In November 2023, Apple announced its plans to support Rich Communication Services (RCS) in iOS, a move that promises to transform the messaging landscape. RCS, often seen as the successor to SMS, brings features like high-quality media sharing, read receipts, and typing indicators, enhancing the messaging experience between Android and iPhone users. However, Apple’s decision to embrace RCS is not just about consumer convenience; it has significant implications for businesses, especially those not yet equipped to leverage RCS.
Why businesses should pay attention to Apple’s RCS rollout
Apple’s support for RCS is a game-changer for cross-platform messaging. Currently, businesses face limitations when sending messages to customers across different platforms—particularly between iPhone and Android devices. With Apple’s adoption of RCS, the gap between these platforms is set to close, enabling richer and more interactive communication.
For businesses, this means a more seamless customer experience. High-quality images, videos, interactive buttons, and instant feedback features will become standard.
- Statistics show that 74% of customers are more likely to engage with a brand through RCS, highlighting its effectiveness in fostering stronger customer relationships.
- RCS messages are also 35 times more likely to be read than emails, making it a more efficient and direct way to reach customers.
Companies that fail to adopt RCS risk missing out on these engagement benefits, as customers increasingly expect richer, more engaging communication from brands.
The market for RCS is also growing rapidly, with 1.1+ billion active RCS users in 2024, up from 930 million in 2023. This expanding user base presents a vast opportunity for businesses to connect with customers in a more meaningful way, as RCS messaging can boast a 140% higher conversion rate compared to traditional promotions.
The risk of falling behind without RCS
While the consumer benefits of RCS—like typing indicators, read receipts, and better-quality multimedia—are clear, the business impact is even more profound. RCS Business Messaging (RBM) offers opportunities for businesses to engage customers with branded, interactive messages. Features such as verified business profiles, suggested reply buttons, and multimedia carousels can enhance marketing efforts, drive customer engagement, and ultimately boost sales.
However, businesses that lack RCS capabilities may find themselves at a disadvantage. Without RCS, messages sent to customers will lack these advanced features, leading to a subpar user experience. As more companies begin to utilize RCS, businesses still relying on traditional SMS could see decreased engagement and customer satisfaction relative to businesses using RCS. With 70% of the world’s population owning a smartphone and a 6.3 billion unique mobile subscriber volume estimated by 2030, the demand for richer and more interactive messaging is only set to grow.
Are you connected with customers at every stage?
Businesses need a solution that can connect with customers throughout their journey, which includes:
- Onboarding: Use rich media and interactive messages to guide new customers through the onboarding process smoothly.
- Upsell and cross-sell: Leverage personalized messaging to suggest relevant products or services, increasing average order value and customer lifetime value.
- Engagement: Keep your audience engaged with compelling content, from promotional offers to personalized updates.
- Promotion: Deliver impactful promotional messages that capture attention and drive action with images, videos, and interactive elements.
- Loyalty: Reinforce customer loyalty by sending timely, personalized communications that make customers feel valued.
- Feedback: Use interactive features like quick reply buttons and carousels to gather customer feedback easily, helping you understand and respond to their needs better.
Preparing for a new wave of cross-platform messaging
To avoid falling behind, businesses need to prepare now. Here are some steps to consider:
- Evaluate your current messaging capabilities: Assess your current SMS strategy and determine what changes need to be made to support RCS. Look into your existing infrastructure and explore integrations that can facilitate RCS messaging.
- Consider the market potential: As RCS continues to gain traction, the potential for increased engagement and higher conversion rates grows. The projected 500% increase in revenue from RCS business messaging in the next two years signals a tremendous opportunity for growth.
- Partner with a proven messaging provider: Telesign already supports RCS and can help you transition smoothly. Our robust platform ensures you’re not left behind as this technology becomes the norm, allowing you to deliver rich, engaging messages that enhance customer experiences.
- Develop a multichannel strategy: Even with RCS, not all customers will have access to the same features. Ensure your messaging strategy is flexible enough to deliver optimal experiences across various channels, whether it’s RCS, SMS, or other over-the-top (OTT) messaging apps.
- Train your team: Make sure your marketing and customer service teams understand the new capabilities and how to leverage them effectively. Training on RCS-specific strategies will be key to making the most of this new technology.
A competitive edge for your business
To stay ahead in this evolving landscape, businesses need to adopt solutions that enable them to take full advantage of RCS. This is where Telesign’s RCS solution comes in. With Telesign, businesses can utilize personalized messaging for alerts, reminders, notifications, one-time passcodes (OTPs), and other automated messages, seamlessly delivered from your website or app.
Telesign’s RCS platform goes beyond basic messaging, allowing businesses to enrich their brand identity, level up messaging, increase click through rates, take your customer experience to the next level and foster impactful two-way customer interactions. With these capabilities, businesses can transform routine notifications into engaging customer experiences, tapping into a market that is already generating 700 million RCS messages daily.
Bring all the features and rich media your customers expect in mobile messaging to build an engaging experience. Apple’s support for RCS in iOS 18 marks a pivotal moment for business messaging. As consumer expectations evolve, businesses must keep pace with technological advancements to remain competitive. By partnering with Telesign and preparing for RCS now, companies can ensure they are ready to deliver the rich, engaging experiences their customers expect.
Seamlessly integrate RCS into your messaging platform today. To learn more about RCS and Telesign’s Messaging API, view our documentation and talk to our experts today.
