Marketing is an ever-changing field within the business, and the tools that go along with it are always evolving. QR codes are one of the newest lanes used for growing awareness, converting leads, and promoting sales. The hanging question is… “Do People Use QR Codes?”
You might wonder: Do people actually use QR codes? Usage is more common than you might think. A recent survey by Statista showed that in the US alone, an estimated 11 Million households were forecast to have scanned a QR Code in 2020.
The opportunity is there, and yet many small businesses neglect such a potent tool. If you are looking to expand your marketing efforts, this article will help you understand the effectiveness of QR codes. We’ll cover what exactly QR codes do, how they are useful, what you can do with them, and more importantly how to make them!
Let’s dig in.
QR code technology works much like a barcode you would find on a product. If you were to have an unmarked box with only a barcode, a simple scan would reveal the information it contains. Similarly, a QR code’s black and white dots are easily read by a camera and translated into usable data.
This data could be anything from text and pictures to links and hidden content. Most smartphone cameras have software that deciphers these There are many ways to use a QR code, making them very popular among businesses and other organizations.
It goes without saying—QR codes are just plain useful. It becomes painfully obvious just how much more useful they are when compared to the alternatives.
Let’s look at a simple example: a full URL address on a flyer compared to a simple QR code square. One requires the individual to open their browser, type the address in, and double-check the URL for errors. This becomes even more troublesome the longer the address is.
How would the same task be accomplished with a QR code? One snap of the camera and boom! Right to the website. It’s almost too easy.
QR codes are useful because you can shrink them to a much smaller size than you would normally need to fit a web address or quite literally any text. You can squeeze them onto stickers, brochures, or even on another screen itself. Plus, as we just learned, they eliminate multiple steps that an individual would normally have to take to access the same information.
The number of ways you can use a QR code would make a list much too long for this article. Instead, we’ve condensed what we think the most effective uses of a QR code are into a shortlist for you here:
The next generation of business cards. Printing out a thousand small cards and hoping that your potential customers hold onto them is archaic. Now, you can simply let them scan a QR code that provides them with all your business info—which they can keep safe on their phone.
Encourage downloads. Instead of mentioning that there is an app available, why not offer up a QR code that takes the individual straight to the download page? Advanced linking tools like AppURL will even direct users to their respective app stores regardless of the device they are using!
Make SMS marketing more effective. Once you have determined what sort of text campaigns work best for your business, you can craft a QR code that sends the appropriate text to interested customers. For example, by offering a discount code by scanning the QR code.
And much, much more!
The most straightforward and intuitive platform for creating QR codes isn’t a piece of software or an expensive program—it’s a web-based tool.
AppURL is your new best friend for smart links and QR codes. Its advanced logic and unique customization capabilities open the door to a wide range of powerful features, each designed to give you the versatility to customize QR codes and tiny URLs quickly and easily to best fit all of your marketing needs.
To find out more about how easy using AppURL can be, check out our site!
One Smart URL. Unlimited possibilities.