So you bought that red Honda Accord and now everyone’s got one, right? Well, that’s what I feel like when it comes to QR Codes. They’re getting more and more prolific. Every catalog, every direct mail piece and a fair amount of print ads I’ve seen recently have included them. So what are they? How can you use them for your business and… most importantly, why should you care?
QR Codes are those bar codes that look like this…
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QR Codes have been made popular by their association to smart phones. (But they’ve been around for a while.) Basically, you have an “app” on your smart phone that takes a picture of the image and that acts as the scanner. But then what happens next?
A QR Code must be linked somewhere. What I mean is it really is a “chicken before the egg” thing. The chicken is the web page, the piece of content, or the phone number the code is linked to. Without having the web page, content or phone number first you really don’t have a QR Code.
So how can you use them?
The most practical use (in my humble but accurate opinion) is to place QR Codes in your print marketing. Here’s an example. I finished up a sales letter today. In the “call to action” I had the following… “Call me at 603-286-4864 to find out more. Or, Go online to www.MobileMarketingCMS.com or Scan this code with your smart phone.” Then, I had the QR code right there for the scanning. For some promotions I have added an even stronger call to action… “Scan this code now and register right from your smart phone and you’ll get an additional 2 FREE Weeks!”
Other creative uses…
- T-shirts. (see mine to the right)
- Your font door for missed walk-ins
- Signs where foot traffic is good.
- Fliers
- Postcards
- Bios (See my bio below)
Tattoos (great for Bike Week)
Avoid The Worst of All QR Code Sins
I see this all the time and it’s sad. The greatest mistake you can make with QR Codes is NOT sending them to a mobile optimized web page. Too many businesses are jumping into QR Codes without doing their homework. You have to assume the individual who scans your code will be viewing your site on a small screen. Their connection speed won’t be as fast as it would if they were on their laptop.
What does this mean??
It means, the excited prospect who scanned your code is now UN-excited because your “desktop site” does not look good and does not display well on their small screen. The lesson? You need to have your QR Codes linked to Mobile Sites or “Mobile Landing Pages.” When you do, you’re more likely to keep the prospect engaged.
So where do you get QR Codes?
There a bunch of QR Code generators out there and they are Free. But, if you are looking to use your QR Codes as part of an overall mobile marketing strategy we have a QR Code generator built into “Mobile Marketing CMS.” So, all in one spot, you can build your mobile site, create your landing pages for specific campaigns and download your QR Code. Easy.
As time goes on QR Codes will become more common. More and more of your prospects will look for them. Start using them now and get some “Quick Response” and quick jump on your competition.
