"QR Coded" Scanning for Market Share

At Suter Printing we have placed "Quick Response" (QR) Codes on virtually every flat surface—from ads in magazines to billboards on public transit platforms. The concept is simple: Consumers scan the codes with their smart device (phones, tablets or Google Glasses - we'll cover these soon!), and the codes will initiate any number of actions, including launching a mobile application, taking users to a Web site, linking to videos, or generating a sales call.

Using your smart device
scan this code for BIG SAVING$$

The seemingly ever-present black-and-white squares are both quick and easy to setup, so much so that our clients are placing them anywhere they can. The prevailing thought is that the technology is cheap enough, so why not?

And with the increasing abundance of smart devices, adoption of this mobile-enabled marketing tactic should follow.

A Forrester (global research and advisory firm – www.forrester.com) report points out that 5 percent of American consumers scanned a QR code during a three-month period in mid-2012 (and growing fast). Leading these consumers are early adopters—mostly younger, more affluent males—numbering about 14 million. And among them, nearly 20 percent (or 2.8 million) made a purchase after scanning one of these codes, according to research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey. With the numbers rising, and predicted to continue to do so into the near future now is the time to make the investment.

The number of 2D bar code scans also saw an increase, with bar code management vendor Scanbuy today processing 40 scans per minute in the U.S., three times more than a year ago.

AT&T estimates that 10.4 million scans were made via its Code Management Platform between January 1 and October 31, 2012, and that 44 million people currently have a scanner app on their phones.

Continued client education is essential to leveraging this marketing tool, Forrester's research points to four obstacles to broader adoption:

• Many consumers do not know what QR codes are or how to use them;
• QR codes require users to download an application to their phones;
• There are no standards for codes and readers; and content is often disappointing with most codes only leading consumers to company Web sites.

These hurdles will dissipate as consumer awareness grows and more smart devices come equipped with the necessary applications built in, our projection is that as the Web becomes increasingly mobile, mobile bar codes will bridge the physical and digital worlds, opening new channels for content delivery.

Want to be the “Office Hero”, imagine how this tool could increase your ROI for the upcoming Direct Mail campaign!

Dial someone who knows how it’s done; our staff at Suter Printing enjoys sharing the knowledge 

757-220-3299.

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