Rich Communication Services (RCS) has transformed the business messaging landscape, providing measurable benefits beyond traditional SMS. With Apple’s integration of RCS in iOS 18 and Google RCS already established on Android, messaging providers have an unprecedented opportunity to enhance their service offerings. For ISVs, aggregators, marketing agencies, and resellers, understanding RCS for business messaging ROI is crucial when making implementation decisions.

This comprehensive guide answers the essential question “Is RCS better than SMS?” through concrete metrics that demonstrate the value of RCS for business for both providers and their clients.

What is RCS? Understanding the Business Messaging Opportunity

RCS is the evolution of SMS messaging, offering enhanced capabilities that drive better business outcomes. As Apple RCS support expands the addressable market, messaging providers must understand the specific advantages over traditional SMS.

While many providers wonder “how to turn on RCS” for their clients, the more strategic question is how to measure its business impact. Before implementation, establishing baseline metrics creates a framework for measuring true ROI.

Core Rich Communication Services (RCS) Metrics That Outperform SMS

When assessing RCS business messaging performance, these metrics directly impact your bottom line:

1. Revenue Impact Metrics

• Revenue per Message: RCS for business messaging typically commands higher per-message rates than SMS due to its enhanced capabilities. Track the difference between your SMS and RCS rates to quantify this premium.
• Client Expansion Rate: Measure how many existing clients add RCS to their communication channels rather than simply replacing SMS. This indicates whether Rich Communication Services drive additional revenue or merely shift it.
• Cross-Channel Revenue: Monitor total messaging spend across channels for clients who adopt RCS messaging. An effective implementation should increase overall messaging investment, not just redistribute it.

2. Comparative Engagement Metrics

These metrics help demonstrate why RCS is better than SMS for client campaigns, justifying the higher investment:

• Read Rates: RCS messages typically show 82% higher read rates than SMS due to rich content and verified sender information. This metric directly affects campaign effectiveness for brands seeking attention in crowded messaging channels.
• Response Rates: Interactive elements in RCS (buttons, verification, quick replies) generate approximately 3x higher response rates than SMS links, making this a critical comparison point when presenting ROI to clients transitioning from text-only messaging.
• Conversion Metrics: RCS messaging demonstrates conversion rates approximately 4x higher than traditional SMS campaigns. For e-commerce, financial services, and travel sector clients, this dramatic improvement directly impacts revenue generation and campaign effectiveness.
• Session Length: RCS enables conversational interactions, allowing measurement of conversation duration – a metric unavailable in traditional SMS. With an average user attention span of approximately 45 seconds, RCS provides a significantly extended engagement window compared to the typically brief SMS interaction, creating opportunities for deeper brand connections and multi-step customer journeys.

3. Cost Efficiency Metrics

• Development Time: Measure the time required to create RCS campaigns versus SMS. While initial RCS implementation may take longer, template systems eventually reduce production time.
• Customer Service Impact: Track changes in client support volume following RCS implementation. RCS often reduce customer confusion and support needs.
• Fallback Efficiency: Measure how effectively your system handles RCS message delivery failures by switching to SMS. This affects both cost and customer experience.

Apple RCS Integration: Impact on Business Messaging ROI

Apple’s adoption of RCS in iOS 18 significantly affects the ROI timeline for messaging providers:

• Addressable Audience Growth: With Apple RCS adoption expanding, the RCS-capable audience has substantially increased in many markets, accelerating ROI achievement. The total user base is projected to grow from 1 billion active users to around 1.5-2 billion globally.
• Client Perception Shift: Enterprise clients who previously viewed Google RCS as “Android-only” are now actively exploring RCS for business strategies, creating new sales opportunities for messaging providers.
• Implementation Timing Advantage: Providers who implement RCS for business messaging now can capture early-mover advantage while competition remains limited.

RCS vs SMS: Measurable Performance Advantages

When presenting RCS to clients, these direct comparisons with SMS demonstrate clear value:

Industry-Specific RCS Messaging Benefits

Different sectors benefit from Rich Communication Services in distinct ways when upgrading from SMS:

E-commerce:

• Visual product displays eliminate the need to follow SMS links to see products
• Carousels allow browsing without leaving the messaging app, unlike SMS
• “Add to cart” buttons simplify purchase paths compared to multi-step SMS flows

Financial Services:

• Verified senders increase security perception beyond standard SMS
• Rich authentication experiences improve completion rates over SMS OTPs
• Structured payment confirmations reduce support calls compared to SMS notifications

Travel & Hospitality:

• Visual confirmations with boarding passes improve experience over text-only SMS
• Interactive itinerary changes simplify modifications compared to SMS instruction flows
• Location sharing integration enhances service delivery beyond SMS capabilities

Is RCS Better Than SMS? Implementation Timing Considerations

Early RCS adoption by messaging providers offers specific advantages over maintaining SMS-only offerings:

• Competitive Differentiation: Being among the first providers to offer RCS for business messaging in your market segment creates a distinct competitive advantage with forward-thinking clients.
• Pricing Flexibility: Early adopters typically enjoy greater pricing flexibility before Rich Communication Services become commoditized.
• Learning Curve Advantage: Developing RCS expertise now positions your team ahead of competitors who remain focused only on SMS.

How to Turn On RCS: Technical Implementation Considerations

Understanding the technical requirements helps assess the full implementation cost when adding RCS to your SMS offerings:

• Integration Timeline: When using Dotgo’s RBM Hub, messaging providers can complete RCS implementation more quickly than building direct carrier connections.
• Resource Requirements: Implementation typically requires developers familiar with REST APIs, with Dotgo providing comprehensive documentation and implementation support.
• Testing and Verification: Dotgo’s platform includes a sandbox environment for testing prior to production deployment, reducing time-to-market for your RCS business messaging services.
• Ongoing Maintenance: Dotgo handles carrier relationship management and protocol updates, eliminating a significant operational burden for messaging providers implementing RCS.

Building the Business Case for Rich Communication Services

Use these approaches to demonstrate RCS value to clients currently using SMS:

• Split Testing Framework: Develop a methodology for clients to test identical campaigns via SMS and RCS messaging, with clear measurement protocols.
• Case Study Development: Document successful RCS implementations with specific metrics improvements over SMS to use in future client presentations.
• ROI Calculator: Create a tool that allows prospects to estimate potential returns based on current SMS performance when migrating to RCS for business messaging.

Measuring Long-Term RCS Business Messaging Value

Beyond immediate client benefits, track these longer-term business impacts of adding Rich Communication Services to your SMS offerings:

• Client Retention: Compare retention rates between clients using only SMS versus those utilizing both SMS and RCS.
• Contract Value Growth: Measure how adding RCS affects average client contract value over time compared to SMS-only contracts.
• Sales Cycle Impact: Track whether offering RCS capabilities affects new client acquisition speed and close rates compared to SMS-only offerings.

As RCS continue to expand its reach on Android and Apple, you have a clear opportunity to enhance your offerings. The RCS for business messaging metrics outlined in this guide provide a framework for measuring the real ROI of implementation.

Dotgo’s RBM Hub simplifies RCS implementation. All you need is one contract with Dotgo and get connectivity to more than 70+ carriers globally along with simplified onboarding & verification processes, and access to comprehensive analytics. These capabilities enable messaging providers to quickly demonstrate the advantages of RCS vs SMS both internally and to their clients.

Ready to explore how RCS can enhance your messaging portfolio? Contact Dotgo’s team to discuss implementation options and ROI tracking frameworks customized for your specific business model.