Your path to a career as a marketing analyst
Marketing analysts are valuable professionals supporting the marketing efforts every company needs
Marketing analysts work to help organizations decide not just how to reach a target audience, but which products and services are beneficial to offer as well. They also support decisions about product and service pricing and help build customer profiles.
If you’re considering becoming a marketing analyst, whether you love the psychology of customer behavior or because you’re after a creative career, we can help you. Today’s rapidly changing marketing world requires talented and skilled professionals who use the latest technology and insights to develop successful campaigns. The following information can help you learn more about this career path.
Marketing is a diverse field that challenges a variety of your skills and requires a creative mind. It offers a wide range of other benefits as well, including:
It’s a creative job
Working as a marketing analyst is a data-based but creative job. While much of the work you do will focus on compiling data to be used in marketing campaigns, it also requires a creative mind capable of exploring insights into consumers. For those who like to blend statistics and math along with creative thinking, this career path can be an excellent choice.
You can work in a company or as a consultant
Many people who obtain the necessary education will work within corporate firms. In some cases, they may then move into a consulting position. This field could allow you to build your own business and work the flexible schedule you desire.
It’s a lucrative career
The median salary for a market research analyst is $63,790, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
There’s a need in most fields
Most industries require market research, making this one of the most in-demand jobs in various fields. You may work in a range of industries throughout your career or choose one that interests you the most. This includes fields such as education, consumer product development, finance, and the food industry.
There’s high job satisfaction
Many people who work as marketing analysts have a good work-life balance because they work set hours with weekends off. They also tend to have ample job security because most companies need their services. As a result, many people — whether in entry-level or higher levels of marketing research and analysis — maintain good overall job satisfaction.
Here’s a quick look at trends in this industry according to Burning Glass Technologies:
Immersive storytelling
One of the most impactful trends in marketing research has to do with immersive media — the ways consumers can become deeply engaged with content, people, products, and businesses as a whole. Focus Pointe Global notes the increasing demand for augmented and virtual reality tools that businesses are using to create a full 360-degree environment for consumers to experience. Those working in the field will need to embrace these tools fully.
Another component of immersive storytelling will be video capture. New technology allows for fast, even real-time access to video creation and interactions. Marketing analysts will need to have a better idea of how and when to use video, including for in-the-moment, geo-location data analysis and behind-the-scenes content.
Consumer behavior studies
Skills in consumer behavior studies will become more important in this career. As more companies work to use consumer behavior as a driving factor for product and service development and execution, the need for more in-depth understanding of consumers will be important. The U.S. Small Business Administration lists consumer behavior as a key differentiating point for market research success.
During product research and development, the need to understand the “why” behind decisions is crucial. Analysts will increasingly work with behavioral scientists to create customer journeys and branding reflective of these new and ever-changing viewpoints.
Data-driven creativity
Adobe notes the importance of data-driven creativity within the customer experience. Analysts will need to use more data, both on a larger and a more intimate scale, to reach consumers. The focus continues to push toward the customer experience. Organizations are working to integrate data and creativity into new marketing campaigns, but also into the development of new customer solutions.
Companies will use data to better focus on all types of customers, at all points in the customer journey, instead of the most likely or ideal customer. In this way, companies will need a more balanced focus on creatively interpreted data that supports fast decision-making.
Experiential commerce
Analysts will also find more of their skills focused on creating experiential commerce, a term that relates to crafting experiences, rather than solely products, for the customer. Analysts will increasingly work on building ongoing relationships with their customers through strategies that zero in on the experience a customer has when interacting with products and services.
A component of this work will focus on longer-term outcomes in relationships. Many marketing analysts work in the retail sector. In this area in particular, they will see more integrated experiences, through social media, online sales, and in-person events, that strive to build these long-term relationships with customers.
Technology-driven research
Although fieldwork continues to be one of the most important investments for marketing analysis, the market is seeing a move toward technology-driven research. This includes both online (e-commerce) and offline prospects for data research and development. Developing an agile process to gather data and analyze it so marketing strategy can be adapted quickly is key. This includes the use of artificial intelligence, blockchain, cognitive cloud computing, and data automation.
Individuals with skills in these technological areas will be in high demand. While these skill sets are not traditional components of marketing educational paths, they can prove to be very valuable for research and development as well as for analytics in the field.
From business-to-business to consumer-based companies, marketing research and analysis is a critical component to operations. Below are some of the more popular points of entry for marketing analyst positions.
Popular career areas for marketing analysts
- Data analysts
- Online marketing analysts
- Account analysts
- Project managers for marketing companies
- Marketing specialists for focus groups
- Math and statistical analysts
- Technology-focused marketing research analysts
- Data mining analysts
- Social media analysts
- Sales planning optimization professionals
What are the different types of marketing analyst jobs?
Taking a job as a marketing analyst provides a range of opportunities for both those just leaving school and those with years of experience. Many people with a bachelor’s degree will work in entry-level positions as an analyst for three to five years before moving into more managerial roles. Education, skills, and success all play key roles in determining when a person may be ready to take on a more advanced position.
As a market analyst, you can work in numerous industries. With 738,100 people employed as market research analysts in 2019 and an additional 130,300 people expected to join the field by 2029, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there’s no doubt there are opportunities for you.
Selecting a specialty can set you apart from others. The key is to obtain the right amount of education to boost the demand for your skills.
Entry-level marketing analyst jobs
With a bachelor’s degree, you can pursue a variety of entry-level marketing research and analysis positions.
Marketing coordinator
$35,920
Entry-level data analyst
$36,000
Online marketing analyst
$54,590
Associate marketing analyst
$65,350
Advanced marketing analyst jobs
Those who advance their education and experience may qualify for additional, higher-level positions. Specialized courses may be required for some of these positions as well.
Publishing industry analyst
$75,720
Financial marketing analyst
$71,500
Corporate marketing management
$74,510 and higher
Business process analyst
$80,600
Marketing analysts are expected to have an array of skills including traditional soft skills, like communication and teamwork, as well as technical skills, such as Google Analytics. In the research discussed below, we give you insight into the fastest-growing skills and most popular tools for this career.
Fast-growing marketing analyst skills
As marketing continues to evolve into a technological, data-driven career, half of the fastest-growing skills involve technology while the other half are software based. Here are the 10 fastest-growing skills in marketing.
Top Skill |
Projected Posting Growth (2018-2023) |
---|---|
Artificial intelligence | 339% |
Distributed computing | 174% |
Web analytics | 166% |
Machine learning | 134% |
Cloud solutions | 119% |
Data science | 110% |
Scripting languages | 101% |
NoSQL databases | 98% |
Software quality assurance | 95% |
Data visualization | 80% |
Source: Burning Glass Technologies Occupational Insights, 2019
Technical skills
The top requested technical or specialized skills in marketing are:
- Digital marketing
- Product management
- Social media
- Budgeting
- Google Analytics
Soft skills
Some of the top soft skills in marketing are:
- Communication
- Organization
- Research
- Problem solving
- Teamwork
- Creativity
- Planning
Emerging skills
Many of the fasting-growing emerging skills in marketing center around machine learning and data intelligence. As this research shows, quite a few skills in these areas are poised to see triple-digit growth through 2023.
Emerging Skill |
Projected Posting Growth (2018–2023) |
---|---|
Machine learning | 240% |
Data storage | 200% |
Business intelligence software | 189% |
Web analytics | 166% |
Data analysis | 150% |
Marketing software | 118% |
Source: Burning Glass Technologies Occupational Insights, 2019
Popular tools
In addition to traditional software like Microsoft Office, the following tools are frequently used in a marketing department, and you’ll likely be expected to have experience with them or be able to learn them on the job:
- Google Analytics
- Salesforce
- Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube
- Marketo
Upon starting a career as a marketing analyst, you may want to know what options are available for you to further your career. In addition to education and experience, joining an industry association should be at the top of your list.
You’ll enjoy networking opportunities, be kept abreast of industry happenings, and learn about new opportunities and career paths as they develop. Some industry groups you could consider are:
Explore your opportunities. Find your niche.
As a diverse and ever-changing career, marketing analyst and research positions can be found in the challenging and interesting field you desire. As new data and technologies become available, more opportunities continue to open up. Many of these will include lucrative salaries.
As the marketing analysis field continues to grow and become more important to a business’s survival, we’re here to help you with the necessary steps toward the education you need.
Find your path
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Focus Pointe Global
- U.S. Small Business Administration
- Adobe
- Burning Glass Technologies
Need help finding the right program?