Jenny Abraham, the then Managing Director of TNS India in 2004 was asked by a leading Business Reporter from the Economic Times as to ‘How old is the market research sector in India and what its size is? He promptly replied, “At the age of 35, the market research industry in India is at a whopping 325 crore and growing by more than 10% a year.
Today after 10 years, the Market Research industry is a huge industry. The need to conduct market research has changed over the years primarily driven by globalization, and rise in competition, among other factors. The marketing function, which was earlier restricted to creating awareness and building differentiators among products,has expanded and become central to the creation of these new products.Large corporates are now spending anywhere from $5 m to $100 m on market research and analysis. Research agencies too have tried to complement the changing needs of clients with professional management, consolidation and creation of value through both delivery mechanisms and interpretation. The increasing use of technology has led to standardization and consolidation in the research industry, thus preparing the ground for greater outsourcing.
Years ago, Market Research in India was restricted to the FMCG section. Today, FMCG companies spend a lot more on market research but sectors like IT, Pharma, Retail, all are rushing to Market Research to help them understand their markets better.
Right from the mobiles you use to the condoms you throw away after use, everything today requires a sound market research report before they enter the market or even begin production. Healthcare, Life Sciences, Automotives, Telecom, Writing and Publishing, IT/ITES, Retail, BFSI, Pharmaceuticals, FMCG, Real Estate are just a few industries that employ a market research firm.
India is also a success story for Market Research Outsourcing as Indian researchers have master/ doctorate degrees from premium institutes along with extensive experience in marketing research, brand personality, customer satisfaction, general management, mass communications, business research, Marketing Communication investment banking and medical writing amongst others.
With so much happening, there are very few institutes in India that really train aspirational research analysts to do the job and do it right. What do you think?