Editor’s Observe: The next interview contains a GreenBook Future Checklist honoree, Robyn Rouse. The GreenBook Future Checklist acknowledges management, skilled progress, private integrity, ardour, and excellence within the subsequent era of client insights and advertising professionals throughout the first 10 years of their careers.
Introducing Robyn Rouse of Important Findings
As Supervisor of Analysis and Design at Important Findings, Robyn Rouse is breaking the mould of conventional qualitative analysis to create atmospheres and experiences that result in really genuine insights within the business. She was a key researcher on an exploratory research about podcasts, the place they created a podcast “episode” as an insights deliverable. This piece is commonly sited as an out of the field, participating and non-traditional technique of sharing insights.
Exterior of insights, what are your passions and pursuits?
My best ardour is touring. Who doesn’t like to journey, am I proper? I caught the journey bug once I was 17 years previous and took my first solo journey to Panama after commencement. It opened an innate curiosity in me that I prefer to consider I carry by way of to all aspects of my life, together with my work. I’m so lucky to say I’ve had some wonderful alternatives to see some fantastic locations round our world. Amongst my favorites are Ghana, Iceland and the Philippines.
It’s turn out to be a ritual for me to spend New Years in a special place annually. This 12 months I used to be shark cage diving in Hawaii, an incredible expertise second solely to my swim with manta rays within the open ocean. I’m additionally dedicated to visiting each continent throughout the subsequent 5 years, and I’m completely satisfied to say that I’ve solely Antarctica and South America left to go!
What’s the most respected lesson you may have discovered from market analysis?
I feel essentially the most useful lesson I’ve discovered from market analysis is that of empathy. The core of our work is actually attending to know and perceive individuals who typically come from seemingly very completely different worlds. It’s our job to dig beneath the floor to search out that core human want, worth or ideology that’s the unifier and will be associated again to our shopper’s enterprise.
“Be taught, experiment with, and faucet into the facility of recent applied sciences however don’t sacrifice private connection, instinct and function while you do.”
A whole lot of my focus is qualitative in nature, and I get to fulfill and communicate with folks every single day that in my private life I could not have ever encountered. In such a small window of time, we create somewhat ecosystem of our personal, the place we are able to simply discuss and relate. Even on the quantitative facet, we’re challenged to look past the information and think about the human expertise, which is actually the place I discover essentially the most enjoyable in our work. It’s a singular alternative to actually see folks as folks.
What do you suppose the important thing traits or qualities of a frontrunner are? How does this play into MRX?
The simplest leaders are those that hear first. They don’t bounce instantly to problem-solving, and so they don’t generate new concepts for the sake of doing so. They hear first, and so they hear brazenly to all points-of-view. Solely then, as soon as they’ve come to know the wants of the group, do they act. This management type not solely cultivates belief and respect, but it surely cultivates an surroundings of thought sharing that in the end creates the house for different leaders to emerge.
Listening first performs straight into the MRX house. It’s the basis of what we do with insights. We method enterprise issues creatively but additionally with function and intent. And we generate insights from a spot of deep understanding, listening and studying between the traces in order that we are able to make connections between customers and types.
What challenges do you see dealing with newer MRX professionals as know-how advances?
With advances in applied sciences and AI specifically (hiya, ChatGPT!), the problem I see for brand new MRX professionals, or maybe the problem to them, is to learn to harness know-how as a instrument, however to not develop an over-reliance on it. The insights we’re searching for are human insights. Completely different applied sciences may help us mine bigger units of information within the pursuit of themes or broad factors of differentiation, however this enhances moderately than replaces the guts of our work.
It’s a life lesson as a lot as a analysis one. Don’t develop an over-reliance on Zoom interactions in our post-COVID distant and hybrid workplaces. Join with folks in-person when you possibly can. Don’t develop an over-reliance on social on your private communities. Spend time, bodily, with family and friends.
Be taught, experiment with, and faucet into the facility of recent applied sciences however don’t sacrifice private connection, instinct and function while you do.
