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The top two players in customer comms just dropped big reports on what’s wrong with customer engagement. Twilio calls it the State of Customer Engagement. Sinch goes with State of Customer Comms. Each one reads like a manifesto. Each claims to know what the customer actually wants. But zoom in, and they’re telling two different stories—about what’s broken and how to fix it.
What they both share is a quiet discomfort: Engagement tools aren’t delivering like they were supposed to. The AI bugle is playing loud and proud, but the marching band’s still missing.
Twilio: Everyone’s a Builder, but the Bridge Is Broken
Twilio opens with a paradox: 82% of businesses say they deeply understand their customers—but only 45% of customers agree with them. It’s a familiar refrain. AI was supposed to close the expectation gap. It hasn’t. The tools got better, but the trust hasn’t followed.
Its answer? Use AI intentionally by building real-time, contextual, and transparent solutions. Solutions that solve actual human problems, tools with purpose, and not just prototypes looking for a reason to exist.
Sinch: Integration Comes First, Engagement Follows
In Sinch’s telling, messaging is complex and fragmented. Disconnected systems, compliance sprawl, and shifting expectations are compounding the problem.
Its fix? Integrate your channels, systems, and intent. Only then does messaging become personal, timely, and trusted.
Sinch’s report breaks into four pillars: Keep customers engaged, informed, safe, and happy. Where Twilio zooms in on AI, Sinch pulls back to the entire system: alerts, reminders, verifications, customer service.
Sinch sees messaging more as a coordination problem than a personalization one.
The Trust Deficit
Despite the framing differences, both are circling the same core problem: Customers don’t believe brands understand them.
Twilio sees it through the AI lens: Personalization feels more invasive than intuitive. Sinch sees it through the infrastructure lens: Even the right message feels wrong if it arrives at the wrong time, in the wrong tone, or through the wrong channel.
This is the engagement gap. It’s not just that we miss the moment; it’s that when we hit it, customers don’t trust us.
Finally
From Twilio, we learn that relevance with control is the new currency. Don’t just know your customers. Let them know you know them. And give them the ability to opt out, modify, or walk away.
From Sinch, we learn that customer experience is a thread of moments. If your tech stack can’t carry the conversation across that thread, trust unravels.
Together, these reports say the same thing: Customer engagement isn’t a marketing problem; it’s a trust problem. And trust is a design-layer decision.
What to Do Next
Beyond reading the reports yourself, here is what I’d do next:
- Start with one customer, one thread. Follow a real customer’s journey across promo, support, and security. If it feels stitched together, it probably is.
- Replace “engagement” with “confidence.” Every message should ask: Does this build trust or spend it?
- Make fewer assumptions. Present smart options. Ask your customers what they want, how often, and on what terms. Then let them change their minds.