3084: How Sinch is Leading the RCS Revolution in Customer Engagement

[00:00:03] Is messaging technology ready to transform how businesses communicate with customers in this digital age that we all find ourselves?

[00:00:13] Well, today on the podcast, we're joined by Julia Fraser, Executive Vice President of the Americas at Sinch.

[00:00:22] And Sinch is a global leader in the communications platform as a service industry or CPaaS.

[00:00:29] And I wanted to introduce everyone listening today to RCS.

[00:00:33] I want to demystify it once and for all and get beyond those acronyms.

[00:00:38] I know I've already given you two already, but RCS stands for Rich Communication Services.

[00:00:43] And it is on the brink of becoming the default messaging standard by 2025.

[00:00:49] And if not, it's going to be gathering a lot of ground next year.

[00:00:52] And it's promising a slew of advanced features like branded communications, verified senders and enhanced security that are set to redefine customer engagement.

[00:01:05] So with iOS 18 expecting to significantly broaden RCS's reach, it feels like we're at a pivotal moment for businesses to leverage that technology.

[00:01:17] And Julia brings over two decades of experience in technology and telecom with a focus on ensuring customer success remains at the core of Sincher's operations.

[00:01:28] Now, I suspect there will be a few people listening today that have never heard of RCS or Rich Communication Services.

[00:01:35] And today I want to demystify that, put it in a language everyone can understand and talk about the business value that it could be bringing to your enterprise.

[00:01:43] But enough scene setting for me. Let's get Julia onto the podcast now.

[00:01:48] So a massive warm welcome to the show, Julia.

[00:01:51] But everyone listening, can you tell everyone a little about who you are and what you do?

[00:01:56] So I'm Julia Fraser.

[00:01:57] I'm a brick who lives in Denver, Colorado in the US.

[00:02:01] Wife and mum to two teenage kids.

[00:02:03] I've also worked in technology, various tech companies since the late 90s.

[00:02:07] I had the pleasure of being active at the start of the smartphone era, working for a very cool joint venture called Symbian, creating the smartphone category.

[00:02:16] And then more recently, I joined Cinch around a year ago, responsible for the Americas region, about 90,000 customers.

[00:02:23] And I get to spend my day solving problems with those customers and my team.

[00:02:28] Awesome. And as a Brit, you picked a beautiful part of the world to settle in there in Denver, Colorado.

[00:02:34] Do you miss anything about the UK?

[00:02:37] Tea bags.

[00:02:40] Living at a mile high altitude, the water doesn't boil the same.

[00:02:44] So yeah, probably a good cup of tea.

[00:02:45] That's very cliche Brit, but it's so true.

[00:02:48] Yeah, I know what you mean about that altitude thing as well.

[00:02:51] Because I went there a few years ago and more recently.

[00:02:54] And I thought, hey, what's all that about?

[00:02:56] It doesn't make a big difference, but you do feel it.

[00:02:58] You really do.

[00:02:58] But your work here, I mean, with the iOS 18 launch, expanding the reach of RCS,

[00:03:05] I'm curious, how are you seeing businesses leveraging this technology to enhance their customer communications?

[00:03:12] Because we may have downloaded iOS 18 and heard about RCS, but I'd love to hear more about how this is impacting businesses.

[00:03:19] IOS 18 in the US is really significant because of the unlock potential for now iPhones to be able to participate in RCS.

[00:03:29] But RCS is a technology that's been used globally for quite a long time.

[00:03:33] Since it's got great heritage in that technology, we've been providing marketing or operational use case campaigns for customers for years globally on RCS.

[00:03:43] But what we think it means for the North America market significantly is you move from these sort of anonymous text messaging environment to fully branded and verified.

[00:03:54] It's certainly at the very initial parts of RCS or RBM, which is the business version of RCS.

[00:04:00] And so you will actually as a consumer, you'll start to see branded messages coming from an organization or brand that you're interacting with.

[00:04:07] Let's say a shoe manufacturer or something, they send you a message, you'll be able to see a branded and then verify with a check message in the look and feel of the message being sent to you.

[00:04:18] We think that's really significant because that goes to trust and that goes to identification.

[00:04:23] And honestly, brands have spent millions of billions generating their brand look and feel.

[00:04:27] And right now, when they send a text message, they just get sent to you as an anonymous number.

[00:04:32] And so we think it's going to really enhance communications.

[00:04:36] It's more complex use cases.

[00:04:39] There'll be conversational messaging within the messaging app.

[00:04:42] The messaging app is one of the only apps pre-installed already on every single phone.

[00:04:46] So we've been seeing some really interesting use cases with customers outside of North America.

[00:04:53] And now we're super excited with the launch of Apple iOS 18 that that technology comes to consumers in North America.

[00:05:01] And one of the things I wanted to highlight is that Cinch, of course, you've been at the forefront of RCS implementation for some considerable time.

[00:05:10] And I'm curious, from everything that you've seen here, are there any real-world examples of successful campaigns that might highlight its kind of impact on customer engagement?

[00:05:20] Is there anything around that you could share?

[00:05:22] On our website, cinch.com, there's a customer stories page.

[00:05:25] There's tons of videos there.

[00:05:27] There's about a handful focusing on RCS.

[00:05:29] And there's one that I really love there, which I like to talk about a lot.

[00:05:33] It's about a French food manufacturer.

[00:05:36] They're actually a frozen food manufacturer, which you think, wow, there's a French market.

[00:05:42] Well, that product, but it really does.

[00:05:44] And they're called Picard.

[00:05:46] So they're a frozen food retailer.

[00:05:47] And they implemented an RCS campaign last Christmas.

[00:05:51] And so Christmas time is a big growth area for them at a time when they see lots of orders rising.

[00:05:56] And so they created a whole conversational engagement using RCS.

[00:06:00] The most compelling thing from that customer story is that they saw a 42% engagement rise when they deployed their RCS campaign versus their prior methodology.

[00:06:12] 42% is significant.

[00:06:14] We've got lots of other examples about some of that starting here in the North American market as well.

[00:06:19] We'll continue to share those customer stories.

[00:06:22] But I think when you talk about that kind of statistic, when you think about brands and organizations trying to get deeper and improved engagement with customers, because we know that it's fundamentally linked to growth.

[00:06:33] We think RCS is a huge driver of that.

[00:06:37] Yeah, it's a huge stat, 42%.

[00:06:39] And I'm curious, when people hear figures like that, they're going to be jumping on board quite quickly, I would imagine.

[00:06:45] So how do you envision the future of messaging with RCS?

[00:06:48] How do you see that becoming maybe a default experience in 2025?

[00:06:53] And what would you say are the biggest opportunities and maybe challenges that businesses should begin preparing for as they start those 2025 strategies and what they're going to be trying to achieve next year?

[00:07:05] I think firstly, we don't know how quickly demand will take off.

[00:07:11] However, what we do know is what we see in our customer base today.

[00:07:15] And we've been globally throughout different regions in Cinch running joint events with Google on RCS over the last quarter or so.

[00:07:24] And we've seen overwhelming demand from all sorts of different customers in different sectors, right?

[00:07:29] Whether that's financial services, whether that's direct-to-consumer brand, whether that's telecoms and carrier customers.

[00:07:38] So we see it pretty broadly across different segments that there's significant interest.

[00:07:43] Our expectation is that consumers will start to expect a richer experience.

[00:07:50] And you know what it's like, right?

[00:07:52] You start to see an improved experience from one brand that you're interacting with, you expect it from another, whether that's a direct consumer brand or healthcare organization or tons of different verticals that are engaged here.

[00:08:03] So we think, yes, it will become the default experience in time.

[00:08:08] Don't quite know what that in time means right now.

[00:08:10] We think, though, that the opportunities for those organizations and customers are huge, right?

[00:08:17] Just that 42% stat I mentioned earlier, we've got similar stats in different industries we could share.

[00:08:22] But the challenge, I think, for those customers is actually in the preparation.

[00:08:27] And it's actually having the content available and ready, whether that's the right images, the right look and feel, the right story, the engagement models.

[00:08:36] And then for the more complex use cases, how do customers include that technology and that RCS message in their overall customer engagement plan, probably through an omni-channel kind of strategy?

[00:08:50] How do you link that into your call center and your contact center environment?

[00:08:54] Cinch does all of those things for enterprise customers today globally.

[00:08:57] But it's that planning that we think customers really need to think about now because it's sort of gone from the days of I want to send a static number of character message to how do I link all the customer journeys and touchpoints together in a way that makes sense to my customer and delivers on my outcome.

[00:09:15] And so we've seen a rise in customers really spending more time in the planning element or phase of their execution plan to give them that great engagement rise on the back end.

[00:09:27] So many great points there.

[00:09:29] And I love what you're saying about experiences.

[00:09:31] And there's a great quote that the last best experience that any of us have anywhere becomes the standard expectation for what we expect to see everywhere.

[00:09:40] And I think we've all got examples of that in our personal life.

[00:09:43] And as an ex-IT guy, I've also got to mention that security and trust are key features in RCS.

[00:09:50] So that takes one less thing to worry about.

[00:09:54] But how are you ensuring that businesses can also maintain that level of trust with customers while also maximizing the interactive capabilities of the platform?

[00:10:04] I would imagine it's quite a tricky or fine balance.

[00:10:07] Is that right?

[00:10:08] Yeah, that's very true.

[00:10:10] We have rigorous approval processes for campaign vetting and all the standards that you would expect from an organization of our size and scale.

[00:10:20] We have deep and close relationship with carriers because they're part of the mix as well, right?

[00:10:25] They're the networks that are actually delivering and carrying the traffic.

[00:10:29] So security is at the front.

[00:10:31] And then that rigorous vetting and approval processes the front end as well.

[00:10:35] We do think, and this is coming through really clearly in conversations we're having with customers about RCS, the value of that verification process between the carrier Google and then an aggregator like Cinch.

[00:10:49] And getting that verification tick message on the RCS message is going to have this inherent consumer value.

[00:10:57] And our expectation is that that checkmark becomes de facto.

[00:11:02] And so, you know, there's instances of phishing when you look at a text message and you think, oh, is that really my bank?

[00:11:09] That anonymous, you know, short code, is that really Bank of America?

[00:11:13] Well, now as consumers be able to see that that brand can only be registered in one place.

[00:11:19] It can only be registered through this rigorous process.

[00:11:23] And so we expect to be able to drive improved security and trust environment through deployment of RCS technologies.

[00:11:30] And of course, as we record this podcast, we're approaching the holiday season.

[00:11:34] And I've got to ask, I mean, what trends or predictions do you think you're seeing for Black Friday, Cyber Monday?

[00:11:41] All those emails are going to be bombarding our inbox over the next few weeks.

[00:11:44] And how can businesses best position themselves for success during this busiest time of the year?

[00:11:50] Yes, it's really busy.

[00:11:52] We're already seeing growth now, right?

[00:11:55] So the little ways out from Thanksgiving and Black Friday, Cyber Monday.

[00:11:58] So we're a month or so ahead of that time.

[00:12:02] So we actually, we're seeing customers plan earlier and actually start their campaigns earlier.

[00:12:08] So in prior years, they might have maybe started the week before Black Friday, Cyber Monday.

[00:12:13] We're seeing that earlier and we see that in our volumes.

[00:12:17] And we look at those every day and look at certain customers' growth profiles.

[00:12:21] We're also seeing, and this has been an interesting phenomena, we're seeing the rise of MMS.

[00:12:28] So just a richer message based on standard messaging, right?

[00:12:32] So a message with an image in it.

[00:12:33] We're seeing growth there.

[00:12:35] And we're sort of looking at that as a stepping stone or a part way towards an RCS message because you're introducing imagery, which gives you a richer experience to your consumers.

[00:12:47] That's been interesting.

[00:12:48] And then we're absolutely seeing the integration of email and messaging and other technology.

[00:12:54] And we have some cool API technology that enables you to choose whether you want to send a message on WhatsApp, traditional SMS, MMS, email, et cetera.

[00:13:05] And so we're seeing more integrated planning.

[00:13:07] So brands are really looking at, do I want to send an email for this touchpoint versus an SMS versus an MMS?

[00:13:14] And that's been quite interesting to see different companies take decisions about how they sort of sequence the communication strategy around Black Friday, Cyber Monday.

[00:13:24] I do think I'm a consumer too.

[00:13:26] And so I get a lot of messages from some brands.

[00:13:30] And some of those I act on, some of those I don't.

[00:13:32] The more compelling ones that have more content in them, I'm probably more likely to click and have a look.

[00:13:38] So we're seeing that richness come through.

[00:13:41] So it's an RCS trend anyway, but that's coming through on MMS for sure.

[00:13:46] And before you came on the podcast today, I was doing a little research on you.

[00:13:50] And one of the things that quickly stood out is you've enjoyed a fantastic 20-year career in tech and telecom.

[00:13:56] And on behalf of every business leader listening around the world, what have been, would you say, your key drivers behind your leadership approach,

[00:14:05] particularly in fostering customer success and driving revenue growth at Cinch?

[00:14:09] I've got to think there's got to be a few lessons learned along the way.

[00:14:13] But is there anything you can share around that journey you've been on?

[00:14:16] Yeah, I think the two things I think about a lot are listening to the customers and listening to the team members,

[00:14:24] and particularly the team members who are closest to the customers.

[00:14:28] And so I host listening circles with team members frequently.

[00:14:32] I spend as much time as I can listening to customers.

[00:14:36] You know, not always are those conversations always positive.

[00:14:40] So sometimes you get some more developmental conversations, which are really, really important.

[00:14:45] So I've always made sure that I listen as much as I possibly can.

[00:14:50] I rarely have the answers.

[00:14:52] I try and hire the best people who have all the answers.

[00:14:57] And I absolutely try to come at life, actually, and my career in a learn-it-all way rather than a know-it-all.

[00:15:04] So I'm constantly interested in learning more from the team, learning more from customers, learning more from the industry, analysts, you know, whatever environment you can learn in.

[00:15:15] And I think that that's helped me over time.

[00:15:18] But yeah, definitely listening.

[00:15:20] That's my power.

[00:15:22] My power action is making sure that I listen as much as I can.

[00:15:27] I love that.

[00:15:28] And I suspect you've seen a lot of positive changes throughout your career.

[00:15:32] But the tech industry sadly still continues to face challenges around things like gender diversity.

[00:15:38] And from what you're seeing here, are there any steps that you'd recommend that companies could take to maybe create a more inclusive environment for women?

[00:15:46] And how does your work at Cinch work towards achieving this?

[00:15:51] Because is this something you're passionate about too?

[00:15:54] Yeah, I am passionate about it.

[00:15:56] I think when I reflect earlier in my career, back in the late 90s, I guess when I started in technology, I didn't have as many female role models as I do today.

[00:16:07] And, you know, the technology industry has definitely shifted.

[00:16:10] I take it really seriously to provide that role modeling to others.

[00:16:15] And whether that's through employee resource groups or other formats, I think that's part of the drive and giving people something to, you know, those role models to learn from.

[00:16:31] I think Cinch is doing a pretty good job.

[00:16:33] We have a female CEO, two of the three P&L owners in the regions are women.

[00:16:38] And we have, you know, a fairly balanced global leadership team.

[00:16:42] And I think companies need to just search for the good talent across gender and all the different diversity elements that they should be focusing on.

[00:16:53] I think having an environment which is inclusive by nature.

[00:16:58] And we're a tremendously global company with over 4,000 people spread across many regions of the world.

[00:17:04] So we have a tremendous amount of diversity just by the nature of being a truly global business.

[00:17:09] But I think those role model ideas of how do I go from where I am today to someone else's role and understanding how other people have taken their career journey.

[00:17:20] I say all the time, though, to anyone who comes to me talking about advice on career growth in technology, I say frequently, your career isn't linear.

[00:17:31] It might go, you know, it might bob around to different things.

[00:17:35] I always advise people to get the most breadth of experience they can and learn as much as they can from people around them.

[00:17:41] And when you're in a company that's oriented to creating learning environments for you, I think that's where people blossom and grow.

[00:17:50] 100% with you.

[00:17:51] And I suspect a lot of people listening have heard about DEI initiatives or diversity, equity and inclusion.

[00:17:57] But I think there's one other area that doesn't get the recognition it deserves is things like mentorship and employee resource groups or ERGs.

[00:18:05] They play a vital role in supporting women in tech, too.

[00:18:09] And is there anything you can share around Cinchers initiatives in those areas, too?

[00:18:13] And maybe how they've helped shape a more supportive culture for women in the company?

[00:18:18] Because, again, incredibly important topic, right?

[00:18:20] Yeah, the ERGs, the employee resource groups, they sound really formal, don't they, when you say, oh, it's an ERG.

[00:18:27] But actually, it's a group of people who come together around a commonality or a common topic that interests them.

[00:18:35] And that might be a group of men and women who want to support women's career growth.

[00:18:41] And so, our women's ERG at Cinch is a robust and growing ERG.

[00:18:47] And it's not just for women.

[00:18:48] It's for anyone in the company.

[00:18:50] It's a forum to talk about issues that matter to that group and have a learning environment and a safe environment for issues to be raised.

[00:18:58] I've had – I'm the exec sponsor of the women's ERG here at Cinch.

[00:19:02] And I held that role in a prior company I worked in, which had a really robust ERG.

[00:19:07] And the thing that I've learned, actually, from engaging with those groups is I'm learning with that group all the time.

[00:19:14] And I'm learning what matters to those members as I sit and listen and provide insight there.

[00:19:21] One of the things that I think is truly interesting about ERGs is you can often create a correlation between an employee resource group member and their personal engagement within the business that they're working in.

[00:19:34] And so, it has like a double impact of providing this safe support and structured environment for conversations to be held, but also to drive more engagement with your team members.

[00:19:45] So, I think of ERGs as like this superpower that we probably need to spend more time talking about.

[00:19:52] You're right, they don't get a lot of airtime, but they are truly important groups to foster within businesses.

[00:20:01] And, you know, I've been in other companies where there's 20 or 30 different ERGs of different types and focusing on different areas.

[00:20:07] You create a more united and engaged workforce and you create a forum of conversation, which I think is really what we're trying to achieve at Cinch.

[00:20:17] So, I'm proud of the role I play there.

[00:20:19] And I help and advise, but I also learn myself in that group.

[00:20:24] Absolutely love that.

[00:20:24] I think it's a powerful moment to end on.

[00:20:26] And I would encourage anybody listening curious about ERGs or want to share your experiences with ERGs, I would encourage you to let me know.

[00:20:35] I'd love to get you on here too.

[00:20:36] But for yourself here, you've done a great job here of sharing all your insights.

[00:20:40] And I want to try and get one more final gift out of you before I let you go.

[00:20:45] I have a Spotify playlist where I ask my guests to contribute one track.

[00:20:50] All I'm going to ask is what song would you like to leave to that playlist and why?

[00:20:54] And guilty pleasures are allowed.

[00:20:55] Anything you'd like, what are you going to leave us with?

[00:20:58] So, my guilty pleasure track, it's definitely Don't Spide Journey.

[00:21:03] It's actually our anthem at Cinch for this year.

[00:21:07] So, I've been playing it a lot.

[00:21:09] And I do find it uplifting and fun.

[00:21:11] And I don't mind that it's a bit cheesy.

[00:21:13] It's not cheesy at all.

[00:21:15] It's a real anthem, is it?

[00:21:17] I will get that added straight to Spotify playlist.

[00:21:20] So, for anyone listening just wanting to find out more information about you, the work that

[00:21:24] you're doing, or maybe even ask your team a question.

[00:21:28] Anywhere you'd like to point everyone listening?

[00:21:30] Absolutely.

[00:21:31] To cinch.com or our LinkedIn pages.

[00:21:34] Cinch.com, we're actually at the moment, we're filming a really quite lighthearted and

[00:21:40] fun behind the scenes video series about RCS at the moment.

[00:21:44] So, you can find that on our LinkedIn pages or on our cinch.com platform.

[00:21:49] Awesome.

[00:21:49] Well, I'll add links to everything to make sure people can find you nice and easily.

[00:21:53] And we covered so much there.

[00:21:55] And a real, what a fantastic introduction to RCS and the real business value that it can

[00:22:00] bring to enterprises.

[00:22:02] That 42% stat.

[00:22:04] As you mentioned, I could hear light bulb moments going off everywhere.

[00:22:07] But then equally, I think, even more important message around insights into women's unique

[00:22:12] challenges in the workplace, employee resource groups, the role that they can play, and the

[00:22:18] critical role of mentorship too.

[00:22:20] So many big takeaways.

[00:22:21] But just thank you for bringing it all to life and starting that conversation today, Julia.

[00:22:27] Thank you.

[00:22:28] Thanks, Leo.

[00:22:29] As we wrap up today's discussion with Julia Fraser there, I think I, for one, have gained

[00:22:34] insightful perspectives on the transformative potential of RCS technology.

[00:22:40] And most importantly, that 42% increase there certainly shines a light on some of the strategic

[00:22:49] measures that businesses can take to optimize this tool ahead of its widespread adoption.

[00:22:54] It feels like there's a huge opportunity here to be ahead of the curve.

[00:22:58] But outside of the technology, as everybody listening knows every day, I try and focus on some

[00:23:04] of the human elements in the tech industry.

[00:23:06] And I think the importance of creating an inclusive environment in tech and leveraging platforms

[00:23:12] like RCS for better customer interactions.

[00:23:15] I'm just so glad we were able to highlight both of those today.

[00:23:20] And showcasing how technological advancements and diversity initiatives go hand in hand with

[00:23:26] driving business growth.

[00:23:28] That was just one of the many, many key messages I took from listening to Julia today.

[00:23:33] But over to you.

[00:23:35] What steps is your business taking to integrate new communication technologies?

[00:23:40] And how are you going to support inclusivity and diversity in your workplace?

[00:23:45] Please join the conversation.

[00:23:47] Share your thoughts with me by emailing me techblogwriteratoutlook.com, Twitter, LinkedIn,

[00:23:52] Instagram, just at Neil C.

[00:23:54] Hughes.

[00:23:54] Let's keep this one going.

[00:23:56] As for me, I'm going to rock out now in a cheesy way and a cheesy unashamed way to

[00:24:01] Don't Stop Believing by journeying.

[00:24:04] And on that note, I'll bid you a fond farewell and spare you the pain of listening to me sing.

[00:24:09] But hopefully you will join me again tomorrow when I've stopped singing and get another guest

[00:24:14] onto the podcast.

[00:24:15] So bye for now.

[00:24:16] But I will speak with you all bright and early tomorrow.