2023 – The Year RCS Replaces SMS?

If business messaging is part of your marketing outreach, you surely have heard of Rich Communication Services (RCS) and its potential impact. If not, here is something to get you started – Rich Communication Services (RCS) is a communication protocol that aims to replace SMS and provide a more enhanced messaging experience for users.

RCS has been in the making for more than a decade despite its unbound potential. But finally, it’s steadily making headway, becoming more widely adopted with several new trends emerging in the industry. But could 2023 finally be the year that RCS completely replaces SMS as an A2P business messaging solution. Well, this depends on several factors and trends. Read on to find out.

Increase adoption of RCS for business messaging

There is definitely an increase in the use of RCS for business messaging. Going into 2023, Juniper Research predicts that the RCS user base is at 1.2 billion with brands leveraging RCS’s more feature-rich experience for business communication, including the ability to send high-resolution images, videos, and other multimedia content. It also offers read receipts, typing indicators, and the ability to send large files, making it a more efficient and effective tool for businesses to communicate with customers. Moreover, despite COVID, the global RCS market is set to grow to USD 11.7 billion by 2025 at a CAGR of 17.6%. Numbers don’t lie and clearly show that RCS is finally realizing its unmatched potential.

Increase use of RCS for valuable customer service

Another trend we can expect to see is the use of RCS for customer service. RCS offers a more engaging and interactive experience for customer service interactions, allowing businesses to resolve customer issues more quickly and effectively. This can be especially useful for e-commerce businesses and banking and financial services as RCS allows them to provide real-time support and assistance to customers during and after the purchase process.

Advancement in RCS technology and framework

With the rollout of 5G and increased RCS adoption, we can expect to see development of new features and functionalities in the RCS industry. As the technology continues to evolve, we can expect to see new features such as improved group messaging capabilities and quality-based messaging. These features will make RCS even more attractive to users and help it compete with other messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Viber.

One potential downside to the increased adoption of RCS is the potential for abuse. Just like with any communication platform, there is the risk of spam and unwanted messages being sent through RCS. However, RCS providers are working on implementing strong spam filters and other security measures to protect users from unwanted messages that can damage customer-business relationships.

RCS is poised to become a major player in the messaging industry. With its enhanced features and functionality, it is well-suited for interactive and engaging business communication and customer services. As more people and businesses adopt RCS, we can expect to see it become an increasingly important part of our daily lives and possibly replace SMS.

Is 2023 the year brands should aggressively incorporate RCS in their omnichannel marketing strategy?

It can be a great opportunity for businesses to leverage the benefits of RCS and stay ahead in the competition. There are several ways in which brands can leverage RCS in 2023 to improve their customer communication and engagement. Here are a few use cases:

• Customer service: RCS offers a more interactive and engaging experience for customer service interactions. Brands can use RCS to provide real-time support to customers, resolve issues more quickly, and improve customer satisfaction.
• Marketing and promotions: RCS allow brands to send high-resolution images, videos, and other multimedia content to customers. This can be a powerful tool for marketing and promoting products and services.
• Order updates and tracking: RCS can be used to keep customers informed about the status of their orders, including delivery updates and tracking information.
• Appointments and reservations: RCS can be used to confirm appointments and reservations with customers, as well as send reminders and notifications.
• Personalized communication: Brands can use RCS to send personalized messages to customers, including personalized offers and recommendations based on their past purchases and interests.

RCS provides brands with a more feature-rich and interactive communication channel with customers. By leveraging the capabilities of RCS, brands can improve customer communication, increase customer satisfaction, and drive sales.

How to get started with RCS?

To get started with RCS, there are a few steps that brands can follow:

• Partner with a provider: The first step is to find an RCS aggregator that offers the features and capabilities that your brand needs. There are several aggregators that offer RCS solutions, so it is important to do some research and find the one that best fits your needs.
• Integrate RCS into your existing communication channels: Once you have partnered with an aggregator, the next step is to integrate RCS into your existing communication channels. This may involve updating your messaging infrastructure or integrating RCS into your existing customer relationship management (CRM) system.
• Train your team: It is important to ensure that your team is trained in how to use RCS and understand its capabilities. This will help them effectively communicate with customers and make the most of this business messaging avenue.
• Develop a strategy: Before launching RCS campaigns, it is important to develop a clear strategy for how you will use the platform to communicate with customers. This may include defining your target audience, identifying the types of messages you will send, and setting goals for how RCS will support your business objectives.
• Launch and monitor: Once you have everything in place, you can launch RCS messaging campaigns and begin using it to communicate with customers. It is important to monitor the effectiveness of your RCS campaigns and make any necessary adjustments to your strategy as you go along.

RCS is here to stay and revolutionize business messaging as we know it. This makes it an integral part of your omnichannel strategy for years to come. So, ensure that you capitalize on this feature-rich and futuristic technology today to offer a seamless and engaging customer experience and elevate your business messaging game.