QR Codes In Business Marketing
Resources » QR Codes In Business Marketing
In the previous article on what are QR codes, we gave you an overview of what QR codes are, and how they work. In this follow up segment, we will provide more specific applications and their potential benefits, to help you determine if they are a good fit for your business as a means to reach your target customers. If you feel there may be a place for QR codes in your marketing strategy, the following are several imaginative suggestions on how you can implement QR codes.
On business cards. This option is more obvious than creative, but may be a way to condense more detailed information about your business, than you can fit on a traditional card. A creatively crafted QR code could direct recipients of your card to your Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn or Twitter accounts, with very little effort or printed space. The same technique may be applied to printed flyers, brochures or posters.
Scavenger quests. It seems most QR code marketing ideas include this one, probably because scavenger hunts are commonly known to be entertaining and participant engaging, while not necessarily easy to manage. Still, for end result or prize contest marketing, a scavenger hunt tactic can be a great method to get prospects to investigate points of interest they might not otherwise visit.
Interactive product labeling. Imagine a restaurant diner enjoying seasonal beer from your micro-brewery, or a bottle of your vineyards finest merlot. They look for the QR code on the bottle and scan it, instantly connecting them to a mobile site where they can learn more about your product, including links enabling them to purchase a case for home delivery...before the waiter even brings the check!
Storefront displays. Don't want to miss sales, but can’t afford to have your store open around the clock. Place a "Sorry we missed you, Shop Online Now!" QR code in your store window, turning a potential lost sale into an instant online customer, while collecting valuable data from them for follow up marketing at the same time.
Promotional discounts and free offers. This is a simple and effective way to increase patronage from iPhone and Android users, via unique discounts that are only offered through QR codes, and may be included in advertisements or displayed throughout your store. With proper programming, the original scanner of the QR code can even re-tweet or forward the offer to their friends and followers.
T-shirts or other clothing. Add your QR code on your company t-shirt or other clothing item for some brazen self-promotion. Heck, print it on Fido the store mascot’s doggy wear or giveaway cloth shopping bags for public events. Once at the sporting event, street fair or campaign stop, set your employees or volunteer army loose with multiple, scan able messages for other attendees to enjoy. Go crazy with your QR Code design. Once the QR code has been produced in an image editing tool like Photoshop, you may want to incorporate your own brand or logo in the design. Don’t ever print thousands of copies of a promotional piece without testing the QR code first!
Generate more "Likes" and "Follows". Lead your audience to Facebook "Like" buttons or to your Twitter page to quickly register as a follower, utilizing mobile-friendly landing pages. Once you have engaged a follower through a Facebook or Twitter link, the better your chances of creating a long-term, permission based, and captive customer prospect.
Leverage your finite retail space. Why take up valuable floor space with information posters or audio kiosks, when informative QR codes strategically placed next to all types of merchandise, could boost POP sales by responding to product questions on the spot. Revolutionize museum tours or auction events by eliminating traditional headsets for audio feedback. Hardware stores could link to product demos or do-it-yourself videos on YouTube. Organic grocers could link to information and interviews from local food growers. What about unbiased, real time product or book reviews, to help make the buying decision easier, or a link to register for a rain check on “out of stock” items.
Increase e-commerce sales. Assuming your e-commerce solution is designed to handle it, you can create a code linking to a URL that will in turn populate a shopping cart with specific products.
Populate your email subscriber list. Consumers want to know, "what's in it for me." If you make sure you give shoppers a convincing reason to subscribe to your email list, they may likely do so if directed their through your QR code.
Create a "call to action". Quite literally, when a QR code includes a direct dial to your business! If you want to get the phones buzzing at your company or project headquarters, simply create a code that will dial a predetermined number, or generate outgoing SMS text communications.
It is plain to see, there are innumerable methods to use QR codes to entice and involve your intended audience. Because a QR code can link to infinite data sources, half the fun is the anticipation and surprise of where the code will lead a curious scanner. For more ideas or assistance with incorporating QR codes in your small business marketing, contact us today!
Resources » QR Codes In Business Marketing
Published Aug 25, 2011 by Matthew Fleming Inc.