QR codes route information to mobile phones directly, accurately, and quickly making them the easiest way to share information so customers trust brands and build relationships with them. Since scans can be tracked it's more useful than advertising campaigns that have no digital edge and often cannot be measured accurately, for future scalable campaigns and making sure the MROI is worth it.
Since QR codes are time and cost-efficient they are helpful beyond only marketing uses. Companies have also begun to use QRs as part of their creative educational campaigns, membership clubs for exclusive offers, and direct routes to communication platforms like WhatsApp or WeChat to have interactions in real-time with sales associates, customer experience teams, and more.
QR codes improve interactions with a quick scan and encourage people to keep connected with the brand because it's so easy and they want to find out more. As long as there is a definite call-to-action that is short, to the point, and worth it for customers and prospects to scan, they will probably do it, especially if there is an incentive involved like a freebie or a discount.
It seems that there is not much a QR code can't do nowadays but here are 5 ways QR codes help enterprises and it doesn't stop there:
Bulk QR codes are necessary for asset tracking and traceability across the supply chain. Trying to manage thousands of QR codes separately would cause too much confusion and time wasted that could be used on other tasks. This enables any business to generate QR codes in bulk that they will need to track and scale for various products and projects. Adding a digital identity to things makes everything flow more smoothly throughout the supply chain.
These codes are useful for businesses because they need to make many unique codes all at once, like for things that require special identities. For products, coupons, and things that are done individually, it's more time-efficient to generate all of the codes at once.
Scaling campaigns is also so much easier now by tracking QR codes on the analytics dashboard in real-time. Keeping all of the QRs created in bulk for separate campaigns is easier to scale with customizable folders.
It is so easy to generate QR codes that anyone can do it without specific training as long as they know what information they should put into the CSV file.
This type of usage is great for one-off coupons printed in large quantities, registration for events or classes for guests or students to each have their own unique code, on tickets for scan upon entry to events, inventory and logistics tracking, unique product identities, company business cards with vCard QR codes, and more.
Bulk QR codes are the ability to create many QR codes at once through a CSV file. This saves a lot of time from generating individual codes manually. You can also track the scans of each code to make for more scalable marketing campaigns.
Enter all of the information necessary in a CSV and upload it directly. Bulk generation creates many codes in only a few steps. The quality of the QR codes is just the same as those that were created one by one.
Across the supply chain, they can use QR codes for different products and separate locations. Departments across companies can work together in teams to achieve various goals with the same QR codes.
Beginning with manufacturing and packaging, creating a QR code that can go on a product box for authenticity and traceability can be made from the beginning. Trying out a few codes throughout the product line will help companies see what information they need to include from the very beginning. Rolling out a long-term campaign in this way works best when it's integrated into the protocol of the supply chain from the beginning to the end consumer.
One example would be putting a QR code on a product for authenticity. If a customer orders a piece of jewelry, they can track the origin of the materials, where and how it was shipped in the process, when it arrived at the store, who made it, and have a unique serial number attached for product identification. This is also better for the management and logistics people involved in the process to be able to know where everything has been and where it should be going.
Another idea for the sales and marketing sides of businesses is to place a QR code on different displays. Not all QR codes have to be generated in bulk of course for businesses. Other types of codes function better when they are used as a whole. It depends on the company's need for that specific campaign and QR code. Placing a different QR code on separate displays in different cities or parts of the city is scalable versus just putting up a one-dimensional billboard that cannot be tracked.
There are many ways that teams can collaborate for the use of one QR code. Since QRs have so many different purposes, some can be used separately for different functions while others can benefit from different uses with the same code.
On the marketing end, it's easier to scale on what displays the codes are being scanned. One can also view the scans' analytics in real-time to know from what city they were scanned and this helps with demographics, types of audiences that are interested, and what isn't working. QR code marketing is the easiest way to measure and track campaigns.
Additionally, if marketing teams use QR codes for social media it easily generates leads since now there is a two-way communication channel between brand and consumer. Marketing teams and social media managers can work together to pass along the information to sales departments. They can differentiate who the customers are and who the leads are and convert them and also build campaigns to satisfy both.
On the sales end, it's easier to see who your customers are, who your leads are, and also for website teams to track how many scanners actually went to websites, signed up, subscribed to the newsletter, bought from m-commerce stores, watched AR experiences, and any other trackable campaign usage.
Since the analytics with QR code scans are so useful, it is an important tool in the ability to scale multiple campaigns in a way conventional advertising never could. Analytics are included in the Supercode dashboard for dynamic QR codes. Or Google Analytics can help track any static codes, if necessary. We do, however, strongly recommend going for dynamic QR codes as companies can achieve better results for digital campaigns when tracking the performance of QR codes.
Supercode's analytics dashboard is fantastic for showing detailed data about who has scanned QR codes, on what device, from what city, and at what time. All information is tracked and is visually presented in a single dashboard that can be accessed by all the relevant teams in the company. This is helpful for knowing who clicked on your website or social media accounts, bought products from m-commerce sites, and more. Even marketing campaigns that just lead to virtual experiences can be done and businesses can track those campaigns as a funnel to the end product.
Companies can minimize the number of financial losses due to unscalable marketing channels that bring no or very little MROI. Having a QR code on a display in one city that gets scanned way more than another city, or location is telling. Is it a different culture and your campaign is unappealing to them? Is it in an area that is physically blocked by other things and difficult or inconvenient to scan? It's a big financial burden planning beautiful marketing campaigns with digital aspects like AR and VR experiences, just to learn that a QR code isn't getting any recognition. Reviewing how one campaign compares to another is crucial and the simplest way to achieve that analysis is by printing a QR code on the campaign and using it in a way that is part of the campaign, not just printed on as an extra for tracking purposes. In this sense, analytics is great for testing to see what works and what doesn't.
Companies can bring more customized experiences to customers and audiences with analytics because they learn what is and isn't appealing to certain demographics they are trying to reach. This not only improves the customer experience but makes it easier to invest in future campaigns and generate more traffic to landing pages resulting in not only short-term sales but long-term relationships built on customer-brand trust. If a retail company pays attention to what people are scanning and where and then how they are buying, it is simpler to personalize future experiences for them and add to whatever is missing that lost the attention of another prospective customer.
This all helps companies in their decision-making processes get serious about what market they are trying to reach and how they need to improve in certain areas to be able to achieve their goals. If they are campaigning with no response that's a big red flag and QR code analytics help them view that wasted effort. On a better note, if there are many positive responses and leads become customers, companies know what works for them and what they should be doing more of. A QR code is the best way to get the information for that missing data so they can keep producing what people like.
Give customers an easy way to find your m-commerce stores in just a few clicks, making it nearly impossible not to want to buy a great product, especially with an incentive like a deal or discount connected to a QR code. Marketing and sales teams used to put discount codes on certain campaigns so they knew what campaign the sale had come from so they could scale the campaign. While those could only tell so much, analytics can tell exact times and cities specifically when scans were done and marketing analysts can relate that to when people found their landing pages, social media, bought products, and whatever else the company's objectives were.
QR codes are cheap to use so it's easier to get a positive ROI compared to many other marketing tools. When they are put in places like TV ads or magazines that run at high costs, placing a unique QR code in those places helps measure thorough analytics on the Supercode dashboard, and what they have brought back in return. So many people buy the magazine, for instance, but how many of those viewers actually scanned, moreover took action on that scan to follow on social media, make a purchase, or browse the company's website? Is it just that magazine or others because they reach a totally different audience? These are things to think about and instead of asking, 'How did you hear about us?' surveys, QR code analytics is the automatic way to know. Digital advertising is more precise than former marketing tools because results can be measured whereas with traditional advertising it's not always clear where customers come from. QR codes, therefore, enable businesses to more accurately calculate MROI on marketing activities and empower teams to quickly adjust the campaigns to optimize the return on investment.
It's also significant for companies to know what number of sales came about by scanning a code to an m-commerce store, or how many people followed a social media account as a result of scanning the code. The analytics tell the company that the desired result has been achieved with a measurable number so they know that their campaigns have been successful. If the desired result isn't being achieved then they know to do something differently. This helps companies decide how they should be spending money in their budgets for marketing and how they shouldn't be.
All companies entice customers with communications so they don't miss out on promotions, free products, location events, and more. It's important to keep up with the FOMO trend because people know that becoming a member of something or joining an email list will make them exclusive clients and they will keep in constant communication with brands they like. Not only does this benefit the customer in terms of their pocketbook, but it generates leads and makes preferences notable for personal customer experiences later on.
Today, all big brands are using QR codes for all sorts of purposes including marketing, advertising, sales, business development, product authentication, and customer service. For example, in fashion QR codes are widely used by brands like Chanel, Gucci, Farfetch; in the luxury goods industry QR codes are brilliantly utilized by Ferrari, Moet & Chandon, and GIA.
To get inspired, explore the success stories of brands in more than 15 industries and learn how to create successful QR code campaigns from the best, and keep reading to see the examples from some of the companies below:
Tod's leather and luxury goods company from Italy has a QR code that leads to their WeChat so clients can get exclusive attention with two-way communication with their brand. Even more, they offer promotions, deals, content, insights, and sales for scanning the code and becoming a part of their WeChat list.
The Pancake House, a delicious breakfast food restaurant, offers a QR code from their Facebook page so when customers scan and subscribe they are part of a privileged group that receives discounts and offers at their restaurant. Missing out on these offers would be costly if it's a restaurant the customer frequents therefore they have no reason not to scan. By scanning the QR code and joining their Viber group, it's easy to keep in touch through the two-way communication platform and not miss out.
Resorts World Sentosa also provides a QR code that routes to the WeChat platform to attract customers that want to join in on the exclusive offers there and not miss out. For people who travel frequently and are interested in becoming members and regular guests of this resort chain, getting special offers for attractions and more, having a QR code for these types of discounts and deals is perfect through WeChat where customers can respond and interact live with another person.
Even the Melbourne Zoo offers a QR code for zookeeper talks in case guests missed out on the talk earlier and to offer subtitles in the video for guests who are hard of hearing. It's also a sustainable option for not printing out educational brochures. Guests can also take this information home with them on their mobile phones for further educating themselves later on about the different exhibitions and animals. Now no one has to miss out on any of the zoo talks.
The ways that QR codes are assisting businesses of all kinds and in every industry can continue to be expanded. People are inventing the most interesting ways to use QRs in every part of their business, not only for scalable digital marketing campaigns or restaurant menus on table tents. There is no quicker way to get any information to a mobile phone and because of its convenience QR codes won't be going anywhere soon.
Supercode QR code generator designs beautiful, customized codes in minutes so companies can incorporate them for any use for more measurable results on the business side and faster information on the customer's side. Sign up today and start using QR codes for memorable and scalable campaigns.
