Stable earnings, wandering eye?

Last year, we fielded our client-side researcher compensation survey in June, during the darkest days of the recession, and researchers were notably sanguine about their salary and bonus numbers, with most predicting that their overall income would stay the same or increase slightly.

Based on the results from this year’s survey, what initially smacked of whistling past the graveyard now seems prescient, as 31 percent of this year’s group said their 2010 salary stayed the same, 23 percent cited an increase of between 1 and 2 percent, and 25 percent netted an increase in the range of 3 to 4 percent.

On the bonus front, about half (47 percent) said their 2009 bonus stayed the same as 2008, with a combined 32 percent reporting bonus increases from 1 percent to over 10 percent.

Our 24-question survey was conducted online in April among Quirk’s subscribers at client-side organizations. We received 883 usable completed surveys and achieved an interval of 3.2 at the 95 percent confidence level. (Not all respondents answered all questions.)

Respondents came from a range of industries, with health care/pharmaceuticals; insurance; banking/financial; media/publishing/information; consumer goods; manufacturing; advertising/PR and retail serving as the best-represented sectors.

The most-cited job titles/roles included market research manager (258), market research director/senior director (174), senior research analyst (87), research analyst (74), senior vice president or vice president (46) and customer insights manager (35).

Working more hours

Anecdotally, the general sense during the economic slowdown has been that workers across all industries are putting in longer hours as companies try to wring every ounce of productivity out of their current staffs. Here in the research realm, 37 percent of the respondents said they are working more hours and 57 percent reported working about the same number of hours.

In spite of the increased workload for some, our respondents reported admirable levels of job satisfaction, with 35 percent claiming to be satisfied and 18 percent saying they were very satisfied (Figure 1). Twenty percent reported some level of dissatisfaction.

Perhaps because of that general feeling of satisfaction, most are planning to stay at their current jobs and not seek employment elsewhere once the economy improves. While 19 percent were undecided if they would look elsewhere for a job, 17 percent were very unlikely, 16 percent were unlikely and 11 percent were somewhat unlikely to do so. Still, a combined 37 percent gave responses indicating that they were somewhat (18 percent), likely (9 percent) or very likely (10 percent) to seek out greener pastures.

Focus on research

While their employers may be working them longer, at least the researchers are still able to focus on research. This year’s figures for percentage of work time spent on research were nearly identical to 2009’s. Forty-two percent reported spending 75 percent or more of their time conducting, coordinating and analyzing research (43 percent answered thusly in 2009); 22 percent claimed 51-75 percent of their time is spent on MR (2009: 21 percent); and 14 percent reported 26 to 50 percent of their time is used that way, the same as in 2009.

Also similar to 2009 were the number of full-time equivalent marketing research employees at a respondent’s organization. One- and two-person research departments were cited by 29 percent of respondents, with 22 percent saying they have three to five researchers and 12 percent a six- to 10-person internal research function. Nineteen percent of respondents said their department was 25 people or larger.

It’s a good bet those staffs will stay the same size, according to our findings. Just over a third (33 percent) of these Quirk’s readers said it was very unlikely that their company would hire additional research employees in 2010. While a further 17 percent said it was unlikely, 12 percent said it was somewhat likely, 9 percent said it was likely and another 12 percent said it was very likely that the MR staff would increase.

In another echo of last year’s findings, our readers on the client side are a veteran bunch, with 23 percent claiming 16 to 25 years of experience in MR, 22 percent with 11 to 15 years and 21 percent with six to 10 years in the research trenches (Figure 2).

In terms of continuing their professional development, most (79 percent) said they do not hold a professional or industry certification related to marketing research, such as those offered by Burke, RIVA, the Marketing Research Association’s Professional Researcher Certification or the Marketing Research Institute International’s Principles of Marketing Research program.

A richer view

New this year were two open-ended questions (What do you like most/least about working in marketing research?), aimed at getting a richer view of researchers’ current feelings about their day-to-day work. (The accompanying sidebar has more highlights.)

First, some sample replies to the “like most” question:

“I enjoy solving problems, finding answers, and showing my employer new ways to succeed.”

“Being ‘the voice’ of the consumer.”

“The process itself - writing surveys, designing studies, trying to find the answers.”

“Solving puzzles and telling stories.”

And, from the “like least” responses:

“Non-researchers convinced they can do my job better than I can.”

“Marketing research almost always reports to marketing. And marketing directors are usually advertising types who do not fully understand the power of research. This holds us back.”

“Long hours, too much work to do in too little time, lack of appreciation.”

“That I don’t control the processes that need to be fixed.”

Of course, we have no way of knowing if the same person who posted a crabby response in the “like least” portion counterbalanced it with a sunnier reply to the “like most” question, so it’s hard to tell if researchers as a group are disgruntled or mostly happy. But it’s clear that, as with any job, researchers experience a host of joys and annoyances - minor and major - as they go about their day-to-day work.

“What do you like least about working in marketing research?”

Move over, Mr. Dangerfield

“The aspect of being a ‘water carrier’… assisting the decision makers but rarely getting to be a decision maker.”

“That with products like Survey Monkey, everyone thinks they can field a *good* survey which will yield insights. Having amateurs and inexperienced people crafting surveys does the industry an injustice, as survey-takers are further inundated, increasing having poor survey experiences, and bad data are then used by management to make ill-informed decisions. There is a science and an art to questionnaire design, and not everyone can do it, despite what they may think.”

Co-workers/internal clients who just don’t get it

“Senior management say that voice of consumers is important for decision-making, but in reality, they don’t really look into this. The decisions seem to be made based on their own beliefs.”

“How misunderstood our field is and how often we are expected to provide information to ‘prove’ something rather than provide ‘objective’ information.”

Pet peeves, anyone?

“Watching a manager cherry-pick research results.”

“The amount of time and repetition it takes for an insight to be absorbed and acted on by the rest of the marketing team.”

“Lack of institutional learning from previous MR projects.”

Take this job and…

“Stupid clients.”

“Paperwork, paperwork, paperwork and, oh yeah, paperwork.”

“My boss.”

“The monotony.”

“The group of people I work with! ;-)”

“Corporate America, which has become a total zoo.”

Overworked, underpaid?

“Impossible deadlines, impossible expectations and having folks who think that our job is just to carry out what they think is research. We’re not here just to recruit or make a report; we’re here to add value.”

“The chaos!!!”

“The pay.”

“Resources, resources, resources. I am a one-man show managing between 25-30 research projects at any given time.”

Blame the researcher!

I don’t like the fact that numbers and statistics can be misused and misinterpreted for political gain. I don’t like the fact that quantitatively measuring the wrong thing is often preferred over intuitively assessing the right thing. I don’t like it when my clients use research to cover their ass as opposed to take a calculated risk. And I don’t like it when clients feel that the person who understands the data is therefore somehow qualified to drive creative solutions based on those data. No, just because 60 percent of an audience has children it does not mean you need to put a cute little kid in the ad.”

“It is tough to not have all the answers; it is tough when management wants to kill the messenger.”

Problems with the process of research

“Having to work with an existing marketing and research plan that was poorly written and conducted but has the confidence of my client.”

“That no one wants to change their behavior based on what they learn.”

“People expect that my reports will wow them. Well, if the data is boring or expected then there’s not much more I can do.”

“The administrative processes such as work orders, master vendor agreements, purchase orders, etc.”

“Sitting in dark rooms and not having ownership of the outcome.”

“Stats haha.”

“What do you like most about working in marketing research?”

The fun of sleuthing for information

“Building a story with the numbers is my favorite part.”

“Proving or dis-proving theories.”

“The combination of psychology (understanding why people think/behave in a certain way) with math/stats/analytics.”

Seeing research make a difference

“We drive the bus and get to decide where the bus is going!”

“The work is interesting and has a huge impact within our organization.”

“The opportunity to guide major strategic decisions about how one of the world’s most respected companies runs some of their business.”

“Customer insights are used to make decisions at my company. My research team act as consultants and are considered the experts on customer understanding. There is pull for research and it is used, not shelved.”

“Involvement in highly strategic efforts that are important to the company. A seat at the table for virtually all key initiatives.”

“Directing marketing strategies based on research findings. Data is power!”

The general joys of the job

“The training and supervision of smart analysts.”

“The diverse group of people I work with.”

“I love being paid to learn and teach others and to create actionable insights that impact business strategy.”

“Analyzing data and presenting results. I know data and my industry as well as anyone I know.”

Helping internal clients get the data they need

“Being able to answer a question using the customer’s opinion rather than my own, as most people do.”

“You get to help others with their business objectives, learn what others think, and not do the same thing day after day.”

“Turning information into data and data into decisions.”

“Finding out what people REALLY think as opposed to what we feel they should think.”

“Learning and understanding customer behavior - it’s all about WHY!”

Serving as the consumer’s voice within the company

“Communicate what customers need and deserve in a way that a company can improve its products and services.”

“I feel like I make a difference every day, in making our products and services fit our customers’ needs more closely.”

“Representing the consumer, connecting research methodologies to practical business applications, supporting and informing business decisions, seeing direct business success coming out of consumer insights.”

Never a dull moment when you’re a researcher

“There is always some new or different challenge to deal with, and that keeps me entertained. I’d get bored if I had to do the same thing over and over again.”

“I like that projects end and I get to start something new when the next one comes up.”

“The fact that one year on, the results may be totally different.”

“Interesting mix of math, writing, strategy, meeting with people, etc.”

“The fact that everyday I learn something new . . . a new finding from research we’re conducting, a new product that we want to test with consumers, etc. In my job every new day is an opportunity to improve on yesterday.”

“Endless opportunities to learn new things. Your job is to listen, learn and teach. It’s great.”

Bonus charts and graphs

What type of company do you work for?

Which best describes your current employment status?

In which industry does your organization operate?

What are the annual revenues/sales of your organization?

How many marketing research employees (full-time equivalent) are there at your organization?

How likely is it that your company will hire additional market research employees in 2010?

In what region are you (personally) located?

Which title best describes your job/role?

How much of your work time is spent conducting or coordinating and analyzing marketing research?

How many employees do you supervise?

What is the highest level of education you have completed?

Do you hold a professional or industry certification related to marketing research? (Riva, Burke Institute, PRC, Principles in Marketing Research, etc.)

What is your 2010 annual BASE salary?

By what percent did your BASE salary increase or decrease for 2010 compared to 2009?

What was your 2009 annual bonus? (Please don't include stock or profit sharing.)

By what percent did your BONUS  increase or decrease in 2009 compared to 2008?

Are you working more or fewer hours now compared to in the past?

As the economy improves, how likely are you to seek employment at a different company?

What is your gender?

What is your age?