QR Codes | The Slow-burning Marketing Revolution
QR Codes: The TLDR;
This is a rather wordy article, the summary is
- 2020 has changed the game for QR codes
- Before 2020 there were clear blocks to their success
- Don’t be put off by previous experience, things have changed
- Adopting early will give a crucial advantage
- It is here to stay
- There are right ways to do it…and wrong
- It is MASSIVE for temporary fencing and B2B
Brief Overview of QR Codes
If you’re familiar with QR codes then most likely your experience with them in marketing has been unproductive. QR codes have been around for over 20 years, but never really found their feet in marketing. Many businesses tried them in many ways, some with success and many others left with nothing to show for it.
To many, the QR code represented an evolutionary dead-end. It was an idea that was ‘of its time’ but future developments rendered it pointless. Much like a lot of other things, 2020 has changed this entirely. What looked to be a failure of concept is turning out to be a case of a good idea, two decades too soon.
Past Failures Stifling Future Success?
Don’t let the past cloud your judgment on QR codes. Until now they have been shoehorned into marketing. People could see the potential, that much was clear, but the timing was all wrong. This isn’t unusual in tech.
ShareYourWorld.com was founded in 1997 and closed its doors in 2001. It was an online video-sharing platform and a precursor to YouTube but failed due to insufficient bandwidth. It was too soon, and YouTube, which adopted many of its ideas a few years later, is valued at $160 billion today.
WebTV and WebVan pioneered internet-connected TVs and online groceries respectively. Both were from the 1990s and both failed because they couldn’t get traction. Two decades later and Smart TVs are in nearly every home, while online groceries is a market worth billions.
These are just a few examples of where something that is now part of our daily life now actually failed because they appeared too soon. There was nothing wrong with the concept, indeed it industry-changing only a few years later, it just arrived at a point before the market was ready for it.
Realities change and making decisions based on time-sensitive data can cost businesses. I believe this is the case with QR codes. They have been a victim of timing, but their patient wait for relevance looks set to pay off.
The world has caught up to the QR code.
What’s Changed?
In short, time. A lot has changed over the last decade, and many of the things that once held back the QR code are no longer a factor.
When QR codes first became a thing smartphones did not have the user base that they enjoy now, with around 85% market penetration in the UK. What is more, nearly every phone required an application to read the QR code, which added an extra step to the process. This is no longer the case. Since 2017 iPhones with iOS 11 have a native QR code reader, and Android 9 and 10 both have this feature, and Apple and Andriod between them have 99% UK market share in mobile operating systems.
Mobile data coverage has also drastically improved over the last decade. A QR code is there for a user to quickly retrieve information that they do not already have, which is difficult if a user has no signal. The latest figures show that around 99% of the UK population has 4G coverage. This means that nearly every user can have quick, and reliable, access to whatever it is that the QR code is there for. Additionally, users expect to be able to access their mobile data.
Finally, there is user behavior.
The Shift in User Behavior
The last and most important piece to fall into place. The change in the public perception of QR codes.
Until 2020 many people simply did not know what a QR code was, what it was for, or how to use it. COVID-19 and social distancing have changed that forever. Users are now being given a baptism of fire in the use of QR codes, with Track and Trace as well as social distancing measures leaning heavily on the utility of the QR code. Many businesses now require QR codes to enter or be served, others have adopted it in their everyday operations, while some users are now preferring QR codes for convenience.
This has led to the rapid normalisation of the QR code into the lives of users, in a way that would not have been possible without the trails of this year. It is no longer a mystery to them, they know how to use it and they know that they can use it. Additionally, they know that it is there for their convenience.
What does this mean for marketing?
QR codes provide an opportunity to directly link the physical world with the digital, allowing users to take the step from discovery to action in one stride. This has always been the case. What has changed is now there is a world of users with the tool and knowledge needed to make it work.
Even with the changes though, you cannot expect a user to just scan a QR code without the appropriate prompt or incentive. It must be worth the user effort to do, and it must be clear what the reward for that effort will be. Just slapping ‘more info‘ on a flyer will not get much in the way of value, but maybe a flyer about an M.O.T with a ‘book now‘ would get more valuable responses.
QR Codes and B2B
One thing that should not be overlooked is the aforementioned link from the physical world to the digital. In the real world, your products are on display and being used all the time. Social proof in action.
What better advert for your products is there than this?
This is especially the case if your products are B2B, as many decision-makers and influencers often take inspiration from other businesses that they see. In this case, a strategically placed QR code on your product would allow such individuals to quickly land on the relevant page to request more information or get a quote about the product.
Such a QR code turns products into lead generation sources. It also helps circumvent the competition as the default alternative would be to Google the product, and how many of those do you expect to win? The longer user journey alone would lead to a drop-off.
In this case, the small investment in a QR code could really pay off.