A Case for QR-Codes

Let’s face it, QR codes are not all that attractive, they take up a lot of real estate, and they are just now gaining traction. Our current “touch-free” society seems to have revived them from their slow start and now, when I’m out and about, they seem to be everywhere. I order food with them. I’ve become accustomed to looking for the code wherever I go. But I’m just starting to see them in my sandbox, subscription marketing.

Likely due to our focus on testing. But as a designer, I’m still skeptical until recently.

I was asked to design a logo, van graphics, and signage for a good friend who operates a high end, custom home remodeling business. Their market is the “doctors and lawyers” demographic, in affluent neighborhoods. She and her partner had created a truck magnet and sign already using a creative colorful QR-code which I incorporated into the van graphics.

Sadly I had been biased considering QR-codes to be clunky and ugly, but this QR-code I liked, and we incorporated it into the magnet and yard signs.

Amazingly, just these two items alone have resulted in a 60% increase in traffic to to their mobile web page, resulting in several projects for envy. And even more amazing to me, the clients were calling ready to hire and didn’t need much arm twisting.

QR-codes can be a valuable tool when used carefully.

Make sure your target is mobile first.
Make sure the offer is specific, don’t just drive traffic to your content heavy website.
Track traffic from QR-codes separately.
Use dynamic QR-codes.

Find more best practices here: https://www.qrcode-tiger.com/qr-code-best-practices

To learn a bit more about the origins of the QR-code, start here: https://www.sproutqr.com/blog/qr-code-history