QR Codes: The Biggest Missed Opportunity?

Q

When’s the last time you scanned a QR Code?

worstqrcodeever

I’m guessing for many of you, it’s probably been at least a few months. For many marketers, advertisers and PR pros, QR codes were (and in some cases still are) the shiny object that was supposed to help bridge the offline and online world. It sounds perfect. For example, X ad agency creates an ad outside a local mall. Then, people scan this little bar code. They are whisked away to your  store’s website (hopefully it’s mobile-friendly), where they magically receive a promotional code or coupon. Sounds peachy, right?

What’s not to love about a way to find new ways to reach and engage with your customers and potential customers? However, QR codes have been around for awhile now. And, the initial buzz of the 2008-2011 era has fizzled away. The QR code never went mainstream.

1. No clear calls-to-action 

Most marketers literally slap a QR code on their ads willy-nilly with no clear call to action. A good chunk of people don’t know what to do with a QR code, let alone want to scan it without a reason. You have to provide people with an incentive or reason to want to scan your QR code.

Placing a QR code on an ad with no clear CTA is like placing a Facebook or Twitter icon on a TV ad w/ no URL.  It’s the push and pray approach, and that doesn’t usually end well.

2. Poor execution  

Another pitfall is that most are not thinking about the most conducive environments to scan a QR code. Mobile behavior is very different from desktop PC behavior. They don’t have 24” of screen real estate (unless you have the freakishly large Samsung Galaxy Note). They are likely on the go and multi-tasking. It’s a lot harder to get a mobile audience to stop all the things they are doing to waste 30 precious seconds to scan a code. The fact that marketers are placing these QR codes in some of the worst places ever, such as on highway billboards, subway stations/trains, and yes even in public restrooms, doesn’t help this scenario.

Why would you put a QR code in a place that has no or limited WiFi, like a subway station?

Or worse, on a highway billboard sign?

It’s a bad enough that people put on makeup, eat their lunch and text while driving? The scariest thing in the world is to think someone out there is holding up their phone, trying to scan a QR code all while driving 70mph on the Interstate.

3. QR code flawed tech  

Even with the worst execution errors, the tech behind QR codes never innovated. It was another app for people to download on their smartphones. Then even if you had a QR Code app, it could be clunky to use and required a solid 3G/4G signal or WiFi. In the minute it took to download, you could have easily just queued up the website or gone to the one of the company’s social media pages.

Do you think QR Codes are dead? Please share your thoughts below. 

 

About the author

Jessica Malnik

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