Sanlam Health, a subsidiary of leading financial services group Sanlam, has streamlined its e-mail management systems by adopting an e-mailtopia program supplied by customer interaction and communications expert Inter-Active Technologies (IAT).
Canadian-based e-mailtopia is one of the leading providers of software and services used to manage corporate e-mail infrastructures. Inter-Active Technologies boasts a distinguished client base that spans financial services, retail, insurance and governmental agencies. The company’s Product Response Manager System enables organisations to manage, track and store e-mails with their partners and customers.
Inter-Active Technologies e-mailtopia product specialist Meyer Theunissen explains that the Response Manager System was implemented at Sanlam Health’s head office in Bryanston, Johannesburg, in September 2012, after the company identified the opportunity to improve its service levels and build better relationships with customers via its e-mail channel.
“Sanlam Health informed us that its existing e-mail management system and processes were too labour intensive. The e-mail channel is growing continually and the need to streamline the processing and retrieval of e-mails necessitated a closer look at the available options through e-mailtopia,” he explains.
Senior operations manager at Sanlam Health, Cathy Hopf, notes that the Response Manager System has provided the company with a user-friendly and cost-effective solution to address its needs.
“After a thorough investigation and product comparisons, Sanlam found e-mailtopia to be intuitive and easy to deploy. The implementation of the system required minimal preparation and training, and total cost of ownership is competitive.”
According to Hopf, one of the reasons for the successful deployment of Response Manager at Sanlam Health can be attributed to the fact that the system is able to route e-mails to specific consultants, if their name is inserted in the subject line.
“The accurate reporting and routing of e-mails has freed up additional resources to focus on more important duties, thereby significantly reducing the total time to service clients.”
Hopf adds that the Inter-Active Technologies team undertook a thorough assessment of Sanlam Health’s business processes before “going live”.
“Training was completed on a Saturday morning at our office in Bryanston, which allowed for ample time to test and experience the system before going live. During this period, the support offered by Inter-Active Technologies was outstanding, and trainers remained onsite until all staff were comfortable using the system.”
The teething problems associated with the system going live were minimal and Hopf reiterates that these were swiftly and professionally resolved by Inter-Active Technologies.
“The team from Inter-Active Technologies built a strong rapport with the Sanlam Healthcare Management team, which enabled free and open dialogue, and ultimately a strong working relationship.”
Theunissen indicates that Inter-Active Technologies places a strong emphasis on offering unrivalled customer service.
“We have been assisting customers with interaction management for more than a decade, and every deployment is seen as an opportunity to share our wealth of experience with customers, in order to assist them in getting the best value for their money,” he concludes.
