Market Research Trends 2008

Market Research Trends 2008
As the second half of 2008 is underway, we wanted to reach out and share our perspective on the first half of the year and offer some interesting statistics centered on hiring trends, compensation, and industry activity.

Hiring trends:

In February, marketresearchcareers.com released an article which surveyed market research professionals on their expected hiring needs in 2008. The typical respondent was seeking to fill between two and four positions; responses indicating that demand would be higher for entry to midlevel roles, with analysts, project managers and market research managers as targeted hires. Senior level researchers, such as market research directors and vice presidents, were not expected to be as highly targeted.

Our Smith Hanley Associates market research team pulled together a sampling of 20 placements that fell between January and June of this year to gauge these projections. Out of these, we found that 9 candidates were placed into manager/sr. account manager roles, and 3 candidates in a director or vice president position; the remaining 8 candidates filled positions titled sr. analyst or project manager.


Compensation:
A compensation survey conducted by marketresearchcareers.com revealed that market research professionals expected an average raise of 4.0% in 2008 (raises ranging from 1.7% to 9.3%) while 1 in 5 believed that they would not receive a raise in 2008.
Source: marketresearchcareers.com

Ten Most Popular Research Job Titles and Average 2008 Salary Avg. 2008 Salary
Research Analyst $51,314
Project Director $60,878
Senior Research Analyst $67,875
Senior Project Director $71,423
Account Executive/Manager $73,366
Research Manager/Director $83,054
Senior Account Executive/Manager $93,833
Senior Research Manager/Director $104,037
Vice President $123,438
Senior Vice President $126,328

As contingent recruiters, we are asked on a daily basis by candidates and employers to measure their competitive salary grades. We have found that existing employees, across the board, can typically expect a merit increase in base salary close to 4%, while candidates securing a progressive move outside of their company on average entertain offers at a minimum of 5-10% of base pay. The aforementioned sampling of 20 placements from the first half of this year represented candidate salaries ranging from $49,000 to $120,000; the average offer extended to these candidates had a proposed salary representing a 14% increase in base pay.

Industry activity:
Smith Hanley Associates has regional offices across the country. Our Chicago-based office supports client needs in the Southwest, Midwest, and Southeastern sections of the United States, concentrating primarily in the marketing research and quantitative marketing arenas. During the first half of this year, outside of existing client hiring needs, we launched 82 new searches in our market research division. Roughly 25% of these jobs were in the consumer packaged goods industry, with another 25% representing custom marketing research supplier hiring needs. A small percentage (3%) of these were in the pharmaceutical space (most of these positions of course are based out of the Northeast), and the remaining roughly 50% were housed in business to business sectors (i.e. financial services, insurance, healthcare, etc.). An interesting trend that surfaced during the first half of this year was the abundance of jobs in the insurance and healthcare industries. Our clients housed in these sectors appear to be spending advertising and research dollars at levels not previously seen in the industry.


Summary:
We hope that some of our aforementioned figures and trends can provide some perspective and guidance as you negotiate the job search and/or recruiting waters the remainder of 2008. Although we find ourselves in a volatile economy, our client hiring needs have continued to circulate at a high rate. We have documented some pocketed layoff activities and certainly the real estate and financial sectors have been adversely impacted. However, by and large, the research industry continues to thrive; our candidates have been active on the interview circuit and our client business continues to grow.

We wish all of you continued success in the second half of 2008, and hope that our dedicated team of market research recruiters can continue to provide you a value-added service!

Please contact me with any questions you have regarding current opportunities or the information. jwillbarger@smithhanley.com

Business to Consumer Market Research Opportunities

Business to Consumer Market Research Opportunities

• Senior Manager, Shopper Insights - W. Suburbs, Chicago
• CPG manufacturer, field sales office, calling on retailers worth $1.5b revenue
• strong leadership required, managing a team of 10
• comfortable putting sales stories together for retailers
• must have strong custom primary market research experience
• pay to mid-$100's, local candidates only, bonus potential

• Director or Manager, Shopper Insights - Chicago or Bentonville - full relocation
• CPG manufacturer, supporting Wal-Mart or other national channels
• must have strong primary custom research experience
• experience with syndicated and panel data also essential
• 6+ years experience with CPG manufacturer or retailer
• full relocation provided

• Consumer Insights Analyst - Far North Chicago-land/Wisconsin - locals only
• junior/mid-level role - 3+ years research experience, any industry, client or supplier
• must have custom primary research experience
• must be a bright, energetic, creative personality - part of a small research team

• Sr / Consumer Insights Analyst - Minneapolis, MN - full relo.
• CPG manufacturer, great growth & training potential
• junior/mid-level role - 3-5+ years research experience, any industry, client or supplier
• must have custom primary research experience, syndicated experience a bonus
• full relocation (except house buy)

• Manager, Brand Research - Denver, CO
• with a CPG company - must have CPG consumer research background
• 7+ years custom research experience - must have A&U, CLT, focus group, segmentation experience
• chance to lead insights & innovation efforts for a fast growing, highly visible brand
• salary commensurate with experience + bonus - relocation provided

• Category Analyst & Category Managers - Minneapolis, MN
• with a CPG manufacturer
• minimum of 2 years experience in category analysis
• syndicated & panel data analysis experience
• salary commensurate with experience + bonus
• LOCALS ONLY
  

Smith Hanley Associates April 2008 Market Research Opportunities

MidWest Opportunities

• Consumer Insights Specialist - Chicago-land, IL
• $12MM research department seeking a consumer insights specialist focusing on copy testing, pricing, segmentation and customer segmentation/satisfaction.
• 2 years min and 5 years experience max in primary market research.
• Salary commensurate with experience.
  
• Market Research Analyst – Cincinnati, OH
• Billing solutions corporation with a research vertical
• 2-5 years of custom research experience, strategic report writing sample a plus
• Local candidates preferred, salary commensurate with experience, up to $70K
• Market Research Analyst - Wisconsin/Northern Chicago
  
• An industry leading clothing retailer looking to add a Market Research Analyst.
• The Research Analyst will collaborate with the research team to meet with internal clients/departments to evaluate research needs, design the methodology, execute/gather, and provide actionable strategic market research results.
• The analyst will also be responsible for secondary market research analysis, including on-line/periodical, syndicated, and trends analysis.
• Targeting Candidates with at least 2+ years of custom research experience.
  
• Moderator - Chicago-land, IL
  
• Implement and perform moderator/proprietary moderating techniques.
• Consult with internal/external clients on all qualitative research.
• Developing screening questionnaires and discussion/interview guides.
• Manage respondents/Moderating groups/in-depth interviews
  
• Writing summary reports/presentations.
• Targeting Candidates w/at least 7 years of Moderation experience/RIVA &/Or Burke Training
• Market Research Manager – Milwaukee, WI
• Financial Services Company seeking Market Research Manger to come in and hit the ground running.
• 2 direct reports working on both b2b and b2c market research projects.
• 7+ years of market research experience.
• Must have experience managing custom research studies
• Previous direct reports a must
• Salary commensurate with experience
• Master's Degree Required
  
• Market Research Project Manager - Columbus, OH
• Financial Services Organization
• 3+ years of custom market research project management
• CPG experience preferred, other B2C researchers considered
• salary to $90K - extensive relocation package offered
• Market Research Usability
• A leading insurance provider - Central, IL is looking for a Usability researcher to perform/arrange studies, write strategic reports and make recommendations.
• previous usability testing/heuristic testing
• 4+ years of experience required
• Willing to relocate company has competitive package and commensurate with experience.

SouthEast

• Sr. Consumer Market Research Analyst
• A leading manufacturer - Raleigh, NC is seeking a Sr. Consumer Market Research Analyst to provide and present consumer insights and market research trend analysis.
• Previous experience with custom market research and analysis a must.
• 4+ years experience required
• Excellent relocation provided
• Sr. Market Research Analyst
• A leading financial institution - Charlotte, NC is seeking a Sr. Market Research Analyst to join their extensive team.
• Balanced experience in both qualitative/quantitative market research projects, developing/designing/reporting/managing projects from inception to completion a must.
• 5+ years of client/supplier side experience.
• Excellent relocation package.

Active Market = Active Jobs

Employment Rates are low, for a candidate that means it's a great time to consider a career change. Smith Hanley Associates has some great opportunities that we are currently working on. Below you will find some HOT opportunities that are available please contact Jwillbarger@smithhanley.com if you are interested!

• Director, Global Marketing Analytics - up to $150K (MT3006858)
• Lead a four-person, Global Analytics team to conduct analyses that enable U.S. and Int’l Brand Teams to develop fact-based insights and ideas to profitably grow business. Responsibilities include pricing strategies, evaluation of marketing and sales programs, brand and category opportunities analysis, and best practices analytics development. Candidate must have: MBA in Marketing and/or Finance, Minimum of 10 years of business experience in Consumer Goods sector (previous spirits experience is preferred). Minimum of 5 years of pricing and consumer analysis experience.
  

• Sr. Spanish Speaking Market Research Consultant $85K - $120K + Bonus
• A leading consulting, organizational development, and research company that specializes in Customer Experience Management (CEM) is looking for a Spanish speaking candidate with a strong background and experience in quantitative and qualitative custom market research. Several years on the vendor side is required plus a good working knowledge of SPSS, strong client management, report preparation and analysis plus supervision, training and evaluation of research associates. A limited amount of travel is required. Please reference SB3009323

• Market Research Analyst $55K - $70K + Bonus
• Our client, in Cleveland, OH, boasts an exciting opportunity with their Market Research team. This well-established organization is currently seeking the ideal candidate to come on board in the role Market Research Analyst role. The Project Manager role will be integral player on the marketing team, supporting corporate and subsidiary market research needs. Market Research responsibilities will involve utilizing primary and secondary research, and basic statistics to advise business units and provide actionable, strategic research. Ideal candidates will have 3-6 years of relevant market research experience. Please contact me immediately if you have interest in this position. Please reference AB3006305

• Market Research Analyst $55K – 65K
• An innovative division for a Fortune 500 client in Dallas, TX has an immediate opening for a Junior Project Manager for their online division. The Project Manager will support the market research platform for the online vertical by performing both Qualitative and Quantitative research, meet with internal clients to determine the appropriate research, analyze results, and present actionable findings and recommendations. Ideal candidates will have 1-3 years of market research experience, previous online experience preferred, a great understanding of both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Please Reference AB3006378

• Project Director $50K - $75K
• A client of Smith Hanley's has an immediate need for a Project Director in their Chicago office. This position will work with a team to carry out custom quantitative research projects for CPG clients. Candidates should have experience with custom market research projects and be familiar with quantitative methodologies. Ideal candidates will have the following, 2+ years market research experience, CPG industry experience preferred, familiarity with custom research projects, strong writing skills, strong presentation skills. Please reference TS3007566

• Market Research Analyst $55K - $65K
• A client in Chicago, IL is seeking a Market Research Analyst. This is a great opportunity for a mid-level talent to transition to a Client Side opportunity. The Market Research Analyst will conduct both qualitative and quantitative analysis for both business to business and business to consumer research. The Market Research Analyst will also work directly with internal clients, and prepare ad hoc market research to facilitate clients needs. Ideal candidates will have 3+ years of market research experience, experience programming SAS or SPSS a plus, strong written and oral communication skills a must. Please reference AB3009678.

• Market Research Director $85K - $100K

• A Chicago-based marketing research supplier client of Smith Hanley's is seeking a research director with 6+ years of research experience. The position will be involved in all areas of the market research project cycle, including client services, research and methodology design, development and application of research methods, managing survey projects, checking and analyzing data, and writing reports for client presentations. The director will also mentor team members and contribute to client presentations as needed. Ideal Candidates should meet the following criteria: 6+ years hands-on experience conducting custom marketing research projects, market research supplier side experience, bachelor's degree, excellent oral and written skills, experience in a client-facing role. Please reference TS3006910

• Market Research Manager & Director level opportunity $90K +
• A Fortune 100 client in Chicago, IL is seeking Manager and Director level research candidates. Our client is targeting innovative strategic researchers to lead new verticals supporting major brand and product lines. Ideal candidates will encompass researchers adept at creating actionable research strategies and proven ability to interface and present/implement research findings to C-level and senior level marketing executives. Qualified candidates will have 10 years of market research experience, retail/CPG a plus, and expertise across multiple methodologies. Please reference AB3008140

• Director of Research $90K - $110K
• A unique supplier side client of Smith Hanley's seeks a Research Director to join their team in Cincinnati, OH. The director will work with a team to support established CPG clients out of this new office by using the company's unique proprietary system. If you have a passion for research and a strong entrepreneurial spirit, this job is for you! Candidates should be well versed in multiple primary research methodologies and have 7-10+ years of research experience. Additional requirements include: Bachelor's degree in a related field, Knowledge of CPG industry, Ability to turn research into actionable insights, Excellent presentation skills (experience in a client-facing role), excellent oral and written communications skills. Please reference TS3008751

Salary Negotiation & Offer Navigation

Salary Negotiation & Offer Navigation
Salary negotiation is an integral part of the job search process, candidates who can temper their emotional intelligence, and objectively negotiate their position, achieve the most success; below you will find a link to Randall S. Hansen's Salary Negotiation Do's and Don'ts to further highlight this point:

http://www.quintcareers.com/salary-dos-donts.html

A job search can be both an exciting and stressful time in a person's life, Smith Hanley Associates can lend a helping hand thru our expertise and experiences every step of the way.

Market Research Salary

The first quarter of 2007 has produced a flurry of activity on both the corporate and supplier side of the research industry for the market research professional. In light of this activity, I wanted to send a white paper highlighting some hiring and career information most frequently sought by our clients and candidates. Whether you are planning to grow your staff this year or are assessing your own career path, here are some points to consider:

Hot Skill Set – Custom Research, Customer Satisfaction & Loyalty, Qualitative Research, Quantitative Research, New Product Development.

Fast Moving Market – Candidates (especially at the more junior end) are receiving multiple offers and are going off the market in three to five weeks, much faster than the more typical eight to twelve weeks we’ve been used to seeing.

Relocation Challenges – Many companies are reassessing their relocation packages as the housing market continues to stagnate in many parts of the country. Unless these packages contain a safety net to cushion probable double mortgage payments, many candidates are not able to accept offers that require relocation.

Sign-on Bonuses – are back! In the last 90 days, nearly 40% of all offers have included a bonus as an incentive for candidates to “sign on”.

Cross Industry Job Changes – Candidates are changing industries far more frequently, even at the more senior level. Client companies are making offers to candidates coming from other industries as the talent pool tightens. This provides candidates with an ideal opportunity to expand their knowledge across industries.

Compensation – Many companies are offering more competitive packages to attract top talent. Here are some guidelines:

Vice President (Sr.)/Director (Sr.) $110,000 to $140,000 On the corporate side, this level typically involves managing a group – the bigger the group, the higher the salary. Oftentimes, the top salaries are offered by boutique consulting firms where business development may play a major role in the compensation package. Of course, ability to provide thoughtful leadership and strategic vision is essential at this echelon.

Research Manager $85,000 to $110,000

This position is often attained as the result of an internal promotion. Interpersonal skills are key – especially those demonstrating initiative, team building and the ability to direct group projects. While technical competence is important, remember that emerging executive-level administrative skills are what really count as you move up the business ladder.

Senior Analyst/Sr. Project Manager $70,000 to $85,000

Talented marketing researchers with excellent communication skills can command base salaries of up to $90K. To move up from here typically involves picking up management responsibilities or business development skills. These candidates often have a minimum of four plus years of experience.

Analyst/Project Manager $45,000 to $70,000

These are our most sought after candidates. Most with a master’s degree in a marketing discipline and two solid years’ experience in the corporate world, this candidate will often receive multiple offers and be snapped up quickly. The market is red hot ­for candidates with this degree of experience – back to the level of the dot com boom.

As always, I welcome your comments and insights. Visit my blog to weigh in on the topics I’ve touched on here and to participate in an on-line salary discussion: www.themarketresearchdepot.blogspot.com

Let me know if I can be of assistance to you in 2007!

Job Trends for 2007

As we begin the new year, I would like to take a moment to point out a number of changes we are seeing in the job market for the market research professional. First and foremost, the specific talents of skilled professionals in the market research field are in high demand. Here are some of the trends we expect to continue over the next year:

Talent Shortage – The job market continues to expand at a rapid pace for the quantitative market research professional. Despite recent reports highlighting a slowing of the economy (some even using the term “recession”), our experience has been quite the opposite. We speak to many clients who call to express their frustration at retaining and recruiting talent. The looming talent shortage in the overall employment market is exacerbated in our specialty niche. While cost per hire had been the focus of many human resource departments over the last three years, this has changed in the last six months. The emphasis is now on quality and urgency. Additionally, I have read that there is a major push to reinvigorate hiring managers to take ownership of the hiring process as strong candidates become more challenging to recruit.

Though corporate recruiters continue to use job boards and internal databases, our hiring managers now understand that this is not the primary source for the best talent. Traditional one-on-one networking and recruiter connections are usually the most effective for identifying the cream of the crop in the hidden candidate pool – something job boards simply cannot do. Job seekers have become more web savvy with the expanded use of personal blogs, websites and social networking. Consequently, recruiters and hiring managers need to keep up to date, leveraging these Internet tools to provide fresh information.

Distributed Work – The increasingly competitive job market is causing a reemergence of the off-site-worker trend we saw in 1999 – 2000. Additionally, industry has embraced virtual meetings, web conferencing, webinars and inexpensive telephony. This distancing of some workers from the traditional workplace has resulted in an interesting, and perhaps unexpected, trend: some candidates have expressed skepticism as to whether this is the best situation for career development. Organizations moving again toward this model should consider how to battle the perception of limited career growth for the off-site worker.

Also, the offshoring of quantitative work has matured. As I have mentioned in the past, much of the migration of jobs in our profession was not driven strictly by cost considerations, but was rather a direct result of scarce local talent. The pendulum is swinging back toward training and development here in the US, as the limitations and lack of significant cost savings of offshoring this sort of sophisticated quantitative knowledge is understood more clearly.

Rapid Technology Development – New technology has created a race among employers to provide their teams with the best equipment and resources. This is a big factor in businesses maintaining a competitive edge in their industry and keeps them from becoming vulnerable to loss of market share. I have found that professionals in analytical careers are motivated and excited by the advanced technology tools they are able to apply to their work. The ability to provide cutting-edge software tools and technology, as well as encouraging and supporting ongoing training, accords a distinct advantage to hiring managers in this tight labor market.

Compensation Trends – I expect that going into 2007, employers will continue to become more aggressive in their recruitment efforts with higher offers for the top talent. Additionally, the use of sign on bonuses as an incentive to close deals has become commonplace. Because the demand for the best candidates has become overheated, it is important for hiring authorities to be clear on their hiring needs and tighten the search process. This will help avoid an elongated search resulting from candidates lost to competing offers and forcing the employer to repeat the entire process. The saying “the early bird gets the worm” is clearly at work in the hiring world today.

One idea for hiring managers in this challenging market is to consider bringing on candidates coming out of Masters programs who have had a relevant internship. Candidates who require an H-1 visa transfer or an OPT are almost universally accepted now for consideration (although the candidate who requires a new H-1 continues to have problems, due to government immigration ceilings).

Relocation Challenges in a Slow Housing Market – As housing markets have slowed in the last three quarters, many of our candidates who are homeowners have hesitated to relocate. Concern about selling a home has prevented many a deal from going through, unless the employer offers a relocation package with a home purchase backup option. An extended temporary housing allowance (six months or more) can also help candidates feel comfortable with the prospect of relocation.

As you can see, we expect 2007 to present a challenging hiring environment. We look forward to working with you to find the best, most qualified candidates to meet your hiring needs. As always, feel free to call with comments or questions. Finally, in the next several weeks we will offer a detailed discussion of salary trends. Stay tuned.