To help save time in this post I’m not going to define what a QR Code is but rather possibly show you a different way of looking at QR Codes and possibly help you decide if you should use them in your marketing campains or not.

What are QR Codes?

I know I said I wasn’t going to give you the definition of a QR Code but please read Wikipedia’s definition…

“a specific matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code), readable by dedicated QR barcode readers and camera phones. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded can be text, URL or other data.”

The reason why the definition is important is because many marketing professional and companies in general miss the point about

“readable by dedicated QR barcode readers and camera phones.”

For example, how many times have you scanned a QR Code only to be taken to a company’s website (non-mobile version).
Have you been guilty of doing this in your marketing campaigns? If not and you’ve taken them to a mobile friendly version of your website then good for you but don’t get too excited just yet…

Define the Marketing Campaign’s Purpose

To be successful with any marketing campaign you must clearly identify it’s purpose, your goals and how you are going to measure the results to conclude if it was successful or not.

If you are trying to provide an instructional video, photo product catalogue, a coupon, capture an email address, social media engagement, a phone call or something else, be clear what the purpose of your campaign is and how you would like to present this to the visitor.

Designing Your QR Code Marketing Campaign

“When designing your campaign think of it as a mobile campaign and not a QR code campaign.”

If it’s an online website experience that you’re after then becoming familiar with simple mobile design techniques would serve you well. If you already have a mobile version of your website and you are simply sending your QR Code scanners to that destination then you are done (however, I don’t think that’s the case or you wouldn’t have read this far).

Also, if you don’t have a mobile version of your website, don’t worry, you’re designing a QR Code Marketing Campaign remember, not a mobile version of you current website.
The User Experience After The Scan

What happens after your visitor scans your QR codes and their experience is the most important part of the whole process. Below is a check list to help you bridge the gap between from scan to conversion on your QR Code marketing campaign.

1. Mobile Friendly Content – as mentioned numerous times throughout this post your visitors will be visiting your content from a smart phone device so remember things like screen size and mobile design techniques here.
2. The Experience Has To Be Unforgetable - more and more people are scanning QR Codes these days so make sure that when they scan yours that it is an unforgetable experience. Don’t overwhelm them with lengthy paragraphs or unnecessart graphics.
3. Relevant Landing Page - have your visitors land on a page that is relevant to the message in your marketing material. Keep the message, colors and graphics consistant so that there are no surprises after the scan. Keep them engaged focused on what you would like them to do next.
4. Focus on Conversion - you brought them to this page for a reason. Make the conversion process (email sign up, coupon, request demo, etc.) easy and user friendly. If you are using a form, keep it short. If they are downloading a coupon provide short detailed instructions on how to redeem it. Present them with a thank you page after taking an action. Utilize the use of social media share buttons on this page (give them an added incentive to share your content).
5. Speed is Your Friend - mobile users have short attention spans so if your content doesn’t load quickly they will not wait. Make sure that your pages load quickly and that you show your most important content in the top fold. Test your QR Code marketing campaign on as many devices as you can. If you don’t have access to these send it to friends to beta test or use online mobile device simulators.

Additonal resources to help in the design process.

• Top QR Code Campaigns in 2011
• Top QR Code Fails of 2011

I hope you have found something in the post that will help you in your next QR Code Marketing Campaign. Feel free to share your successes, do’s, don’ts or tips on this topic.

Also, if you’ve found an effective way to use QR Codes to generate contact details on smartphones let me know. If your process is proven effective across different devices I’d like to share it in a future post with our readers.