In our Staff Spotlight series, we get up-close and personal with the members of the Listen + Learn Research team to find out who they are and what their job roles involve.
Where are you from and where are you based?
I was born and raised in the southwest of England, and after many years working in London, and briefer stints in Melbourne and Sydney, I have now returned back to my routes in the southwest…chasing after fresh air and cider.
What’s the most challenging thing about being a Research Manager?
Ensuring that there is no ambiguity in the way that we interpret social data – we take thousands of consumer social posts, and use frameworks that allow us to interpret these…but every person using these frameworks has to interpret these consumer posts in the same way…it’s no easy task, but we’ve developed many tools to help us!
What motivates you to wake up and go to work?
To quote our company name, Listening and Learning! The variety in the work always keeps things interesting. I love the fact that I might be learning more about a medical condition one week, and a new automotive brand the next, which helps expand my knowledge into areas that I might not otherwise come across.
The other thing which is great about working in social insights is that it keeps me in the loop on all the different social platforms – I doubt I’d have TikTok on my phone if it wasn’t for L+LR, but now I use it to check in and see what’s trending.
What is your secret to making progress each day?
Setting goals, including when to have a cup of tea. And not working late – it doesn’t help!
What do brands who want to launch need to understand about local consumers?
This isn’t just specific to the UK, but consumers often don’t know why they do something, e.g., why they buy a certain brand. So however much we ask them, and however much consumers think they might be answering honestly, often consumer behaviours run a lot deeper than this. That’s where listening and reading in between the lines becomes important.
What do you enjoy doing outside of your job?
Getting out and about, especially now that I’m even more aware of the feelings of freedom (firstly since having a child, and secondly, since the pandemic started). I love going to new places, whether it be donning some wellies and walking, or exploring a new city. I especially enjoy a city trip that involves people-watching over a bowl of ramen.
To find out more about our talented team of social intelligence professionals, get in touch with us at contact@listenandlearnresearch.com.