As I approached the summer before my senior year at Oswego State, I received an opportunity to intern at Research & Marketing Strategies, Inc. (RMS). At Oswego State I am working towards a degree in public relations with a minor in business administration. As the ViewPoint panel coordinator at RMS, I am able to blend my passions for public relations and marketing.

Here are 5 things I’ve learned about a career in market research in 3 short months:

• (1) The importance of networking – Market research is a powerful industry because it provides businesses with the intelligence needed to adapt to the ever-changing consumer. However, some professionals are weary to conduct market research due to cost, fear of negative results, length of time to complete, etc. To overcome these barriers, RMS works hard to build a base of educational materials for clients through social networking and having a presence at local and industry events. Strong networking skills are invaluable in this industry. There is always a methodology that will work for a business to overcome any barrier and market research can be done well, fast, and inexpensively.

• (2) How to code open-ended questions – I have learned how to code open-ended questions in college, but that experience fails in comparison to coding open-ended questions for a full scale market research study. Market research professionals read every survey response, and create categories suitable for all responses. Want to learn more about coding? Click here. The researcher will then determine themes and recommendations based on the responses. So believe it or not, your well-thought out responses that you answer on an online or mobile survey are actually read by a real human being! (Me, in many cases at RMS!)

• (3) How to blog – Another valuable skill in this industry is blogging.  It’s an effective tool used to fore-show potential clients what services the firm is capable of providing. We recommend using images, tags, hyperlinks, and a searchable title in order to blog effectively. Creating fresh content and SEO-friendly material for market research is a goal of mine here at RMS.

• (4) There is room for creativity – On the surface, the market research industry seems very structured, data-oriented, and rigid. However this is not the case, creativity can be used during all steps of the research process. Customizing surveys, creating word clouds from coded responses, and creating PowerPoint presentation templates for reports are examples of creative outlets for market researchers.

• (5) Quadruple check – It’s easy to overlook confusing language or mistakes when you have been working on a document for a long time. When checking a document, ensure that you look at the bigger picture. For example, after creating a questionnaire, envision how a respondent would comprehend the question (without having a background in market research). Additionally, have a coworker in a different department review the questionnaire. They are more likely to notice mistakes that you may unknowingly repeat.

The ViewPoint panel coordinator position is perfect for me because it marries my passion for public relations and marketing. It has been great to apply what I have learned at Oswego State while learning additional skills that can’t be learned in the classroom. Research & Marketing Strategies (RMS) is a market research firm located in Syracuse, NY. If you are interested in learning more about RMS, contact our Director of Business Development Sandy Baker at SandyB@RMSresults.com or by calling 1-866-567-5422.