Working in Marketing Research or Consumer Insights and want to know your market value? Or are you a hiring manager who wants to keep your offers competitive? Burtch Works compiles salary data to create comprehensive salary reports, with complete demographics and hiring market insights. View an overview of our findings in this deck, and visit burtchworks.com/study to download the full report for free!

1. The Burtch
Works Study
Salaries of Marketing
Research Professionals
2017

2. 5th Annual
Marketing Research
Salary Study
Compensation & demographic data
Base salaries, plus bonuses
Client vs. supplier side
Job category
Industry & region
Education & gender

3. In this deck
Identifying marketing research
professionals
Demographic profile
Salary changes and trends
Other noteworthy findings
Key trends and implications

4. Identifying
Marketing Research Professionals

5. SECONDARY/
SYNDICATED
Marketing Research Professionals are…
QUANT
QUAL
PRIMARY
CUSTOM

6. Marketing Research
Professionals are…
Consumer Insights
Shopper Insights
Category Management
Media or Audience Research
Competitive/Market Intelligence

7. Predictive Analytics Professionals
Data Scientists
Web Analytics
Marketing or Brand Managers
Marketing Research
Professionals are not…

8. Demographic Profile

9. 42% of Marketing Researchers have 10 or
fewer years’ experience
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
0-5 6-10 11-15 16-20 21-25 26-30 31-35 36+
Years of Experience
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC
MarketingResearchProfessionals

10. Marketing Researchers are highly educated
Ph.D.
4%
Bachelor's
39%
Master's
26%
MBA
31%
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC

11. Gender Distribution of
Marketing Researchers
Male
46%
Female
54%
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC

12. Profiles matched to job categories
Supplier Side
Client Side
© 2017 Burtch Works LLC

13. Profiles matched to job categories
Supplier Side
Level 1: 0-4 years exp. Research Analyst, Research/Project, Manager, Project Director
Level 2: 5-9 years Sr. Research Manager, Sr. Project Director, Account Manager, Executive
Level 3: 10+ years Sr. Director, Associate VP, Vice President, Group Director
© 2017 Burtch Works LLC

14. Profiles matched to job categories
Client Side
Level 1: 0-4 years exp. Analyst, Sr. Analyst
Level 2: 5-8 years Associate Manager, Manager, Consultant
Level 3: 9-14 years Sr. Manager, Sr. Consultant
Level 4: 15-24 years Associate Director, Director
Level 5: 25+ years Sr. Director, Vice President
© 2017 Burtch Works LLC

15. Compensation
of Marketing Research
Professionals

16. $60,000
$80,000
$125,000
$70,000
$102,500
$130,000
$155,000
$195,000
$0 $50,000 $100,000 $150,000 $200,000 $250,000
Supplier vs. Client side salaries in 2017
Client Side
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC
Supplier Side

17. Supplier Side
$0 $40,000 $80,000 $120,000 $160,000 $200,000
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
2017
2016
+4%
+2%
+5%
$125k
$80k
$60k
Supplier salaries increased slightly
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC

18. 5-Year Salary Trend:
Supplier Side
Level 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Level 1 $52,000 +15% +0% -5% +5%
Level 2 $70,000 +3% +8% +1% +2%
Level 3 $105,000 +10% +9% -4% +4%
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC

19. Client side salary changes vary by level
Client Side
$0 $40,000 $80,000 $120,000 $160,000 $200,000
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5
2017
2016
-1%
+6%
0%
$155k
$130k
$195k
$102.5
$70k
-2%
+3%
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC

20. 5-Year Salary Trend: Client Side
Level 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Level 1 $74,000 +8% -13% 0% 0%
Level 2 $100,000 +5% -5% 0% +3%
Level 3 $125,000 0% +4% +2% -2%
Level 4 $145,000 +3% 0% -3% +6%
Level 5 $185,000 +7% -2% +2% -1%
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC

21. Bonus eligibility increases with job level
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
S1 S2 S3 C1 C2 C3 C4 C5

22. Additional
Findings

23. Bachelor’s Master’s M.B.A.
$80k $82k $86k
Supplier Side, 5-9 years’ experience
Advanced degrees tend to
command higher pay
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC

24. Advertising/Mktg firms pay
more vs. traditional suppliers
$121,000Traditional Market Research Supplier
$131,000Advertising/Marketing Service Firm
Supplier Side, 10+ years’ experience
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC

25. $121,000Traditional Market Research Supplier
+$10,000Advertising/Marketing Service Firm
Supplier Side, 10+ years’ experience
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC
Advertising/Mktg firms pay
more vs. traditional suppliers

26. CPG tends to offer highest
corporate research salaries
+$4,000
Technology/Telecom
+$8,000
Retail
+$11,750
Consumer Packaged Goods
$97,000
Other Corporations
(Pharma, Financial Services,
Travel, Industrial, etc.)
Client Side, 5-8 years’ experience
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC

27. $137K
West
Coast
Middle U.S.
Northeast
Coastal Marketing Research Pros earn higher salaries
Client Side 9-14 years’ experience
$129K
$132K
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC

28. Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC
19%
of Marketing Research &
Consumer Insights Professionals
changed jobs in 2016
The job market is
active

29. 3.0
years
average tenure of Marketing
Research & Consumer
Insights professionals
The job market is
active
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC

30. Recap/Demographics
of Marketing Research Pros
39% Bachelor’s, 26% Master’s, 31% MBA
42% have 10 or less years’ experience
54% are female
19% changed jobs in 2016
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC

31. Base salaries shifted only by single digits
Supplier salaries increased, client side
varied by level
Highest salaries paid on the coasts
Salaries vary significantly by industry
Master’s/MBA’s earn higher salaries
Recap/Compensation
of Marketing Research Pros
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC

32. Additional data is available
in our full report
burtchworks.com/study
30+ pages
Demographics
Compensation
Year-Over-Year Trends
Qualitative Insights
Quartiles/Means

33. Major trends &
implications

34. Research & insights salaries have
remained mostly steady

35. What does this mean for researchers?
It is important to craft a compelling
story if you want a salary increase

36. What does this mean for those hiring?
Now is a good time to evaluate whether your
salary bands are in line with the market

37. Movement towards lean teams
influences the hiring process

38. Assignments are becoming a critical part of the
hiring process, and must be taken seriously.
What does this mean for researchers?

39. In order for assignments to be effective, they
should be tailored to role & level, and present a
positive image of your company.
What does this mean for those hiring?

40. Researchers with broad experience bring value

41. What does this mean for researchers?
Prioritize learning new tools and methodologies,
and be open to opportunities in other industries.

42. What does this mean for those hiring?
Looking outside your industry will help you build
a stronger team and open up your talent pool.

43. Industry shifts continue to impact Marketing Research

44. If you’re in an industry with little/no growth, now
might be the time to make a change.
What does this mean for researchers?

45. Look outside your industry to hire, and be on the
lookout for candidates making a change.
What does this mean for those hiring?

46. About
Burtch Works
Leading resource for
analytics, data science, and
marketing research talent
Download our salary reports
burtchworks.com/study
30+ pages of data for:
Predictive Analytics
Data Science
Marketing Research

47. Contingency &
Retained Services
Research Analyst up to
Chief Research Officer
info@burtchworks.com
Hiring Marketing
Researchers?

48. Explore new roles or
post a job and find niche talent on
jobs.burtchworks.com
• Marketing research
• Consumer insights
• Predictive analytics
• Data science
• Credit/risk analytics
• Fraud analytics
• Web analytics
• Digital marketing/analytics
…and many more!

49. Visit burtchworks.com/blog for more insights
• Career advice
• Hiring market insights
• Additional salary research
• Burtch Works news and updates

50. Follow Burtch Works on social media to stay
updated on our latest research.

51. Learn more…
Download @ www.burtchworks.com/study
Email us @ info@burtchworks.com