By Joe Leist, Sales Director
Have you seen the new QR Codes lately? If not, fasten your seat belt, as more and more companies are seeking ways to reach out to their customers and prospects like never before. The main benefit for marketers using direct mail is that QR codes can turn a printed direct mail piece into an interactive mobile call-to-action, allowing static messages to become a quick-scan hyperlink to just about anything online.
For those new to QR Codes, a QR Code is a matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code), readable by QR scanners, mobile phones with a camera, and smartphones. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on white background. The information encoded can be text, URLs, web links, or other data. The QR code is one of the most popular types of two-dimensional barcodes. QR is the acronym for Quick Response, as the creator intended the code to allow its contents to be decoded at high speed.
I recently downloaded my free QR scanner application titled LifeScan from the Blackberry App Store for my Storm II and it works perfectly as advertised! My first QR Code test was for a "Win A Free Camera" contest that was presented on the cover of the Printing Industry Association of the South's (PIAS) monthly newsletter / magazine. The QR Code image on the front cover was simply scanned by my Storm II. Approximately 5 seconds after the scan, the app took me to an online survey whereby PIAS asked me questions about my membership, the technology we use here at FCi to support our clients marketing efforts, a few sales-related questions, and of course they requested my email address prior to submittion, which I am certain they will use for various emails campaigns in the future. Interestingly enough, I still haven't logged on to to my computer at work...hence the "mobile" power of the QR Code!
QR codes mass acceptance is soon to follow as smartphones are quickly becoming the phone of choice for all consumers, including adults. According to a Forrester Research report conducted in October and November 2009, 17 percent of US adults used smartphones, up from 11 percent in 2008 and 7 percent in 2007 and that smartphones are one of the hottest growth sectors in the economy right now. Usage continues to grow, even after significant growth over the past two years. Forrester notes that nearly one in every three US adult mobile phone subscribers now has either a smartphone or a quick message device (QMD), up from one in five less than a year earlier. In another report, according to comScore's MobiLens, 234 million Americans 13 and older used mobile devices between March and May 2010, with smartphone usage increasing 8.1% during the three month period.
Additionally, faster mobile web connectivity is growing, and mobile web search is becoming one of the most common uses for these devices. Imagine receiving a direct mailer with a QR code. Embedded within the code is a Personalized URL that takes you to a website offering a 25% off coupon for the exact pizza you ordered the last three times at your favorite restaurant. Later that week, you drive to the restaurant, show the waitress your coupon on your smartphone, and proceed to order your pizza along with the cheesesticks since you just saved 25% off of your favorite pepperoni, sausage, and mushroom pie. For marketers, the possibilities are endless. Just as important, this technology is measurable, which has been lacking in the industry longer than any CMO wants to admit.
As Smartphones explode as the mainstream media / communication device, it stands to reason that QR Codes will be one of the hottest applications in the marketing world. They are easy to track and provide an immediate response mechanism that catches consumers at the very moment of interest - when the consumers are intrigued. QR codes will help them take the next step and will make the new generation of direct mail more powerful than ever. For all you marketers using direct mail today, QR code technology is one that you cannot ignore.
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