Key Takeaways
- A First Orion survey of current customers found 83% say a branded RCS message that makes it easy to act or initiate a return call would be extremely or very valuable to their business strategy.
- Customers no longer just want to read a message. They want to act on it immediately, without leaving the conversation or having to hunt for a phone number.
- Anonymous SMS and MMS cannot meet this bar. They lack verified identity, interactive buttons, and a direct path back to the business.
- First Orion's ENRICH™ Branded Messaging delivers verified sender identity, interactive RCS content, and two-way conversation, giving businesses the actionable messaging their own customers say they need.
What Did First Orion's Survey Find?
First Orion surveyed a portion of its customer base and found that 83% said a branded RCS message that makes it easy to act or initiate a return call would be extremely or very valuable to their business strategy. That is not a marginal preference. It is a near-consensus signal from businesses already invested in branded communications: actionable messaging is now a strategic priority, not an experiment.
The finding matters because it reframes what "good" messaging looks like. For years, business texting success was measured by delivery and open rates. This survey shows the bar has moved. Businesses want messages that let customers do something immediately, whether that is confirming an appointment, tracking a delivery, or calling back with one tap.
Why Does Actionability Matter So Much to Business Strategy?
Every extra step between a message and a completed action is a chance to lose the customer. A plain SMS notification tells a customer that something has happened. It does not let them resolve it. If a customer needs to call back, they must copy a number, open their dialer, and hope they reach the right department. That friction shows up as missed callbacks, abandoned tasks, and lower ROI on every messaging campaign.
Branded, actionable RCS closes that gap. A verified message with a tap-to-call button, a tap-to-confirm action, or an embedded link turns a notification into a completed interaction. When 83% of a customer base says this capability is extremely or very valuable, it means the businesses closest to the problem, First Orion's own customers, see actionable messaging as directly tied to business outcomes, not just customer experience polish.
Why Can't Traditional SMS Deliver This?
SMS was built for one-way, plain-text alerts. It has no verified sender identity, no native support for interactive buttons, and a 160-character limit that leaves no room for context or next steps. Businesses have patched around these limits for years with MMS attachments and separate phone numbers that customers do not recognize.
That patchwork is exactly what is eroding results. Anonymous numbers create hesitation before a customer even opens the message. And once opened, plain text offers no built-in way to act. The 83% figure reflects businesses recognizing that this legacy approach cannot support the level to which customer expectations have moved.
How Does ENRICH Branded Messaging Solve This?
ENRICH is built around the exact gap the survey identifies: turning messages into actions.
Verified identity from the first message. Every ENRICH message displays a verified sender profile, including business name and logo, directly in the customer's native messaging app. Customers know who is texting them before they read a word, removing the hesitation anonymous numbers create.
Built-in action, not just information. ENRICH supports interactive RCS content, including tap-to-call and tap-to-respond buttons, so customers can initiate a return call or confirm an action without leaving the conversation thread. This is the specific capability 83% of surveyed customers pointed to as extremely or very valuable.
Two-way conversation by default. ENRICH enables two-way conversational application-to-person (A2P) messaging. Customer replies route back through First Orion's webhook, so a business can respond in real time instead of forcing the customer to start over on a different channel.
Reach that matches the opportunity. ENRICH reaches all Android and supported iOS devices across every major U.S. carrier, so actionable, branded messaging is not limited to a fraction of the customer base.
What Does This Mean for Businesses Still Relying on Plain SMS?
The 83% figure is a warning sign for any business still sending anonymous, one-way texts. Customers and the businesses that message them are converging on the same expectation: messages should be actionable, verified, and easy to respond to. Businesses that delay this shift risk lower engagement, more missed callbacks, and a growing trust gap between their calls and their texts.
Businesses that pair ENRICH Branded Messaging with INFORM® Branded Calling go a step further, presenting the same verified name and logo whether they are calling or texting a customer, managed through a single provider instead of stitching together separate vendors for voice and messaging.
SMS vs. ENRICH RCS Messaging
ENRICH leverages Rich Communications Services (RCS). While both RCS and SMS are delivered in the recipient's native messaging application, SMS is limited to 160 characters of text and relies on MMS capabilities to support picture and video. ENRICH delivers rich, interactive experiences typically reserved for third-party messaging applications and enables rich media content like high-resolution images, media attachments, and carousels.
ENRICH Frequently Asked Questions
What did First Orion's survey find about branded RCS messaging? First Orion surveyed its current customer base and found that 83% said a branded RCS message that makes it easy to act or initiate a return call would be extremely or very valuable to their business strategy.
Why is actionable messaging more valuable than standard notifications? Actionable messaging removes the extra steps between a notification and a resolved task. Instead of customers copying a phone number or switching apps to respond, they can tap to call or confirm directly within the message.
How does ENRICH make messages actionable? ENRICH delivers interactive RCS content with built-in buttons for actions like tap-to-call and tap-to-respond, plus two-way conversational messaging, so customer replies route directly back to the business.
What devices or carriers support RCS and ENRICH? ENRICH reaches all Android and iOS devices (version 18.1 and above) across all major US carriers.
What reporting is available with ENRICH? ENRICH Branded Messaging provides delivery and open rates and customer response rates for messages sent to RCS-capable devices.
Give Your Customers the Actionable Messaging They're Asking For
83% of First Orion's own customers say actionable branded RCS messaging is extremely or very valuable to their business strategy. The question is no longer whether to make the shift, but how quickly.
Get ENRICH Branded Messaging and start sending verified, two-way RCS messages that let your customers act the moment they read them.
Learn About the Solutions Behind Every Trusted Connection
From small businesses to global enterprises, First Orion helps you increase answer rates, verify identity, and build customer trust and transparency.
INFORM® Branded Calling - Show your business name, logo, and reason for call so more customers answer with confidence.
AFFIRM® Reputation Monitoring - Monitor how your outbound calls appear and catch labeling discrepancies fast.
SENTRY® Call Blocking - Block bad actors from spoofing your numbers, protecting trust with your customers.
PROTECT+ Risk Detection - Detect suspicious inbound call activity in real time with intelligent risk analysis.
Related Resources
5 Principles for Navigating the RCS Evolution
ENRICH 101: Going Beyond Voice With Branded Messaging
ENRICH Branded Messaging by First Orion Revolutionizes Enterprise Customer Engagement
ENRICH Best Practices: How to Get the Most Out of Every Branded Message
How Banks and Credit Unions Can Use ENRICH Branded Messaging to Build Member Trust
