Jannie Mai - Stockland

In this Podcast, Ray Poynter (Chief Research Officer at Potentiate) interviews Jannie Mai (Senior Research Consultant, Stockland) about the future of insights, as part of the Powering Human Experience series of interviews being conducted and hosted by Potentiate.

Listen to the interview here:

Podcast Summary:

Inspired by the ABC show The Gruen Transfer to enrol in Insights, Jannie Mai now works to distil Stockland data like a fine gin.  But “Pinpointing the So What is easier said than done” she says, and we all know what it’s like to suffer from another pandemic of sorts – Infobesity.

Having spent 6 years at Stockland, a leading property development business focussing on the areas of retail, residential and retirement living, Jannie uses their HX Community to connect with customers in a transparent, two-way dialogue. The COVID pandemic has meant that her team has had to adapt and change their research to truly “Corona-Proof” it, but it’s also been their moment to shine, with the business focussing now more than ever on understanding what people are thinking and feeling.

Regular pulse checks have given Stockland that understanding, and they’ve even been able to spread joy and share tips and tricks with their members for getting through tough lockdown periods. Jannie has found that the number of online discussion forums and qualitative exercises have increased, as well as their willingness to try new methodologies, such as tracking the customer journey using Whatsapp. We’re curious to know – has your company also experienced diversity in the face of adversity?

In the next two or three years, Jannie’s goals centre around putting agile methodology into practice, digitising insights to make the best use of existing data, as well as continuing their path towards ongoing transparent conversations with customers.  

We were impressed with Jannie’s innovative wishes - if Potentiate could wave a magic wand and give her three, they would be:

1. Like Violet from The Incredibles - the ability to turn invisible and observe the customer’s natural behaviour

2. Freeze time like Frozone, to churn through more analysis

3. Utilise Jack Jack’s strength and focus in order to flip between projects quickly

Note: this is a summary of a 12.30 minute interview. Please listen to the full recording to benefit from the thoughts and experiences shared by Jannie Mai.

About Jannie Mai | Senior Research Consultant, Stockland

 My passion with consumer behaviour could be traced back to one pivotal day back in grade 9. I can still remember my favourite English high school teacher rolling out the good ol’ television set in class to watch an episode of the ‘Gruen Transfer’. This show kick-started my passion to learn more about people and why they behaved the way they do. I’ve always been the type of person that was itching to ‘take a look under the hood’ - from reading up on all the IMDB facts after watching a new movie, to taking a deeper look into people’s responses on new concepts & ideas. I’ve always had to know why and how it all comes together.

 Fresh from graduating at the University of Technology, Sydney, I landed a role in the Stockland Customer Insights team as their first research graduate. Fast forward 6 years & I’m now a Senior Research Consultant & manager of our online research community Stockland Exchange. While I didn’t achieve my dream of becoming a guest panellist on the ‘Gruen Transfer’, my passion & drive to learn more about consumer behaviour continues to keep me on my toes!