For everyone who dislikes QR codes... you have to look beyond the code... look outside the box if you will. Our franchise is marketing QR codes, but not as a stand alone product; rather a bi-product of mobile websites. We recently launched a new program called "Smart+Connect®". First and foremost, we are marketing Mobile Websites to our customers and prospects who currently don't have a mobile website. Then, as a bi-product of those mobile websites comes the QR code. We have partnered with a company called SmartViso for the mobile website creation software/access and let me tell you, it is very easy to work with and QR codes are simply a bi-product with no additional work involved. You can see samples of mobile websites at:
http://www.smartviso.com/samples/
For how our franchise is marketing these, you can check out:
http://calgary.kwikkopy.ca/services/mobile-and-qr.aspx
Anyhow, I have set up a few mobile websites so far, and other franchisees have set up many. As a result, they get more printing business because once the client sees their mobile website, they want a QR code on everything. Great work generator!
As far as practical applications for QR codes:
- A restaurant can have a QR code on their front window that a person can scan to take them directly to their current menu (created on a nice mobile website), or a person can scan the code to see the daily special. Maybe they scan the code and are offered a free appetizer if they come in for lunch/dinner?
- An art gallery can have QR codes next to specific pieces that people can scan to further research the artist or view other works he/she has done.
- Imagine a museum or any type of gallery where people of all nationalities visit. All of the information is usually written in English (with possibly one other language). Put QR codes on the stand next to it for several other language options so that the visitor can scan the language of his/her choice and have the translation come up on their mobile device. Great idea!!
- On a golf course, add a QR code at the tee-off box of each hole so that the player can scan it with their smart phone (yes, some people do take their phone on the golf course!!) and it will take them to a mobile website showing an arial view of the hole along with a few pointers on how to play the hole.
The limits of QR code usage is only the human imagination! Really, it's just a way of getting customers to interact with the business. A majority of (smart) smartphone users know what a QR code is and they know how to scan them (if they choose to do so). I would go so far as to say that most (if not all) smartphones coming out in the future will have QR code scanners built into the OS from the get go!
As a side note. I have QR codes on both doors of my truck. I don't know when or where, but someone scanned one of these codes, saw our mobile website and was impressed. He came to me and had me do a $1300 decal job on his trailer and truck. So they do work. Will QR codes fade away just as fast as they took off? I don't believe so. If anything, I believe they will evolve. Maybe the QR code as we know it won't be around forever, but you can bet that an evolutionized (is that a word?) version of the QR code (whatever that may be) will be around for many years!