QR Codes are the future of small business marketing and they are racing towards us in small black and white squares!
This might sound like a bold claim, but bear in mind I “got” Twitter immediately in 2006 and have been using it ever since, to create a community of REAL followers (not from using any black-hat automated software) and to link up my blog and all my social media profiles so that when I blog, it tweets and updates everything! So when I saw QR Codes and realised what they can do, I got a similar frisson of excitement – a premonition if you like!
Not many people had a business blog in 2006, certainly not on WordPress, much less a Twitter account, so believe me when I say QR Codes are not just a passing fad. They are just such a bloomin’ great idea I am sure they are here to stay and UK security service MI5 agree with me (read on to find out how!)
In this blog post I’m going to cover what QR Codes actually are, how to read them, how to generate QR Codes for YOUR business, today, for free, where you can use them and why you should jump on this brilliantly effective, dirt cheap marketing tactic to grow your real world business and make you more money right now.
What Is A QR Code?
Essentially QR Codes are like a barcode, but square. A QR Code is a little square of black and white shapes, each one being unique, that anyone can scan using their iPhone or Smartphone and get jumped to a page on your website – or anywhere on the web in fact – where ideally they are offered something of value, in return for their name and email, mobile phone number or any other details.
People are used to bar codes, especially now we are scanning our own shopping in supermarkets and many people have the app that let’s you scan a bar code of a product and find out the best / cheapest place to buy that product online. It won’t take long for people to pick up on QR Codes in the same way, especially if they find out there are good reasons for doing so, like discounts or coupons or gifts.
Where Do I Get A QR Code Reader?
Simply visit your phone’s App Store and do a search in there for a QR Reader. They are free and available for most phones nowadays.
Where To Find QR Codes
Great question! You know how you decide to buy a red car, and then you see red cars everywhere? Not just any old red car, but your specific future red car! Well, after you read this article, you will start seeing QR Codes everywhere – like I do! See below for some great QR Codes examples I’ve come across just this week.
I suspect in the very near future we will see QR Codes in newspaper ads, roadside posters, on restaurant menus (to fill up quiet nights), business cards, on invoices and envelopes, on the sides of cars and vans, on websites, Facebook, your Google Places page (mine is!) and just about anywhere in fact, where you have limited space but you want to promote a special offer.
As people get used to scanning QR Codes, and realise that it’s usually in their best interests in the way of a discount, special offer, unique offer, business owners who use them will see a growth in traffic to their websites and an explosion in their “hot prospect” mailing lists.
(You do have a website, a Google Places page and a “hot prospect” mailing list don’t you? If not, please talk to me as soon as possible!)
This Is A QR Code – Some Great Examples
Here’s some great examples of QR Codes – first of all, mine!
The first one, at the beginning of this blog post, if scanned, takes you to the page where you can sign up to watch 6 x free videos on Business Success.
The second one, if scanned, takes you to the page on iTunes, where you can subscribe for free to our podcast, where we interview successful business people regularly, and share great resources and news that could make you more money.
This week, I spotted a QR Code in this New Look advertisement, in the Metro free newspaper. If you scan the QR Code, you get taken to a web page where there are the shoes that were featured in the ad. They missed a big trick there – their QR Code could have taken me to a mobile landing page, where I enter my name and email for a discount voucher for the store. That would bring me into the store, next time I’m in town.
I turned the page and lo and behold, the security service MI5 had a quarter page ad – yes! A huge quarter page ad with a purple background and a HUGE QR Code and just one line of text saying “Careers at MI5. Worth more than just scanning over”. If you scan that QR Code – and I was surprised it worked because it sounded a bit sarcastic and as they had inserted a little pic in the middle (click to enlarge and see) – you get taken to the Careers Page at the MI5 website. Pretty impressive stuff.
Again, they missed a trick in not sending me to a mobile landing page, where they could have grabbed my name and email and followed up with something of interest to people looking for a career at MI5. I’m not by the way, right now, but if I was….
Then just last night, I arrived at my local pub The Brunswick to be greeted by the landlord – an Action Taker if ever I’ve met one!! He took me right outside to show me the QR Code he’s created, after I told him about them last week, that is stuck right on the lecturn outside the pub, that promotes future events. Here it is!
He’s going to set up a special offer, and get the QR code on all the posters, promotional materials, newspaper advertising, his website…..
O yes! He “gets” QR codes all right.
How To Create A QR Code
I hope you are seeing the potential now, especially as QR Codes are FREE to set up. All you need is the URL of the page you want to send your traffic. You can have one, or several, and use them however you like.
Where Do I Find A Free QR Code Generator
Just do a search on Google for “Free QR Code Generator” and pick one – it’s really easy and you can download the QR code picture to use wherever you like.
Do QR Codes Work?
Well, I proved above that they work from newspapers! When I was presenting to my local Worthing & Adur Chamber about social media and how to most effectively use it to market your business, someone in the audience downloaded a QR Reader as I was talking, came up to the front and scanned my QR Code from the screen, and when taken to my Free Video page, announced to the whole room “It Works!” in delight.
Only time will tell whether they work to grow your business but all my instincts are screaming “YES!”. As a consumer I would scan them, even just out of curiosity, and if I was alerted to the fact I might get a discount or a bonus, well of course! Look at the success of Groupon and Living Social – we love a bargain!
What You Can Use QR Codes For, To Grow Your Business
Where do I start? The possibilities are endless, but I’d keep it simple to start with. Create an incentive for your customers so that when they scan the code they get a gift of some kind – that creates a wonderful feeling of reciprocity and they will be much more willing to take the next action you require, perhaps entering their name and email or mobile number (if you do mobile marketing).
Think also about the fact that you have to educate your real world visitors or customers as to what it is – so perhaps add your QR Code to an advertisement, poster or menu with a little line that says “Visit your App Store, Download Free QR Reader App & Scan This For A Free…………..”
You could visit your local sign writer and get them to create a big old magnetic QR Code sign for the sides of your van or car and just see what happens as you drive around! I did a whole blog post on van advertising – the right way and the wrong way – and this makes it so quick and easy for someone to capture your details if they want to find out more about your business after they get home.
QR Codes – My Conclusion
Nope, it’s not going to be a fad, I’m sure of it. There are too many benefits to both the business and the end user and it’s quick, simple and cheap to set up. If you get on board with this, like the Landlord of The Brunswick and MI5, You can really shoot ahead of your competitors on this one and be playing with the big boys!
If you are not yet convinced, here’s a great post on Mashable by Hamilton Chan, saying pretty much the same thing. ”Why QR Codes Will Go Mainstream”
If you love the sound of all this, but are too busy and just want all this set up and run on an ongoing basis for you, why not talk to us? Our “21st Century Marketing Dept” service will create you a beautiful yet interactive WordPress website, with a blog, search engine optimisation, a mobile-friendly landing page, a “hot prospects” mailing list facility, a QR Code or five, a Google Places page and a Facebook page, both of which are great places to show off your QR Codes! Then we will look after it all for you and keep your business marketing bang up to date – both online and offline. Just click here to request a Business Strategy Session >>>
QR codes are great but they are also not just limited to url’s. From a marketing perspective using urls to take you to a lead page / website is a good use but QR codes can provide plain text and business cards (in vcard format) as well. Most smartphones with the right software will scan a QR code setup with vcard info and prompt you to save to your contacts / addressbook so this is another useful function of these modern barcodes.