QR Codes: A Great New Marketing Technology

Lucille Wood
codes
great
March 5, 2022
0 Comments

QR Codes: A Great New Marketing Technology

If you are always looking for creative ways to promote your business, there is a great new technology called QR codes that you need to know about! A QR code is a barcode that you can scan with an app on your Smartphone. The scanned barcode contains some sort of hidden content, either a text message, website URL or phone number. The QR actually stands for “quick response”, as it enables someone to access and execute the content stored in the barcode on the fly. Using QR codes is a fun way to engage your audience and it shows that your business is cutting edge.

A Few Simple Ways To Use QR codes:

Add them to your business cards with more information that won’t fit on such a small space.

Add them to product packaging to promote your website or direct them to product support.

Help people find your business by using a one with a link to your location on Google maps.

Use a them as a coupon. The user can scan it to reveal a discount code.

Place a them on your website with your email address or phone number.

Put them on all your business paraphernalia and swag.

How do I create a QR Code?

Creating a QR Code is very simple. There are several websites that allow you to very easily generate one. I used Kaywa. It provides a form where you choose the type of content (either a website URL, text, phone number or SMS) then enter the corresponding information and click generate. Literally there is nothing to it. Your newly generated QR code magically appears to the left, where you can then left click or ctrl click (Mac) to save it to your computer. From there the possibilities are only limited to your imagination!

How Do I Read A QR Code On My Smartphone?

You need to add an application on your phone in order scan QR codes. Just access your app store and search “QR code.” I have an iPhone and I had several apps to choose from. Some were free but I decided to pay the whole $1.99 for quiQR because it received higher ratings. The quiQR app will both scan and generate QR codes. To scan a new QR code just click “scan QR code” then center it in the box, when it is lined up properly it will scan the code automatically. If a website URL is stored in the code, it will bring up your browser and go to the website entered. If it’s a phone number is stored in the code it will dial the number. Obviously there will be differences depending on the app you choose and the operating system on your phone, but this basically shows how easy they are to use.…

Lucille Wood
allow
businesses
August 25, 2021
0 Comments

Are QR Codes Fading Out? Only If Self-Absorbed Businesses Will Allow It

The Changing Nature of Technology
If one thing is for certain, it’s that technology is ever-changing. Being far from immutable in all senses of the word, technology is always shifting and flowing as it marches onward. Perhaps these QR naysayers do have some validity to their claims; although not to the extent that they probably imagine. While it’s true that virtually all technology will get replaced eventually, it’s not true to say that the technology in question is not going to have a strong run… and QR technology is fresh in the industry.
So What’s the Problem?
So why do people think that QR codes are going to get replaced before they’ve even had a chance to fulfill their full potential? It’s because people use them stupidly. That’s right: stupidly. Most businesses and companies have been using QR codes like narcissistic drama queens. What’s the bottom line? People don’t care about your website. Many people don’t bother to scan QR codes because there is simply no reward for doing so. Think about it from a consumer’s point of view: if you’re sitting in a pub, drinking a pint of your favorite beer, and you happen to catch a glimpse of a poster on the wall for a beer company, and on that poster is a QR code, are you really going to pull out your smartphone, activate the camera, and scan the QR code? For what? So you can be brought to a webpage that promotes Miller Genuine Draft? No. You’re not going to do that. Why? Because there’s absolutely no motivation for it.
So What’s the Solution?
The solution to this should be obvious to all: offer the consumer a good reason to scan your QR code. The aim of marketers needs to be to make QR codes as ubiquitous as possible – that way, people won’t think about the effort it takes to take out their smartphone and snap a photo. It will become second nature to them. But giving users no motivation will not achieve the ubiquity of QR technology. Companies need to start using QR technology in intelligent ways. They can do this by offering things like coupons, promotions and contests that will spark user interest. If businesses will wake up from their self-absorbed, megalomaniacal coma, they can together start creating the well-deserved buzz that QR codes should already be fostering.
QR technology provides limitless ideas to marketers – and it’s their responsibility to use it to its full potential. So what’s the conclusion of all of this? If companies don’t smarten up, then the naysayers may be right. Innovative and intelligent technology will die if not used in an innovative and intelligent fashion. Let’s start using this useful technology in more creative ways. By doing so, it is certain that QR technology will undoubtedly have a long shelf-life.…