I'm Paul. I choose Essent.
Love drastically changed Paul's life over a two-year period. He moved from Amsterdam to Den Bosch, became a father two times over and started a new job. ‘It was already pretty hectic and then the pandemic hit on top of that. I had been at the office for 4 weeks before we started working from home full time. That's quite difficult when you're just starting to learn the ins and outs of a company. Luckily, with the help of colleagues I have slowly grown into my role as Online Marketeer E+.’
About E+ ...
Paul explains: ‘Essent has numerous service partners throughout the whole of the Netherlands, such as companies that install solar panels, insulate homes and maintain and install central heating systems and heat pumps. We supply just about everything except gas and electricity and the focus is on products and services related to sustainability. That’s why we call it Essent ‘Energy +’.
Time, place and message
As Online Marketer E+, Paul and his 6 immediate colleagues are working on the creation of an integral marketing database and the generation of traffic and leads on the various websites of service partners. Paul spends 80% of his time focusing on traffic and lead generation, especially on the use of paid channels, such as Google and social media. ‘Simply put, we try to be visible where our target audience is present online, at the right time and with the right message.’ To achieve this, Paul works together with, among others, his team mates, the Marketeers at the service partners and with the advertising specialists within Essent's digital team. Paul: ‘We make a forecast of how many leads a particular campaign should generate, and we make adjustments based on interim results. We look closely at traffic, channels and conversion rates. And, of course, we also monitor how our SEO positions are looking. Because we have all the expertise in-house at Essent, it's nice and quick to switch, which is necessary if you want to lead the way in the energy transition.’
Contributing to making the Netherlands more sustainable
For precisely that reason, Paul came to work for Essent around 2 years ago. ‘The reason I wanted to work for Essent E+ is that I find the energy transition very interesting. I have solar panels and my house is well insulated. I wanted to contribute to the energy transition myself, ensure a sustainable world in a role within my own field of expertise, and here I can do that.’
A successful campaign in Limburg
How does he do that? As an example, Paul mentions the campaign of Essent's Limburg service partner Volta Solar. ‘Earlier this year, we launched a campaign for installing solar panels with well-known Limburgers playing a leading role. For this campaign, we used data that showed us in which post code areas we could find suitable roofs without solar panels - in other words, untapped conservation potential. The campaign went so well, we created a record number of leads. Volta Solar had its hands full and could hardly handle the requests. It was a good time! I am secretly quite proud that we managed to get so many people over the line and become sustainable. Some may get a kick out of the huge sales numbers, I do it mainly for that better world.’
A nudge in the right direction
HDespite enjoying his current job, Paul is switching to the position of Web Analyst in the near future. ‘I noticed at a certain point that I was no longer completely happy, but I didn't really know why. I talked to a job coach and during one of the sessions I found out that I enjoy working with the many teams and departments but that it also takes up a lot of my energy. A position a little more behind the scenes and where I can use my analytical skills suits me better. I started talking to my manager and together we created a role that did not yet exist.’
Growth as a constant factor
In his new role as Web Analyst, Paul will mainly focus on website statistics, including gathering insights, dashboarding and conversion optimisation. ‘I am happy that I’ve been given this opportunity within Essent. It's a new challenge laid out on the path before me. I see it as a beautiful role that suits me better and I feel that I can add more value to it. I see it as a win-win-win, I get to work on my personal growth, the growth of Essent and our service partners and on a more sustainable Netherlands,’ says Paul.
Paul Oudshoorn (38 years old) lives in Den Bosch with his girlfriend and their two daughters (aged 2 and a newborn). You’ll make him happy with nasi goreng, rendang and spicy tempeh, in other words, Indonesian cuisine. He enjoys discussions with friends about new technologies such as blockchain and hydrogen, and since this year he has actively started reading again. ‘The goal was one book a month, I didn't manage that but I did read the entire oeuvre of Khalid Hosseini.’