How does RCS leverage SMS to improve the customer experience in retail?

[mdsojolh43]

In today’s environment, improving the customer experience should be a top priority for all retailers. The retail landscape has fundamentally changed due to Covid-19, during which the retail sector has had to innovate to stay open while restrictions have significantly reduced footfall. RCS ( or Rich Communication Services) has been one of the tools retailers have used to improve their bottom line, as it simplifies marketing, streamlines customer purchases and improves support processes, resulting in an improved customer experience. RCS is an evolution of ‘traditional’ SMS, providing richer functionality, improving customer journeys and simultaneously creating memorable experiences for users who interact with a brand. RCS is currently in a phase of strong growth, as evidenced by the 3.8 billion users expected by 2026, and more than 491 network operators offering the popular product ( Juniper Research ), which is quickly becoming a channel that retailers cannot ignore if they want to remain competitive.

How can retailers use RCS?
RCS allows retailers to achieve many different outcomes. One relatively new and growing use of RCS for retailers is to send marketing messages to customers. Compared to SMS campaign conversion rates, RCS campaigns have a 140% increase in conversions, with clear call-to-action, payment methods, and rich media features being the key assets. The product carousels included in RCS features allow businesses to easily offer multiple products to their customers, making RCS an ideal channel for cross-selling and upselling.

RCS is also perfect for customer service conversations/interactions, not only for after-sales service, but also for arranging and re-arranging delivery times, and providing customers with delivery updates. Using chatbots simplifies processes for customers and improves their experience, and retailers’ human resources previously dedicated to customer service, as well as time spent on the phone, are significantly reduced. The read receipt feature of RCS means that retailers can be sure that the messages they have sent have been received, and provides them with data to measure the results of their campaigns.

RCS vs SMS
RCS builds on the capabilities of SMS to deliver an enriched customer experience with additional features and multiplies the results of calls to action for retailers. New features now include the ability to add images and videos to messages, creating a unique experience for marketing messages and customer service. Unlike SMS, RCS shows the customer pakistan whatsapp list a verified sender ID and allows retailers to personalize their messages to their brand. This means that when paying with RCS, customers can be sure that the brand they are interacting with is authentic. Read receipts and other advanced analytics give retailers a wealth of insight into the performance of their RCS campaigns.

Figure 1 shows some of the advantages of RCS over SMS.

Differences between SMS and RCS
(Figure 1)

RCS vs SMS Campaign Performance
For marketing campaigns, RCS has shown much better results than SMS.

Subway restaurant chain used RCS to run two promotions: a promotion for 24-inch sandwiches and another campaign to offer a $20 menu. Subway had previously run similar campaigns via SMS. The results of the comparison test revealed that RCS campaigns performed significantly better than SMS campaigns. With RCS, conversion rates increased 51% more for the $20 sandwich menus and 140% more for the 24-inch sandwiches.

Another example is BodemerAuto, an automotive retailer in France that used RCS for their marketing campaigns after using SMS. They first used RCS to launch a Black Friday campaign and sent messages containing a carousel of diverse products with a call-to-action function to contact the sales team directly at the time of click. These RCS campaigns were very successful, with a click-through rate of 7.7% and 17 times more customer interactions than SMS campaigns, with 1 click for every RCS sent compared to 1 click for every 220 SMS sent.

Do consumers like RCS?
Customers want seamless and effective experiences with brands. With RCS, improved communications allow brands to create more visually appealing messages, creating more engaging conversations and strengthening the brand’s relationship with its customers. Since RCS does not require any additional applications, the familiar, familiar environment is a guarantee of simplicity for customers. In addition, the customization possibilities of RCS ensure a unique experience for each customer. A recent study conducted by GSMA analyzed real-world use cases and consumer opinions revealed that: