskill to another discipline. It’s hard to say this, but for youth who took STEM subjects research is a skill set everyone is taught, it has become productised so the entry base into the field is lowering and most marketers and product people sde researchers as a middle person they simply don’t need anymore. Your next job will likely come via connections, keep them fresh! Good luck, we’re sending you positive vibes that you’ve got this, keep going!
from Mentor Baillie Buchanan: This is a situation where networking may be the best way to get your foot in the door. When applying for a position, do some LinkedIn digging. If you can tell from the job posting who the hiring manager is, try to connect with that person on LinkedIn and send a very custom message expressing your genuine interest. Consider acknowledging that at first glance you may not look like the right fit, then give a few reasons why you are. If you don’t know exactly who the right person is, you have a few options. Connect with anyone at the company that looks like they are in a role to influence the decision making for this role and send the same type of message + ask for a referral to the right person. Of course, look and see if you have any 1st or 2nd level connections with the company and ask for a referral in to the right person. If all else fails in your networking, there’s still hope. I can say from experience hiring, I do take note of people who go beyond the standard application process and send a highly targeted and custom email to our hiring@ email alias expressing their interest and pointing out concrete examples or skills. Your communication skills can shine through here, and the extra effort shows you are truly interested in exploring the position.
from Mentor Laura Chaibi: Hello great questions to maximise your time! As you are in a big agency, I am not sure if ‘social research’ means governmental or ‘social media’ research? I am going to guess it is more the governmental research. Upskilling is really important and I would suggest a T shaped skill set. What this means is have a cross section of skills that you can tap into at a surface level, and one area of expertise that you want to be known for and craft. My best advice is try and pick the ‘specialist’ skill that you are highly passionate about to commit to honing it, but at the same time not to such a level that if it become redundant, you are holding onto the skillset for dear life.
For example, what do you want to become known for? Maybe it is for sampling strategies, or methodologies that you craft? Perhaps you want to master questionnaire design or story telling? My advice is to ask yourself, what am I doing today that a machine could be doing tomorrow? Machines can take over single functions and mundane tasks, and sophisticated machines can see patterns that the naked eye cannot. What value can you add on top of machines? First off, the brief and the conditions for success, a human decides these things for custom work, a machine cannot see its data within a wider context of human culture, heuristics, and semiotics, unless it is programmed to do this. Even the data science is realising the value of ethnographic overlaid on top of data. No one is fully ‘future proofed’ for their line of work and my best advice is realistically pairing what you love with the reality of the role existing in the future or how you are prepared to shift as the skill set shifts. Harvard has loads of free courses right not that I too am exploring to stay fresh!
For career development, I am wondering why you do not see a mentor from within your business? Mentors can play several roles, they can help you with your decisions making in a very directional way based on experience. If you do not believe someone exists today in your business, it signals to me, that you may have already outgrown your business and need to grow you wings for something else. Being self aware is really important. I would suggest start by following the businesses that you admire and then cascading down into people within those businesses. If you are seeking a mentor, it can be a transactional mentor with a simple coffee meet up for very specific needs vs a long term mentor that you stick with your whole career. Once you know, this, you can better frame what you need and who you can proposition to help you. WIRe has a mentor scheme matching mentor / mentees annually and I strongly recommend you consider it. Best of luck!
from Mentor Baillie Buchanan: Absolutely not too late! It’s a hard truth that I would expect it may be harder to get your foot back in the door, but it is by no means impossible. Focus on highlighting things you’ve done to stay or get current on new research methodologies, technologies, advance your skills, presentation enhancement, etc. Consider whether there are opportunities to volunteer your skills for a nonprofit or school project that you can then use on your resume or job outreach to showcase your skills proactively. Address the gap up front and use what could be an objection to sell yourself instead. Did your time away give you new perspective? Empathy you can bring to research conversations? Improved listening and communication skills?
Also, consider investing in yourself by taking an online course (for example through the UGA) and highlighting any/all ongoing learning at the top of your resume/cover letter or in direct outreach conversations.
Make sure you’re building a network on LinkedIn as well, and actively connecting with people in the industry. Read relevant articles to the type of research or area of expertise you have/want to cultivate and provide thoughtful comments.
If I may, I’d also point you to this offer from my company Research For Good. We’re actively trying to help current job seekers gain exposure in the industry by providing free quant data for analysis and report building and will amplify across our network. If that is of potential interest and a fit for your skillset, please reach out.
from Mentor Horst Feldhaeuser: Hi. Thanks for asking your question, and NO it’s never too late in market research. However, a lot would have changed since you were last involved. Saying that, some of your skills might still be very useful, in particular when it comes to curiosity, understanding what consumers/user/customers want and what impact this will have on business. The tools we use today would have changed or at least partially changed, but the fundamentals still remain. I’m sure you would have read all the previous comments re professional development, networking, reviewing your skill set etc. Try to get a handle on what’s needed in the area that you want to go in, and then build your own portfolio based on your previous experience but also on the skills that you need to raise a family. Market research is a great profession and we need people who are curious and passionate about what they do and learn. I’m not saying it will be easy (not helped by Covid impact either), but see what you can learn, what you can bring to the party, and where you want to step into it. All the best!
Mentor Baillie Buchanan:
Absolutely not too late! It’s a hard truth that I would expect it may be harder to get your foot back in the door, but it is by no means impossible. Focus on highlighting things you’ve done to stay or get current on new research methodologies, technologies, advance your skills, presentation enhancement, etc. Consider whether there are opportunities to volunteer your skills for a nonprofit or school project that you can then use on your resume or job outreach to showcase your skills proactively. Address the gap up front and use what could be an objection to sell yourself instead. Did your time away give you new perspective? Empathy you can bring to research conversations? Improved listening and communication skills?
Also, consider investing in yourself by taking an online course (for example through the UGA) and highlighting any/all ongoing learning at the top of your resume/cover letter or in direct outreach conversations.
Make sure you’re building a network on LinkedIn as well, and actively connecting with people in the industry. Read relevant articles to the type of research or area of expertise you have/want to cultivate and provide thoughtful comments.
If I may, I’d also point you to this offer from my company Research For Good. We’re actively trying to help current job seekers gain exposure in the industry by providing free quant data for analysis and report building and will amplify across our network. If that is of potential interest and a fit for your skillset, please reach out.
Mentor Horst Feldhaeuser:
Hi. Thanks for asking your question, and NO it’s never too late in market research. However, a lot would have changed since you were last involved. Saying that, some of your skills might still be very useful, in particular when it comes to curiosity, understanding what consumers/user/customers want and what impact this will have on business. The tools we use today would have changed or at least partially changed, but the fundamentals still remain. I’m sure you would have read all the previous comments re professional development, networking, reviewing your skill set etc. Try to get a handle on what’s needed in the area that you want to go in, and then build your own portfolio based on your previous experience but also on the skills that you need to raise a family. Market research is a great profession and we need people who are curious and passionate about what they do and learn. I’m not saying it will be easy (not helped by Covid impact either), but see what you can learn, what you can bring to the party, and where you want to step into it. All the best!
From Mentor Laura Chaibi: There is a pricing guide for research that ESOMAR publishes every two years and the new one is about to come out. If you are a member, you can access the guide and it will help, it has worldwide pricing.
from Mentor JD Deitch: “The thing is: COVID-19 is going to be around for a while and things are going to change. I’ve written a piece on the Cint blog that will help researchers navigate the impact and ways to adjust.”
from Mentor Sima Vasa: “Keep reaching out and continue to make an effort to check in with people. Be active on social media to maintain awareness. It is a trying time and although outreach is meant to generate sales… it might not yield that immediately—for now. Stay top of mind when the need arises!”
from Mentor JD Deitch: “...not really my area of expertise but Steve Henke has written some good stuff on “seller doers.” I actually spoke to him a bit about this when he was creating the program.“
from Mentor Baillie Buchanan:I second the Harpeth Marketing Seller-Doer content. I also suggest checking out Little Bird Marketing’s free resources here. Specifically “The Future of Marketing” “Top 10 Ways To Crush It On Social Media” “Ideal Client Personas” and “Smart Goals.”
from Mentor Sima Vasa: It’s sometime hard to understand why decisions get made by a leader of a company. I do think if you believe you are missing an opportunity, I would suggest presenting the problem and also be part of the solution. Indicate what you are willing to do to help fill the gap. Be prepared that sometimes the answer still might be no thank you. You could also probe and ask… “Can you please help me understand your decision for my own learning purposes?”
from Mentor Laura Chaibi: Hello, this is a great question and really important to consider given the current world outlook. The most important thing is if the skillsets and proposition being offered are ones in demand and can be tapped into irrespective of the current situation and ability to be remote or not. If this person has already built up their own brand and business acumen, they need to assess if this current situation is a liability or opportunity and respond accordingly. Keep in mind that sales lead times are becoming protracted or reactive and keeping a healthy pipeline is also about managing expectations. Have a solid back up plan on back up plan if your own cash flow matters. Going back into full time is a matter of choice, circumstances and market opportunity. Good luck!
from Mentor Horst Feldhaeuser: My first advice would to be really clear on what your point of difference is in terms of your offering. Is it the way you use data analytics, specific techniques, software, the way you deliver results etc. And do you see a market out there for this type of service? Now could actually be a good time to shake things up as many end clients are looking for different solutions. Have you had any discussions with existing or potential clients that are interested in your type of services? Also, don’t forget that when you start and run your own business, you need to find time for sales activities on top of doing the work. So you need to be prepared that there might be peaks and troughs in your income as well. In regards to guidance and like-minded support, AMSRS has an Independent Researchers Group as part of their Special Interest Groups. That would be a good way to connect. AMSRS also has a Victoria charter, so would be good to get involved with them. And maybe any local small business networking groups. Good luck!
from Mentor Marina Kosten: I would add that you either have to have a VERY differentiated data-specific offering, OR a very specific expertise in the VERTICAL you are pursuing for opportunities. Everyone is all about data today, but unless you have nailed either (or hopefully both of ) the above, the race for data analytics is like the famous Dan Ariely data quote.
from Mentor Horst Feldhaeuser: When working with SMEs as described, you will be doing so much more than just market research. You will probably be part of their strategic decision, marketing and sales teams. That can be daunting, but is also a massive opportunity to be really involved in the process and the business. It will certainly require more effort than some ‘normal’ research projects for bigger clients where you basically do your job and leave. It it is also much more rewarding. Your client-side and agency experience will help you to see the bigger picture and the challenges and opportunities. Maybe start with a industry sector that you are already familiar with, so you know the landscape. And see whether you enjoy being more involved than just on a project by project basis.