Getting Started with RCS

How RCS Pricing Works

Experienced marketing leaders know it takes more than flashy features and lofty promises to sell new tech up the chain of command. If you want to make a compelling case for adopting RCS within your organization, you also need a firm grasp of pricing. First, it’s important to acknowledge that no single entity sets the price for RCS. Instead, RCS pricing varies based on several factors, including:

• Market conditions
• Carrier agreements
• Message volume
• RCS agent type

In the U.S., each message is billed separately (similar to the SMS pricing model), and businesses can send two types of messages:

Composing Your First RCS Message

The process for creating an RCS message will look a little different depending on the solution you choose, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. The easiest path is to use an enterprise texting platform with a built-in, visual RCS composer. Rather than wrestling with API code for complex changes or reorganizing the way you store your visual assets, you can focus on crafting your message and leave the heavy lifting to your platform. Of course, not all composers are created equal. Be sure to choose a user-friendly composer developed by a provider with extensive experience in RCS — and text message marketing in general. For example, with TrueDialog, composing an RCS message is as simple as adding text (with or without dynamic values), uploading images, selecting a CTA, and pressing send.

Industry Deep Dives

Here’s what RCS in action looks like across eight industries — from in-seat concessions to roadside assistance, from class orientation to fraud alerts.

Sports & Entertainment

A sports venue can use RCS to boost attendance and revenue by sending interactive event reminders, ticket-upgrade offers, premium parking, concessions pre-orders, and mobile ticket access — all from a single thread.

Higher Education

A university can use RCS to keep newly admitted students on track with deadlines and next steps using interactive reminders — orientation scheduling, “know before you go” cards, and quick-reply confirmation.

Financial Services

A bank can use RCS to send trustworthy account notifications, including alerts about suspicious activity that prompt customers to act quickly — approve, freeze, or call fraud.

B2B Software

A SaaS brand can use RCS to share product updates and relevant marketing and sales content — webinar follow-ups, product tours, customer success stories, and free-trial invites.

Healthcare

A healthcare organization can use RCS to confirm appointments, provide directions, offer online check-in, and share other details that reduce no-shows and improve the patient experience.

Insurance

An insurance company can use RCS to cross-sell or up-sell complementary services — like roadside assistance, rental car reimbursement, or accident forgiveness — with one-tap acceptance.

Publishers

Publishing companies can use RCS to drive deeper engagement with the brand and their content — daily story carousels, breaking news cards, and tap-to-read previews.

Travel Companies

Travel companies can use RCS to offer a variety of promotional and exclusive deals — winter ski packages, sunny escapes, or river cruises — with shoppable carousels.

Measuring Your RCS Success

One of the greatest advantages RCS has over other messaging protocols is its ability to unlock deeper, more detailed analytics. In addition to tracking deliveries and link clicks, RCS lets brands track read rates and click-through rates on specific interactive elements — carousels, buttons, files.

In other words, you’re no longer confined to measuring whether your audience receives your texts — you’ll also have insight into what recipients do with your message.

Delivery & Reach

Delivery Rate

Percentage of messages your brand successfully delivered.

RCS Reach

Percentage of messages delivered as RCS.

Fallback Rate

Percentage of messages delivered as SMS/MMS.

Engagement

Open Rate

Percentage of messages opened or viewed.

Response Rate

Percentage of recipients who replied.

Click-Through Rate

Percentage who tapped a link or CTA button.

Interaction Rate

Percentage who engaged with an interactive element (quick-reply, carousel).

Campaign Quality

A/B Test

Any metric used to compare success between two variants.

Drop-Off Points

Where in a multi-step journey recipients stop engaging.

Customer Experience

Opt-Out Rate

Percentage who unsubscribe after receiving a text or campaign.

Time to Resolution

Length of time between a customer asking for help and resolution.

Survey Responses

Customer sentiment via in-message surveys (e.g., NPS-style).

Conversion & Business Impact

Conversion Rate

Percentage who complete a defined action — booking, signup, purchase.

Campaign ROI

Revenue generated from a campaign relative to total spend.

Cost per Conversion (CPC)

Total campaign spend divided by total conversions.

5 Tips to Help You Succeed with RCS

Like launching any new technology, getting started with RCS can feel overwhelming. Here are five best practices to help you excel with this modern messaging protocol.

1. Get Clear About Your “Why”

RCS is powerful, new, and poised to change how organizations interact with audiences. To make a sound case for it, pinpoint where and how it can provide real value. Ask yourself:

• What challenges are we encountering in existing communications that RCS could help overcome?
• What advantages will RCS bring to our organization?
• Which use cases could be the most impactful?

2. Identify Clear Goals

Once you know where and how you want to implement RCS, set specific, realistic, measurable goals. Clarity about your objectives will also help you define the exact KPIs you’ll use to track progress.

3. Create Your Crawl, Walk, Run Scenarios

Implementing RCS doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing. Many brands start slowly with one or two use cases, then layer in richer features over time.

• Crawl: Get verified and run a one-time, high-impact campaign — like an event reminder.
• Walk: Expand to regular campaigns and progressively richer features.
• Run: Add carousels, files, custom CTAs, and triggered/automated campaigns.

4. Consider Compliance

SMS compliance is reactive — RCS compliance is preventive. Carriers approve brands and message flows up front, and because every message traces back to your verified profile, you must follow consent and behavior rules closely. Opt-outs must be handled immediately, and violations can lead to instant agent suspension.

5. Choose the Right RCS Platform

Your business texting platform has a tremendous impact on RCS success. Select a platform with a solid fallback path, RCS expertise, and the support to help you scale over time. TrueDialog is committed to helping brands through every step — from registering your agent to launching, measuring, and scaling.

Taking the Leap into RCS

Marketers know — possibly better than anyone — how dramatically consumer behavior is shifting and how quickly the communication landscape has evolved.

Today, attempting to engage audiences often feels like a losing battle, especially if you’re still relying on an outdated playbook. The channels that once dominated digital marketing — email, social — are becoming less effective as they grow saturated and harder to predict. And while SMS marketing has grown substantially, audiences are craving something richer and more immersive.

With RCS, your brand can deliver the experiences your recipients are yearning for — rich, interactive, branded conversations that drive deeper engagement and better outcomes. The path forward is clear: start small, build steadily, and choose a partner who can guide you every step of the way.