Market Research Analyst

Job Title: Market Research Analyst

Position Type: Full Time- Oak Brook, IL

Reporting Lines: Director of Strategic Marketing

Job Description: Ascent Chemicals is looking for a highly analytical critical thinker to play an integral role in driving our new business development pipeline. Are you interested in utilizing innovative information research techniques, navigating complex tasks, and building comprehensive market maps with a forward-thinking chemical solutions provider? Ascent Chemicals is seeking a dynamic Market Research Analyst to join our team and be an integral part of our market intelligence team. Joining our team means being part of a culture that fosters professional growth, offers competitive benefits, and provides opportunities to make a significant impact within the dynamic chemical solutions landscape.

Principle Duties:

• Produce detailed market intelligence reports that synthesize findings and provide actionable insights to support initiatives, strategic planning, and decision-making processes.
• Build and manage comprehensive campaign call lists to optimize sales team efforts and enhance customer engagement.
• Actively monitor via a continuous feedback loop campaign performance and provide recommendations to leadership.
• Develop and maintain a deep understanding of industry dynamics, competitive landscape, customer segmentation, and potential markets.
• Identify emerging markets and growth opportunities, assessing risks and benefits associated with new market entry.
• Monitor and analyze competitors’ activities, product developments, and market share to benchmark Ascent Chemicals’ performance and identify strategic advantages or threats.
• Provide insights on competitors’ sales tactics, pricing strategies, and distribution channels.
• Develop detailed profiles for each addressable segment to tailor marketing and sales strategies effectively.
• Collaborate closely with the inside sales, outside sales, and marketing teams to align research activities with strategic goals and improve campaign effectiveness.
• Design and implement feedback mechanisms to gather insights from customer meetings and validate market hypotheses.
• Leverage key internal and external relationships to fill key gaps in the knowledgebase.
• Assess and recommend new methodologies or technologies for more efficient data collection and analysis to support evolving business needs.
• Function as a liaison between market research and other departments to facilitate knowledge sharing and integrated planning.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s in Statistics, Economics, Business, Marketing, Supply Chain, Purchasing, Finance, or other equivalent experience.
• 3+ years of experience in market research or business intelligence.
• Strong analytical skills with experience in data analysis and report generation.
• Proficient in using market research tools and software, including CRM platforms, Boolean search strings, databases, etc.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, capable of presenting complex information in an accessible format.
• Strong organizational and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Initiative-taking and independent thinker with a strategic mindset and meticulous attention to detail.
• Humble, hungry, smart - unapologetic acknowledgment of strengths and weaknesses, insatiable hunger for proactive growth, and a relentless commitment to emotional intelligence and strategic collaboration.
• Demonstrated proficiency in Microsoft Office products is required.

Preferred Qualifications:

• 2+ years’ experience in chemicals or related industries.
• Demonstrated business and analytical acumen to interpret complex data and proficiency in written and verbal communication to effectively convey actionable insights to others.
• Demonstrated professionalism in stakeholder management and the use of data and insights to influence decision makers and drive business decisions.
• Demonstrated competitive drive and strong orientation for results and achievement.
• Demonstrated professionalism and strong presence in interactions with internal and external stakeholders.
• Demonstrated problem solving and critical thinking skills.