Let’s start with what a QR code actually is?

Some of you may have seen these popping up in unexpected places, on adverts, the signage of shops, restaurants and delivery vans…?

QR codes are the odd looking monochrome square barcodes that can be used to link up with on your mobile phone. Well, that was the start of it anyway, now they’re being used more and more on adverts, direct mailings and even on the back of business cards…

As smart phones and other high tech devices continue to gain in popularity more and more businesses are going to be using QR codes as part of their marketing and communications tools…

QR is short for “quick response” and the idea is that its superquick, instead of typing in an email address to your phone you can just scan a QR 2d barcode and you’ll be redirected there pretty much immediately.

If you’re wondering who would use such a thing, just stop for a second and consider the immediacy of this idea…. Imagine that you’re on a train, reading your favourite magazine – you see a product you like the look of and instead of folding the page over and remembering to search for it later when you get home, you can simply point your phone at it, scan it and basically get additional information, more product pictures or even be delivered to a shop that sells the product so you can buy it online.
The immediacy of that has to be impressive ?

The good news is that there are plenty of sites that enable you to create a QR code free of charge, so this is one marketing initiative that doesn’t need to cost you a fortune.

If you’re wondering how you might use these monochrome digital signposts, then here’s a few ideas:

•On your product packaging – care cards, information leaflets

•On any kind of printed information you give out – promotional leaflets for example.

•On your business card

•On a T-shirt ! Yes, really !

•As part of your shop signage

•On your livery (if you have delivery vehicles)

Those are just a few ideas to get you started. Depending on your business there are many ways that you could use these to your advantage…

One of the real joys about QR codes is that you can track traffic through them, and therefore know for definite how many people have come from a particular advertising campaign for example – which as anyone who’s had to pay for advertising knows would be really handy – imagine knowing for definite whether your advertising produces a result …?

I guess its rather like the upgraded coupon service that supermarkets used to (and some still do) run – you can really see how many people come into your store because of each piece of marketing.

If you’re already thinking ahead, your mind will be buzzing from the realisation that you could run different offers with different codes attached that link to the appropriate pages on your website…

The possibilities are endless and with the daily increase in smart phone useage I predict that QR codes will become more widespread and prevalent in business marketing…