Many companies have jumped on the QR code bandwagon in hopes of engaging their customers and increasing traffic to their site or generating more business. While some companies have found minimal success, other companies have not yet seen the benefits or ROI of implementing QR codes into their marketing strategy.
QR codes were slated to be one of the more popular marketing tactics and was touted to be an up and coming tactic for businesses, but not many people caught on and QR codes are not as popular as initially predicted. The reason is because marketers are making certain mistakes when it comes to implementing QR codes as a marketing tactic.
Consumers just don’t get it.
Most consumers today are unaware of what QR codes or how to use them. This lack of knowledge is what makes QR codes unsuccessful for some businesses. If your audience is not tech savvy or does not have access to a smartphone, you’re not going to see much success from a QR code campaign. Instead, these campaigns are generally better for companies whose audience is more tech savvy and has an understanding of what QR codes are and how to use them to access information.
Companies just don’t get it.
Some companies created QR codes without truly knowing how to use them. QR codes are meant to be a way to add more information or value to a marketing campaign. For example, if your company has a sign in a popular area, it’s hard for you to put a large amount of information on the sign because your audience will not take the time to read it. With a QR code, you can put the basic information on the sign and then use the QR code to lead your audience to more detailed info.
Some companies have made the mistake of creating a code but not linking it to anything, and some have created the code and linked it to something unrelated to the initial ad.
There’s no call to action.
Just because you have a QR code on an ad, business card or other location does not mean that you’re going to get people to use it. You need to make sure that there is a call to action near the QR code that tells people not only to scan it, but also what they’ll get out of it. A customer will be more likely to scan a QR code that says “scan here for more information” or “scan here to receive a discount” than one that doesn’t say anything at all.
It’s in the wrong spot.
Some companies make the mistake of placing their QR codes in an unscannable location. For example, placing a QR code on a billboard is not a good idea. You should also refrain from placing QR codes on signage that is not reachable. Make sure that your QR code is placed somewhere that it’s not only easy to scan, but somewhere that your audience will see it. If your target audience lives in rural areas, placing a QR code on an ad in Times Square will do nothing for your business.
QR codes have the ability to be a great marketing tactic, but consumer and company unawareness coupled with bad locations and no call to action hinder the success of some companies attempts at using the mobile marketing tactic. As long as you have a basic understanding of how to use them and don’t make any of these mistakes, you could have great success.
This article about QR campaigns was prepared for you by Jessica Brown in tandem with SEOMap – a group specializing in keyword strategy.
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