Everything You Need To Know To Become A Certified Marketing Research Professional

Congratulations on your decision to earn the Certified Marketing Research Professional (CMRP) certification from the Marketing Research Association. 

This is a significant professional achievement that will give you an edge over other candidates for job opportunities in the field of marketing research and communications. 

It’s well worth it to take the time and effort necessary to prepare for your exams. Here’s what you need to know about studying for and earning this credential:

Takeaways
1. Becoming a certified marketing research professional requires relevant qualifications, such as a degree in marketing, business, or statistics.
2. Essential skills for success in this field include strong analytical abilities, effective communication, and proficiency in data analysis tools.
3. Specializing in a specific area of market research can enhance your expertise and career prospects.
4. Technology plays a crucial role in modern market research, enabling efficient data collection, analysis, and visualization.
5. Consider obtaining certifications like the Market Research Society (MRS) Certificate or Professional Researcher Certification (PRC) to enhance your credibility and career advancement.

Pass The First Level Of The Exam, Principles Of Marketing Research And Communications

The first step towards becoming a certified marketing research professional is to pass the Principles of Marketing Research and Communications exam. This multiple-choice test consists of 50 questions that must be answered within 4 hours.

The exam is administered at a Pearson VUE testing center, which you can find in most major cities around the world. If you are taking this exam in America, it will cost you USD 225 (CAD 275).

When you arrive at your testing center, you must bring two forms of ID: one primary and one secondary form. Together these need to have your name in both English letters and Arabic numerals (e.g., John Smith).

Are you aspiring to become a Market Research Analyst? Understanding the skills and steps required is essential. Explore our guide on how to become a Market Research Analyst to kick-start your journey in this dynamic field.

Pass The Second Level Of The Exam, Knowledge In Marketing Research And Communications

To pass the second level of the exam, focus on the most important topics. You should review questions from previous exams. You should also study your syllabus and review your notes, textbook, research papers, and flashcards for this level.

Reviewing all these materials will help you prepare for this exam. If you have already taken a practice exam at this level before then you can use it to check how well prepared you are to take the final exams.

Apply To Be Certified

Once you’ve met all of the above requirements, it’s time to apply. Fill out and submit an application form along with payment for your application fee (the amount depends on which level of certification you are applying for). 

After submitting this information and paying your fee, wait for an email confirmation that your application has been received. 

Then simply wait until it is processed and approved. You will then receive a certificate in the mail indicating that you have completed all requirements necessary for certification as a Marketing Research Professional!

You may use this certificate however you please it makes a great addition to any resume or LinkedIn profile page!

Maintain Your Certification By Earning Continuing Education Credits

This certification is a lifelong process. To maintain your certification, you’re required to earn continuing education credits (CECs).

Once you’ve become certified, there are several ways that you can earn CECs and maintain your certification:

Continuing education courses can be taken online or in-person at conferences or workshops.

Professional development activities include writing articles for trade journals; presenting at conferences; contributing content to newsletters and social media; 

Participating in projects or programs that promote the field of marketing research, and serving as an expert witness on a case involving marketing research principles.

The more CEC hours you earn through these activities, the more opportunities there are for advancement within our organization…which means more chances for earning more CECs!

Building an effective marketing research panel involves careful selection. Learn how to identify the right participants for your panel by checking out our insights on identifying the right person for a Marketing Research Panel.

Attend Workshops And Training Sessions That Qualify For Continuing Education Credits

Continuing education credits (CEUs) are a great way to keep your marketing research certification up-to-date and relevant. While there is no required amount of CEUs you must obtain, most certifications require at least 40 hours per two-year period. 

The easiest way to fulfill these requirements is by attending workshops and training sessions that qualify for CEU credits.

These workshops can be found through many different organizations, including:

• Marketing Research Association (MRA)
• Market Research Society (MRS)
• American Marketing Association (AMA)
• Association of Marketing Communication Professionals (AMCP)

Note that not all types of workshops or training are applicable for continuing education credits. 

For example, if you attend a seminar or presentation on the latest technology trends in market research then those hours would not count towards your total requirements for maintaining active certification status with either MRA or AMA certification bodies.

Because they do not provide any type of educational content related directly to market research practice itself. 

However, if after attending such an event you meet with fellow peers who have discussed potential applications for this new technology within their current organizations’ business models then those conversations may very well qualify as part of your continuing education efforts!

Create A Study Plan

To get started, you need to create a study plan. That is, you should make a list of topics and resources that will help you prepare for the exam. Your study plan should include:

Topics to review. Review all the concepts listed in this document, as well as any additional ones from your background. Make sure you can explain these concepts clearly and accurately before moving on to anything else!

Resources to review. Review all the sources listed below (and any others that are helpful). Be sure not only that they contain information relevant to your field but also that they’re written by experts who know what they’re talking about! 

You don’t want any false information or bad advice messing with your head later on down the line!

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Create A Study Schedule

As you know, there are so many things to learn to become a certified marketing research professional that it can be overwhelming. To help you stay on track and make sure you’re studying the right things at the right times, create a study schedule.

A good way to do this is to break up your study time into blocks, each one dedicated exclusively to learning a specific skill set or topic. 

You should also make sure each block has an ending point this will keep you from overstretching yourself and setting unrealistic goals that aren’t sustainable when life gets busy again.

For example: let’s say that during one week of your training program (maybe even over several weeks), you dedicate all of Monday through Thursday evenings exclusively to reading about how Hadoop works under the hood. 

And then let’s say during another week (perhaps even over several weeks) all day Tuesday through Friday afternoons are devoted strictly to understanding how SQL queries work.

And what makes them faster than other methods like MapReduce jobs because those topics were covered less thoroughly during lectures earlier in class today and now we’re free!

Read Your Textbook

The very first thing that you need to do when studying for an exam is to read the textbook cover-to-cover. This will help you understand the main themes and concepts of your field, as well as become aware of the various types of questions that are asked in an exam.

We’ll list some important things for you to be aware of:

• What’s the difference between descriptive and inferential research? How do they relate?
• What exactly does “research design” mean? And how does it differ from other terms like “methodology”, “approach”, or even “strategy”?
• How many different types of research methods are there? Which ones should I know about?

Market research is a diverse field with various methods to explore. If you’re curious about alternative approaches, take a look at our discussion on 14 alternative methods that can provide unique insights beyond the traditional approaches.

Read About Related Topics In Journals And Other Reputable Sources

There are plenty of online sources for marketing research information and you can also find books in the library about marketing research. To make sure that the information you’re reading is reliable, read articles from reputable journals. 

You should also read articles from reputable websites since they have also been vetted by a third party as being reliable resources. Look for books written by authors who have experience in the field of marketing research and read them as well. 

There are many books written specifically about how to conduct research, some of which may be easier to understand than others depending on whether or not they use technical language or statistics jargon; 

If either sounds like Greek to you then try looking instead for books that explain things more generally without using these terms (although some will still be necessary).

Take Practice Exams

If you’re not taking practice exams, you’re missing out on one of the best ways to prepare for your certification exam. Taking practice exams helps identify your weak areas and build in time to review those topics before taking the real thing.

Taking an exam also gives you valuable experience with how the test will be formatted; different companies use different types of tests.

So making sure that all of your questions are answered in an hour is going to be important and if all goes well, it will be more than just important: It’ll mean passing!

Watch Videos And Tutorials

There are several great video resources out there, and watching them can be an excellent way to get up to speed on a topic. 

This is particularly true for areas that you’re unfamiliar with; for example, if you want to learn about how the use of social media has evolved or what it takes to become a certified marketing research professional (CMRP), watching videos will help get you started. 

If you know these things already, then watch tutorials on other topics that are relevant to your work.

For example, if you want more information on how data collection methods differ across different countries and languages than what’s provided in our introductory guide above, then researching those specific topics by watching some relevant videos would be a good choice!

If we had one piece of advice regarding online content consumption: just do it! Our favorite learning tool is YouTube because it provides so much free educational material on practically every subject imaginable (including CMRPs). 

It also allows users who create their videos access points that allow people who like their content enough to follow them through social media platforms such as Facebook or Twitter.

Study With Friends Or Colleagues Who Are Also Preparing For The Exam

[Don’t] Study alone!

Studying with friends or colleagues who are also preparing for the exam can be a lot of fun, and it’s a great way to stay motivated. It’s also helpful to see someone else who is doing well and achieving greater success by comparison. 

You will be able to help each other out with questions you don’t know the answers to, as well as those you do know.

Use Flashcards Or Flashcard Apps To Prepare For Exams

Flashcards are a great way to help you remember key terms, concepts, processes, steps, and formulas in marketing research. You can use flashcards on paper or digitally with an app on your phone or tablet. If you’re using paper flashcards:

On one side of the card write down a term or concept you want to remember (e.g., “market segmentation”). 

On the other side write down what that term means (e.g., “the process of dividing potential customers into groups based on similarities in demographic variables such as age, gender, and location).

And how it relates to other related terms/concepts you’ve learned about in previous classes or readings. 

For example, if segmentation is one of the first things learned about during your intro class for MKT 101 then this may be where we see some similarities between market segmentation and target marketing strategies (which involves identifying specific groups within larger markets).

Another good practice when using flash cards is taking time before exams to review all the terms/concepts/processes/steps/formulas that were covered throughout the course material so far and making sure they’re still fresh in our minds when it comes time for those final exams!

Understanding the nuances of different marketing research types is crucial. Our comprehensive overview of The Different Types of Marketing Research can help you navigate through the various strategies and methodologies used in the field.

Find Someone You Know Who Has Taken The Certification Exam To Find Out What Worked Best For Them As They Studied For It

Also, if you know someone who has taken the exam and passed it, ask them how they studied for it. The best way to find out what worked best for them is by asking them directly. 

The most common question people ask when they are preparing to take a certification exam is: “How did you study?” A lot of times the answer will reveal some great tips that can help you succeed on your test day!

It’s also important that you understand what each section of the test entails before going into it. Knowledge of marketing research is vital because this knowledge will be tested throughout the entire exam.

Break Down Confusing Terms Into Their Component Parts To Better Understand

A term that is often used in the marketing research field is “segmentation.” This is a process by which you identify different segments of your target market and then target each segment with specific products and services.

Segmentation can be broken down into several parts:

Identifying the segments. You need to figure out who you want to reach. Do they have a certain age, income level, education level, or some other identifying characteristic? 

How do those factors correlate with their purchasing habits? If multiple characteristics could help define your audience for a particular product or service, how do those different traits combine? 

These questions all go into building up an understanding of who your potential customers are and what kinds of things might appeal to them as consumers.

Creating profiles for each segment so that everyone knows what makes each group unique from one other.

This helps ensure that each group receives the appropriate amount of attention from your business (for example: if two groups appear very similar on paper but don’t act similarly in real life).

Make Diagrams When Studying Difficult Concepts Or Processes That Use Several Steps

When you want to understand a complex concept or process, make a diagram. A diagram will help you organize your thoughts and illustrate the relationships between concepts. 

It can also help you remember important information so that when someone asks what an internal combustion engine is or how it works you can pull out the diagram in your mind and give them a quick rundown.

If there’s anything we’ve learned over our years of studying marketing research, it’s that complicated processes aren’t always straightforward; they often involve several steps and rely on other concepts. Keep this in mind as you’re making diagrams: 

Ensure that any steps within each process are connected with arrows or lines (which may even be curved). An easy-to-understand flowchart for one process may look like an incomprehensible mess of lines if connected to another unrelated process!

Make Notes On All Relevant Material You’re Studying In Preparation For Your Exams

The best way to prepare for your exams is by making notes on all the material you’re studying. The more detailed your notes are, the better. 

This will help you review what you’ve learned and it will also give you a good idea of how much information there was in each section of the book or coursework.

Make sure that when you make notes on the material, they reflect what was said in class or written in any given textbook chapter or another sourcebook. 

It’s easy to write down something without understanding what it means so make sure that before adding anything new to your notebook/notebook/notepad/etc., you understand fully what it says (or wants). 

You don’t want to move on to another topic until everything from this one has been understood as well as possible!

Conclusion

It’s important to note that marketing research is a field with an ever-expanding variety of specializations and career paths. 

While the resources listed above can help get started, those interested in becoming MRPs should always keep their eyes peeled for new opportunities and developments. 

As technology continues to shape our world, the role of marketing research professionals will continue to evolve right alongside it. 

Those who take on this role will need to stay up-to-date on new strategies for using data and analytics to drive business decisions and we at HubSpot are excited to see what comes next!

Further Reading

Here are some additional resources to further enhance your knowledge about becoming a certified marketing research professional:

Career Girls: Market Researcher Short description: Learn about the role of a market researcher and gain insights into the skills and qualifications needed to excel in this field.

Digital School of Marketing: Skills Required to Become a Market Researcher Short description: Explore the essential skills required to succeed as a market researcher and discover how these skills contribute to effective decision-making.

Maryville University: How to Become a Market Research Analyst Short description: Delve into the steps to become a market research analyst and understand the educational paths that can lead to a successful career in this role.

FAQs

Here are answers to common questions related to becoming a certified marketing research professional:

What qualifications are needed to become a certified market researcher?

To become a certified market researcher, you typically need at least a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field such as marketing, business, or statistics. Some positions may require a master’s degree for more advanced roles.

What skills are important for a successful career in market research?

Key skills for a successful market research career include strong analytical abilities, effective communication skills, proficiency in data analysis tools, and the ability to interpret consumer behavior trends.

How do I specialize in a specific area of market research?

Specializing in a specific area of market research, such as consumer behavior or competitive analysis, often involves gaining experience and expertise through relevant courses, workshops, and practical projects.

What role does technology play in modern market research?

Technology is integral to modern market research, enabling efficient data collection, analysis, and visualization. Proficiency in using tools like data analytics software and online survey platforms is essential.

What certifications can enhance my market research career?

Certifications like the Market Research Society (MRS) Certificate or the Professional Researcher Certification (PRC) from the Insights Association can add credibility to your resume and demonstrate your commitment to professional growth in the field.