Despite the fact that QR codes have been around for decades, they have only really entered the public consciousness since the advent of the smartphone. QR codes, also known as Quick Response codes share a similar appearance to the kind of bar-codes that you would find in your everyday supermarket, yet they contain a far greater amount of information. From a marketing perspective, they provide an excellent bridge from the offline to digital world.
QR codes can be used to send consumers to digital landing pages to increase visibility and the effectiveness of their marketing. Here are some of the ways that QR codes can be used for business marketing.
Complement retail products
For any type of product you can find in a retail store, QR codes are perfect for providing customers with additional information. For instance, any store – from grocery to fashion – could provide information about where products were sourced and produced or even send shoppers to their online customer reviews.
Promotions
Everyone loves a promotion where they think they’re getting more for less. This is particularly true of promotions where people can really feel like one of the special insiders. QR codes are an excellent way to do this, offering specific giveaways and discounts for those who were lucky enough to walk into your store with their smartphone at the ready!
Business cards
This is a perfect example of why QR codes are so useful. Business cards only contain a limited amount of space for your company and contact details. By embedding a QR code onto your business card, people can be directed to your social media accounts, Youtube interviews, whitepapers and more.
Nonprofit donations
For people turning up to a charity event and are ready to place a donation then and there, QR codes can be used to connect them to a digital landing page for the organisation or a donation page.
Promotional Literature
Rather than producing reams of information on paper and incurring lots of print and distribution costs for direct marketing, keep the content of promotional literature pithy and lightweight. Include a QR code to direct customers to your website to see the full array of wares. This approach is ideal for many businesses including estate agencies, fashion, homewares and interior retailers because it is easier to showcase the full offering online.
Mobile ordering
This is particularly pertinent for restaurants. If a menu contains a QR code, this encourages a customer to find out more about the food that he or she is ordering. Also, it allows the customer to make the order online – the ultimate combination of offline and online marketing! Additionally, restaurants may choose to use a QR code in an advertisement for the restaurant which allows customers to make a reservation online.
Wearable QR codes
For fashion brands, incorporating QR codes into their apparel can be a great way to direct people to additional information about the clothes, sourcing and brand itself. In addition to the functional benefit, a QR code certainly will add some unique aesthetic flare to any piece of clothing!
Conclusion
QR codes are not only a cool way to provide your customers with additional information about your company or products, but they’re also environmentally friendly as less physical materials need to be printed to market your brand. Because web analytics software can be used to trace the efficacy of your QR codes, it means that the success of your marketing campaigns will be easier to measure, allowing you to make future improvements.
Photo credit: Micah Youello
Tags: QR codes
