RCS promises richer engagement, but is your business truly ready to make the shift?
For years, SMS has been the backbone of enterprise communication: simple, scalable, and nearly universal. But what once felt cutting-edge now struggles to keep up with the expectations of today’s hyper-connected customers.
Rich Communication Services (RCS) changes that equation.
It brings branded, interactive, app-like experiences into the native messaging inbox – think carousels, buttons, read receipts, and verified sender IDs. For enterprise marketers, it’s a direct path to higher engagement, better conversion, and deeper insights.
But making the shift without proper planning can lead to delivery failures, compliance issues, and wasted resources. That’s why we’ve outlined 10 strategic questions to help you assess readiness, minimise risk, and create a migration plan that delivers ROI from day one.
1. What’s Your Current Device and Carrier Coverage?
The reality check question that determines your rollout strategy.
RCS is already well-supported on most Android devices, and with iOS now rolling out RCS support (iOS 18+), the timing looks better than ever for marketers to scale.
That said, not every customer will be on RCS right away. A smart move would be to keep a multichannel approach, balancing RCS with SMS and WhatsApp to ensure maximum reach and deliverability.
Pro tip: Audit your customer database to understand your audience’s device mix and carrier distribution, so you can segment effectively and maximise engagement.
2. Do You Have Message Fallback Infrastructure in Place?
Message Fallback Capability: The key to reach and reliability
The most successful brands use a hybrid approach, where RCS messages automatically fallback to SMS or even WhatsApp if a customer’s device doesn’t support RCS yet.
That means you enjoy the best of both worlds—rich, interactive experiences where possible, and guaranteed delivery everywhere else.
Pro tip: Choose an omnichannel provider that offers seamless message failover across RCS, WhatsApp, and SMS. That way, you never sacrifice reliability while stepping up engagement.
3. Is Your Brand Ready for RCS Agent Registration?
The prerequisite that takes weeks, not days.
Before sending your first RCS message, you must register an RCS Agent, your official business profile that displays your brand name, logo, and verification status. This process requires:
- Business verification documents
- Brand assets (logo, colours, messaging guidelines)
- Compliance with carrier-specific requirements
- Approval from Google and mobile carriers
Pro tip: Start this process immediately, even if you’re not ready to launch campaigns. Registration can take several weeks, and early approval gives you flexibility when coverage expands.
4. What’s Your Primary Use Case?
Different goals require different strategies.
RCS isn’t about replacing SMS; it’s about unlocking new possibilities by matching each channel to the role it plays best.
- SMS is still the gold standard for critical, high-deliverability communication such as OTPs, fraud alerts, and service notifications.
- RCS is best suited for marketing, promotions, loyalty campaigns, and customer engagement—where rich media, carousels, and interactive buttons can drive stronger response.
- WhatsApp often complements RCS in regions where adoption is lower, providing another rich channel for customer communication.
Pro tip: The most effective strategy is omnichannel marketing – using SMS for reliability and reach, and RCS/WhatsApp for richer, more engaging experiences. Start with high-impact, low-complexity scenarios, then expand gradually as you see measurable results.
5. What Performance Data Does Your Brand Need for Effective Marketing?
The analytics advantage that justifies the investment.
One of the biggest advantages of RCS is the clarity it brings to performance measurement. Unlike SMS, which stops at basic delivery reports, RCS unlocks a much deeper view of customer engagement, including:
- Read receipts and delivery confirmations
- Button click tracking for interactive elements
- Carousel engagement metrics
- Session duration within messages
However, comparing RCS and SMS performance requires unified reporting.
Pro tip: Ensure your messaging platform provides consolidated dashboards that show performance across both channels.
6. How Will You Handle Compliance and Security?
The regulatory landscape is evolving with RCS.
RCS Business Messaging includes built-in sender verification and transport layer security, providing better security than SMS. However, compliance requirements vary by region and use case.
Key considerations:
- Data privacy regulations for interactive message analytics
- Consent management for rich media campaigns
- Brand protection through verified sender profiles
- Content moderation for multimedia elements
Pro tip: Ensure you have clear processes for data privacy, consent management, and brand protection in place, so your RCS campaigns stay compliant and effective.
7. What’s Your Budget for RCS vs. SMS?
Enhanced features come with higher costs.
RCS business messaging typically costs more than SMS due to its rich media capabilities and processing requirements. However, higher engagement rates often justify the increased spend.
Budget factors:
- Per-message costs for RCS vs. SMS
- Development time for interactive content
- Design resources for multimedia campaigns
- Analytics tools for advanced reporting
Pro tip: Calculate cost-per-engagement rather than cost-per-message to understand true ROI.
8. Do You Have the Right Technology Partner for Long-Term Success?
The tools and infrastructure behind your RCS rollout matter just as much as the strategy.
Platform Selection: Your RCS success depends heavily on choosing a platform provider that offers multiple channels, comprehensive support, reliable delivery, and ongoing innovation.
Evaluation Criteria:
- Strong carrier relationships and delivery reliability
- Hands-on Technical support and smooth implementation assistance
- Advanced analytics and reporting capabilities
- Rich content management tools to handle media, buttons, and carousels.
- Seamlessly API-first integration with your existing marketing stack
- Testing environments for validating campaigns before launch
- Scalability Infrastructure for future growth.
Pro tip: Choose a partner that acts like an extension of your team – offering strategic guidance, not just technical tools.
That’s exactly the approach we take at EnableX: combining carrier-grade reliability with ongoing innovation and strategic support to help you succeed with RCS today and adapt for tomorrow.
The EnableX Advantage: Seamless SMS-to-RCS Transition
The shift from SMS to RCS doesn’t have to be overwhelming. EnableX Omnichannel Messaging platform handles the technical complexity while you focus on creating engaging customer experiences.
Our enterprise-grade solution provides:
- Automatic fallback from RCS to WhatsApp universal delivery
- Robust APIs for all messaging channels
- Built-in analytics for performance tracking
- Compliance tools for regulatory requirements
- Expert onboarding to accelerate your RCS deployment
Ready to future-proof your messaging strategy? Contact us or sign up for a free trial to see how our RCS business messaging API can transform your customer engagement while maintaining the reliability your business demands.
