It is Eneco’s ambition to become climate-neutral in 2035. To reach this goal, the business of Eneco requires a digital transformation. One of the ways they envision for the future is a Virtual power plant. “The growth of sustainable energy sources and digitalization determine the development of energy systems.”
Being able to offer customers a dynamic contract is one of the steps they need to take to make this vision a reality. Being able to distribute energy where the demand lies and making it possible for customers to use the full potential of the market.
Balancing supply and demand is more important than ever. Another step that needs to be taken is to find out how customers align with this vision. Where do their needs lie? How can we help them to not only be sustainable but also keep the costs under control so energy stays affortable for everyone.
In December 2022 I was asked to work on this question. I have interviewed around 50 people asking them this question and more. How do they view energy in the future? What do they expect from their government? And from their energy company? What do they wish to be different? And if we would make a virtual power plant? How would customers want to contribute? Do they want to have control or do they want the energy company to arrange everything? Many questions were researched in a very deep and thorough study. I loved going this deep with users and I loved being able to think together with Eneco about the future. To help create the strategy and to so it getting launched made me very proud.
UX Research
I did quantitative and qualitative user research to make sure we adapted the product to the users' needs. Through interviews, card sorters, questionnaires, and non-guided tests on the prototype we found out more and more.
CRO Optimalisation
Where is the drop-off in the funnel? We set hypotheses around the why and tested them. Together with the development team, we made improvements to increase the CRO. What is needed to increase trust in the funnel?
E-commerce
As an e-commerce platform selling products of this value, it was exciting to discover what people needed to feel confident enough to buy a car online, despite having never seen the car in real life.
CRM implementation
In this project, I also laid the foundations for the CRM System. I ensured the workflows and all automation were in place, all properties were added and that the system was fully ready before the launch.
Eline is a capable and highly committed UX researcher and product manager. She joined our small NL team – essentially a start-up – focused on UX intelligence, but quickly took-on additional responsibilities in managing the strategic and product-design development and implementation of the launch and development of our automotive e-commerce proposition.
Eline proved herself very popular and a lead-member of the team, and very well regarded internally and externally.
Eline demonstrates a very well-developed work ethic, she’s a self-starter able to deliver high quality work without endless supervision; very high levels of technical and management powers, and endless enthusiasm and loyalty.
Accordingly I would commend Eline as a valuable asset to any organisation.
Chris Wood
Director E-Commerce Development
things change Along the way
Whilst I was primarily hired as a user researcher on this project, things changed along the way. This time it was my role that changed during the project. Sometimes there was no one else available to do a given task, so I stepped up to the plate. There was no one to implement our HubSpot CRM, so I made sure the foundations were laid. I created the workflows that were needed. Furthermore, I made sure all the content, automation, and properties were implemented.
The project also needed someone to guide the process in a product management sense. The transition from user research towards product management felt like a very logical step for me. My work was not confined to making sure all departments were aligned and pushing features forward that would improve the CRP & user experience. By the end I was also creating the legal documents needed, working hand-in-hand with the design department, translating, hiring people, increasing the team’s capabilities, managing content creation, coordinating multiple teams, and whatever else was needed to keep the project going at a pace that would ensure the pilot’s success.
The pilot needed to prove to investors that e-commerce could be successful in this industry, which meant high stakes and strict deadlines. The comparatively small size of the market in the Netherlands meant that it was ideal place to experiment, and if some experiments failed other markets could learn from this and prevent mistakes being replicated. This made the project doubly interesting, since there was plenty of room for research, implementing our findings, and optimizing them.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Creating an e-commerce platform for used cars
I will go above and beyond to make the product successful. I have never been afraid to step up or step back when needed.
Overseeing every step of your product’s journey to market .
Finding out what users want and working with the design and development teams to make this happen.
Making it possible to incorporate HubSpot into our ecosystem to improve the user experience.
At heycar, she started as a UX researcher, but soon her role changed to head of solutions where she was involved in all projects for heycar Netherlands. She held her own in this role and managed to manage almost everything within the project and knew how to bring it to a successful conclusion.
In addition to her great work, she is social and has a sense of humor that I really appreciated. We had a great time together at heycar. I highly recommend Eline for UX and product management roles. But she can also do much more, so be sure to give her a call or e-mail to bring this high-end product manager into your organization.
