Tag: Global

At Smart Communications, our people are what make us truly Smart. Through our Smart Spotlight series, we highlight team members whose talent, dedication, and collaboration drive innovation and shape our culture. 

This month, we’re excited to feature Michelle Kothe, Engineering Manager for SmartIQ. Michelle shares her journey from running her own business to leading a talented technical team, what’s kept her at Smart for nearly a decade, and how teamwork and curiosity fuel her success. 

1. What is your role at Smart and how long have you been with the company? 

I am the Engineering Manager for SmartIQ, I manage a group of technical teams in the engineering department who all work on the SmartIQ product. These teams between them do everything from adding new features to the SmartIQ product, evaluating and implementing customer enhancement up to working with Support to fix customer bugs, keeping our testing platforms working and managing and ensure regular product releases on schedule or hotfix patches if needed. I see my role as helping each team by getting any roadblocks out of their way and ensuring they have all the support and resources needed to do their jobs. Ultimately the quality of the software at each release is my responsibility. 

I have been with the company since 2016 when it was Intelledox, prior to being acquired by Smart Communications. I worked as a Software Engineer in that capacity. 

2. What did you do for work prior to joining Smart, and why did you make the switch? 

I ran an online accommodation booking business with my husband, sister, and brother-in-law for about eight years. After selling that business, I did consulting work on short-term projects before joining Smart.  

I made the switch because consulting was unpredictable with frustrating contract extensions and unknowns. I prefer the stability and flexibility of full-time work at Smart, where I love the product and company culture. 

3. What’s kept you at Smart? 

I love problem solving, the variety of challenges, the team environment, and the company’s great vibe and flexibility. I’m grateful that Smart supports work-from-home and treats employees with respect and understanding. Dealing with people who are reasonable and want you to enjoy your job is part of what creates that excellent culture we enjoy here at Smart. 

4. What skills are needed to be successful in your role/on your team? 

To be successful in this role, you really need a balance of technical ability and teamwork. Everyone in the engineering teams has a core set of IT and problem-solving skills, but what really makes them all functional is how they respect each other’s strengths and know when to rely on one another.  

Problem-solving in IT takes a particular mindset — you have to be analytical and curious, but also collaborative. It’s about understanding that no one person has all the answers, and that the best solutions often come from combining different perspectives. 

I focus on ensuring everyone has a clear understanding of their tasks and roles and that they know they can rely on me to get them what they need and when they need it or find the right person. I also have to keep a close eye on overall quality and how new features, fixes and improvements interact with the existing code to ensure that customers can rely on and trust our product. 

5. What’s your favorite aspect of your job? 

My favorite aspect is the thrill of solving complex problems, like tracking down the cause of an issue after weeks of investigation and implementing fixes that improve the product. 

6. What are you doing when you’re not working? 

I do a lot of triathlon training including swimming, running, and cycling. I also do volunteer work occasionally, travel with my husband, and enjoy spending time with my family. I have a daughter and a son, and my niece has lived with us for many years. My son is finishing his engineering degree, and my daughter and niece both work in government roles related to IT and policy support. 

If you’re interested in joining our dynamic team, we invite you to explore our current opportunities on our Careers page. 

By Dani Duffy, Content Marketing Manager at Smart Communications 

If you’re the parent of a young adult like I am, you’ve probably witnessed the same scenario: they’ll do just about anything to avoid calling customer service. 

They’ll search FAQs, open a chat, or send a message before picking up the phone. That behavior is a signal, not a phase. 

Customers increasingly expect interactions to be digital-first, on-demand, and frictionless. In our latest benchmark research, 67% of customers said they’re likely to use digital self-service options, with that number climbing to 76% for Gen Z and 77% for Millennials. 

But choosing digital channels doesn’t mean lowering expectations. Customers expect those experiences to make sense immediately without additional effort on their part. Sound familiar? 

That’s where smarter storytelling comes in. Regardless of channel, whether it’s a printed letter, an email, or a text, customers don’t simply receive communications. They interpret them and decide (within seconds!) whether to engage or ignore.  

Remember: winning organizations tell clearer, more relevant stories designed for how modern customers behave. 

What the Data Says 

If customers are avoiding traditional support channels, communications suddenly carry more responsibility. They’re not just informing people; increasingly, they’re replacing conversations altogether. The data from our benchmark research makes that shift difficult to ignore. 

Perhaps the most telling finding is that customers often seek assistance not because they prefer human interaction, but because the communication itself didn’t get them where they needed to go in the first place. 43% say they contacted customer service instead of completing a process digitally because communications were unclear. 

That becomes even more important when viewed alongside generational preferences. Younger audiences aren’t just adopting digital channels; they actively prefer them. 

Likelihood of using digital self-service for tasks like asking questions, filing complaints, or making changes: 

As customers increasingly favor quick, self-service interactions over phone calls, communications need to do more of the heavy lifting. Your communications are more than touchpoints; they’re stand-ins for conversations. The organizations that get those conversations right are designing them as intuitive, story-driven experiences that guide customers to action. 

What Does Smarter Storytelling Look Like, Practically? 

Smarter storytelling means making every interaction easier to understand and easier to act on. That starts with context, using customer data to make communications feel relevant rather than generic. It requires structure, guiding people through a clear sequence of what happened, what it means, and what to do next.  

It also means adapting experiences to the channel itself, recognizing that a text message, email, mobile experience, and printed communication each create different expectations. Increasingly, the most effective communications also become interactive, allowing customers to move directly from understanding a situation to resolving it. 

Customer Service Isn’t Disappearing 

Customer service still matters, and it always will. 

But for a growing segment of customers, support is becoming something they prefer to avoid rather than rely on. Communications increasingly need to do the work conversations once did. 

The question isn’t whether you’re communicating. It’s whether your communications are doing the job of a conversation. Delivering communications this way requires more than document generation. Organizations need to personalize content, orchestrate delivery across channels, and guide customers toward the next best action.  

Ready to explore the latest digital experience insights? 

For more coverage on customer communications, data intake, channel preferences, and more, access the full Benchmark Research here. 

Frequently Asked Questions 

Q: Why do customers contact customer service instead of using self-service? 

When communications lack clarity or structure, customers are more likely to disengage or seek support through alternative channels. In many cases, unclear messaging becomes the trigger for customer service contact, increasing operational load and frustration. This is why communication design directly impacts both customer satisfaction and service demand. 

Q: How can organizations operationalize smarter storytelling at scale? 

Organizations can operationalize smarter storytelling by combining customer data, workflow automation, and channel orchestration. This enables communications to be dynamically personalized, consistently structured, and automatically delivered through the most appropriate channel. Scalable storytelling also requires governance to ensure tone, clarity, and compliance remain consistent across journeys. 

Q: When should customers still be routed to human customer service? 

Human customer service remains essential when issues are complex, emotionally sensitive, or require judgment that automated systems cannot provide. While smarter communications can resolve many routine interactions, they should be designed to reduce — not eliminate — the need for human support. The most effective models combine self-service resolution with clear escalation paths to human assistance when needed. 

Q: How does Smart Communications help regulated industries increase communication clarity and storytelling relevance? 

SmartCOMM™ and SmartPATH™ help turn individual communications into connected customer journeys.