Success Tips: QR Codes for Local Business Marketing
In my last post about QR Codes, we discussed the whys and hows of getting a QR Code to promote your local business to smart phone users. The power and appeal of QR Codes as a local business marketing tool is that they make it easy and enticing for your customers and prospects to learn about your business information in ways that are novel, unexpected, fun and engaging.
Success Tip #1: Give Your Customers and Prospects a Reason Why
You can motivate your customers and prospects to scan and view your QR codes by offering a reward when they do so. A recent study found that people are more likely to scan QR codes when they know they can access discounts and additional information about a product or service. The more valuable the information linked to your QR code, the more people will want to scan it.
Develop a clear call to action that lets people know “what’s in it for them” to scan your QR code.
- What are you offering?
- What will happen when they scan your code?
- Where will the code take your customers?
- What do you want customers and prospects to do once they reach your landing page?
Imagine yourself in your customers’ and prospects’ shoes. If you were looking at your QR code and invitation to view it, would the offer be irresistible? Would it compel you to grab your phone, download an app and scan the code to view your content?
If the novelty of your QR code doesn’t get you excited enough to scan it, it won’t excite your customers either.
Vancouver Opera Example
The Vancouver Opera brought patrons to the theater through
this intriguing QR code campaign. QR codes scattered around the city linked to a YouTube video presentation on the historical legend behind the opera. The posters displaying the QR codes were intriguing enough to get people scanning. The video content was relevant and interesting to their target audience.
Take-Away Lesson: Make it worth your audience’s time to scan your code and reward them for their efforts.
QR Codes and Scavenger Hunts
QR codes can also be used for fun and rewarding scavenger hunts. Place a web form on your landing pages that invites your customers to sign up for clues. Include pieces of a coupon on each landing page with the last piece linked in a QR code at your storefront.
This image is an example of a scavenger hunt that Red Door Interactive ran at South by Southwest in 2010. Players looking for clues were registered to win a new laptop at the end of the game.
QR Codes and Customer Reviews
Google ran a Favorite Places campaign that gave establishments across the US a QR code decal linking to their business profile with location information and customer reviews.
You can follow in Google’s footsteps by generating your own QR code that links to your Yelp! reviews or Google map location. Place your QR code in your window so passersby can get all the information they need even when your shop is closed.
Next: QR Codes for Wineries
Stay tuned for our next article, when we will explore the ways that wineries are using QR codes to stimulate wine sales.