Rich Communication Service (RCS) – A Revolution in SMS Communication

Brands are always in an endeavor for maximum customer outreach to provide an upscaled customer engagement. Like any other technology, general outreach to customers has evolved from monotonous text to more engaging and interactive. Today, we are witnessing an explosion of media channels like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and WeChat. However, all the media channels were preceded by SMS communication revolution. SMS still remains the most widely used form of communication with almost 781 billion messages sent per month in the US alone.

The obvious drawback of SMS is its lack of visual appeal since it just supports text. Over the years, people have noticed other inherent shortcomings of SMS like lack of encryption, lack of reading receipts and no group messaging. The aforesaid drawbacks are handled effectively by apps like WhatsApp (Also read how to drive personalized user engagement with WhatsApp Marketing), but the popularity of SMS remains unchanged. In order to make SMS at par with other feature-rich messaging apps, the industry experts developed the Rich Communication Service (RCS) protocol which is a modern version of texting. The RCS is on a bold endeavor to combine the features of other messaging apps into one platform.

In this blog, we will highlight the salient features of RCS and how Capillary can boost customer engagement for your brand with RCS. You would appreciate and be informed if RCS is the right approach for your brand. We will also discuss if RCS would pose a challenge to your campaigns and the steps to be followed to leverage Capillary’s take on this next-gen messaging platform.

Why RCS Will Be The Next Big Thing In SMS Campaign Management 

RCS has literally mesmerized modern businesses which associate several use cases with the interactivity that the messaging technology brings to the table. Businesses mainly look forward to improving customer engagement and with RCS Business Messaging (RBM), brands can drive better engagement by sharing high-resolution photos or videos.

Over 90% of SMS users remain active after 90 days highlighting the stickiness to RCS. With over 157 million active users globally, RCS has strived to carve a niche. Besides, RCS has been implemented by over 22 handset manufacturers and is supported by 55 carrier networks. In the current year, 491 networks with an estimated 2.5 billion people are set to adopt RCS and 58% of these individuals would be based in the Asia Pacific.

The Banking and Financial sectors are well-positioned to leverage the superior features of RCS with customer engagement being the main focus. Features like a horizontally scrollable carousel for branch locator or customized information of customers are a few highlights that banks and financial services look forward to using. To add to the hype, telecom operators and OEMs are already geared towards RCS messaging. As stated earlier, carrier networks like AT&T Mobility and OEM giants like Asus support RCS messaging.

An advanced feature like RCS would obviously be packed with loads of benefits. Detailing each benefit below: 

• Visual message delivery to default SMS inbox: The consumers are habituated to receiving promotional messages via SMS and are less likely to block the brand. RCS transforms traditional texting with advanced features like images or product carousels delivered directly to a user’s regular SMS inbox. 
• Offers a variety of share-worthy content: The broader RCS protocol allows the exchange of high-resolution images, video, audio, group chats, read receipts, and real-time viewing. The wide assortment of assets that can be exchanged via RCS makes it comparable to other rich messaging apps.
• Fosters brand trustworthiness: RCS messages are generally delivered via a business ID and not a phone number. In addition, RCS senders are verified by a legitimate verification authority which emphasizes that the sender is genuine.
• No template whitelisting required: As per TRAI DLT regulations in India for SMS marketing, companies need to whitelist their SMS templates. Such measures are to control promotional spam and SMS fraud. RCS is not liable to template whitelisting and fosters a smoother process for brands to run campaigns.

How Capillary Can Boost Your Brand’s Customer Engagement With RCS 

Capillary has been a leading player in customer outreach and is a renowned enterprise enabling brands to scale their customer engagement. With Capillary venturing into RCS, there are several benefits detailed as follows:

• Enabling visual superpower: Brands entrusting Capillary can leverage high-quality visuals sent out to customers. In addition, RCS messaging enables brands to attach and issue offers to consumers to achieve better engagement.
• Customer segmentation: Capillary allows brands to segment customers and runs targeted campaigns for each segment. This feature is extensible to RCS and customers across segments can be targeted with unique RCS campaigns. Such endeavors yield effective ROI.
• Leverage detailed analytics: Capillary provides detailed analytics of campaign performance, user-level insights, purchase pattern, and RoI from both the online and offline channels. Such insights help brands to make data-backed decisions and accordingly engage with them.
• Fallback mechanism: Capillary allows brands to configure Fallback SMS within RCS campaigns so that users who are not reachable on RCS would be automatically reached through SMS. This feature allows brands to run a single RCS campaign and target all sets of users. 

Another reason why RCS is touted to be the next big thing in SMS campaigns is because of its ease of adoption. RCS does not require special hardware or a social media account and users can readily get started with supported SMS applications. What would distinguish RCS is that such messages are generally sent through a business ID rather than a phone number, giving consumers quick access to contact information.

With Capillary’s foray into RCS messaging brands across the globe can get started with their RCS account creation process. Capillary mandates that for any brand to run RCS campaigns, it is necessary to have an RCS account created first. The expert team ensures that the brand onboarding process is seamless so that they can leverage the full potential of this communication channel. Book a demo today if you would like to set up an RCS account and start reaping the benefits of this mesmerizing channel!

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Sunil Dhananjaya shares expert insights on customer engagement, retail strategies, and more. Explore his articles on Capillary Technologies' blog for valuable industry knowledge.