This 5-part post is a primer on QR Codes:

• Page 1: What are QR codes? What do they do?
• Page 2: How does QR codes work?
• Page 3: QR codes in action
• Page 4: Why QR codes are here to stay
• Page 5: Why do I need QR codes?

Page 5 of 5: Why do I need QR codes?

Will your customers use them?
The first person to buy a fax machine was an idiot but the second one was a visionary. The real issue is that there are not yet many QR marketing campaigns where there is content or reward of enough value to encourage mobile phone users to interact with the QR codes. Based on exponential growth in GOOD use of codes during the latter half of 2009, we are not alone in belief that the tide is turning in the United States and that you’ll be seeing more and more codes in 2010.

How could you use a QR code?
The world is your oyster! We’re all quick to think of the most common ways; putting it on your business card to transfer contact information, adding a code for your home page URL to an advertisement. But the punch of QR codes comes from more creative thought. For tourism-dependent businesses, the question isn’t whether or not QR codes will create visitor engagement. It’s more a question of who will be at the top of the pile a year from now because they used this technology to create new and exciting experiences for visitors.

The most important question isn’t whether or not to use QR codes in your marketing but, “How will a QR code project be different from the marketing we’re already doing?” The most successful entrepreneurs will be those who come up with something new and exciting that takes advantage of the mobile aspect of QR coding. Don’t settle for just recycling content from previous campaigns; get your best creatives together and do some wild brainstorming!

Opportunities abound for creating product development such as guided tours, trail guides, adventure tours, walking tours, heritage tours, podcast experiences, location-specific audio guides, en route entertainment, virtual concierges, planning assistance, event and travel packaging, translation support for non-English speaking visitors and mobile-specific web sites–just to name a few!

We all know there is a direct line between customer interaction and converting looky-loos to sales. You can use QR codes to stimulate that interaction, further blurring the line between live, online and mobile interactions. Use codes to get feedback from customers, to invite them to contribute text, photos, audio, video and more to your main website, to one dedicated to mobile users, or both. Use codes to encourage your customers to review your product or service at key reviewing sites such as TripAdvisor.com and epinions.com. Use them for ‘green’ ticketing to your next event–and then promote your green-ness through your traditional marketing channels.

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