**In the last couple of years you’ll have no doubt seen an increase in these funny square dots, well, they’re QR codes.**
Quick Response (QR) codes are providing businesses with an alternative way to pass on information, making marketing incredibly interactive. They are just like a barcode on any product, however they are square and can contain a whole host of information in a small space.
**So how do they work?**
Anyone who has a smartphone – and that’s pretty much everyone these days, can scan a QR code which actions the function you have selected (more on this later).
So what’s the advantage and the point of QR codes? In today’s high speed, efficiency-is-best lifestyle, who can be bothered to type in long web addresses with all those letters, colons and slashes, when a simple scan will do? Who can be bothered to search YouTube for a specific video when a simple scan will do? Who can be bothered to log on to a website and submit their details for a competition when a simple scan will do? Need I go on!
**What can QR codes do?**
The list of functions you can link to QR codes grows on a daily basis – even as you’re reading this the list below would have grown, but here are some of the basics:
Website Link
Downloads your contact information to the phone
Event lists
Competitions
Vouchers
Social media links
Links to YouTube videos
Links to iTunes songs
Maps to your office/shop
Links to online brochures
PDF downloads
PayPal buy-it-now links
It’s also really simple to create them. I have listed some sites below where you can create them, alternatively simply whack ‘QR codes’ into Google…
Qrcode.kaywa.com
Qurify.com
Qrstuff.com
Goqr.me
**Where can you use them?**
Literally anywhere – I even opened my bank statement yesterday to find a QR code, as if I needed to scan a barcode to find out I was broke!
Think creatively though, be adventurous with them. We recently designed an exhibition stand for a mobile phone accessory company with an aim to drive customers to their website. They had one sample of every product with a QR code above. Customers then scanned to buy. Their sales went through the roof, and they also saved on the stand space because they didn’t need any storage.
QR codes are becoming increasingly popular, so embrace the dotty squares – be creative and adventurous with them. Happy scanning!
(image: https://www.superdream.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/QR-code.png alt: )