Are you curious about how QR codes can help promote your business or connect with customers? QR codes are becoming increasingly popular in marketing materials due to their convenience and touch-free usage. In this article, we'll explore some of the best ways to incorporate QR codes into your marketing strategy and connect with customers.
Before the pandemic, QR code usage was on the decline. However, the need for touch-free communication during the pandemic has caused a boom in QR code usage, and the trend is not slowing down any time soon. QR codes are an easy and effective way to communicate with customers, offer incentives and coupons, and even allow for touch-free payments.
Here are some ideas for how to best use a QR code for your business.
Incorporate QR Codes into Your Business Card
Most business cards are thrown away within a week. To overcome this, hand out your business card with a QR code instead. A business card with a QR Code is the most convenient way to share your contact information. By scanning the code with their phone, your customers can save your info easily and have it readily available when needed.
Using QR codes to direct customers to your website or social media pages is a great way to promote your business and make it easy for potential customers to find you online.
Here are some tips on how to effectively use QR codes for this purpose:
Direct Customers to Your Website
Including a QR code on your business card or marketing materials that directs customers to your website can help drive traffic and increase conversions. When creating your QR code, make sure it is linked to a mobile-friendly landing page that is relevant to the customer's needs.
For example, if you are a restaurant, you could use a QR code to direct customers to your online menu or a special promotion page. Or if you are a retail store, you could use a QR code to direct customers to a page showcasing your latest products or promotions.
Promote Your Social Media Pages
Using QR codes to promote your social media pages is a great way to increase your following and engage with customers. By directing customers to your social media pages, you can keep them updated on your latest products, promotions, and events.
When creating your QR code, make sure to include a call-to-action that encourages customers to follow you on social media. For example, you could include a message such as "Follow us on Instagram for exclusive promotions and behind-the-scenes content!"
Offer Incentives and Coupons via QR Codes
If you're including a thank you card in your packaging, a good idea can be to link to your website using a QR code with the promo or discount code already applied. This can reduce your customer's frustration of having to remember to type in your promo code.
Giveaways and discounts are also excellent ways to drive traffic. You can even track engagement to determine the offer’s effectiveness by using a unique code for each offer.
Use QR Codes to Ask for Reviews
Create a QR code that links directly to your Google or Facebook page where customers can leave a review. At the same time, you can offer a coupon or giveaway as an incentive.
The best time to ask for a review is immediately following your customer's service or experience, so having a QR code sign that prompts this is a no-brainer.
Allow Customers to Pay, Tip, or Access Your Online Menu with a QR Code
Most people nowadays do not carry cash, and a lot of people are using a digital banking app like PayPal, Venmo, or Cashapp instead. Using a QR code sign is an easy way to let your customers pay for services or goods digitally. You can even boost your tips with a Virtual Tip Jar for those times when people don't have cash readily available.
QR codes also allow businesses to easily rotate or update their content, which is much more cost-effective than regularly printing materials.
Use Branded QR Codes
To make your QR codes more appealing and memorable, consider using branded QR codes that match your brand's color scheme and style. This will help make your QR codes stand out and be more recognizable to customers.
There are several online tools that allow you to create branded QR codes for free or for a small fee. These tools allow you to customize the design of your QR code to match your brand's aesthetic.
Provide Clear Instructions
When using QR codes in your marketing materials, it's important to provide clear instructions on how to scan the code. Not everyone is familiar with QR codes, so it's important to make the process as easy as possible for customers.
Include a brief message next to the QR code that instructs customers to scan the code using their smartphone camera or a QR code scanner app. You could also include a visual guide that shows customers how to scan the code.
Ready to Add a QR Code to Your Marketing Materials?
Adding a QR code to your business card, thank you card, or sign is an easy way to connect with customers and promote your business. There are many benefits to using QR codes, including convenience, touch-free usage, and the ability to easily track engagement.
Incorporating QR codes into your marketing strategy can help you stay ahead of the curve and provide a seamless experience for your customers. So why not give it a try and see how QR codes can benefit your small business?
Check out our article here on how to generate your QR code and also add it to one of our Canva templates.
