SMS has been a valuable customer communications channel for brands for over 30 years now, and while it remains an important channel, its features are limited. For brands seeking to elevate their customer messaging experience, one of the most efficient and effortless options is opting to uplift existing SMS traffic to RCS messaging by partnering with a CPaaS provider. Enter BT’s RCS Branded Message offer.
RCS Branded Message is one part of BT’s suite of Rich Communications products, serving as the starting point in the journey to a full RCS solution with rich features like conversational based media and imagery sharing.
“RCS Branded Message is basically a slimmed down version of traditional RCS, allowing brands to seamlessly move their customer engagement from SMS to a more feature-rich alternative,” says Catherine Maguire, Product Manager – Richer Messaging at BT.
RCS Branded Message effectively requires no operational change from brands – they can keep doing what they’re doing with their existing messaging and reap the benefits of richer engagement, while BT take care of everything in the background.
Sounds too good to be true? Let’s have a look at the details.
Looking Ahead from Traditional SMS
While SMS has rightfully earned its status as a tried-and-true brand communications method, digital evolution continues to reveal its limitations. In fact, SMS offers nothing more than black and white text with a link, which doesn’t cater to current customer expectations.
“With the BT Smart Messaging Team, SMS has always been the core of our suite of omnichannel communications solutions,” Maguire shares. “But as the market progresses, we can’t help but notice the great opportunity outside of this channel, and the way RCS can address this.”
RCS Branded Message allows brands the chance to enhance their SMS communication features for RCS-enabled devices, of which there are over 20 million in the UK market alone.
“RCS Branded Message works by uplifting existing SMS traffic brands might already send, and anything that doesn’t work on RCS will automatically fall back to SMS as usual,” Maguire assures.
RCS Branded Message: Taking Customer Messaging to the Next Level
How exactly does RCS Branded Message help upgrade brands’ traditional messaging experience? Let’s break it down.
- Brand Logo: According to McKinsey, 75% of consumers say that brand awareness influences their purchasing decisions. This demonstrates that consumers prefer purchasing from brands they trust, making brand identity a crucial asset.
“RCS Branded Message incorporates brand logos and identity into messaging, which helps increase brand recognition and loyalty,” Maguire notes. - Read Receipts: Unlike in SMS, brands can utilise read receipts in RCS Branded Message to confirm message delivery, which in turn can help assess consumer engagement and tailor follow-up strategies accordingly. “This ultimately enhances customer engagement and drives more meaningful interactions. It also helps optimise targeted campaigns.”
- Brand Verification: With the blue tick symbol widely recognised as a symbol of authenticity among consumers, it’s becoming increasingly indispensable for brands.
“By enabling brands to be ‘vetted’ with a similar verification symbol, RCS Branded Message increases trust, reduces the risk of fraud, and ensures a positive user experience,” Maguire says. - Information Pages: RCS Branded Message also enhances brand awareness and credibility through dedicated brand information pages.
“Delivering easy-to-access informative content is a powerful tool for building brand identity, reputation, and loyalty among consumers.”
- URL Previews: Let us not forget URL previews – another asset of RCS Branded Message that has been demonstrated to increase click-through rates.
“URL previews entice recipients to explore linked content and drive traffic to the brand’s website or specific landing pages,” Maguire explains.
So… How Can You Bring This to Life?
One of the very best parts about BT’s RCS Branded Message solution is that it requires virtually zero technical expertise, integration, or effort from the brand’s side.
“All that brands need to do is get in touch with us, and we’ll do all the heavy lifting for them as their CPaaS provider, making sure their SMS traffic is optimally leveraged to RCS Branded Message and that it’s performing at its peak, ” Maguire concludes.
To learn more about RCS Branded Message, contact the BT Smart Messaging Team at [email protected] or visit here.
