It can easily be argued that QR codes have gotten a bad reputation, but not because they couldn’t be easily read and engaged using practically any smartphone but more because of what happened after they were scanned.
The simple fact is that QR codes were so easy to use to route a consumer to a business’s website that the majority of businesses actually neglected to take the steps necessary to keep a consumer engaged once they actually arrived at their website.
What most businesses didn’t understand was that, just like near field communication (NFC), QR codes are simply a trigger; they can lead a consumer wherever a company wants to but, once done, that company actually has to have something engaging, interesting or valuable to keep them there.
Knowing this, one of the early pioneers in QR codes, Scanbuy, recently introduced a new platform to help companies deal with the back-end processes necessary to make QR codes valuable. They’re hoping that, with new and better experiences ready, consumers who gave QR codes a shot in the past (and gave up on them) will consider giving them another try.
“Someone used to be able to create a code but it just linked to a website,” Scanbuy CEO Mike Wehrs told mCommerce Daily. “Now it starts with what do you want to do, not what code do you want.”
Scanbuy’s new platform will help marketers to create unique experiences after a QR code is scanned using templates to create dynamic and customized results. Factors like the operating system of the device used to scan the QR code, the location of the consumer, the time of day and even the consumer’s loyalty can be factored in to the template, and YouTube videos, photo galleries and Google Maps can also be embedded.
What this leads to, after the scan, are various other activities such as sending a text or email, receiving a notification of winning a contest or making a call, most of which is much more engaging than what was offered in the past.
QR code scanning, to be sure, continues to increase. Scanbuy says that they logged nearly 90 million interactions in 2013 and that their Scanlife app has been downloaded 85 million times.
They’ve also included something extremely important to brands and businesses; back-end tracking of data. Companies can now track scanning activity, campaign comparisons, demographics, location information and first-time customers.
All of which, according to Scanbuy, should finally give QR codes the respect that they’ve always deserved.
