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5 Reasons Businesses Benefit From Using QR Codes
Imagine that, as a business owner, you could boost your business’ performance by integrating one simple, low cost tool. Would you do it? Good. You are not alone. Businesses must stay competitive by finding new and innovative ways to not only reach but also engage with their customers. That is the reason why QR codes have exploded in popularity in recent memory. Not only are those quirky looking squares captivating, but they also drive a ton of business value. This article will highlight the overarching concepts of how QR codes create value (tactical use cases can be found here). Here are 5 reasons why you should implement QR codes in your business.
Convenience
Convenience is a very powerful force that you should be leveraging in your business. Increasing convenience means you are reducing friction. Reducing friction is not only valuable for the customer, but also for you as the business owner.
For The Customer
There are many benefits a customer can realize from convenience. The foremost being, the quality of the experience will become readily apparent. A customer’s experience differs across industries, but all good experiences have elements in common. Among those elements are simplicity and efficiency.
Imagine you were a customer and you were looking around your favorite clothing store and you wanted to get information on a specific product, what would you rather do? Go on your phone, type in the company’s website, type the product name, then scroll until you find the right one? Or go on your phone and scan the QR code on the product which will send you to the product’s page on the company's website? If you chose the first option, you are probably someone who prefers to do things the hard way. If you chose the second, then you would likely have a much better experience.
For The Business Owner
As a business owner, you can also gain many benefits from convenience. Mundane tasks can be simplified or automated away completely. Let's face it. There are many things on your plate as a business owner. Probably too many things, and likely, not enough help. The more you can systematize your operations, the more time you have to tackle things that are actually impactful in moving the needle. But how does this look within the context of QR codes?
Imagine that, as part of your marketing strategy, you implement QR codes to measure the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns. The campaign in question can be physical or digital, that part does not matter. Prior to QR codes, you would have had to engage in a bunch of manual labor to retrace where your potential customers came from. And that’s assuming you would be able to find out where they came from at all. A best case scenario means that your data is not only inaccurate, but also inconsistent. By utilizing QR codes, you are able to track where customers are coming from, at what times, using whatever devices and systems, and so on. Conveniently (see what I did there), one of the benefits about using tools such as Scanabee’s QR code generator is that you can enable reporting which will automatically email you summaries of your performance. Now your time can be spent reviewing your data and refining your strategies, and not on searching for the data itself.
Conversion
We now know that increasing convenience reduces friction. Reducing friction means there are less obstacles along a customer’s path. Being the savvy business owner that you are, you recognize that the easier you make the experience for the customer, the more they will convert. Especially when they are a hot lead.
Imagine a scenario where, as a customer, you were pitched a product or service that you found interesting, but were not completely sold on. After wrapping up your conversation with the salesperson, they hand you a flier or brochure or whatever else you could think of, and then you go on your way. Once you get home, how likely are you to actually look through those materials? Be honest. Chances are you are not going to engage with any of the materials that were given to you. To make matters worse, you were a hot lead! You did find the product interesting, but the salesperson blew it!
That’s one of the wonders of QR codes. Now when you have a hot lead, you are more likely to convert that lead because you can guide the customer through your funnel with little to no effort on their part. If everything else stays constant, you would drive more sales simply because more prospects are converting at an increased rate. Conversion rate optimization is, in and of itself, big business. Using QR codes, you can optimize different parts of your funnel with a very innovative yet effective, low cost tool.
Branding
Brand is a hard thing to build, but easy to recognize, if done right. Most business owners struggle with two areas of branding: building brand awareness, and positioning themselves not only within their industry, but also in their customer’s minds. Believe it or not, QR codes can help you with both! But how? Very simply, impressions.
Have you ever driven around and seen construction workers building what looks to be a new store? You see that it’s big and department styled, with a huge parking lot, among other things. It’s hard to guess what store will occupy that space. Then, a week later, you drive by that area again, and this time, you notice that the store is painted blue. There are no signs, logos, or any identifiers whatsoever, but the blue is very distinctive. You nod your head and say to yourself “that’s going to be a Walmart”. The fact that you were not only right, but could also repeat this phenomenon with any other store (e.g. Target, Home Depot, etc.) and be stunningly accurate is all because of impressions. More impressions of your brand lead to stronger associations of your brand to your customers.
So how can you utilize QR codes to increase the impressions of your business? One, by styling the QR code to match the identity of the brand (e.g. adding your business logo, brand colors). Customized QR codes can help differentiate your brand in a way that resonates with customers. And two, get those codes out there! Whether you are using them on printed materials, products, or digitally, the goal is for as many people as possible to see your QR code.
Drive Engagement
This may be the simplest concept on the list to understand. QR codes are inherently interactive. Customers have to engage with them in order to gain whatever they are seeking. Therefore, they drive more engagement with little to no effort. It’s that simple. A customer can view advertisements all day long (and they often do through various channels), but actively engaging with one on the spot, in real time produces a much better experience. What was once a static advertisement now became an interactive, unique, and memorable experience. Don’t give your customers the opportunity to passively disengage. As a savvy business owner, you know that the more engaged your customers are, the better customers they become.
Data Collection
One of the most underlooked aspects of any business is data. There’s an old saying, “what gets measured, gets managed”. Data collection is one of the most vital things you can do as a business owner. What do you think will have a bigger impact in decision making, and lead to more positive results? Guessing, or making data driven decisions? The answer is obvious. You cannot steer your business to a destination without first knowing which direction to go in, and knowing how far along you are in the journey.
Data collection, via QR codes, is very easy and can be done in multiple ways. Enabling dynamic QR codes will be your primary method. Dynamic QR codes track data such as the total number and time of scans, the geography where it was scanned, the device that was used to do the scan, and much more. Enabling lead capture is another, lesser known method. Lead capture allows businesses to “capture” their prospects' contact information (e.g. email) prior to them seeing whatever it is they should be seeing. Regardless of the method you use (hint: maybe you should use both), gaining as much insight on your customers is imperative to the success of your business.
There you have it! 5 reasons that small businesses should use QR codes. Businesses are similar to professional sports in the sense that you are always looking for a leg up on the competition. Just as milliseconds can be the difference between winning and losing, a few percentage points can be the difference between success and failure. Choose QR codes, and take your business to the next level.