Communication Genetics believes CIO South Africa is an excellent forum for personal and professional development.
Throwing their weight behind the CIO South Africa Community was a no-brainer, says Mark Janse van Vuuren, managing director of Communication Genetics. “It’s proven to be very beneficial to be associated with such a brand,” he says, as this is not the first time he has encountered or engaged with the CFO Enterprises trifecta of communities.
Communication Genetics is a proudly South African level 1 B-BBEE technology company and trusted customer communication management expert, improving the way clients engage with their customers through the implementation of world-class technology solutions.
As a customer communication management (CCM) specialist and boutique firm, Communication Genetics (CG) prides itself on the “personal touch”, helping its customers to successfully navigate their way through the complex world of CCM engagement.
They punch above their weight in the financial services sector, having worked with some of the biggest blue-chip companies in the country.
Mark had previously referred a former colleague who was a group CFO to join the CFO South Africa community. Seeing how beneficial it was for his colleague, and how it helped him grow in his career as he leveraged the networking opportunities it provided, really highlighted the value the community brought. So, when he heard about CIO South Africa, a partnership between Communication Genetics and CIO South Africa made perfect sense.
“Over and above leveraging off the business opportunities this partnership will bring, I want to take the same approach as I did with my former colleague, and afford my current colleague, Stefan Schönenberger, head of technology and operations at CG, the opportunity to network, grow, and take his expertise to the next level through this association – Stefan is essentially our CIO, which makes this the perfect space for him,” Mark explains.
And Stefan agrees, because not long after the partnership was cemented, he attended one of CIO South Africa’s first Summits. “I had no clue what to expect,” he says. “The great thing about the CIO South Africa community and the events it hosts is that it is not merely one technology space with executives from the same industries all in one room: it’s diverse. You have IT executives from different industries, from mining to technology and all the way through to education, and it is good to know or have a good sense of what is happening in those industries.”
About CG, Stefan says, “We are mainly in the digital space, with a special focus on customer communication. Every business out there must communicate with their customers and there has to be a touchpoint between the business and the customer, and that’s where we come in.”
“Simply put, it’s about the customer lifecycle from onboarding of that customer (even before they’re a customer) – to aftersales support after the customer has consumed your services – and all the way through to customer satisfaction (allowing the customer to communicate their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the solution). We manage the digital journey of the customer.”
Stefan also points out that it is also important to understand the different industry verticals. In the case of the healthcare, retail, mining, telecommunications or education industries, it’s important to understand how they are communicating with their customers, he says. “It would be difficult to gain this type of insight from the outside looking in, as opposed to being in the same room as these individuals all from diverse industries – that’s where I see the value in this partnership,” he notes.
According to Stefan, when you are afforded the opportunity to engage at this level, it allows you to see where you can fit into those industries in terms of the services you provide. This makes sense from a personal growth and business growth perspective.
Trusted advisor
Why is Communication Genetics a trusted partner and provider for all your customer communications needs? It’s simple, Stefan says: “We are passionate about our customers, we don’t just provide a product or service and walk away; we are committed to ensuring that our customers are satisfied with our services and that our solutions are implemented properly and are delivering against our customer’s needs and expectations.
“We hold the customer’s hand the whole way through the journey until they go live. We save you costs by guiding you through the process of integrating our solutions with your current system, eliminating the need for a complete overhaul – especially if it isn’t necessary.”
Stefan also brings his diverse skills to the table to sweeten the deal. He is highly proficient from a technical perspective, but also has a deep knowledge of the financial services sector and customer communication, coupled with excellent soft skills, and an ability to engage with new customers and understand what they require one-on-one from onboarding to implementation.
“It is very easy to present an analysis of a customer’s pain points and leave,” Stefan says. “However, what sets us apart is that we are trusted advisors who work with the customer from analysis to implementation until the project is successful, and guarantee a high return on investment.”
