Monday, April 16, 2012

Ways to Connect with Customers: QR Codes

qrcode
Hello!  I am a QR Code.





You have probably started seeing these little codes popping up everywhere lately: on products, flyers, advertisements.  But what are they for?  QR stands for "quick response" code.  It is a kind of bar code that can be read by lots of devices like smart phones.  (You do need to have a QR reader app on your phone in order to read QR codes, but there are lots of free ones that are easy to download.  Just search for "QR reader".)

The way it works is that you scan the code with your device and it can do all kinds of things, like take you to a website or send you a coupon code. You can even do things a little outside of the box.  For a gallery exhibition, I created a piece of embroidered art that had the QR code as part of the design.  If you scanned the embroidered piece itself, the QR code would send you to a blog page that was a journal documenting the piece, showing all the steps of making and embroidering it.

Some ways you might want to use QR codes:  The QR code above links you to my etsy shop.  The one below brings up a message that gives you an example of free shipping coupon code.  I can save these QR images and print them on my business cards, put stickers on my packaging, or print them on flyers or postcards that I hand out.  You could even go crazy and print one as a door magnet on your car or wear it as a brooch - anywhere you think someone might scan it.

It is easy to get QR codes for yourself! Visit http://qrcode.kaywa.com/  (This is just one example, there are other sites that will also generate them.)  Type in the information you would like the code to link to. Save the image and you are ready to go. (Click to see image larger)

The example above goes just to my main shop, but you could also make codes that link directly to a specific section or even a single item by grabbing that URL and making a code from that.  You could link to your Facebook Page or the form to sign up for your mailing list.  It's a quick way to get someone directly to your information without having to remember and type in a long complicated URL.  Here's a great link for more ideas on how you can use QR codes: http://youtu.be/QjNh2NGALpM

Author: Becka Rahn is a fiber artist and co-Captain of the Sellers Assisting Sellers Mentoring Team.

4 comments:

June Rollins said...

Becka, Thank you! This is crazy, awesome info presented in a simple, informative way. I so appreciate this post!

KayzKreationz said...

Hi, I made a QR code and clicked on the picture and saved it. Is the code embedded in it or do I need to save the code that's underneath it, too, somewhere. If so, then how do I get the code with the picture when I print it on my business cards?

Becka said...

Hi KayzKreationz;
You don't need the html code underneath, just the QR image if you are going to print it out and use it. On that QR generator, the html code shown underneath is just there to give you a way to post it on another website - if you cut and pasted that html into your blog's template, for example, it would show the QR image. Make sense?

Resa Wilkinson said...

I use my QR code on my business cards from Moo, on my website listings, and just about any place I can upload the pic of my code. Don't always need the HTML code.:)