QR Codes

You have probably heard of a QR code or at least seen one. For those of you who haven't seen or heard about QR codes here is one.

In this article, I will discuss various aspects of the QR code concentrating on  the issues using a QR code for the marketing of a website, something that is increasingly becoming more common.

What Is A QR Code?

The QR code is a 2 dimensional matrix barcode, designed to hold more information and be scanned faster than the conventional universal product bar code (the ones found on everyday products in shops and supermarkets).

It was designed in 1994 by Denso Wave a subsidiary of Toyota with the purpose of tracking vehicles during the manufacturing process.

How are QR Codes read?

Just the same as any other barcode you need some form of optical scanning device to read the barcode. 

Conventionally specialist industrial and retail scanners where used to read the codes. With the increase in popularity of mobile phones with built in cameras, many mobile phones can read the qr codes if the user downloads and installs a app/software onto their mobile phone.

When should you use A QR code?

QR codes should be really used for the purpose they were designed for - tracking things and displaying information in a closed environment (factories, distribution network etc).

Here are examples of how a QR Code can be used correctly.

Asset Tracking

If you have an organisation and want to keep track of equipment, you can affix a QR Code to each piece of equipment. The QR code can include details such as:

Serial number of the item
Which department is responsible for day to day ownership
Telephone number/web address for support in using the item

Here is an example of such a qr code:

If you scan the above you will see certain information relating to that product. With a conventional universal product bar code, normally only an asset id number is normally shown. That number then had to be entered into a database to retrieve further information.

With the QR Code - anybody with a suitable scanner can access basic information about the item.

Maintenance Record/Information

If you have plant or machinery that requires regular servicing then using a QR Code and suitable software on a PC / Tablet / smart phone allows a service engineer to rapidly access information about the plant/machinery they are servicing/working on.

Conventionally a numeric ID would be used with a universal product barcode to access details. With a QR Code - information such as name, type and model of the machinery, date of manufacture/ installation as well as a unique alphanumeric id number that will allow further information about the machine/plant to be accessed by the engineer.

Normally the QR code would be generated and fixed to the machine by the manufacturer / installers.

Can QR codes be used for web marketing?

Yes, but one has to consider why you would want to use a QR Code and using a QR code could create negative issues.

Here are some major problems in using QR codes.

QR codes are anonymous in their appearance - their message can only be revealed by scanning the code. Your competitor's QR code cannot be distinguished from your own. Marketing is all about brand awareness, setting your business/product apart from your competitors.

Take the following two barcodes - look at them and immediately say which one relates to our website - ASLCreative.com:

Well you had a 1 in 2 chance of getting it right - all you could do is guess
 

Now which of the following URLS relates to the ASLCreative.com website
 

ASLCreative.com/id-15

twitter.com/aslcreative

As you can see, even though the ASL Creative URL had id-15 after ASL Creative.com, we can still quickly read and remember the URL, or write it down for later use.

With QR Codes, humans are unable to read, decode them and our brains are certainly unable to remember what they looked like so we can use them later.

If you have tried to scan a QR code with a mobile phone, then you will already know that it can take time to read the QR code and then you have to wait for the camera to focus, then take the picture and wait whilst the software reads the image taken. 

So there is no point in using it on a poster that will be displayed on the walls either side of an escalator (as seen on the London Underground) or on a bus - the only time it can be scanned is when the bus is stationary.

Hoardings/bill boards are another area where they should not be used. I was in the city of Cambridge, England recently and saw this QR code on a hoarding around a construction site. One has to question who do they expect to scan it. The only people who will have the time to scan it are pedestrians and then when they stop to scan it they will be obstructing other pedestrians. 

Therefore if you really want to use a QR code for marketing your website, you should only use it if the environment it will be displayed in will allow a person the time to get out their mobile phone and scan it.

Scanning a QR code in public is not discrete by any means. It is clear to everybody around you that you are scanning a QR code. This is fine in countries where it is socially acceptable to get out your camera and start taking photos, but not in countries where people are reserved, such open behaviour is considered inappropriate or embarrassing.

I was travelling on the Stansted flyer (a train between Stansted Airport & Central London) the other week, and I noticed two posters with qr codes on them and a URL in smallish font - I couldn't work out the reasoning for including the qrcodes. The position of the posters meant a passenger would have to get out of their seat and go over to the poster and scan it. Physically impossible on a packed train and rather embarrassing on a normal journey - the poster was above seats with people sitting in them.

You can image the conversation:

"Excuse me please, do you mind standing up for 30 seconds, whilst  I scan the QR code on the poster above your head."

If your QR code is being used in a situation where it is freely accessible to the public (vehicles, posters, hoardings etc) then you run the risk of your QR code being QRjacked. This is where somebody places a new QR code over an existing one. Done correctly, the only way of identifying QRjacking is if the person scanning it knew what the content of the original QR code was.

So instead of taking the person to your website it will redirect them to another website which could contain malicious/pornographic content or even take them to a website of your competitors. The problem is that you will never know it has happened just by looking at the QR code.

A web marketing expert advised a building contractor that every van in their fleet of 20 vehicles should have a QR code on it. Each QR code would contain the URL of the relevant subsidiary of the company; the shop-fitting vans had a QR code linking to the shop-fitting part of the Company website, the maintenance vans had a QR code linking to the maintenance part of the Company website.

Little did the building contractor realise that a disgruntled customer was going to seek revenge at their expense. It emerged that 10 of the vans had been QRjacked. The old QR codes had been replaced with new ones. Quite easy to do as the QR codes where printed onto a vinyl sheet which was stuck onto the van. The new qr codes were pointing to a website that allowed customer feedback. The webpage it actually pointed to was feedback for that particular building contractor - ratings were very poor and all false.

The QRjacking was only noticed when one of the directors purchased a new mobile phone which came with factory loaded QR code reader software. You guessed it, he scanned one of the qr codes on the van and found it had been qrjacked. Nobody could say how many times the QR codes were scanned or when the QRjacking took place. 

If the web marketing expert had suggested using simple URLs instead of QR codes, the disgruntled customer could only have changed the urls on the vans to new ones - which is difficult to do and also would have been immediately noticeable.

Many companies use QR codes for web marketing and the QR code when scanned just points towards a non mobile friendly page.

If you are going to use a QR Code for marketing your website then you should ensure that the page displayed will be a mobile friendly version of the website. Remember that most people will be reading the QR Code with a mobile phone  and they will view the website/web page with the same mobile device.

By using a mobile friendly page/site, it means web pages will download faster and that the overall experience for the user will be far better. Plus if you create a specific landing page for the QR code to link to, you can track how many people have scanned and viewed the page and if they went onto to look at other pages on your website.

 Should You Use QR Codes For Web Marketing

 NO is the simple answer.

To use a QR code in web marketing there must be a huge incentive on offer that warrants the user to stop what ever they are doing, open up the mobile app, take a picture and then be directed to a webpage. To be honest we cannot think of any such incentive especially as simple URLS (e.g. your domain.com/text-here) have far more benefits and are easier to use.

Simple URLs:

- Can easily be remembered by people, unlike QR codes
- Create brand awareness for your website as they use your website domain
- Their wording can be self explanatory, which makes them easy to remember ; e.g. URL to download an app for an iphone = yourdomain.com/iphone-app or yourdomain.com/iphoneApp

Are There Any Ways A QR Code Could Be Good For My Website?

Well there are some uses and they are generally situations where there are many products that one person is viewing and they want to know more information about that product or even want to buy it. The incentive to open up the QR Code scanner app is there - more information about a product or make a purchase. Plus they are used in situations where people have the time to open the QR reader app and the environment the QR codes are being used in are closed i.e. the QR codes cannot be tampered with.

Here are some examples:

A second hand car sales lot.

The dealer lists all of the cars for sale on their website. They then print off a QR code for each car (the embedded URL is specific for that particular car) and it is stuck to the inside of the windscreen of the relevant car.

The biggest incentive here is saving time, followed by more information:

Once a prospective purchaser opens up the QR code scanner app. they can quickly move from car to car, scanning the QR codes. This is quicker than typing in individual simple URLs. In addition, the purchaser can retrieve more information about the car and also use the scanned history within the app to browse through the cars scanned when away from the forecourt.

Ecommerce Website

An ecommerce website runs a number of adverts in magazines. Against each item is a QR code that when scanned adds that product to the person's shopping basket. Within a few minutes of seeing the advert and QR code in a magazine a person could be the proud owner of the item.

The incentive here is ease of purchasing (the user does not have to type in a URL and then select the quantity and add it to a shopping basket etc.) and the inner desire to own the item being advertised - impulse buying is an added incentive.

Voucher

A customer produces a voucher with a qr code on it. The QR code is unique to that voucher - it contains the voucher number and the id of the user. The retailer simply scans the QR code and then confirms the voucher has been used. This requires some additional software on a PC or a phone app.

The incentive here is the retailer is saving time as they do not have to enter the voucher code number and the user id by hand .