While many in the marketing world are very familiar with 2D codes, the concept is just now starting to see particular traction in the consumer usability. Not familiar with a 2D code you say?
Let me explain by way of an example.
To lay a primary foundation, it’s important that we all realize and admit that smart-phone and mobile use is absolutely blazing trails at lightning speed. In fact, if you were to look around and observe any day of the week you would find more people staring at, and typing on their mobile phones than actually talking! (What irony when you think about it)
So what exactly are they doing? What are you doing when you’re staring at your blackberry, or interacting with your iPhone rather than speaking on it?
Texting, yes, maybe. However while texting is a major form of communication that status updates and apps like Twitter have made more acceptable by training us to communicate in 140 characters or less, that’s probably not occupying the great majority of your time.
In fact people are using their iPhones and Blackberry Smart phones to surf the internet, check their Facebook feeds, Check in on Foursquare, and interact via various social media channels.
The question any offline, brick and mortar business, or brand might ask is how can we move our offline customers to our online world, where you are able to track, personalize, and communicate in a very specific manner?
Huge question to consider. It has been since the internet really evolved. How can you integrate offline and online promotion?
Let’s say you own a local used book store in the center of town. Let’s also assume you’ve done a magnificent job of building an online presence and sales funnel for brand awareness and interaction.
Now picture this likely common occurrence. So one Sunday afternoon, a consumer is walking down main street to find that when they reach your used book store, they see the all too familiar orange and black sign boldly pronouncing; “We’re Closed”, hanging on the door.
The result is clear, they find a competitor, or distraction of this world never reminds them to stop back in. Read: lost customer, lost repeat revenue.
Until now, there had been no way to really link that person back to your online communities and marketing efforts, other than hoping they remember to look you up online at some point.
Enter 2D codes, also commonly referred to as QR codes (quick response). What if your orange and black “We’re Closed” sign on the door had a sort of “hyperlink” to your online presence?
Yes, I hear you asking, “but what would make a potential consumer remember that text hyperlink?”
Ah dear reader, a great question to ask, and that’s where 2D codes are helping to bridge that offline gap to your online presence.
A 2D code is a square, almost “bar-code/fingerprint” that you make for your business. Almost every smart-phone has a camera functionality on it, which a free application scanner can interpret and bring you directly to your online presence page of choice.
If you own a Smart-phone, point your mobile browser to scan.mobi and you will be prompted to download a 2d scanner application and within 60 seconds you will have the ability to take a picture with that application. When a picture of that 2d code, or qr code is taken via that free application, it directly brings the viewer to where ever you’ve decided best for that person to land online, in their mobile browser.
For this example, if someone “scanned” (took a picture) of your 2d code on your used bookstore “We’re Closed” sign, you could have that 2d code take your potential customer to your online store to search inventory of your used books. They would be able to even purchase the book and have in store pick up or shipping, but the sale is now possible in an automated way.
Maybe you choose to have your 2d code land them on a page where they input their email address so you can send them a 10% discount coupon on any book in your store. Now you have the ability to communicate over and over again at almost no cost, and almost guarantee that due to this discount, your passer-by visitor will not run to a competitor to find the book of choice but rather take advantage of this discount coupon.
2D codes. QR codes. Learn them. Know them. Understand how to integrate them into your online sales channels.
If you have a Smart-phone and have downloaded the scanner, scan an example of my QR code and watch how it brings you to my Facebook page for my company, Precision Online Marketing LLC to get a feel for it.
If you’d like to make your own QR code, try http://qrcode.kaywa.com/ It will take you about 30 seconds to complete.
Hope you found this helpful. Love to hear of any ideas that you can think of to employ these codes for the use of Offline Businesses to help drive Online traction.
Some Statistics to Consider:
“In the last twelve months, customers around the world have ordered more than US $1 billion of products from Amazon using a mobile device,” – Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com (July 2010).
“Half a billion people accessed mobile Internet worldwide in 2009. Usage is expected to double within five years as mobile overtakes the PC as the most popular way to get on the Web.”
“By 2011, over 85 percent of new handsets will be able to access the mobile Web. Today in US and W. Europe, 90 percent of mobile subscribers have an Internet-ready phone.”
“There are more than 200 million active users [40 percent] currently accessing Facebook through their mobile devices. People that use Facebook on their mobile devices are twice as active on Facebook as non-mobile users.” – Facebook official statistics (January, 2011).
About Will Irish
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