Perhaps
you scan a QR Code and it doesn’t go anywhere at all. Perhaps you get an error
or the page to which the code points doesn’t exist. Perhaps you see a QR Code
on a product you are interested in, so you scan the code and end up at a
manufacturer’s non-mobile website where you get lost in a maze of links so
dense that you forget why you went there in the first place.
Does
this mean that QR Codes are a waste of time? No. It means not enough thought
was put into creating them.
When
you are thinking about creating a QR Code, the first thing you should do is ask
yourself, “What purpose do I want this code to serve? What do I want the person
scanning it to get out of it?” If you don’t have a good answer, wait until you
do.
A great
example of QR Code use is Best Buy. When you enter a Best Buy store, all of the
products have QR Codes. When scanned, the codes take you to products specs,
customer reviews, and other information not available on the shelf talkers or
product packaging that will help them make a purchase
decision. The QR Code puts the information in the customer’s hands at the very
time that they need it — as they are making the decision. That’s a QR Code used
well.
Contrast
that with a QR Code placed on a lawnmower that takes you to the manufacturer’s
corporate site. Or a QR Code on a “house for sale” sign that takes you to the
realtor’s entire inventory. Those are QR Codes used poorly. It’s not the QR
Code that’s the problem. It’s the lack of thought behind it.
When
creating QR Codes, think about the end use!
Jeff Lampert
Director of Marketing and Business Development
“If you don’t value your time, neither will others. Stop giving away your time and talents. Value what you know & start charging for it.”
Kim Garst
