Marketing qrcode: what is it and how to use it strategically?

a woman frames a QR code on a brochure with her cell phone

In this article we discuss qrcode marketing, the tool for connecting the Company with its target audience, in offline marketing.

The Qr Code, or QR Code, is a 2D code, that is, a two-dimensional bar code.

The adoption of QR codes has seen exponential growth in the corporate landscape, involving both industrial giants and small businesses.

Its popularity is mainly due to two key factors: the negligible cost of implementation and the almost unlimited versatility of use.

The distinguishing feature of the QR Code lies in its extraordinary data storage capacity. This peculiarity makes it possible to create instant links to a wide range of digital resources, including web pages, multimedia content, online catalogs and social media profiles.

What makes the QR Code particularly effective is its ease of use.

With a simple gesture – framing via a smartphone camera – users can immediately access connected content, eliminating technological barriers and simplifying the user experience.

In summary, the QR Code has established itself as an extremely efficient and high-performing offline marketing tool.

Its ability to create an immediate bridge between the physical and digital worlds makes it a valuable asset for modern marketing strategies, offering a high return on investment and a smooth and intuitive user experience.

QRcode marketing: data and statistics

The adoption of QR codes in marketing strategies has seen significant growth in recent years.

According to statistics, about 89 million mobile device users in the United States interacted with QR codes in 2022, marking a 26 percent increase over 2020.

This number is expected to reach 100 million by 2025.

Globally, the use of QR codes increased by 57 percent in the 50 countries with the highest number of scans.

In the consumer goods sector, QR code creation increased by 247 percent between 2021 and 2023.

In addition, 44.6 percent of Internet users scanned a QR code at least once in 2023.

These data highlight how QR codes have become an increasingly popular and effective tool in marketing strategies, offering companies a simple and interactive way to engage consumers and provide additional information about products and services.

QR codes why use them in Marketing strategies?

QR codes are useful in marketing strategies for several reasons:

They facilitate interaction between offline and online channels, allowing consumers to quickly access digital content from physical materials.
They offer an enhanced user experience, providing instant access to detailed product information, special offers or exclusive content.
They provide valuable analytical data, allowing marketers to track interactions and measure the effectiveness of campaigns.
They are versatile and can be used in a variety of contexts, from product packaging to print and digital advertisements.
They turn out to be particularly effective in reaching younger audiences, with 99 percent of advertisers considering QR codes essential for targeting Generation Z.
They are inexpensive to implement compared to other marketing strategies, offering a high return on investment.
They can increase customer engagement, with scan/click-through rates of up to 14 percent for connected packaging campaigns significantly higher than the average digital advertising campaign.

QRcode marketing enhances our company’s customer experience

As we said, the QR Code can be used for endless purposes. First and foremost, customer experience.

In fact, the QR Code can be of great help to us if we place it on our products, business cards and brochures.

Let’s give some examples.

QR codes and business cards

Thanks to the CR Code printed on the business card we can create an immediate link to the home of our website, or to a specific page where the user can find the information they are looking for.

In this way, not only is the contact quick, but if an appropriate QR Code is used, it is also possible to keep track of the source of the contact.

FACTORY COMMUNICATION Mockup Business card donato cremonesi with qr code

QR code applied on the box of one of our products, or in a label

We can scan a code and watch a video tutorial showing how to use a product, or how to check for malfunctions.

In this way, we will also help our Customer Service team to streamline the volume of inquiries coming in from outside.

We at Factory Communication since 2023 have been managing the qrcode marketing strategy for a well-known beer manufacturer.

Basically, we produced dozens of dynamic QR codes that were used on labels to explain the product, recipes, or effectively communicate the message “Drink responsibly.”

Marketing QR codes and brochures

Thanks to qr codes we can create a link to each section of our site that covers a particular topic.

So on our brochure showing laptops, we will link to the specific section of the site that explains how to do maintenance, clean the screen, ask for technical support.

As we were saying and as we have seen, using QR Codes in our marketing strategy can be very useful, as it is a great tool to improve the experience of our customers, and potential customers.

The Content for the QR Code

The concept of theBuyer‘s Journey revealed the crucial importance of providing targeted, timely and personalized content.

This principle also applies perfectly to the use of QR codes in marketing strategies.

The effectiveness of QR codes lies in their ability to deliver relevant content tailored to the specific needs of current and potential customers.

By taking this approach, companies can build a trusting relationship with their audience, anticipating and solving their problems before they are even made explicit.

This method aligns perfectly with the principles of content marketing, creating an enriched and personalized user experience.

QR Codes thus become not only a bridge between the physical and digital worlds, but also a strategic tool for guiding customers through their purchasing journey, providing valuable and relevant information at every stage of the decision-making process.

In essence, the integration of QR Codes into a well-structured content marketing strategy allows for the creation of a dynamic and interactive information ecosystem capable of responding promptly to customer needs, strengthening the bond with the brand and fostering more informed and satisfying conversions.

Video-Tutorial

Video tutorials are currently among the most popular content. Think for example of recipes, make-up, DIY, etc.

They are dynamic videos, and very focused on a particular topic. So very high performing from an Inbound perspective.

With a video-tutorial we can show our customers how to make the best use of our products. Be it cosmetics, home appliances or automobiles.

In fact, this type of content is suitable for all kinds of products.

With the QR Code, we have the ability to offer our customers relevant, immediate and easy-to-reach content. Simply by framing the Code with your smartphone camera.

Discount coupon

Used so much by supermarkets and restaurants, the Coupon has become increasingly popular among content offered via QR Codes.

In fact, many restaurant chains, especially fast food restaurants, use Coupons via QR Code, to offer discounts on certain specialties. And often their use is allowed only by downloading the restaurant’s App.

As in the case of Burger King.

Lead Generation

Today, most products feature the QR Code. Adding this code to our products, flyers, billboards, etc. allows us to offer an “entry ticket” to our content. Even to users who are not yet our customers, and whose contact references we do not have.

And that is exactly how we can implement our lead generation strategy.

Thanks to Hubspot, we have the ability to track user behavior. So where they access our content from, what brought them to a particular section of our website, what they viewed the most, etc.

All this information, is analyzed by Hubspot, to update our database and increase the number of our contacts.

In this way, qr codes can be “magnets” for potential new customers, who have come into contact with us spontaneously, without spending money, or even too much energy.

Now it’s your turn. How will you use your QRCode marketing campaign?

In this article, we have explained the main uses of the QR Code. But as we anticipated, we can use this tool for infinite purposes, and in infinite ways.

Did you find this article interesting? Do you want to implement other strategies to increase sales? Read these articles.

Marketing QRcode in your business strategy