Along with the creative and technical aspect of any product or service, marketing is the third most critical factor for a successful business venture. Effective marketing has become the mantra and companies across the world invest a great deal to leverage its huge power. A marketing analyst is a relatively new addition to this field but can add great value to the entire marketing plan of the company.
Marketing Analyst – Job Profile
Among the various activities, the major responsibilities of a marketing analyst are as follows:
1. The foremost task is to conduct an extensive market research and understand the views and opinions of the customers, especially with respect to the product or service of the client. Also, understand the needs of the customers and based on their opinions make changes in the product or service if necessary.
2. Often they are the link between the customers and the company and thus need to ensure that both the parties benefit from them.
3. The role of the market analyst becomes especially critical in the FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) sector which has severe competition.
4. The analysis forms the base on which companies take important decisions like changes in design, technical aspect, upgrading the quality and look of the product.
5. Also, another important area of work for market analysts is to explore new potential markets where the product or service can be introduced. These decisions would be taken on the basis of the target audience and the nature of the product or service.
6. Analysts also need to prepare detailed reports of their findings and present it to the senior management or their clients.
7. To obtain maximum customer information, they are also required to prepare surveys or questionnaires.
8. Most companies today use sophisticated tools and software to secure actionable data. Thus, the analysts need to work extensively on these tools to derive the required information.
9. Based on the data, they also often prepare the framework for marketing strategies for the companies or clients.
10. Competitor intelligence is yet another crucial area for any marketing initiative. Thus, analysts too need to constantly track the marketing strategies adopted by the rival companies and devise or modify their plan accordingly.
11. Analysts also need to co-ordinate with market researchers and interviewers to get the most comprehensive set of data.
To be able to handle these tasks, some of the key skills required in the candidate's resume are analytical thinking and swift decision-making capacity. Also, they must be able to drilldown every marketing strategy to test its effectiveness and at the same time look at it in totality.
Usually most fresh market analysts start with an average salary of $35,000 to $45,000. Freshers are especially recommended to carefully prepare their marketing analyst CV based on a professionally done sample resume.
Medium and senior level analysts can earn anything between $60,000 up to $80,000. However, some expert analysts with a vast experience have also known to draw a remuneration of above $100000.
Customer taste and preferences are extremely dynamic and it is very important for companies to always be on the pulse of the market. Marketing analysts help companies to keep up with the changing trends in the market.
Marketing Analyst Job Description
The primary function of an Online Marketing Analyst is to assess an advertiser's campaign performance in order to identify ways to eliminate media waste and increase online conversions. The Online Media Analyst position (also referred to as Online Marketing Analyst or Internet Analyst) is roughly a new kind of role in the advertising industry. A good experienced Analyst will possess 4 of the 5 qualities that I will share with you in a moment. However, before we look at these qualities, let's make sure we understand what an Online Media Analyst is NOT.
An Online Marketing Analyst is NOT a Research Analyst or Database Manager. The primary role of a Research Analyst is to design or assist in the development of questionnaires, identify competitors and research changes in the industry that may affect sales. The primary role of a Database Manager is to create and distribute reports. They will likely have experience with SQL, Access, web site analytics tools and Business Objects. So if you are interviewing candidates for an experienced Online Media Analyst position, how do you know if the candidate has the right skills for the job?
Interview question to ask a candidate for a senior Online Media Analyst position – Quality #5
If you are interviewing candidates for a senior level Online Marketing Analyst position, it is first best to confirm they have an online analytics or digital analyst background. Here is one question you can ask the candidate – “if a client wanted to increase paid search weekly spend by 30%, how would you determine or predict the number of sales they'd expect to generate as a result of the increased media activity?”
A candidate with an Online Marketing Analyst (Analytics) background should be able to answer this question which results in quality #5, the ability to assess the problem and determine how to go about finding the proper solution. If they cannot answer this question, this candidate is likely not qualified for a senior Online Marketing Analyst role. (If you want to know the answer to this question, please send me an email).
Quality #4 – Intermediate to Advance Expertise with Excel
An analyst must be able to process and analyze data very quickly and this is where good Excel skills come in. An experienced analyst will know how to use Vlookups, Pivot Tables and Solver. If they have some experience with Access and VBA Modeling, even better!
Quality #3 – Had a Great Mentor
A good mentor guides, critiques and helps improve an employee's performance in every way possible. When I was a Media Planner years ago, I was very fortunate to work under Greg March, Media Director at Wieden + Kennedy. Greg had began his career with Beyond Interactive (now Beyond Interaction) back in the 1990's and taught me a great deal, everything from trafficking banner ads to developing innovative ways on how to work with ad networks.
As an analyst, I worked under Jennifer Zola, Director of Strategy and Insights for GroupM Search and MECi. Jennifer's background in data analysis and statistical modeling served not only as a valuable analytics to me, but also to clients and media teams. I owe both Greg and Jennifer a great deal of gratitude for I believe I worked alongside two of the best and most experienced minds in the online industry!
So ask for references and find out if they had a good mentor because if they did, it is likely they are better than what their resume entails.
Quality #2 – Had Previous Experience as a Media Planner/Buyer
With the internet, there is a virtually unlimited amount of online data at our fingertips. This is great for analyst since there is so much information that can be pulled from this data. However, analyzing all this data will often lead to a waste of time. What is the purpose of spending two weeks analyzing data and finding out some interesting, but useless information?
Before looking at data and performing any analysis, an analyst should ask him/herself this one question – “Will the conclusion or strategic finding possibly change the way I plan or buy my media?” This is why I think the 2nd best quality an Online Media Analyst can have is to have a media planning background. Otherwise, they can easily waste a great deal of time analyzing data that will not lead to optimization recommendations.
Quality #1 – Cares About Performance
A person who cares about performance will get the job done, simple as that. An analyst who cares about his/her client's campaign will find a way to optimize and doesn't mind working late or weekends because it is very likely they like what they do. And if this person likes what they do, they will likely be good at it!
Both Rachel Williams & Eric Melchor are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Rachel Williams has sinced written about articles on various topics from Guide Guitar, Advertising Guide and Cover Letter. The author Rachel Williams is an experienced career counselor and provides . Learn to prepare great. Rachel Williams's top article generates over 135000 views. to your Favourites.
Eric Melchor has sinced written about articles on various topics from . My name is Eric Melchor and I work in the digital advertising industry. I am passionate about online measurement and analysis. I founded the FIRST company to provide SMEs and agencies with data analysis tutorials that are designed to enhance campaign perf. Eric Melchor's top article generates over 880 views. to your Favourites.
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