How Shane Welch Is Redefining Customer Experience with Empathy, Process, and Purpose
Before Shane Welch led customer experience at Voxie, he ran a photography business—one that started with a muddy camera discovered in the woods when he was 16.
“That moment sparked everything,” Shane says. “I turned it into a career, shooting gigs around the world and building a business from the ground up.” What he didn’t realize at the time was that his passion for building—systems, relationships, strategies—would become the defining thread in his second career.
After a decade behind the camera, Shane transitioned into tech, joining Zipwhip as an account executive. With no formal sales background, he quickly became one of the company’s top performers, known for his ability to scale relationships and create repeatable systems. That success earned him a spot on Zipwhip’s newly formed customer success team, where he helped build onboarding, support, and mid-market functions from scratch.
When Twilio acquired the company and announced the shutdown of Zipwhip’s software platform, Shane led the customer migration strategy—partnering with a small group of trusted platforms to guide tens of thousands of customers to their next solution.
One of those platforms was Voxie.
“Everything our customers said they wanted—automated journeys, franchise flexibility, local number routing—Voxie had already built,” Shane says. “It was the platform we wanted to be.”
So when Voxie began looking for a new customer success leader, Shane was a natural fit. On his very first day, he was asked to take on more than just customer success—he was also tapped to oversee onboarding and support, as well as help shape Voxie’s broader customer experience strategy.
“I’ve always loved building,” Shane says. “Whether it’s a customer journey, a process that improves retention, or a better handoff between teams—if it’s broken or missing, I want to fix it.”
But leadership, for Shane, is as much about learning as it is about building. “I learn from my team every day,” he says. “Titles don’t matter. Everyone’s perspective is valuable, and the best outcomes come from collaboration. We challenge each other, we listen to each other, and we all get better.”
One of the biggest shifts he’s driven at Voxie is formalizing the team’s structure—assigning accounts based on vertical expertise and segment complexity. “Melissa focuses on franchise, Dan on mid-market, Maggie on strategic accounts. That alignment means better outcomes, faster ramp, and more value for the customer.”
He’s also helped scale Voxie’s digital engagement strategy—moving beyond manual touchpoints to more intelligent, automated journeys. “We’re thinking about SMS as part of a larger ecosystem,” Shane explains. “It’s not just a tool for sending LTOs. It’s about mapping out a full customer journey based on behavior, preferences, and context.”
That could mean sending a reactivation offer to a customer who hasn’t visited in 30 days. Or highlighting a menu item a customer has never tried. Or welcoming new subscribers with content tailored to their past purchases. “SMS is the most powerful channel franchises have—but only when it’s personal, timely, and connected to the bigger strategy,” he says.
Looking ahead, Shane believes franchises must invest in community—both physical and digital. “People want to shop where they feel seen,” he says. “That means showing up to the local farmer’s market, yes—but also sending the right message at the right time. SMS can’t replace real connection, but it can reinforce it.”
For Shane, that’s what leadership in customer experience is all about: empathy, process, and purpose. “At the end of the day, people remember how you made them feel,” he says. “My job is to make sure our customers feel supported, understood, and set up to win.”