QR Codes: The Future of Shareable Data

QR Codes are shareable links that pack a powerful punch when it comes to customer engagement and lead generation.

The use of QR Codes increased by 152% in 2022.

A QR Code is a two-dimensional version of the barcode, typically made up of black-and-white pixel patterns. Denso Wave, a Japanese subsidiary of the Toyota supplier Denso, developed them for marking components to accelerate logistics processes for their automobile production. Now, it has found its way into mobile marketing with the widespread adoption of smartphones. "QR" stands for "Quick Response", which refers to instant access to the information hidden in the Code.

Since the pandemic, we all have had to live in a somewhat fast-paced, evolving global community. QR Codes have become such an asset to the business marketing world. Nowadays, you see scannable menus, quicker payments and even virtual shopping.

Through these QR Codes, businesses have promoted themselves efficiently and this is successfully happening all because of the pandemic.

There are two types of QR Codes, namely:

static QR Codes; or
dynamic QR Codes

When a static QR Code has been generated, it can not be overwritten and can store uneditable information.

On the other hand, a dynamic QR Code has no limitation, up to the point where you can edit it as much as you like without reprinting it. It also allows you to update minor details and avoid errors.

QR Codes can have so many benefits to your business.

Let’s have a look at 7 of them:

Engagement and lead generation.

QR Codes can help you engage with your customers and attract new leads by connecting them from offline to online platforms and between online sources.

Boost customer engagement
Increase social media followers
Broaden brand awareness
Market your skills to the right people
Generate high-volume leads

Examples:

We developed this QR media campaign for one of our clients for the download of product brochures and technical data from their website.
We also use it for our virtual business card offering.
Have a look at some more QR Code campaign examples over here.

(Dynamic) QR Codes are editable.

Even after you’ve shared these QR Codes and printed them on multiple marketing materials, the link where it is hosted is still editable, which means businesses can save big amounts of their expenses by eliminating the need to replace their QR Codes on existing marketing material.

Scans of your QR Code can be tracked.

The number of times a QR Code is scanned can be tracked with analytics. This allows a business to develop and understand their QR Code marketing campaign and their target market, which in turn provides powerful data to continuously improve marketing campaigns.

QR Code campaigns can host multimedia content.

QR Codes use four standardised encoding types, namely: numeric, alphanumeric, byte/binary, and kanji. This is to store data much more effectively, whereby extensions can also be used.

Fewer limitations on the amount of information that can be stored.

Barcodes can not be used for the applications that QR Codes currently excel at. Barcodes store only 25 characters, whereas QR Codes store over 2 500 characters.

Sizes may vary.

Barcodes have a minimum scannable size that is much bigger than the required QR Code size to be scanned. As for QR Codes, they can be sized really small, which means they can be applied in various formats and locations.

QR Codes are easily accessible on mobile devices.

Barcodes require much more effort to scan because they can only be ‘read’ using one method. QR Codes can be read in multiple methods (click on the little camera icon in your Google search bar on your cell phone to activate your QR Code reader).