QR Codes: 3 Questions to Ask Any QR Code Marketing Provider

In the United States, we are currently in the infancy stage of adopting QR Codes as a marketing channel. QR codes have been huge in Japan and Europe, and they were deemed the marketing trend of the year in the U.K. in 2009. Many have predicted QR Codes will be the marketing trend in the U.S. in 2011. Many, still, have been pleasantly surprised how they have taken off in the U.S. in the first part of 2010. So, the momentum is undeniable, and marketers should take note of the growing popularity.

QR Codes are not just becoming popular because of the novelty and mystery of the first-time views of those funny-looking graphics that look more like a Rorshark test than any barcode you’d see on a package of Corn Flakes. At least people are asking questions about what QR Codes can do, and more importantly, how can they help us market better than we are with our existing tools.

This question popped up my office this week as I was developing a direct mail piece to promote our QR Code expertise. “Expertise?” How can one be an expert in something like a QR Code? Isn’t it just like a graphical representation of a hyperlink? Scan the code with your smartphone, and be taken to the QR Code owner’s pre-determined website or message? What more is there to it?

You need to ask any provider of QR Code marketing strategies 3 questions, in order to understand if they can provide more than just a mobile link.

3 Questions to Know if Your Marketing Provider has QR Code Expertise:

1. How have you used QR Codes to help businesses reach their consumers? Can you demonstrate real examples?

2. Can you measure the activity that comes from a QR Code scan? What data points can you collect?

3. How have you linked and integrated QR Code marketing to other marketing mediums, i.e. QR Codes to direct mail, marketing collateral, event material, etc.”

As we move closer to 2011, you’ll see QR Codes really take off, so it’s far better for you to discover how your business can benefit from this tool now. Good luck!

Text Message Marketing: Setting Expectations Upfront is Key

Mobile marketing is becoming a significant area of discussion in today’s multi-channel communications mix, yet most digitally-focused marketers would agree that treading carefully in the mobile arena is critical. Just because most phone owners use text messaging shouldn’t mean it’s 100% fair game for marketers to key in on that opportunity with any type of promotional message they want to send. Not at all!

I guard my cell phone very closely, and less so with my email in-box. I am more receptive of email marketing because it’s a known method of marketing that we all get in various forms and quantities. While I am not always fond of some of the strange sales pitches that land in my in-box, I’ve come to expect them.

The good news around text message marketing is that the recipient must opt-in to give permission to the marketer to send texts (thanks to the CAN-SPAM act that also regulates email marketing). Yet, even if I were to opt-in to such a service, there’s something about a text message from a marketer or business that’s trying to sell me something that feels intrusive. Am I the only one who feels this way? Surely, I am not.

Unless I have granted permission to a marketer or service to receive a one-time or short-term bit of content via text message, I am not interested. Political campaigns or charitable causes are examples of good uses of text message marketing, but even those need to state clearly, upfront, what kind of messages will be relayed and for how long. I opted in for a particular political candidate’s text message updates a year ago, yet long after the election, I still receive random texts from that organization that have nothing to do with the campaign.

Just as an aside, email marketers rarely do a good job of setting expectations upfront to their recipients about what kind of content they’ll receive and how often they’ll receive it. When they do state that upfront, and stick to what they promise, most of the time the open and click rates on those emails are higher than if the email marketing is sent at random frequencies and with no clear standard for the type of content or topics shared.

What are your thoughts about SMS text marketing? Are you as protective as I am about the content that comes through on your cell phone? Or are you open to anything, within reason, that marketers text to you?