QR codes have become ubiquitous, invading all forms of media over the last year. If you keep an eye out for them, you’re apt to notice they’re popping up in some pretty unexpected and entirely questionable places too! As someone who has never really responded to QR codes (except that time I used one as my boarding pass for an American Airlines flight), I figured it was about time I learned what all the fuss is about.
In practice, a QR code allows a complex amount of data to be scanned very quickly. In theory, it enables a greater conversion rate whether that is generating new leads or new sales. (Incidentally, did you know that they were originally created by Toyota subsidiary, Denso Wave, to track vehicles in the manufacturing process?)
With this “newish” capability in hand, advertisers and marketers have slapped QR codes on pretty much anything…anything at all, really…in hopes of generating interest and a qualified response. It reminds me a bit of that old cliché involving the spaghetti thrown at the wall. You know the one (there’s probably even a QR code for it).
That said, there have been some QR code “successes.” Utilizing a QR code at a conference or expo booth, placing one on your business card, and of course including one on a print ad, brochure, or direct mail piece. Not incredibly innovative, but inherently useful. Bear in mind that the content you’re directing someone to could display a web site, but it could also display product reviews, play a video, provide map directions, even perform a Facebook “Like” or Foursquare “Check in.” In other words, think outside of your home page.
But, more often than not, a QR code appears in a place one would be least likely to- and in some cases physically and/or technologically incapable of- scanning it as intended. In fact, there’s the web site WTF QR Codes dedicated to such debacles, including this particular gem:
QR code fail, courtesy of WTF QR Codes
In this case, the QR code is unscannable and life-threatening. Often, beyond the unscanability of a QR code, there’s also a disconnect between the company’s “message” and the code itself. Why should I scan? Moreover, WHAT am I scanning? What am I certain to find when I get there?
QR code fail, courtesy of WTF QR Codes
The problem with QR codes is less that they are unable to live up to expectations, but that they’re often utilized inappropriately and aren’t “valuable” to those for whom they’re targeted. While it may be easier to scan a QR code rather than physically type in a URL, if the result is unclear or of little merit to the scanner, what’s the point?
Beyond ease of use, what is the incentive for someone to scan your code? And importantly, how are you identifying the value locked behind a jumbled matrix of seemingly meaningless symbols to incentivize the scan of your QR code by your target audience?
In all, QR codes are quickly becoming the modern day “micro-site” of marketing. A flash in the pan. Intended for lead generation and sales. But, utterly disappointing in both their inherent value to consumers and their ROI to the marketers who thoughtlessly employ them.
Social Outlier 