Dive Brief:
- A majority of business leaders say RCS, or rich communication services, will be game-changing for business messaging, according to a Sinch report released Monday. Sinch surveyed 2,800 consumers globally and more than 1,600 business leaders.
- Nearly 9 in 10 business leaders are at least somewhat familiar with RCS, the survey found. RCS is a richer form of text messaging that allows for better conversational abilities and richer visuals. It even lets customers take next actions within the same channel.
- “RCS is an app-like experience in the messaging channel. It is a total game changer,” Brenda Fackler, VP of client services at Sinch. “The conversational abilities of RCS really do start to create an experience that centers on the customer.”
Dive Insight:
RCS is becoming more popular among businesses and customers alike.
More than 4 in 5 consumers prefer RCS over traditional text messaging, according to a Twilio survey released earlier this month. Three-quarters of businesses plan to invest in RCS in 2025.
Apple instigated the recent surge in popularity, according to Fackler. While the technology has been used on Android devices for a while, in October, Apple announced its support of RCS.
"It's been around for a long time, but it was really Apple's announcement that they were going to support the format that changed things,” Fackler said. “They started making beta versions available that people could get in and play around with. With roughly 50% of the market, that just made a huge difference.”
One of the biggest advantages of RCS is security. First, businesses go through a verification process. The consumer then receives a message from a verified sender and logo. Messages are also encrypted in transit, making it more secure than SMS.
Nearly half of business leaders believe RCS will improve security, but they also expect it to increase customer engagement and trust.
Some of the features of RCS are simply practical. When a customer receives a message from a business using RCS, it also comes with a virtual contact card, or V card, so customers can further engage.
“Not only is it branded, named, but you can also have a phone number, have a link to download the app,” Fackler said. Such information “isn't sexy, but it's incredibly pragmatic and powerful.”
