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Be Advised
Jennifer Smith Broeckling

QR Code Craze

Posted Friday, October 14, 2011, at 9:32 AM

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  • Over 70% of QR Code scanning is worthless!

    Sometimes business owners can be their own worst enemies. They come across a new marketing strategy and dive head first into it. You only have to see the daily examples of bad QR Code usage to understand exactly what I'm going on about.

    QR Codes have recently received much publicity and are appearing everywhere from billboards to haircuts, in magazines on business cards and even on TV screens. There have been some really worthwhile and engaging QR Code marketing campaigns especially the trial by Tesco in the South Korean subways, with their virtual supermarket.

    QR Codes and the emerging Near Field Communication are merely ways in which brands and companies can connect with mobile users. What many of the early adopters of QR Codes have failed to realise is that the connection is only the beginning of the engagement between the brand or business and the consumer. Under a third of mobile users who have used QR Codes say that the reward they receive is worth the effort. If that is the case then we can safely assume that 70% of brands or businesses are using QR Codes ineffectively. For those like me who are involved in the QR Code industry these statistics could be frightening. I say could be frightening because I sincerely believe that QR Codes can be an effective marketing tool if they are used correctly. They act as bridge between the offline and online worlds. Once marketers have got the consumer to cross that bridge they must realise that this is only the beginning of the engagement cycle. The consumer has gone through multiple steps to make the connection and cross the bridge and the marketing companies must do similar if the connection is to be rewarding for both parties.

    In a recently released white paper "The QR Question" from research firm Russell Herder nearly half those interviewed felt the exchange was unfair.

    In my mind many businesses think that by using QR Codes they will be regarded as 'Cutting edge' as early adopters of new technology. They go on-line find a free QR Code, slap in on some printed material and hey presto their cool!

    Like any marketing initiative the use of QR Codes should be well thought out, goals set and ways to achieve these goals carefully planned out. QR Code Marketers should be looking at ways of rewarding customers, building loyalty and helping them market the business through referrals, word-of-mouth and social networking.

    QR codes present remarkable opportunities to connect with the right consumers at exactly the right time. Imagine a customer walking into your store he or she scans a QR Code and you deliver something of real value direct to the mobile device. You should research what motivates your customers and the reward you deliver should be appropriate.

    Another major pitfall in QR Code Marketing is that businesses fails to track and trace the QR Code usage so they have very little idea of what is working and what is not. The are some great QR Code generating platforms out there now that will allow you to generate unique QR Codes and track and trace their usage. If marketing companies and businesses have no idea when and where the QR Codes are being scanned how can they improve their marketing?

    http://www.qr-reactor.com

    -- Posted by QR-Reactor on Fri, Oct 14, 2011, at 12:52 PM
  • You will find loads of informative articles and advice on QR Codes and Near Field Communication @

    http://www.smart-poster.co.uk/smart-poster-nfc-tags

    -- Posted by QR-Reactor on Fri, Oct 14, 2011, at 1:21 PM
  • Hi Jenifer,

    Good article on the qr codes. My daughter and I just got smart phones and scan them all the time. Have got some useful information from the and joined some contest. I believe they are the wave of the future and will keep using them. I think they are a great idea whoever invented them.

    -- Posted by colleenplatz on Fri, Oct 14, 2011, at 7:47 PM
  • Thanks for posting, Colleen. Happy scanning!

    -- Posted by Jennifer Smith Broeckling on Sat, Oct 15, 2011, at 10:22 PM
  • QR Codes are a great way for businesses to connect with clients and customers in new and exciting ways. As a marketer you connect your clients to website URL's, phone numbers, email addresses, Facebook Fan Pages (Like button), Twitter Follow button and much more. Visit www.TheQRCodeMarketingGuide.com to learn how to create a successful QR Code marketing campaigns. Just as important, you will learn how NOT to create QR Code marketing campaigns that FAIL.

    -- Posted by tcoffin88 on Tue, Oct 25, 2011, at 10:31 PM
  • Thanks for the link, Tyler - your book looks interesting!

    -- Posted by Jennifer Smith Broeckling on Wed, Oct 26, 2011, at 8:08 AM