QR codes are polarizing tech. Don’t believe it? Just take a trip to your local coffeehouse. If it’s like other venues in cities across America, you’ll have two options.
Number one? To do it the old-fashioned way and place your order at the counter. Number two is to pull out your iPhone—or Android if you’re not an Apple fan—and scan the QR code on the table. Scroll through the menu options and drop your order—I’ll take a nitro cold brew—thanks for the offer. When the drink is ready your barista hollers your name, or they bring it right to you.
This elementary coffee-fueled research delivers some interesting viewpoints. Some customers at the coffeeshop prefer to snub the tech to engage with the barista face-to-face, while others—like me—adore the convenience it brings to the experience. In fact, it’s hard to imagine ever going to the counter again.
Before that time when the government told us to stay at home for a few weeks, QR codes weren’t really all that big. These monochrome blocks were nowhere, with the tech at low adoption levels. Even TechCrunch called them a passing fad with no real application in 2015.
Nearly a decade later, and wow, things have changed. The shift to touchless interaction in 2021/2022 saw QR codes popping up everywhere. Today, the tech can do way more than just help you score your morning espresso fix.
QR codes help businesses generate leads, upgrade the customer experience, and a lot more.
What Are QR Codes and How Do They Work?
In case you were wondering what the “QR” stands for, it’s an acronym for “Quick Response.” So, what does that mean? The unique pattern of black dots squares and dots in each QR code represent a ton of data that scanners translate in mere nanoseconds when you scan a code. We can think of the QR code as the natural evolution of the barcodes we’re used to scanning at the grocery store but with much more utility attached to the tech.
Who Invented QR Codes?
QR codes were developed out of one logistics managers frustration with inefficiency. No surprise, it was Japan that birthed the tech, with Hara Masahiro coming up with the idea for QR codes after looking for a way to upgrade the barcode inventory tracking systems at his employer, auto part manufacturer Denso.
QR codes were the move since they offered the ability to embed up to 200X the information carried by conventional barcodes. The Denso dev team brought Masahiro’s pearler of an idea to life, and they made the tech open source in the hope of other devs running with it to further refine its functionality and use cases.
Common Business Use Cases of QR Codes in 2024
In 2024, we’re all used to seeing QR codes everywhere we go. While the coffeeshop example served as a way to show the benefit QR codes bring to B2C business function and customer experiences—QR codes have many use cases in B2B applications too.
Create Opportunities to Collect Customer Feedback
Getting customer feedback isn’t easy. Especially good feedback that grows your business. The thing is customers don’t want to make the extra effort to leave feedback. So, why not solve the problem and make it easy for them?
Add a QR code to emails and text messages for easy access to your survey or reviews page. Want to really rev up participation? Incentivize the action with a chance to win a small prize like a discount off your next order or a Starbucks gift card.
Evaluate Out-of-Home Ad Campaign Success
It’s super hard for marketers to estimate the impact of Out-of-Home (OOH) ad campaigns. While QR codes aren’t a magic solution, they can help. Placing them in places where people hang out, like restaurants and coffee shops, means people will scan them and you get data for your campaign.
Simply link the code to a landing page and track how many people saw the ad and felt strongly enough about it to scan the QR. The data might not reveal much on its own. But your tracking might reveal one QR location gets more scans than another, helping you allocate your OOH budget to locations that drive more traffic to your campaign.
Personalize Onboarding
Every new customer is a win, but don’t take your foot off the gas when you sign them up. Upgrade the customer experience (CX) with QR codes for a personalized onboarding process. The code could link to personalized videos from account managers to new clients or a formal video welcoming the client onboard. These little personalized touches can vastly improve your CX. Of course, this tactic isn’t limited to onboarding alone; you can use personalized videos throughout the customer journey.
When to Avoid Using QR Codes
While QR codes seem to add a lot of value to B2B communications and marketing campaigns, they do have a couple of drawbacks. Use QR codes incorrectly and they can actually hamper your attempts at improving CX.
Never link a QR code to a page that isn’t optimized for mobile. Everyone scanning the code is using their phone, and if the page isn’t optimized, they’ll bounce right away. You’ll need to learn where to place your QR codes. Leaving them on your website isn’t beneficial unless you’re linking it to an app download for a tool or another useful lead magnet for the customer.
Don’t set up your QR code landing pages with auto-play videos. Give the user the choice to play it or not. Maybe add a text-based transcript so the user doesn’t get caught off-guard by the video starting and immediately try to close it.
How to Generate QR Codes for Business
Getting started with QR codes is easy. Just use a QR code generator to transform any URL into a QR code in seconds. There are plenty of free options out there like the one offered by Adobe, but if you’re looking for a tool for business, you might need to go with a paid service provider like Otix. Look for options offering a one-time fee rather than a monthly subscription, and start generating codes for your campaigns right now!