5 questions with George Amanatiadis
Our guest of this IT Insights episode is George Amanatiadis, VP of Sales and Customer Success at Scrive.
The episode touches upon various aspects of customer onboarding and CX. We also discuss why culture of an organisation is crucial when building technology and what challenges George is facing when working on solution architecture of various IT environments. Last but not least we also talked about eSigning contributing to digital transformation of organisations.
Ewa Banaś: Welcome to another episode of the IT Insight Series: 5 Questions. My guest today is George Amanatiadis, VP of Sales and Customer Success at Scrive.
George, before we move on to the five questions, could you introduce yourself a little bit more to our audience?
George Amanatiadis: Absolutely. I work for a Swedish e-sign and eID company called Scrive. I’ve been in sales for the last 20 years, starting in Telco, then moving into events, education sales, and sales consulting.
I’ve been with Scrive for about seven and a half years, dealing primarily with banks and financial institutions regarding digital transformation and change management projects.
Ewa Banaś: Let’s start with a warm-up question: what would you be doing professionally if you weren’t the VP of Sales and Customer Success at Scrive?
George Amanatiadis: I see sales as a very creative process, so my alternative path initially was to go to art school. I like to build and create things, and for me, sales is the art of creating something out of nothing. Another path would be psychology, because of my innate curiosity regarding how people and relationships work in depth.
Ewa Banaś: I can see why you’re doing sales, as you combine those two elements. What advice would you give to your younger self at the beginning of your customer experience and onboarding journey?
George Amanatiadis: My advice would be to focus on culture earlier. Lately, my team and I have focused much more on culture and change management instead of technology.
In the end, it is the company culture that translates through technology to the audience. It is less about the tech than it is about what we want people to experience.
Ewa Banaś: That is a common scenario where companies focus on the product first and only later realize the importance of culture. What is your biggest lesson learned in customer experience and onboarding in the past few months?
George Amanatiadis: Beyond culture, the key is making sure we have internal alignment from all sides of the organization very early on. This involves a spirit of collaboration, hearing many opinions, and then agreeing on a customer-centric approach.
We need to create alignment on what the end result should be, besides just the obvious topics of ROI and adoption.
Ewa Banaś: What challenges are you facing when working on solution architecture in various IT environments, and how do you handle them?
George Amanatiadis: The main thing is to tackle challenges with a view of really understanding the problem.
You must understand the industry and the customer group to know where a challenge is coming from. Showing that you understand their challenges in depth is a big step toward creating alignment and mutual trust, which is what essentially leads projects forward.
For example, in the banking industry, many see compliance as a challenge, but we choose to see it as an enabler. Understanding the regulatory framework across the European Union helps make counterparts feel safe because they feel understood.
Ewa Banaś: How can e-signing contribute to digital transformation, and how do you calculate the ROI of such solutions?
George Amanatiadis: E-signing is primarily an enabler in a larger data flow. It effectivizes operations and enhances customer experience by providing a secure, easy way to sign from anywhere. It enables other flows to function, such as KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering), by bundling data points for back-office or ERP systems.
Regarding ROI, there are obvious wins like saving on material costs (postage, printing) and working hours. However, the biggest win is how the experience translates to the customer. There is a clear link between the onboarding process and customer loyalty; a customer who feels understood is more likely to stay, which impacts NPS (Net Promoter Score).
In the short term, we have seen up to a 200% change in conversion rates for financial institutions after implementing a digital process through Scrive.
Ewa Banaś: That is a very substantial and tangible change.
George Amanatiadis: Exactly. It’s about building a flow that is customer-friendly and makes the customer feel met where they are.
Ewa Banaś: George, it was great to talk to you. Thank you for sharing your insights, and thank you to our audience for listening. Visit us at itinsights.tech for more podcasts and events.