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• Contrary to popular belief, Market Research is not marketing. It is more of Industry data analysis and data interpretation. Market Research is nothing but collecting, analyzing and interpreting data in order to produce useful information with actionable insights. Market Research is also known as Business research or Market Intelligence. All types of Research such as Media Research, Patent Research, Equity Research, Financial Research, and Procurement Research fall within Market Research.
• Anybody with a passion for research can do this course.
• Anybody who is interested in making a career in Research.
• The certification provides individuals with recognition as a professional ready to work effectively in the Job market.
• This is one of the most preferred certifications by companies looking to hire Research Analysts at an entry level.

By passing the exam for Certified Research Analyst, you will join an elite group of professionals who have demonstrated a commitment to excellence in Market Research. The CRA designation can be mentioned after your name just like a Ph.D. The CRA designation will also be proof of your technical expertise and will enhance your credibility in the Industry.

• College Students or undergraduates or postgraduates from a recognized University.
• Should have minimum 50% marks in school and college.
• Freshers are eligible. Prior work experience in Research is not required to do this course.

Yes. The year of completion of the college degree does not matter.

No. Anyone with an interest in Research can join this course.

The recruitment policy at each company is different. Hence it cannot be standardized. While some companies hire people who have had backlogs/arrears during college, other companies hire members who have not had any backlogs/arrears. So it depends on the company and its recruitment policies.
Some members who had backlogs/arrears during college and had a second-class college degree have been able to find jobs in leading MNCs after they cleared this certification due to the huge industry demand.

The classes for the Certified Research Analyst program will be by means of E-learning. The classes will be completely online. The classes can be taken either at your home or office, provided you have an internet connection and a computer.

• IIPMR uses State of the Art Online Learning Management System called Moodle to deliver the classes. Moodle is considered to be the world-class e-learning platform that adheres to SCORM International Standard. Members can view the video lectures, download study materials, case studies, take practice tests, and also take the online exam on this platform.
• Classes can be taken online 24/7, Anytime Anywhere.

Yes. A high-speed connection is required. A minimum speed of 2 Mbps is required to view the classes.

Yes. There will be doubt clearing sessions from 5 pm – 7 pm US EST on the 4th Sunday every month. During this session, you can chat with the tutor face to face using a webcam to ask any questions and get your doubts cleared.

After you submit the application form on our website, the User ID and Password will be sent to your email within 2 hours. Detailed instructions on how to view the Modules (Video Lectures), Download Study Materials (PDF files), Download Case Studies (PDF files), take Practice Tests, and the procedure for the Online Exam will be provided in the welcome email. You can log in at training.iipmr.com to view the modules, take practice tests, and also the exam.

The doubt clearing sessions will also take place at training.iipmr.com. You can use the same login ID and Password to join the doubt clearing session.

Yes. Please click here.

There are 97 modules in total that need to be completed for this certification course.

Course Overview

• • Overview of Market Research: What is Market Research? And how to do Primary and Secondary market research? Examples and practical demonstrations in creating a brief research report.
• • Quantitative and Qualitative Research: How to do Quantitative and Qualitative Research with Examples. How to find Market trends?
• • How to do Market Sizing or Market Segmentation?
• • Survey Research: How to do Survey design, programming and results analysis. How to use tools such as Survey-Monkey and all sorts of data segmentations and visualizations. How to boil down complex datasets to highlight what's important.
• • Survey Research: Field Project Management.
• • Survey Research: Analysis And Reporting.
• • How to use Qualtrics (Survey Software): Step by step demonstration with real-time examples.
• • Industry Research & Analysis: How to do in-depth analysis of specific industries which includes topics such as State of the Industry, Top Competitors, How to find Market Share, Marketing/Advertising Trends, and General Industry Trends. Real-time examples provided.
• • Consumer Research: How to do Consumer Research? How to do in-depth analysis of consumer segments with real-time case study and examples.
• • Data Mining and Analysis: How to conduct in-depth data-gathering and Analysis with examples.
• • Commodities Exchange: Understanding the importance of Commodity exchange around the world and its influence on the price of products.
• • Company Research: How to do in-depth analysis of specific companies which include a General Overview and topics such as Products/Services Offered, Key Executives, Financials, Marketing/Advertising Activity, Current News. How to use major research databases such as One-Source (https://app.avention.com/) and search information through the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC)?
• • Hedging – Futures & Contracts: How to do Hedging of Products? Step by Step demonstration. Examples given for Copper, Oil, and Corn, Forward Contracts, Options, and Swap.
• • Competitive Research: How to do Competitive analysis with examples.
• • Forecasting: How to forecast the price of products/commodities/items. How to forecast or estimate market trends of an Industry? With examples and practical demonstrations.
• • Equity Research: How to decide which company's stock to buy, how to forecast its stock price? How to decide when to buy or sell a stock? How to use databases such as Thomson Reuters EIKON?
• • Why is Supply Chain Knowledge required in Market Research Industry? What is Procurement Research?
• • What is Supply Chain Management?
• • Supply Chain Strategy: How to choose between efficient and responsive strategy with examples.
• • Examples of different Supply Chains
• • How to Build a Sustainable Supply Chain: Learn 3 types of sustainability, closed-loop supply chain, and supply chain ethics.
• • Bullwhip Effect in Supply Chains: Plenty of practical evidence and solid theoretical background.
• • Economic Sanctions and Consumer Boycotts: Effect on Supply Chains (tons of examples + strategies to prepare supply chains).
• • Procurement: Supplier selection, Procurement policies, etc.
• • Traditional Procurement Process
• • Deep Dive on Procurement with Examples
• • Manufacturing/Production: Plant location, product line selection, capacity planning, production scheduling, etc.
• • Deep Dive on Manufacturing with Examples
• • Distribution: Warehouse location, Customer allocation, Demand forecasting, Inventory management, etc.
• • Deep Dive on Distribution with Examples
• • Global Decisions: Product and process selection, planning under uncertainty, real-time monitoring and control, integrated scheduling.
• • Logistics Management
• • Animation on Procure to Pay Process
• • Reverse Auction
• • Spend Management
• • Inco Terms
• • Payment & Discount Terminologies
• • What is Strategic Sourcing? (Examples & Case Studies)
• • Global Sourcing: Do’s and Don’ts (Explained with real case studies on how to save costs).
• • Best Practices on Procurement
• • Top 5 Procurement Predictions
• • Top 5 Supply Chain Trends
• • Top 5 steps to Insure your Supply Chain
• • Preparing Global Supply Chains Against Uncertainty
• • Strategic Procurement
• • Need for Market Research in Procurement/Supply Chain
• • Importance of Crude Oil
• • Important Economic Concepts that Market Research Professionals and Supply Chain Professionals Should Know
• • Sourcing Process
• • Sourcing Process in Pharmaceutical Industry
• • Low-cost Country Sourcing
• • Primary Research: How to do Primary Research - Step by Step Instructions with Examples.
• • Secondary Research: How to do Secondary Research - Step by Step Instructions with Examples.
• • Primary Vs Secondary Research
• • Look At What Matters Before Doing Research
• • Top 5 Market Research Trends
• • How Should Social Media Be Used In Market Research
• • Current Market Research Trends
• • Porter's Five Force Analysis
• • PESTLE Analysis
• • SWOT Analysis
• • Supplier Diversity: How to find minority suppliers and what are the top databases?
• • Magic Quadrant Analysis
• • Supplier Ranking & Capability Matrix
• • How to do Competitive Analysis: Deep Dive on Competitor Research and Competitive Intelligence.
• • Supply Chain Risk & Business Continuity
• • Guest Lecture on Supply Chain Risk Management
• • Supply Chain Strategies: Design and Management.
• • Commodity Sourcing & Risk Management: Various Chemicals, Energy, Fuel.
• • Financial Risk Analysis: How to do Financial Risk Analysis of a Supplier or a Company.
• • Price Forecasting
  • Price Forecasting - Simple Linear Regressions
  • Price Forecasting - Multiple Linear Regressions
  • Price Forecasting - Time Series Decompositions
  • Price Forecasting - Exponential Smoothing Methods
  • Price Forecasting - ARIMA (Auto Regressive Integrated Moving Average Model)
  • Price Forecasting - How to calculate CAGR and AAGR
  • Price Forecasting – Practice Sheets (Step by Step Calculation Examples using Practice Sheets for Exam Preparation)
  • Price Forecasting – Conclusion
• • Tableau (Data Visualization & Analysis Software)
  • How to download and install Tableau Desktop
  • Data Source Tab
  • Worksheet and basic visualizations
  • Table Calculations and Quick filters
  • Calculated Fields and Parameters
  • Maps and Dual Axis
  • Real-time demonstration of how Tableau is used in Market Research Analysis on Food Preferences among people from different demographics and create visually rich interactive dashboards
  • Real-time demonstration of how Tableau can be used to determine in which countries Apple should launch its new stores.
• CASE STUDIES AND BEST PRACTICES (Downloadable PDF Files)
  • Case Study on Groupon - Using Market Research to Deliver Highly Personalized Service
  • Case Study on Sushilicious - Using Secondary Market Research to Create Differentiation
  • Case Study on how Ford Motors used International Market Research
  • Case Study on USA's Leading Newspaper and how they used Market Research to stay ahead of the competition
  • Case Study on Mistine - The unusual case of developing competition for Avon, Giffarine, Amway in Thailand
  • Case Study on Japan - Using Market Research to Develop Country Specific Strategies
  • A Case Study of Setting Transaction fees for Automated Teller Machines using Market Research
  • A Case Study on WaterPool Recreational Park
  • How to Create Market Opportunity Analysis Report - A Case Study of Paper Packaging Company
  • International Market Research Strategy, Process & Resources
  • A Study on Methods of Estimating Potential of Existing and New Products
  • Using Market Research for Business Opportunities - How to do a Quick and Dirty Market Assessment
  • Primary Data Sources - What, Where, Why and How
  • Secondary Data Sources - What, Where, Why and How
  • Post Market Research - How to Present a Formal Business Plan
  • Case Study on Chep (Brambles) Market Research in Logistics to Create Efficiencies
  • Case Study on WestPac Banking Corporation Using Market Research to Create Financial Packages
  • Case Study on L'Oréal Universalization & Market Research Design
  • Case Study on BASF - Using Internal and External Research
  • Case Study on Telstra Corporation Ltd and how they use Market Research to improve Customer Satisfaction
  • Case Study on how Accenture does Global Automated Data Collection & Research
  • The New Era of Doing Things Differently in Market Research
  • Case Study on How Google Uses Research Data with Machine Learning
  • Case Study on How British American Tobacco Uses Market Research for Advertisements & Packaging
  • Case Study on How GlaxoSmithKline uses Market Research for Product Strategy
  • Practice Test-1
  • Practice Test-2
  • Exam

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  What is the course duration?

  It is 80 hours totally. You may complete all the modules as per your convenience and once you are well prepared you can take up the exam at training.iipmr.com. The User ID and Password will be valid for 1 year from time of enrollment. Please note 80 hours is just an indication of effort in terms of hours to view all the 97 modules, Library and sample test papers. If you spare 2 hours a day, all the modules can be completed within 40 days (80 hrs/2 hrs = 40 days). That is approximately 1 month and ten days.

  On an average, most members complete CRA Exam within 2 to 4 months depending on the hours spent per day. The modules can be viewed any number of times without restriction and access will continue to be valid for 1 year even if a member completes the Exam in the fourth month. The online exam is conducted on 14th and 28th every month. Members are expected to complete the online exam within the 1 year time frame.

  

  What is the course fee?

  It is US $500 or EUR 425 or CAD $665 or INR 25,000 (Includes Online Exam)

  

  What is the minimum score to pass the exam?

  A minimum score of 60% is required to pass the exam and be eligible for certification.

  

  I did not pass the exam on my first attempt. Is there a second attempt?

  Yes. If you have not passed the exam in the first attempt, you are permitted to take up the exam again.

  

  How many re-attempts are allowed?

  There are no limits to the number of attempts one can take. The first two attempts are free of cost. However from the third attempt onward there is an exam fee of USD 50 for each attempt thereafter. Please note 90% of our members pass the exam in the very first attempt. With good preparation and by utilizing the practice tests available on the training portal, one can definitely pass the exam with ease in the first attempt.

  

  I did not pass even the second attempt. What should I do now?

  You will have to view all the modules again (Free) and take the exam as a third attempt. However USD 50 will be charged for this re-exam.

  

  What is the question pattern in the exam?

  There will be totally 127 questions with multiple choice answers.

  

  What is the time duration for the exam?

  1 hour.

  

  When will I know the results? How will I know what is my score in the exam?

  Your score will be displayed immediately after you submit answers to all the questions.

  

  When and Where will I take up the exam? Are there any specific dates for the exam?

  The online exam is conducted on 14th and 28th of every month. You need to register in advance by submitting this form here: Exam Registration Form. Once you choose the date, your account will be configured for the exam and an e-mail confirmation will be sent to you. On the day of the exam, you need to login with your User ID and Password at training.iipmr.com to take up the exam. The exam can be taken online from your home/office or at any of our Authorized Training Center as well. Please note that you may login anytime of the day to take up the exam.

  

  I have scored 60% and passed the exam. When will I receive the certificate?

  The certificate will be mailed by express delivery via FedEx or DHL to the address provided during the time of registration. For residents in USA, Canada, UK, Cameroon, and India, the Certificate will reach you within 10 business days. For residents in other countries, it will take 15 business days to reach your address. In case there is any change in the address, please write to contact@iipmr.com clearly mentioning your membership id number and username.

  

  Do you offer placement services to certified members?

  Yes. We do. Please click here to view the partial list of members who have been placed after becoming certified. Most of the time, many MNCs usually contact us in order to recruit people with CRA certification, and during those times we share the CVs of our members with these companies.

  

  Do you guarantee a job after I pass the exam?

  The CRA Certification is widely recognized by the research industry & the members are in high demand. We do not guarantee a job. However, we do provide the latest job openings. IIPMR brings you the latest jobs available in 24 countries that can be accessed at the Job Openings section in the menu panel. The starting salary of an individual with a CRA certification in the USA is $60,000 to $90,000 per annum. The starting salary in Canada is CAD $50,000 to CAD $80,000 per annum. In Europe, it ranges from EUR 45,000 to EUR 70,000 per annum. In India, the starting salary is Rs. 2.4 lakhs/year to Rs. 4 lakhs/year. Please click here to view the latest job openings.

  

  Are there any opportunities abroad in the Research Industry?

  Yes, there are many opportunities to find a job abroad in the Research Industry, especially in the US, UK, and the Middle East, as there are many Research companies, and there is a huge demand for CRAs in these regions.

  

  Do you offer Interview Guarantee?

  We do not guarantee interviews. However, we do share the CVs of our members when employers approach us for recruitment. We also bring you the latest jobs available in 24 countries that can be accessed at the Job Openings section in the menu panel. Please click here to view the latest job openings.