How to Become a Marketing Analyst
Sakshi Gupta | 4 minute read | July 26, 2021 
In this article
As recently as 2020, the world created an overwhelming amount of data daily—about 1.145 trillion megabytes. Having all this data at hand can be beneficial for businesses that want to understand their users better. The surplus of data also leaves them needing data analysts more than ever to sort marketing data points into stories and actionable steps.
Analysts work exclusively to understand and convey insights and trends from market data. As a result of the growing opportunities to use data for better business, the career path of a market research analyst is growing substantially.
With this skyward demand for marketing analysts, many professionals wonder how to become one to fill the gap.
There are many routes to becoming a marketing analyst, but all require mastering certain skills and technical knowledge. Here is a comprehensive guide to help you become a marketing analyst—including key skills, job roles, and responsibilities.
Marketing Analyst Job Description
Forbes writer Richard Stiennon wrote that industry analysts aren’t journalists, consultants, nor public speakers—and yet they take from all of them.
Marketing and business analysts assist businesses in deciding—based on research—which products and services are most likely to be successful and help find the right customer and price for them. Analysts provide recommendations like a consultant and present results to high-level executives, like a good public speaker. Once this is done, their work may continue by studying competitor and customer behavior and pointing out possible improvements in strategy to increase sales.
Main Responsibilities
While the overall role of a marketing analyst is to help businesses understand the market, their day-to-day tasks include any of the following functions:
- Gathering data about consumer behavior and competitors with methods like interviews, questionnaires, focus groups, and surveys.
- Analyzing data collected and creating reports that inform their employers about their results.
- Presenting findings to employers and stakeholders.
- Recommending courses of action for marketing and sales teams, including promotions, marketing creativity, and more.
Everyday work looks similar for market research analysts, but what every company needs from their analysts varies. For example, some companies may assign a market analyst to collabortae with the data analysts so that they can hunt down the out exact possible behavioral pattern of their customers.
When looking for a marketing analyst job, position yourself as the candidate who can fulfill necessary tasks specific to each company.
Get To Know Other Data Analytics Students
Joel Antolijao
Data Analyst at FanDuel
Bart Teeuwen
Global Business Analyst, Global Talent Intelligence (GTI) at Meta
Reagan Tatsch
Data Operations Manager at ISS
Eligibility To Become a Marketing Analyst
Suppose the daily responsibilities of an analyst sound like something you’d enjoy doing. What skills would you need to get hired?
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), to become a marketing analyst, a Bachelor’s Degree in a field like communications, statistics, or computer and data science is sufficient. And though you don’t need a Master’s degree to be eligible to excel at the job, you should have the following technical skills:
- Analytical skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking
- Attention to detail
- mathematics-inclined
All these marketing analyst skills, of course, are in addition to experience in the digital marketing field. What do companies like Monster Energy expect from their analysts? Let’s take a look at their listing for a Senior Marketing Analyst below. Keep in mind that the expectations are much higher for this vacancy than they would be for an entry-level analyst.
Monster Energy wants a senior analyst to have 5+ years of experience with digital marketing and a clear understanding of both paid and social media analytics.
Digital Certifications That Add To Your Resume
Qualifications for a marketing analyst job will depend more on what you can do than which degrees you have. Still, certifications speak a lot for what tools you’re literate in. Here are some credentials that help your resume stand out among others:
- Google Analytics
- PowerBI
- Facebook and Instagram
- Khoros
- Netbase
- The Marketing Research Association’s Professional Researcher Certification (PRC)
Finally, find a way to demonstrate that your oral and written communication skills are excellent. You might be an analysis pro, but if you can’t present your findings professionally, your employers may never benefit from your skills.
How To Become a Marketing Analyst
-
Observe your background.
-
Get more familiarized with business skills, digital marketing, and marketing analytics.
-
Work on your technical skills.
-
Gather work experience.
To reach your goal of becoming a successful marketing analyst, start with these steps:
- Observe your background. Do you have the necessary experience? If possible, show that you have a mix of research ability, a consulting mindset, and the confidence of a public speaker. Otherwise, consider how you can develop these skills further.
- Get more familiarized with business skills, digital marketing, and marketing analytics. Courses in statistics and marketing are widely available, but if you want to complement your bachelor’s degree to get a leadership position, consider a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA).
- Work on your technical skills in data analysis methods, analytical tools (like Tableau and Google Analytics), survey software, data mining, and data visualization. Having basic data analytics skill can improvise your market analyst perfromance in a different level.
- Gather work experience through an internship or similar marketing role where you can practice marketing tactics and gain professional competency.
Marketing Analyst Salary
When researching a new career path, knowing the wage range can influence whether you want to venture into it. Salaries for this kind of work can vary not only based on your location but also on your previous experiences. Taking the United States as a reference, Zippia.com estimates the average salary of a marketing analyst to be approximately $54,000 a year, falling within the U.S. national average for college graduates.
Experience-based pay will differ slightly, with an entry-level marketing analyst earning around $36,000 per year and the top 10% earning almost $80,000.
Since you’re here…
Considering a career in data analytics? We can get you there. Don’t take our word for it – check out our student reviews. After just 6 months of study in our fully flexible Data Analytics Bootcamp, we’ll boost you into a job in the field, guaranteed. Get started now with our free data analytics curriculum.
