{"id":31114,"date":"2023-07-04T11:16:27","date_gmt":"2023-07-04T09:16:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/uncover-ie\/?p=31114"},"modified":"2026-04-22T11:10:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T09:10:16","slug":"a-decade-of-success-celebrating-the-master-in-market-research-consumer-behavior-with-alum-ryan-mccourt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/uncover-ie\/a-decade-of-success-celebrating-the-master-in-market-research-consumer-behavior-with-alum-ryan-mccourt\/","title":{"rendered":"Define consumer marketing with IE Business School alum Ryan McCourt"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/span> 5<\/span> min read<\/span><\/span>\n

Need some help to define consumer marketing? No problem. We’ve put together this article to understand its ins-and-outs, with a straightforward definition and some expert tips from a graduate of our Master in Market Research & Consumer Behavior<\/a>. The master’s program celebrated its 10th anniversary this year and, for the first time ever, conferring the MRCB of the Decade award to mark this milestone. Our inspiring alum Ryan McCourt<\/a> was the inaugural recipient of this accolade. Ryan currently works as a key account manager at Meltwater, an IT consulting company based in Austin, Texas. His success since graduation is further proof that this program is truly transformational.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But enough talk! Let’s get into it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to define consumer marketing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Let’s take a moment to define consumer marketing. It involves selling goods or services to individuals for their personal use. Good consumer marketing uses various strategies, namely making personalized experiences<\/a> based on consumer data. The aim is simple: get new customers and keep your existing ones loyal. Traditional marketing channels like TV and print are still in use but they’re no longer the top dogs. Now, professionals in consumer marketing msut leverage social media, mobile apps and emailsto reach consumers. Professionals can now define consumer marketing by analyzing brand sentiment through Artificial Intelligence to understand emotional connections with customers. This in turn helps them refine their strategies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But remember the big difference between B2C and B2B marketing! B2C marketing targets a broader audience, typically individual decision-makers. B2B marketing, on the other hand, has a more limited customer pool and focuses on multiple stakeholders in a company. B2C marketing is usually more emotional as a result, whereas B2B marketing centers around ROI and business outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what is Ryan’s taken all of this? Let’s read through our recent interview with him and find out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our interview with Ryan McCourt, graduate of the Master in Market Research & Consumer Behavior<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Why did you decide to pursue the Master in Market Research & Consumer Behavior at IE Business School?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I had been working in marketing<\/a> for a few years and really enjoyed the possibilities in the field. But I was ready to take my skill set to the next level, so I thought it’d be great to study a master’s program. I found IE University and quickly realized it had a great curriculum, a great reputation and I knew that I could get some really good value out of the institution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tell me a little bit about where you work and what your role is.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Right after graduation, I worked at a smaller startup called Userlytics for about four years. In that time, I got to see the company grow from six to about 70 people\u2014a lot of them came from IE University, especially at the beginning, to help turbocharge our growth. Six months ago, I joined another company based in Austin, Texas for a role in account management, where I help our clients find value for the tools they purchase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How has studying the program made an impact on your career?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I got my first role at Userlytics directly because of the Master in Market Research & Consumer Behavior. They were using the IE University Careers Portal as one of their main sources for potential candidates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And sure enough, within my first year there, about half of the new hires were from IE University.<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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However, IE University also indirectly got me the job. My role was in UX, which is a bit like product research\u2014helping improve products by using a lot of market research principles. It was wonderful to come from this program with an understanding of what surveys or focus groups were, and a base of all the core concepts that we talked about in depth. I was able to start using them in practice from day one because of the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you think has helped you most from the program in your professional life?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One of my favorite things about the Master in Market Research & Consumer Behavior<\/a> is that we studied tactics. But what was really cool about this was that the professors we learned from had such varied and strong backgrounds\u2014many of them have worked for 20 or 30 years in the field. They told us so much more than just what these individual elements were, like why they’re important, how to use them and how to communicate them to the client to ensure they’re going to be wowed. The program really was end-to-end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What I\u2019ve realized in my current role is that it’s not at all market research anymore, but I still have those same elements of diving in deeper to see what the clients really need. I think some of those soft skills that aren’t even advertised or talked about are really where the strengths are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You received the award for the MRCB of the Decade. Tell us about what that means to you.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Honestly, I was blown away. It’s an awesome achievement and something I would never have thought I would receive. I was really excited just to get accepted to IE University; I was really excited to be here from day one, just because of all the good things I had heard about it. And in the process of being here and meeting the professors and students, I grew an even deeper appreciation for IE University because I could see the real value that they were giving in the classroom\u2014I had a great time. So to have this award exist and even be nominated for it is awesome. I’m really over the moon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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