RCS for Marketing Automation: How to Build High-Converting Campaigns

Introduction

RCS messaging helps boost marketing conversions up to 10x compared to traditional SMS campaigns. Your mobile marketing strategy might be falling short if you still rely only on simple text messages. You’re missing out on what will become the most powerful conversion channel in 2026.

RCS marketing differs from standard SMS by combining text messaging’s universal reach with rich, interactive features that were only available in dedicated apps before. RCS shows impressive engagement with over 1.5 billion monthly active users and open rates above 90%. Users spend up to 37 seconds interacting with these messages, a lot longer than traditional mobile messaging.

The numbers tell a clear story. Brands that use RCS see click-through rates up to 7 times higher than SMS along with 80%+ read rate and 25% response rate. These results are far better than the 1% response typical of SMS.

This piece will show you how to use RCS in your marketing automation strategy. You’ll learn about interactive carousels with product images, quick reply buttons, and smooth shopping experiences, without making customers download another app.

What is RCS marketing and how is it different from SMS?

Rich Communication Services (RCS) marketing changes the way businesses connect with customers through mobile messaging. RCS messaging takes SMS to the next level. It delivers interactive, branded, and media-rich messages through a user’s native messaging app without needing extra applications.

RCS vs SMS: Key differences in features and participation

SMS limits businesses to 160 plain-text characters. RCS opens up new possibilities with better features:

• Message capacity: RCS handles up to 3,072 characters per message, while SMS stops at 160 characters
• Media support: High-resolution images, videos, GIFs, and audio files up to 100 MiB
• Branding elements: Verified sender profiles with logos and brand colors build trust quickly
• Interactive components: Buttons, quick replies, and carousels make communication smooth
• Analytics depth: Delivery confirmations, read receipts, and typing indicators that SMS cannot provide

These improvements show real results. RCS marketing campaigns get 3-7 times more clicks than rich SMS. Customers spend up to 45 seconds looking at content. About 90% of rich media messages are opened within 15 minutes. This shows much better participation than traditional text messaging.

Why RCS is gaining traction

RCS usage shot up last year after Apple decided to support the protocol on iOS devices. This big change led to a 500% jump in global traffic and a 14x increase in North America.

RCS gives businesses clear advantages over SMS:

• Verified sender identities make spam less of an issue. Only 17% of users avoid RCS messages because of sender concerns, compared to 41% who skip SMS
• Interactive elements let users shop, schedule appointments, and get support right in the message
• Better analytics help track campaign success more effectively than SMS

Massive growth chance: India’s 7X RCS message surge by 2026

India leads RCS adoption worldwide. About 27% of smartphone users already use RCS to talk with brands. The numbers tell an impressive story: RCS business messaging in India will jump from 32 billion to 226 billion messages by 2026.

India’s market shows incredible momentum thanks to widespread Android use and increasing digital activity. During 2024’s Black Friday sales, India saw RCS interactions spike by 1162%. Cyber Monday brought an even bigger increase of 1455.2%. The Indian RCS market should grow at 45% CAGR between 2025-2027.

Apple’s ongoing RCS rollout and operators building resilient ecosystems will help make this channel the global standard for rich business messaging.

Core features that make RCS ideal for marketing automation

RCS messaging does more than just modernize SMS. It comes packed with features that make marketing automation create interactive customer experiences. These features turn standard text campaigns into tools that boost conversions.

Interactive buttons and quick replies

RCS messages come with tappable buttons that make customer responses effortless. Customers don’t need to type keywords or click links, they can just select suggested replies or action buttons right in their message thread. These interactive elements help learn about customer intent and guide them through purchases or support with minimal effort. Each interaction can trigger automated flows based on specific responses that create tailored customer experiences.

Carousels for product discovery

Product carousels work like mini storefronts right in your messaging threads. Customers can swipe through multiple images that come with text and call-to-action buttons without leaving their messaging app. The horizontal scrolling format lets you showcase your full product range and creates a dynamic browsing experience. These carousel messages keep users engaged for up to 45 seconds, giving enough time to guide customers through decisions without extra messages.

Verified business profiles and branding

Each RCS message shows your verified business profile with your logo, brand colors, and verification badge. Recipients can instantly recognize legitimate communications through this visual confirmation. The verification system protects against phishing attempts effectively. Brands with verified profiles see better results, customers are more likely to read an RCS message than marketing emails.

Webviews for smooth shopping experiences

Webviews deliver immersive browser experiences right in messaging threads. Customers can browse catalogs, check their carts, and buy products without switching apps. They offer three display modes: full screen, half screen, or three-quarter screen. This flexibility works for different shopping scenarios while keeping the conversation flowing.

Live analytics and read receipts

RCS gives you detailed performance metrics that go beyond simple delivery reports. You can track read receipts, button clicks, carousel interactions, and conversation completion rates. This visibility helps optimize campaigns precisely and time follow-up messages better, which leads to higher conversion rates through informed decisions.

How to build high-converting RCS campaigns

RCS campaigns need good planning and execution to work well. Success starts with clear goals and precise audience targeting that maximize engagement and conversion potential.

Define your campaign goal and audience

Set specific objectives before you launch your RCS campaign. Your goals might include higher sales, better brand awareness, or improved customer support. RCS needs explicit opt-ins, so make sure you have user consent first. You can group your audience by demographics, loyalty status, and priorities to send relevant content that appeals to specific customer groups.

Use event-based triggers and post-purchase flows

Automated RCS communications work best with event-based triggers. Message delivery confirmations, read receipts, and button interactions create valuable opportunities to connect. Post-purchase flows show great results, order confirmations get 114.3% open rates while bulk emails only reach 14.4%. Quick-action buttons in abandoned cart reminders can boost conversion rates by 2.7% compared to standard messages.

Integrate with CRM for personalization

Your RCS campaigns combined smoothly with CRM systems create individual-specific messaging experiences. This combination gives you a complete view of customer interactions and helps send relevant communications. CRM data helps customize messages based on past purchases, browsing behavior, and customer preferences. 

Test across devices and optimize based on data

Test your RCS messages on Android devices and iOS platforms to check proper display before full launch. RCS looks different on iOS versus Android, so you need to optimize for both systems. Keep descriptions around 115 characters for iOS users to avoid cutoffs. Use a single action button to reduce extra clicks. Track delivery status, read receipts, and button interactions to improve your approach based on live performance data.

Top use cases and examples of RCS in action

Leading brands across the globe now use RCS messaging in creative ways that boost customer response and sales. Let’s get into the most successful ways companies make this technology work.

Product promotions with carousels

Businesses often use rich media carousels to showcase product collections, highlight seasonal bundles, or display multiple variations in one view. These interactive cards help customers quickly browse items, compare options, and take action directly from the message without switching apps or opening a browser.

Personalized offers with rich cards

Brands use visually engaging rich cards to deliver tailored offers based on customer preferences, past purchases, or browsing behavior. These cards can feature images, short descriptions, and direct action buttons, helping customers redeem offers instantly.

Abandoned cart reminders with quick actions

Cart abandonment rates are nowhere near acceptable at 70%, but RCS provides a solid solution. RCS messages show product images and add one-tap checkout buttons, unlike basic text alerts. Businesses can recover lost sales because customers complete their purchases right in their messaging app.

Back-in-stock or price-drop alerts

Customers receive an interactive notification with images, pricing, and a “Buy Now” or “Notify Me” button, allowing them to act instantly when popular products are available again or when prices change.

Appointment confirmations and rescheduling

RCS makes appointment reminders more effective with interactive buttons that let people confirm, cancel, or pick a new time. Messages look great and include all the key details about date, time, and location. Healthcare providers find this feature especially useful when they connect RCS to their electronic health record systems.

Customer surveys and feedback collection

Star-rating prompts and quick-response buttons in RCS are a great way to get customer feedback. More people respond because they can rate their experience right in the conversation. Restaurants can quickly gather feedback after meals through simple rating options.

Support follow-ups and satisfaction checks

RCS lets support teams check on customers with individual-specific follow-ups after solving their issues. Agents send troubleshooting guides that include step-by-step help or video tutorials directly in chat. This ongoing conversation builds stronger customer relationships and helps teams learn what works best.

Want to see how RCS can elevate your customer experience? Start your first RCS campaign with Gupshup today.

Conclusion

RCS messaging leads the vanguard of mobile marketing innovation and delivers unmatched engagement and conversion rates compared to traditional SMS. You’ve seen how interactive buttons, product carousels, and verified business profiles reshape standard messaging into powerful conversion tools. These features consistently achieve open rates above 90%.

The technology’s future looks bright. India’s RCS market will grow sevenfold by 2026, expanding from 32 billion to 226 billion messages. New technological breakthroughs are happening rapidly. Your RCS campaigns can work with multi-lingual chatbots and voice AI-powered solutions to create tailored customer experiences.

Google Wallet integration will make payments smoother right within messaging threads. This reduces friction in the customer’s experience. These updates, combined with webviews and event-based triggers, make RCS the best channel for conversational commerce.

RCS messaging has grown beyond a simple SMS replacement. It’s now crucial for any forward-thinking marketing strategy. Universal reach, rich interactive features, and detailed analytics create a powerful channel with measurable results. The real question isn’t whether to adopt RCS marketing, it’s how quickly you can implement it to stay relevant in our mobile-first world.