Same Reach, Richer Experience: How RCS Helps Brands Convert More from Every Message

Customers remember brands that show up at the right time, with the right message, in the right channel. For decades, SMS did exactly that. It showed up on every customer’s phone with time-critical information, OTPs, delivery updates and more. Its simplicity, reliability and reach made it the most trusted customer communication channel of its time.

But things have changed – smartphones have become the norm, richer, more engaging OTT messaging platforms have raised the bar, and customer expectations have evolved. Customers today expect contextual and personalised interactions from brands, and the ability to take actions in a few clicks, without leaving the chat window.

SMS was never designed for this. Nor did it evolve with time.

So, how do you achieve the reach of SMS while delivering the experiences that today’s customers expect?

This is where RCS for Business comes in – an upgrade to SMS, not a replacement. RCS for Business lets brands layer rich, interactive elements on top of the same messaging infrastructure that made SMS the most trusted channel.

The reliability and reach stay. But now, you can do much more with it.

RCS for Business – The Next-Gen Native Messaging Channel 

RCS for Business is an advanced messaging protocol that allows businesses to deliver rich and interactive messaging journeys to customers directly inside their native messaging app. It elevates text messages with rich features like media, branding and analytics.

SMS gives you 160 characters of plain text. RCS brings features like carousels, images, videos, embedded CTAs, read receipts and two-way conversational capability that customers today expect. Additionally, unlike OTT messaging platforms, it requires no additional app installs, internet or separate accounts.

This unique mix of accessibility, reliability, interactivity and reach is what fundamentally sets RCS for Business apart from both SMS and other OTT messaging platforms.

And it is moving fast!

With Android accounting for 95.4% of India’s smart phone market, the total addressable market is enormous. And it’s growing at an unprecedented rate.

Google’s developer data shows consumers are 35x more likely to read an RCS message than an email. Juniper Research projects RCS’s share of operator messaging revenue from 3% in 2024 to 18% by 2029. This projected growth can be attributed to enterprises migrating from SMS to leverage verified sender identity and rich media capabilities.

RCS, however, is not new. It was first developed in 2007-2008 and officially established by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) to modernise SMS. Rather than developing an entirely new messaging app or platform, the aim was to upgrade an existing, globally trusted channel. And, it has been available on Android ever since.

2024 brought the most significant milestone when Apple launched iOS 18, with native RCS support in the iPhone. With both Android and iOS now supporting RCS, the path to cross-device reach became possible.

Let’s look at some of the key features that give RCS its edge:

• Verified sender profiles: Brand name, logo, and verified badge visible before the message is opened – a direct answer to rising SMS phishing concerns.
• Rich media and carousels: High-resolution images, video, scrollable product carousels, and PDF attachments, all within the message thread.
• Suggested actions and quick replies: Embedded CTA buttons like “Book Now,” “Track Order,” and “View Offer” eliminate the need to navigate a separate site.
•  Two-way conversations: Real dialogue within the thread: support queries, feedback, guided purchase journeys, or agent escalation.
• Read receipts: Visibility into when messages were read, not just delivered – which changes how campaigns are optimised.
• AI compatibility: Conversational AI agents can handle discovery, qualification, and transaction entirely within the RCS thread. AI-powered marketing journeys like Virtual Try-On, product recommenders, etc., delight customers with hyper-personalised experiences.

SMS vs. RCS: An Evolution, Not a Replacement

If SMS had evolved at the same pace at which phones evolved into smartphones with touchscreens, app ecosystems, etc., SMS would have naturally become what RCS is today. Operating from a replacement mindset is a strategic mistake. Treating SMS and RCS as an either/or decision removes the most reliable safety net in your channel mix.

SMS is the ideal safety channel. When all else fails, SMS will surely deliver. Using it as a fallback channel for your campaigns ensures they always reach your customers. RCS, on the other hand, is the upgrade – same reach, way more features.

The right approach is to use both, with each playing to its strengths. Here’s how the two channels compare:

How RCS for Business Drives Higher Revenue

The performance gap between a plain text message and a rich and interactive messaging campaign isn’t marginal. While SMS guarantees reach, it’s limiting when applied to stages in the funnel other than updates. How doyou promote a new product line with just 160 characters of plain text? How do you enable conversational commerce that customers increasingly expect? The answer is simple – with RCS for Business.

The rich and interactive experience that RCS delivers doesn’t just capture customers’ attention but keeps them engaged long enough to convert.

RCS campaigns deliver click-through rates 3–7x higher than SMS (Juniper Research). Independent analysis by Mobile Squared puts in-market read rates between 73–92%, with conversion lifts of 20%+ over traditional channels. Google reports over one billion RCS messages sent daily in the US alone – and consumers are 35x more likely to read an RCS message than an email (Google Developers).

Here’s what makes RCS outperform the good old SMS:

• Rich media captures attention: A product carousel or short video in a message can hold customer attention for up to 45 seconds on average, versus the few seconds a text link gets. Engagement quality improves alongside quantity.
• Verified branding builds trust: The brand’s name, logo and verified badge appear before the message is even opened. In an era of SMS phishing, visible authenticity matters.
• SMS reach, app-level experience: RCS is the only channel that can deliver both. OTT apps require installation. RCS reaches users through the native inbox with zero friction, combining reach with interactivity.
• Two-way conversational commerce within the chat: Add-to-cart, checkout, address selection, payment – all without leaving the messaging interface. The fewer steps between intent and purchase, the higher the conversion.
• AI-powered experiences: RCS is purpose-built for conversational AI. An in-thread agent can handle the full journey: discovery, qualification, conversion, transaction in a single, continuous experience.
• Actionable analytics: Read receipts, engagement rate, CTA tap tracking, and more give marketers real visibility into engagement. Not just delivery confirmation.

Delivering Full Funnel Experiences with RCS for Business

One of the biggest advantages of RCS is its ability to be used across every touchpoint in a customer’s journey – from awareness to consideration, conversion, retention and beyond.

Let’s look at how you can leverage RCS to drive meaningful business impact for your brand across the funnel:

Awareness – Make the First Message Count

When was the last time you saw a brand message with just a single line of text that made you stop, look and take an action? The answer most likely is never. The first message a brand sends sets the tone for all future interactions. RCS, with its verified, branded message and interactivity featuring contextual images, videos, product carousels, direct action buttons, and more, delivers a much superior experience than SMS. A fashion retailer, for example, can send customers an RCS message featuring a scrollable carousel of new arrivals. Each carousel card contains a product image, price, and a "Shop Now" button. An online travel aggregator can promote travel packages leading up to the holidays with rich media, videos or carousels to capture customers' attention.

The impact – higher read rates, click-throughs and highly qualified leads. When paired with RCS for Business – Discovery from Google Search, it becomes an acquisition channel, driving high-intent, organic traffic to your brand’s messaging window.

Consideration – Guiding Decision by Removing Friction‍

When users don’t find the information they were looking for, they abandon the journey. Drop-offs at this stage often happen because of friction and not alack of intent. A website redirection, a lengthy form, an app download prompt –every step is a potential exit point.

RCS removes this friction by bringing everything a customer needs within a single thread – product visuals, key information, FAQs, quick action buttons, and more. This not only helps remove potential exit points from the journey but also guides the customer to the desired action.

Layer in AI, and this becomes even more powerful. Deliver hyper-personalised experiences with dynamic product recommendation, Virtual Try-On, and more.

Brands can delight shoppers with real-time, hyper-personalised AI-powered shopping experiences inside the chat window with Virtual Try-On. Bring together the ease of online shopping and the certainty of in-store trial.

Conversion – Compress the Gap Between Intent and Action

The most effective way to improve conversions is to compress the distance between intent and action. With RCS, you not only make a first impression that lasts and guide users effectively to the desired action, but you can also enable them to take the action while staying in the chat window. With web-view, in-thread product selection, cart creation and checkout with payment gateway integration all in one place.

There’s no URL to remember, no form to re-fill, no app to download/open. The purchase happens in the message.

Apollo24|7,  India’s largest omnichannel digital healthcare platform, used RCS for Business to boost life insurance policy sales with an interactive Sum Assured Calculator. The impact:

• 30% engagement rate
• 4.8% lead-to-conversion rate
• 2.9% policy conversion rate

By sending timely, personalised reminders directly within the chat, combining product context, urgency signals, seamless payment CTAs, and more, brands can reduce drop-offs and drive higher conversions – without leaving the conversation.

Support– Delight Customer Beyond the Paywall

‍Post-purchase experience is just as important as the first impression. A standard delivery update does the bare minimum. The same update, delivered via RCS with real-time tracking, self-service features, rich media, etc., does way more than just inform. When customers can resolve basic queries in just a few clicks, support queries drop, trust builds and CSAT increases.

Axis Bank, India’s third-largest private sector bank, deployed an interactive chatbot on RCS that served as a tool to manage customer queries. Customers could seamlessly enquire about loan options, apply for a credit card, fixed deposit and initiate service requests, all within the messaging interface.

Pair RCS with a conversational AI agent, and you have a channel that manages the entire post-purchase journey with minimal intervention. AI agents resolve basic queries, while human agents focus on resolving complex issues that actually need them.

‍Retention – Win Back Customers Effortlessly‍

Customer acquisition is expensive. Effective retention strategies that deliver the right message, at the right time, in the right channel turn customers into repeat shoppers and drastically increase their CLTV. But retention nudges that look like just bulk/generic texts or updates are easy to ignore.

Brands can leverage RCS for Business to deliver personalised, one-on-one messages to their customers. Loyalty sign-ups, reward point updates, exclusive offers, and more with contextually rich visuals drive higher re-engagement.

Not Either/Or. Better Together.

SMS established the market. It democratised mobile marketing and created a trusted space where brands could reach out to customers anytime, anywhere through text messages. It continues to be the channel of choice for critical alerts, OTPs, and other use cases where reach and guaranteed delivery are the only things that matter.

RCS for Business builds on top of the SMS architecture with its suite of rich, interactive features. So, the decision for marketers should not be about which channel to choose. Together, they cover the full spectrum of what a brand needs from a messaging strategy – reliability and richness, reach and experience, simplicity and sophistication. The key is knowing when to deploy which one and in what capacity.

Want to know how you can use RCS for Business to design messaging journeys that delight, convert and retain customers?

Write to us at marketing@karix.com

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