You may have seen these strange little square boxes popping up in town, on name cards, magazines, shopping windows, product packaging, clothing tags, billboards, and even on T-shirts and stationeries.
These called QR codes short for Quick Response codes. Sometimes they are referred to as 2D Bar codes. They were first developed in 1994 by Denso- Wave Corporation in Japan.
These codes are readable by QR barcode readers and camera phones. Why do you need to know about QR codes? They can hold lots more information and marketers are using this tool reach prospects and consumers, to brand and provide information.
Japan, Korea and European countries have already been using these. US and the rest of Asia is now picking up in adoption rate. QR scanning is most definitely on the rise.
According to this info graph put together in Jumpscan, there is with a 1200 percent increase in scanning from July to December in 2010 alone. That is very healthy adoption rate.
Not only are the big brands are using them to assist with marketing efforts, small businesses and local businesses are also using them in all kinds of new ways to reach consumers.
This info graph is compiled by JumScan, more information at Mashable. You can scan the AR Codes here and see hos this works.
Most often these QR codes bring you to the company’s product websites or to user review pages that gives information that helps you decide whether or not to buy a particular product or not.
I have my QR code on my business cards so my contacts only need scan the code instead of having to type in long URLs on their tiny QWERT keyboards to get to my site. And once it is scanned, it remains in their phone – I don’t run the risk of them misplacing my business cards.
Offline groceries stores and food brands are also using these codes on the actual fruits and wrappers. One scan and you can see relevant nutritional and/or ingredient information about the product. Clients appreciate having more information before they make the purchase and these codes direct them to sources of data.
Business will display more QR Codes as there are more smartphone users. I saw it recently in a popular shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur on the front panel window of the store. Having a QR code alone may not increase your marketing effort but incorporating it into your total marketing plan will certainly make a difference.
Do you have a QR scanning application installed on your smartphone? You can download your bar code reader here, and it’ll decode these QR codes when you scan them with your phone. Try it.
About Louisa Chan
Louisa is an Author, Content Strategist, Coach and Trainer. She helps you build rewarding businesses so you have the time to serve bigger purposes.
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