Furthermore, over 77% of mobile phone users now report owning a smartphone—a device compatible with RCS. Businesses have every reason to leverage the opportunities offered by this brand-new communication protocol.

But what are these opportunities, really? What can theuse of RCS SMS bring to a business? Find out right now in this article.

What exactly is RCS?

RCS, or Rich Communication Services, is a new communication protocol developed by the tech giant Google. It allows businesses to benefit from much more direct and enriched communication by combining the advantages of SMS with those of instant messaging. Some even consider the RCS newsletter or similar formats to be a hybrid of WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and WeChat.

For some time now, much like Apple, Google has aimed to have its own messaging service. That is how RCS was born. Many consider RCS to be the Android version of Apple’s iMessage, but it goes beyond that. As mentioned earlier, this form of messaging is extremely advantageous for businesses.

What are the various features of RCS SMS?

Of course, RCS allows you to exchange messages without an internet connection, but that’s not all. Once connected to the internet, RCS users can:

• Exchange much longer messages
• Send multimedia content such as high-quality photos or videos, audio messages, and more.
• Create group chats to communicate with multiple people at once
• Make video and voice calls
• Transfer files
• See if a message has been delivered and read
• See if the recipient is currently typing a reply

Why choose RCS messaging over standard SMS?

Given all these additional features, it makes perfect sense that RCS messaging rates are slightly higher than those for standard SMS. So, the question is: why prefer RCS over standard SMS for your marketing strategy?

For decades, SMS marketing has been extremely effective for converting leads and building customer loyalty. However, we currently live in a modern, constantly evolving world where competition is fierce. To ensure your business remains sustainable and to maintain your market share despite the competition, you need to keep up with the latest trends.

For example, if one of your prospects receives a standard promotional message limited to 160 characters, and then a competitor sends them an RCS message featuring videos, links, and images, there is a high probability that the prospect will choose your competitor. And that is perfectly logical.

Therefore, to stay current and keep your market share intact, adopting an SMS campaign based on RCS remains your best option. And that’s not even mentioning the other advantages this communication protocol offers.

RCS as a tool for boosting customer engagement

What is interesting about using RCS within a company is that you have a tool for boosting customer engagement.

By adopting RCS as a communication channel, you can say goodbye to mundane exchanges with your contacts. RCS helps you send much richer content, making interactions with your customers and prospects significantly more lively and dynamic. Consequently, they will enjoy a much better customer experience when conversing with you. This will allow you to get closer to them while also benefiting from a much better reputation.

Also, note that RCS allows you to gauge the effectiveness of your SMS campaigns. Indeed, thanks to this mode of communication, you can gather important information such as open rates, delivery rates, and actions taken. Then, using this data, you will be able to make the necessary decisions to achieve better results.

RCS as a tool for showcasing your brand

In addition to helping you get closer to your customers, RCS also allows you to showcase your company's brand.

Indeed, RCS allows you to:

• Show that you are a trusted brand: the messaging platform gives you the ability to customize your messages with your brand and logo.
• Reassure your contacts with the verification feature: thanks to the verification option, you demonstrate to your contacts that your message truly comes from you.
• Provide suggested actions and reply buttons: to further reduce response latency, personalized suggested replies are available. This will make it much easier for them to chat with you.

Convinced of the benefits of RCS messaging? Contact us today to start taking advantage of everything this brand-new communication protocol has to offer.