Google RCS vs. Apple Messages for Business

Today’s customers are looking for mobile-friendly, conversational experiences with brands, in which they can conveniently engage, search and purchase all from the same channel. RCS Business Messaging (RBM) and Apple Messages for Business (AMB) are two channels growing in popularity thanks to this trend. Both provide rich, conversational experiences from the comfort of your customers’ mobile screens.

There are differences in how communication on these platforms is initiated, and they have different entry points, but each has significant potential benefits for improving customer experiences and engagement. 

In this post, we’re going to explore the similarities and differences between RBM and AMB and look at the best ways brands can use them for marketing, support and nurturing. 

First, it’s important for brands to understand how their customers communicate in their day-to-day lives before they start to strategize how to interact with them. Depending on what smartphone a customer uses, they are likely to be comfortable using either iMessage for iPhone, or RCS for Android users.

iMessage is a messaging service created by Apple that lets you send messages, photos, and videos between Apple devices like iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple Watches. It uses the internet to send messages which means you can use Wi-Fi or your cell phone data plan to send and receive messages. iMessages appear in blue bubbles in the Messages app, while regular SMS texts are green.  

Some features of iMessage include:

RCS on the other hand, is a rich messaging channel from Google that also uses an internet connection to send and receive messages between Android users. RCS is considered the evolved version of SMS and MMS, allowing for users to experience rich messaging features without having to download an OTT channel like WhatsApp or Viber. 

Some of those features include:

Something important to note is that Apple has adopted RCS messaging on iOS. Previously, RCS was not available on Apple devices, meaning Apple users and Android users could not use a rich messaging channel to interact without downloading a non-native channel like WhatsApp or Viber.  

This is set to change the way users communicate with each other, allowing for better messaging experiences for all users of any device. iMessage will remain the main messaging channel between iPhone users, but now rich messaging capabilities are being expanded to interactions with Android users. 

This also pushed many carriers to adopt RCS as a messaging channel so that this P2P messaging capability will be available to many more users globally.

RBM is a messaging channel for business messaging that includes rich features, such as carousels, rich cards, quick-reply buttons and call-to-action buttons – aka RCS for A2P messaging. It’s the evolved version of SMS, which only supports text message exchange. 

The benefits of RBM:

A few other points about RBM:

The fact that RCS is an upgrade on SMS means it provides a more interactive and engaging customer experience when used for business communications. 

Apple Messages for Business gives consumers the ability to message your business directly from their iPhone, Mac, or Apple Watch – aka iMessage for A2P messaging. Customers can connect with you via multiple entry points – namely, Apple Maps or Spotlight search.  

Apple Messages for Business is built around ensuring the customer has the best possible experience on the channel. The goal is to encourage more “tap” and less typing. So, the design and strategy behind the messages that brands send over AMB is extremely important.  

AMB messages enable end-to-end journeys for customers. It allows users to choose products – including seeing products showcased with a 3D feature –  and purchase options, book appointments and reach out to a business without the need to download a separate app. Rich-text capabilities mean business agents can send text, in-channel slideshows, videos, and other media to help customers get the information they need to help them convert. 

So, what are the main differences between RCS Business Messaging and Apple Messages for Business? And which channel might be best for your business? Let’s focus on the first question first and look at the main features of each messaging option. We’ve laid them out in a table so that you can see their similarities and differences clearly: 

While both channels have their strong points, when used together or in conjunction with SMS or email, that’s when you can maximize their potential. RCS is great for conversational marketing, and encouraging people to move down the funnel. On the other hand, ABM helps cover the iOS market from search to pay. This was certainly true for our client CIAK Auto, who saw great results from Apple Messages for Business.

The best time to use one of these channels of course depends on what you want to achieve, but we’ll give a quick overview of which should work best for different uses. 

As mentioned, RBM is business-initiated – in other words, outbound, though once the conversation is initiated a user can reach out via this conversation. This means that it can be a great option when your organization wants to launch a marketing campaign or begin a new process of lead generation.  

AMB conversations are customer-initiated. Meaning your brand cannot reach out to customers until they have started the conversation. So, it’s critical to provide multiple entry points to encourage them to reach out. AMB messages are built to give customers the best possible experience over the channel and are ideal for customer support use cases.  

Both channels can be easily integrated into your existing systems via API.  

If API integration isn’t ideal for your business, you can always access these channels through a conversational experience platform, like Infobip’s. You can offer customers enriched end-to-end experiences using the following tools: 

Building a chatbot can help off-load tasks from busy agents over AMB or engage customers during campaigns using RBM. You can build your chatbot using a drag and drop interface and customize your messages.  

It’s important to note that Apple requires brands to use a chatbot to send messages to end-users, so that they can ensure they are getting the best possible experience over AMB. 

Both channels can be connected to a cloud contact center, Conversations, so that live agents can pick up the conversation and provide support. Conversations provides agents with contextualized information, ensuring that they have a full view of chat history and who they are speaking to.  

Once again, Apple requires brands to use a cloud contact center like Conversations in order to send messages on AMB, as the end-user experience is of the upmost importance for them. 

A customer engagement platform is ideal for building marketing campaigns and message flows for strategic customer communication. You can use Broadcast messages to send personalized and targeted campaigns on RBM, or engagement messages on AMB.  

Finally, a customer data platform is a must-have tool for the best experiences. Collect all your customer data in one place and use segmentation and attributes to help build messages that will make the greatest impact on customers on either channel. 

RBM and AMB clearly have their differences, but each has something valuable to offer your business – whether now or in the future.  

Each channel supports rich media sharing and offers an interactive way to support customers towards making a purchase. And each can be easily integrated into your existing systems to help optimize your customer communications – both outbound and inbound.