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Text messaging by now is a well-known form of communication. It’s a great platform for business communication with the highest open rate of 99%. The future of text messaging is Rich communication Services or RCS in short. RCS is the next step ahead for businesses looking to take communication via messaging to a whole new level.

It allows businesses to involve customers like never before and make it more interactive. RCS makes messaging seem more conversational, trusted and verified. It allows businesses to send much more than plain old text messages.

Businesses can track conversions, click through rates, and also check read receipts. Sharing files, videos, audio file, location, document attachments and much more, all this is now possible due to RCS.

SMS or text messaging as a medium is powerful, but with RCS capabilities, businesses can expect faster response rate from customers.

Mobile devices has changed the way people communicate. It has transformed our digital experience in a short period of time. To take this interaction to next level, businesses have understood the need for RCS.

Evolution of RCS

GSMA, a decade ago, launched an industry initiative for RCS as a way to enhance communication. This was suggested by allowing instant messaging, chat, live video functionality, photo sharing possibility across devices anytime. The main intention was to allow mobile users to experience a rich and consistent function that even allowed them to share content and location to multiple users in real-time.

RCS: The new age message platform

RCS, as mentioned earlier, is the future of text messaging. It is being built to be made as engaging as other apps like WhatsApp, WeChat, etc. RCS is there to change the way every person communicates, be it person-to-person or from a business point of view like Application-to-person.

How can businesses benefit from RCS?

With Kaleyra being one of the messaging partners for Google RCS launched in 2018, it becomes easier for businesses to reach its customers now through Kaleyra’s platform.

RCS is here to stay for the longest period of time by enabling businesses to offer a smooth customer experience. It will help businesses of all sizes. It’s a sure way of creating branded conversation. Through RCS, it’s easier to send high-resolution pictures, boarding passes, movie tickets, high definition videos, PDFs and product carousels that helps the customer make the purchase and much more.

RCS does not require any MMS compatibility on devices and sends messages seamlessly. Businesses can share transactions done on their platform through RCS messaging.

RCS messaging makes it easier for businesses to communicate with its customers in a more trusted and verified way. This helps gain customers trust and let them know that they are indeed transacting with a genuine business. Verified badge builds transparency into the messages sent.

RCS also allows businesses to gain insights through real-time reports. It allows businesses to track customer responses in real-time and understand the effectiveness of a brand.

RCS has definitely been successful in entering into networks and is soon expected to take center stage in the messaging world.

Most MNOs and device manufacturers have been implementing RCS within their solutions. GSMA claims that there are currently 159 million monthly active users of RCS globally, as of January 2018, forecasting 350 million by the end of 2018, representing a $74 billion market by 2021.

In the US, T-Mobile claims 30 million customers are sending over 250 million RCS messages every day across their network.

RCS clearly has added advantages as compared to typical text messages. It has an expanded character set and not limited to 160 characters. With the normal text message, a person can only know if the message is sent. With RCS, it’s possible to tell if the message is sent, delivered and also attain a read receipt like Whatsapp.

Another advantage which RCS has over apps is, it is connected to your mobile number rather than an app. There is no headache of downloads. RCS messaging definitely helps businesses build a deeper and more meaningful relationship with their customers.

If you wish to know more about RCS or consult an expert, check out this page.