If so, you’re not alone. While QR codes were once ubiquitous, they have somewhat faded into the background. But are they really obsolete?
Quite the opposite, QR codes are still a powerful tool in marketing and are suitable also for small and medium-sized businesses when used correctly.
In this article, you’ll learn what QR codes are, their modern use cases and tools, and how you can create your first QR code for free.
What are QR Codes?
QR codes are square “images” that encode information in the form of dots and lines, making them readable by machines. They are similar to barcodes in supermarkets.
QR codes were developed in the 1990s by the Japanese company Denso Wave and have since spread worldwide. QR codes are easy to create and very robust. Even if part of the code is damaged, the information can still be read.
Basically, QR codes contain only text. This text can be a URL, a phone number, an email address, or simply a message.
QR codes bridge the digital and physical worlds. Instead of typing a URL from a flyer, a smartphone can understand and read the code. This makes QR codes a simple and quick tool for sharing information.
The Problem with QR Codes
Did you feel uneasy when you thought about scanning the QR code above? I promise it only leads to this website steincode.com. But this highlights the problem with QR codes - you have to trust me.
After the initial hype, QR codes gained a bad reputation. Too often, they were used to pique curiosity and redirect unsuspecting users to malicious sites. You can’t immediately tell where a QR code will take you, which can lead to unpleasant surprises.
For this reason, QR codes have somewhat faded into the background. However, when placed on a reputable medium and clearly indicating where they lead, they are still very useful and an excellent marketing tool.
How to Create a QR Code
QR codes can be easily created online with many tools. You enter the text, URL, or other information into the generator, and the tool creates the QR code as an image file. This file can then be embedded in flyers, posters, or business cards.
With the free QR code generator from qrcode-generator.com, you can create QR codes online. Simply enter the URL, generate the code, and download the image.
QR codes can also contain more specific information to provide the smartphone with additional details, such as adding a contact (vCard) or initiating a SEPA transfer (EPC). qrcode-generator.com offers a lot of them so check out the different options at the top of their generator form.
Modern Use Cases of QR Codes
Using QR codes instead of a direct link has a significant advantage. Normally, when creating promotional materials, URLs need to be short, simple, and easy to read and remember (e.g., www.holzpower.at - the website of one of our clients). With a QR code, the link can be of any length and can include additional information.
Whenever a person needs to be guided from a physical object to the digital world, QR codes are an excellent option. Here are some examples of how QR codes can be used in businesses:
1. Flyers and Posters
QR codes on flyers and posters can lead directly to the company’s website. This saves the user from typing the URL and takes them directly to the desired information.
The following QR code (created with qrcode-generator.com) leads directly to this website steincode.com and could be included on a flyer.
2. Business Cards
QR codes on business cards can lead directly to the contact page, saving the user from typing. Alternatively, they can even contain a vCard. vCards are a special format that allows a contact with name, phone number, and other information to be directly saved into the smartphone’s address book.
The following QR code contains a vCard with the contact details of SteinCode GmbH and was created with the vCard-QR-Code Generator from www.qrcode-generator.com/. The code is significantly larger and more complex than the above QR code because it needs to include more information (name, email address, etc.).
3. Invoices
Every business owner knows how tedious it is to type IBANs and payment information. A QR code on the invoice can contain an EPC-QR code. This is a special format of QR code that includes all the information for a SEPA transfer. The customer can simply scan the QR code and start the transfer in their mobile banking app directly.
There are several online options to create this EPC code. An EPC-QR code can be created online, for example, with the EPC-QR-Code Generator from qrcode-generator.com.
Since the content should include all the information of the current invoice to make it as easy as possible for the user, most online accounting tools offer the option to automatically include these in all generated invoices.
4. Collecting Reviews
Google reviews are important for all businesses. Google provides a short link in the Google My Business profile that directs users to a Google page for creating a new review for the business (instructions by Semrush on how to create this link).
This URL is great for quickly asking for a review, but it is complex and not suitable for printing. Instead, you can give satisfied customers a card with a QR code to the review page, making it easier for them to leave a review.
A request for a review can be forgotten, but a card has to be consciously discarded. This is especially useful for service providers and craftsmen.
5. Products
QR codes on products can lead to the product page with information or instructions. This is especially useful because product links are often very long and typing them can be tedious.
6. Emails and SMS
A more specific application is opening a new email or SMS with a predefined text. This can be useful when asking for an email to participate in an event (e.g., beta testing a new product). This ensures that the email is sent to the correct address and the subject is pre-filled, making it easier to organize.
The following code opens a new email in your smartphone’s mail program with a predefined recipient and subject to our company email address:
7. Other Use Cases
There are many other use cases for QR codes. One that almost everyone has seen by now is the QR code in the manual of a purchased product, like a robot vacuum cleaner, which allows you to download the appropriate app from the app store.
Images, videos, audio files, or PDFs can also be linked, for example, as instructions for customers. Since QR codes become larger and more complex the more information is embedded, only shorter texts fit within them. For this reason, these files are uploaded to a dedicated website, and the corresponding link is embedded in the QR code.
QR code management tools simplify this process by allowing you to upload these files directly and create the appropriate QR codes in one step. More about these tools below.
QR Codes - More Than Just a Link
Linking is just the beginning. You can embed various types of information (URL, vCard, email message, etc.) and customize details based on the medium or location, while the code itself remains abstract. For example, a QR code on a flyer in Vienna can lead to a different page than the same QR code on a flyer in Berlin.
Another brilliant idea from QR code providers is the use of intermediate redirects. Instead of specifying the final URL, an abstract intermediate URL is used. The QR code might contain the URL www.steincode.com/1F2J19KK120, which internally redirects to wwww.steincode.com/winter-promotion.
This allows the target of a QR code to be changed at any time. For example, the printed URL wwww.steincode.com/1F2J19KK120 can be internally redirected from the winter promotion page to the summer promotion page www.steincode.com/summer-promotion in the summer. This way, the same QR code can be used all year round.
These dynamic QR code links can be created and managed by QR code management tools.
QR Code Management Tools
Most businesses will only need a few QR codes for their business cards or individual flyers. Most online generators are sufficient for this. However, if multiple QR codes are used for product inserts, flyers, or mailings, it can quickly become overwhelming.
For this purpose, there are special QR code management tools that allow you to manage QR codes, create dynamic code links, and even measure the success of QR codes with their analytics tracking.
One of the largest platforms is qrcode-generator.com. They offer a range of features to easily create, manage, and track QR codes, as well as the important ability to create dynamic code links. The upload of images, videos, and PDFs is also possible.
Recently, a new European tool campaigncodes.de from a Vienna-based company has become available. It allows for the creation, management, and tracking of QR codes, offers dynamic links, and aims to simplify the entire marketing process with innovative features like lead funnels and complete advertising material generators. A detailed comparison is definitely worthwhile. It is only available in German at the time of writing but will probably soon be available in English as well.
Conclusion
In 2024 QR codes are even more relevant for large and smaller businesses. They can contain not only URLs but also vCards, EPC codes, Google review pages, and much more. They bridge the physical and digital worlds and are a simple and quick tool for sharing information.
However, it is paramount to create trust with the user. They should only be used on media items that indicate who the company behind the QR code is and where the code leads to counteract the valid suspicions of today’s users against QR codes.