For a lot of companies, marketing strategies often break into two divisions—online and print. While they likely share similarities in design and messaging, the inherent differences between a brochure and a website keep them from being truly integrated.
But the growing use of Quick Response codes (QR codes) changes all of that. You’ve likely seen QR codes attached to print materials, such as sales fliers, and maybe you’ve wondered about those smudge-pattern squares. They’ve been widely used in Japan where they were invented several years ago, but U.S. businesses have been slower to adopt them.
In short, QR codes are tools to help you grow your business. Technically speaking, they’re two-dimensional codes that are similar to a one-dimensional bar code, except that the QR code is able to store significantly more information that is accessible by smartphone cameras.
Instant Connection To Your Company
Your business can use QR codes easily and strategically to link any printed material to electronic information. QR codes are scanned by smartphones to provide the smartphone user additional information about a certain product or service. Using a QR code, you can connect people to a website or application; dial a phone number and enable certain phone functions such as email, IM and text; or you can use the code to get likes and followers.
The possibilities for QR codes are numerous: Let’s say you’re a credit union with print material explaining the benefits of credit union membership. Rather than directing people to a URL, you embed a QR code that links directly to a member application.
Or maybe you’re a business that wants to give customers immediate access to different daily offers. Quickly scanning a QR code can direct them to a money-saving deal, specific to the code, that requires little effort on their part.
Check out code reader apps for the iPhone and Android to test out the QR code at the bottom of this post.
Print Marketing Becomes More Interactive
QR codes enhance printed materials and enliven them to become more than just static entities. As a business, you have a chance to deliver multiple messages in multiple formats without worrying about a text-heavy presentation that could drive away interest and business.
We can develop the interactive strategy behind QR codes to empower your business with additional marketing tools that share content, build a community and increase business. Making a more immediate connection between your print and online marketing leads to a more dynamic campaign.
