2008 Annual Survey of Market Research Professionals

Demonstrating our ongoing commitment to clients, we commissioned quite possibly the largest study of market research professionals ever conducted by an independent company. The results are insightful and are the basis for our 2008 Annual Survey of Market Research Professionals.

"Thank you for the great survey - it’s really been extremely helpful in putting my MR department plan together for 2008.”

Conducted between January 9 and January 23, 2008, 703 Market research professionals participated in and completed an online survey. For this year’s survey, the completion rate was 74.0% with the data possessing a tolerance (error interval) of +/- 3.7%. The 2008 survey includes many questions from the 2007 and 2005 research initiative, providing a longitudinal perspective.

	The in-depth, 51 page report is available for $295. Click to view the report's Table of Contents To purchase, open an employer account, select "Pricing Plans" and choose the "2008 Survey." The report will be emailed to you shortly after your purchase. You may also contact: Mike Carroll Director Sales & Marketing 800-872-5401 mcarroll@marketresearchcareers.com

Information Sources Used by Market Research Professionals

Survey data continues to be used by nearly all market research professionals to help acquire business insights. Of note, the reliance upon scanner data remains elevated since 2005. Most interestingly, however, is the dramatic impact of online research upon other survey methods--decreasing the use of telephone, in-person, mail, and mall intercept (see the in-depth report for details).

Important Attributes of Market Research Suppliers

While still most important, the percentage of market research professionals citing the quality of the underlying data as important continues to decline. And given the anticipated economic environment, researchers now identify cost as the third most important dimension (up from fifth in 2007) when evaluating suppliers.

To view and understand the supplier attributes important to buyers of online sample, please refer to the in-depth report.

Market Research Supplier Rankings

Harnessing the opinions of more than 700 market research professionals, we are able to provide even more supplier rankings based upon customer satisfaction data. Within the detailed report, rankings for online sample providers (as rated by research firms), full service suppliers (as rated by purchasing firms) and syndicated research services (also as rated by purchasing firms) are provided.

Attitudes Toward the Role of Market Research

While innovation within the Market Research function continues to be appreciated and recognized, fewer companies consider market research companies/suppliers to be partners. Additionally, fewer companies state they are relying on market research for their organizations to achieve their goals. New in 2008, market research professionals believe they will have more time (well, not less time!) to analyze data and author insightful reports.

Market Research Job Challenges

Without significant change since 2005, two out of three market research professionals surveyed continue to expect that their job will become more difficult or significantly more difficult in 2008. This year, influencers of job difficulty appear to be: i) tighter client budgets, and ii) declining online survey cooperation rates and managing the associated impact upon research quality and results interpretation.

2008 Compensation

Market research professionals expect an average raise of 4.0%--a modest change from 2007. While nearly one in five researchers believe they will receive no raise in 2008, raises range from 1.7% to 9.3%—depending upon job title, years of experience, and employer.

Like annual salaries, average annual bonuses range from $500 to nearly $58,000 depending upon position, years of experience, and whether the professional works for a market research supplier or in a corporate research department.

For detailed 2008 compensation statistics (salary, bonus and raise) by title, years of experience, and industry role, please refer to the in-depth report.

Hiring Trends

In 2008, half of surveyed market research Professionals expect to hire in 2008—with the typical seeking to fill between two and four positions. Interestingly, the demand for senior level researchers (Market Research Directors and Vice Presidents) has returned to 2005 levels. However, Entry Level Market Research, Project Managers, and Market Research Managers continue to dominate the positions to staff in 2008.

Attitudes Toward Offshoring Market Research Jobs

The impact of offshoring continues to be felt by suppliers and buyers alike--particularly in 2008. And while offshoring may help control expenses, many believe this business practice reduces overall research quality without significantly increasing turnaround.

To understand the incidence of offshoring in the market research industry, satisfaction with offshored services, and trends, please refer to the in-depth report.

Online Survey Cooperation and Completion Rates

With surprise, fewer clients view online research as a valuable decision-making tool. Likely driven by declining cooperation and completion rates, market research professionals are increasingly concerned about this phenomenon within the industry.

Frequent contact, lengthy surveys and lack of professional panel development and management are viewed by market research professionals as key drivers of low online survey cooperation and completion rates.

To understand additional contributing factors and potential solutions to reverse the trend of declining online survey cooperation and completion rates, please refer to the in-depth report.

Detailed Report

The complete, in-depth report provides additional analysis and quantitative data.

Below is a Table of Contents for the 2008 edition of the Report. Topic Pages Key Findings 3 Research Methodology 4 Sources of Market Research Information 6 Survey Research Methods 7 Important Attributes of Market Research Suppliers 9-10 Important Attributes of Online Sample Providers 11 Satisfaction Rankings of Online Sample Suppliers 12 Satisfaction Rankings of Full Service Research Suppliers 12 Satisfaction Rankings of Syndicated Research Suppliers 13 Attitudes Toward the Role of Market Research 16-17 Industry Challenges in 2008 and Historical Trends 18 Greatest Industry Challenges in 2008: Verbatim Comments 19 Market Research Job Difficulty 20-21 Hiring Trends 23-24 Market Research Positions to Fill in 2008 25 Expected Salary Increases in 2008 26 2008 Compensation by Job Title 28 2008 Compensation by Job Title by Years of Experience 29 2008 Compensation by Job Title by Industry Role (Supplier/Client) 30 Current Incidence of Job Offshoring in Market Research 32 Experience and Satisfaction with Offshoring 33 Offshoring Intent 34 Attitudes Toward Offshoring 35-36 Offshoring: Verbatim Comments 37 Attitudes Toward Online Research and Survey Cooperation and Completion Rates 39-40 Factors Contributing to Low Online Survey Cooperation and Completion Rates 41 Potential Solutions to Increase Online Survey Cooperation and Completion Rates 42 Entity Responsible for "Fixing" Low Online Survey Cooperation and Completion Rates 43 Research and Measurement of New Media 45 Participant Profile 47-49 About MarketResearchCareers 50-51 The in-depth report is available for $295. To purchase, open an employer account, select "Pricing Plans" and choose the "2008 Survey." The report will be emailed to you shortly after your purchase. You may also contact: Mike Carroll Director Sales & Marketing 1-800-872-5401 mcarroll@marketresearchcareers.com

About MarketResearchCareers

MarketResearchCareers is the career website with the most comprehensive database of resumes and jobs focusing exclusively on the Market Research industry

Visited monthly by one in four market research professionals in the United States and possessing the resumes of more than 12,000 market researchers, MarketResearchCareers is your market research staffing headquarters. See why so many corporate hiring managers, human resource professionals, market research suppliers, and thousands of skilled researchers turn to MarketResearchCareers to fill market their market research jobs.

Please contact Mike Carroll at 1-800-872-5401 or mcarroll@marketresearchcareers.com for permission to use these results.