2021 is the year for QR codes. Every day, businesses discover new potentials of QR codes in marketing, consumer engagement, and communication. They are trendsetting because users don’t need an external app to scan them. As the latest smartphones come with in-built scanners (also, incredible 4G and 5G internet speed), it has become easier for users to access different digital content forms embedded in the printed codes on newspapers, magazines, billboards, and even clothing. Read further and get to know how QR codes for business are useful.

QR Codes are Ahead of Time – Link Physical Paper to World Wide Web in Few Seconds

Imagine opening a YouTube video directly from a book. 

Or, accessing someone’s life history, such as social media account, official website, product pages, contact details, LinkedIn bio, and the direction to his or her physical store via a 2 x 3.5-inch business card?!

They can be used anywhere and everywhere that show scope – both for personal and business use. QR Codes creates fascinating marketing ideas for all business verticals, from road-side vendors to giant retail stores to luxury brands and even independent professionals. 

Who Can Use Them?

We have seen a recent uptick in the codes’ usage, as they contribute to the ‘contact-less & social distancing’ factor of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

According to Gartner’s recent report, by 2024, 80% of payment, ordering, and checkout processes will happen via contactless tools. 

So, anyone who wants to connect to their end customers can use QR Codes for promotions. 

These are here to stay for a very long time – from redirecting customers from business card to website to engaging store walk-in customers with social media content – the scope is huge and within your means. 

Brands that Used QR Codes for business and Redefined Consumer Engagement 

QR Code Chimp online QR Code Generator makes the codes mainstream by providing diverse business applications. We have aggregated a few use-cases for business marketing, lest you need some inspiration.

1- Burger Kings’s Lockdown Offers

Who doesn’t love the kings of burgers? Sure you do. In lieu of the pandemic, the brand launched two exciting offers for their home-struck customers. One of the offers encouraged users to scan the QR Code showed on their TV commercial (which redirected to a landing page) to redeem the coupon for Free Whopper on Burger King mobile application.

• As a brand, you can also redirect your users to any digital content from any print advertisement. You can also integrate Customer Loyalty Programs to retain existing customers and boost ROI. 

2- L’Oreal ‘How to Use’ Videos

“Stuck in traffic? Scan and watch Yves and Lancôme products tutorial”. L’Oreal collaborated with Glamour to promote its eCommerce store application page by placing QR Codes on the inside of hire-cabs. Users stuck in heavy traffic were urged to scan the code to watch ‘How to Use Makeup Products’ and then redirect them to the App Store. The marketing idea boosted L’Oreal app download by 80%.

• You can add QR Code vCard to help customers save your contact details directly on their phones without typing, QR Code Google Maps to share physical store’s location, QR Code Photo Gallery to showcase your projects, or QR Code Social Media to provide a link to your social media profile.

Look up QR Code Chimp to access a variety of customizable options, different use-cases which can be used in QR codes for business. 

3- PayPal, GPay, and PayTM for the Millennials

Google Pay (Tez), PayPal, and PayTM have transformed the way users make payments in stores. The cashless payment system enables quicker purchases and no-contact, no-counting-money payments across all stores, groceries, clinics, hospitals, restaurants, and you name it. You also get rewards in terms of money, cashback, and reward points on making payments via the apps. 

4- British Airways Make Check-Ins Easier

They can be extensively used in the travel industry. British Airways started the trend by printing Check-in QR Codes on passengers’ boarding passes. This enables passengers to check in quickly via their mobile without having to wait in queues. 

• Traveling companies, guides, and resorts, and hotels can alternatively use QR Codes on tickets, boarding passes, and holiday brochures to provide useful information to passengers and guests. This could include a trip itinerary, schedule, places to visit, things to do, hotel addresses, and many other perks. 

5- IKEA’s Faster Check-Outs for Large Furniture

Checking-out large furniture at the cash counter is a big challenge. IKEA introduced a solution to this problem by adding QR codes on their furniture. Customers have to scan them and make the payment without going to the cash counter. 

• If you are a product company, you can use QR Codes to provide information about the product. For example, the user scans the code on the product label and gets redirected to a YouTube video where he watches the product’s manufacturing process. 

You can also add other details, including specifications, manufacturer details, warranty card, and user manual, to increase the product’s value and authenticity. 

6- Coca Cola Intuitive Content for Advertising Boost

Coca-Cola added Dynamic QR Code on their product packaging with exciting content providing a pleasing experience to customers. Each time customers scanned the code, a new piece of content would appear. Coca Cola changed the ads of the Dynamic Code in regular intervals by embedding time-based promotional campaigns.

The brand used an intuitive tracking and analytics tool to track each ad campaign’s results and manage future marketing strategies.

• Dynamic QR Codes come with intelligent tracking abilities and unlimited content editing and updating, which allow brands to measure the scans’ performance in real-time and change the embedded information anytime and any number of times without reprinting them. 

QR Codes are Gateway that Leads Offline Customers to Digital World

If you are a retail business and yet, don’t engage your customers digitally, you are most-probably missing 70% of your customers. QR Codes act as an organic, affordable, and straightforward marketing tool to acquire, convert and retain your end-customers (who generally walk-in to your store or buy your products from retail shops) with effective and interesting marketing campaigns. 

Practical Uses of QR codes for Business

Educate customers (DIYs, vlogs, and how-to)

• Add on posters, signage, billboards, and display tables to grab attention (coupons, discounts, offers)
• Redirect consumers to the eCommerce store page, landing page, or website URL (show other product lines, new products, and season offers)
• Stick on product tags, packages, and labels (to verify product authenticity)
• Pass on business details via vCards, PDFs, and documents (company policy and sales documents)

• Encourage customers to leave reviews and connect with you (DMs and Google Forms)

QR Codes are the key to win millennials’ attention because they are always on their mobile phones and don’t know whether life exists beyond it. And if you use Dynamic Code, your code will probably stay active, engaging, and trackable for a very long time, depending on the QR Code Generator you choose. On the other hand, Statics have no expiration date. Follow QR Code Chimp for incredible business development ideas.