Although the pandemic negatively affected a majority of industries, it allowed certain organizations to improvise, adapt, and grow. There were several new marketing trends that emerged during this time, but omnichannel marketing and customer engagement were the most significant. Numerous studies and polls over the previous few years concluded that omnichannel marketing is essential for sustained customer engagement, sales, and company growth.
While omnichannel marketing makes connecting with existing and potential customers easier, it also presents a new obstacle. To maintain consistency as well as a better user experience, businesses have to integrate both online and offline channels. For example, to provide users with a consistent experience across touchpoints, a shoe brand may use both offline (billboards, newspaper ads) and online (search engines, social media) channels to promote its products.
As they allow companies to connect online and offline channels seamlessly, QR codes are at the forefront of some digital marketing strategies. Businesses can engage customers across channels, run measurable marketing campaigns, and improve their marketing, branding, and customer acquisition initiatives by using QR codes for marketing.
How Can Marketing Firms Use QR Codes For Advertising?
In the modern era, consumer behavior is dictated by mobile devices. There are a whopping 6.4 billion smartphone users worldwide, and each uses their device on average for three hours daily. Additionally, 69.4% of internet users use their smartphones for shopping, and 69.9% use them for product research.
Consequently, marketing agencies prioritize engaging mobile users; QR codes make this possible. Here are some ways that marketing firms can use QR codes:
- Using a marketing QR code increases website traffic and generates leads.
- The use of QR codes in marketing to point customers to a website or landing page is the most common. There are currently more than 12 million eCommerce stores, which have grown significantly since the pandemic. Additionally, websites and landing pages are used by companies that provide tangible goods and services to generate leads.
- It is relatively simpler to direct an online audience to a website. Users can visit a website by simply clicking on the link marketers share. However, the issue arises when advertisers must interact with an offline audience and guide them to a website or landing page. The only option available to users is to launch their browser and type the URL. This procedure takes a lot of time and is error-prone, compared to simply scanning a printed image in front of them.
- By creating a QR code with a URL, marketers can point an offline audience to a website or landing page (a QR code linked to a URL). Smartphone users can visit the website by scanning the QR code. It improves accessibility and user experience by eliminating the need to type the URL manually.
Why Should Marketing Firms Use Qr Codes In Their Advertising?
Marketing agencies can benefit greatly from QR codes. It gives marketers the ability to engage users more effectively across multiple channels. Here are some reasons why every marketing company needs a QR code program.
- QR codes are now widely used by people all over the world
Over 45% of US consumers have used marketing-related QR codes, which rises to 54% for consumers between the ages of 18 and 29. Due to their growing acceptance, QR codes are a fantastic tool for customer engagement. Users become curious about them, making them the perfect tool for interactive marketing campaigns.
- Achieve O2O (online to offline) marketing that is seamless
Marketers are being encouraged to integrate their online and offline marketing systems through the growth of omnichannel marketing. It is simple to integrate using QR codes. Marketers can use QR codes to link to their websites or landing pages on traditional advertising mediums like billboards, print ads, digital signage, flyers, etc. By scanning those QR codes, users can interact with offline advertisements. Therefore, by allowing offline users to join online, brands can use QR codes to close the gap between online and offline marketing.
- Thorough monitoring and analysis
Marketers can monitor the frequency, locations, and devices from which their QR codes have been scanned, thanks to the trackability of these codes. This makes it possible for marketers to manage measurable marketing campaigns and gauge the success of their conventional advertising. For instance, a salon and spa business could place a billboard advertisement with a QR code that people could scan to schedule an appointment. The number of scans will reveal how many viewers responded, providing a precise evaluation of the advertisement’s effectiveness.
- Affordable branding and marketing
Small businesses and startups typically have tight marketing budgets. The QR code is one of the most affordable tools for marketing, branding, and customer engagement. For instance, you can generate a dynamic marketing QR code and monitor scans with a number of relevant programs.
- Immensely versatile
A QR code for marketing can be used in various locations and printed as PDF or PNG files in various sizes. Additionally, marketers can use them for various things, including promoting websites and social media platforms, exchanging contact information, expanding email lists, disseminating information, etc.
- Enduring and persistent marketing
Since QR codes have no expiration date, advertisers can create them once and use them for many years. Additionally, QR codes are extremely robust and ideal for long-term marketing because they can still be read even after suffering 30% structural damage.
Best Practices For Using Qr Codes In Marketing
There are many applications for QR codes, and when used properly, they can both strengthen a marketing plan as well as increase consumer engagement for a brand. Here are some top guidelines marketing companies should use when using QR codes.
Put Scanning QR Codes First
Use QR codes only if the campaign aims to generate QR code scans. This is the fundamental rule of QR code marketing. For instance, if a marketing company runs a campaign to increase bookings for a home repair service, they can use QR codes to make it possible for people to do so.
Integrate QR Codes Into Your Overall Marketing Plan
Marketers should carefully incorporate QR codes into their overall marketing strategy to avoid confusion and disconnect. To support marketing goals and boost ROI, QR codes should have a clear purpose.
For instance, if a marketing campaign aims to boost website traffic and leads, the QR code should direct users there. The QR code should provide contact information if the objective is to exchange contact details and receive callbacks.
Use QR Codes As Marketing Tools
An effective branding tool that can assist marketers in raising brand awareness is a logo with a QR code. Marketers should design QR codes with logos to ensure consistent branding and align their QR codes with their brand.
Hire Calls to Action (CTAs)
An incentive for users to scan a QR code is to include a call to action (CTA). To increase scan rate, marketers must use CTAs that can be taken action upon, such as “Scan to get directions” and “Scan to get 10% off.”
In this post-pandemic era, where the marketing landscape constantly evolves, QR codes have emerged as a game-changer. Most brands prioritize omnichannel marketing and offline-to-online (O2O) integration, making QR codes an important part of their marketing strategies. Numerous uses for QR codes exist in marketing and customer engagement, and new ones are constantly being developed. However, because QR code marketing is still relatively new, many marketers need to know its full potential and how to use it effectively.
If you would like to learn more about how you can utilize QR codes in your marketing strategies for increasing your business, give us a call today at (904) 600-3600. Our team of professionals can help you harness the power of traditional marketing in combination with your valuable digital assets for increasing brand exposure.
