Reading in the bathroom is a time-honored activity. People often keep magazines in their home bathrooms for guests to peruse, but that doesn't work in portable restrooms. Thank goodness technology has solved the problem through smartphones and QR codes.
What is a QR code and what can it do for you?
You've probably seen QR codes printed in newspapers, magazines, on product packaging, direct mail advertising, and many other places. QR stands for "Quick Response" and refers to those black and white squares that are really a two-dimensional barcode readable by a variety of devices including smartphones. They were first used in Japanese automobile plants to track vehicles during the manufacturing process. QR codes are catching on worldwide as a marketing tool because they allow content to be decoded at high speeds by anyone who has a mobile phone equipped with a camera or a smartphone.
The amount of information that can be contained in a QR code is about 4,300 characters. That's enough for a business professional to include contact information and some personal background or product information, which is more than will fit on a standard business card. They also can be used as a link to a website.
Newer smartphones come with QR code readers installed. If a phone doesn't have one installed, a reader can be downloaded for free from Google Goggles, or on an iPhone, the App Store.
Once the QR code reader app is installed, the user simply activates it and takes a quick snapshot of the data label and is instantly seeing what you want them to see, which could be your contact information, or a specific company promotion like a coupon.
How to Create QR Codes
You can program a QR code to open your company website, Facebook page, Twitter feed, or a YouTube video. You can stick to information specifically pertaining to your company or you can link to a YouTube video selected to amuse your captive audience.
If you'd like to use QR codes on marketing materials, the technology for creating them is usually free. Dozens of Web services will create them for you for a fee.
Websites such as Delivr.com, qrcode.kaywa.com, QRifier.com, QR.net and QRStuff.com make it easy for even small-business owners to get onboard by generating QR codes.
A great way to get started is to go to code generating websites. Most provide introductory information on QR codes. Here are some questions to consider when choosing a QR code generator:
1. Does it seem easy to use?
2. Will it create QR codes for almost all smartphones?
3. Does it allow you to condense a URL? A shortened URL is a forwarding address that redirects to your target URL. A short URL means less content has to be encoded and the QR code can be printed smaller.
4. Is it able to create QR codes in different file formats: jpg, png, pdf, eps, etc.?
5. Will it embed html code? This allows you to put QR codes on a website.
6. Does it offer storage and indexing of codes so you can find them when you need them?
7. Does it offer tracking and analytics so you know how often the codes are being scanned?
8. Is it free? You should be able to do all of the above for free.
How and Where to Use QR Codes
Once you've learned to scan and generate QR codes, you can get creative about where and how to use them.
I implied earlier that QR coding could be printed on stickers and placed inside portable restrooms so users could scan the code and read your website content or watch a video while utilizing the restroom.
Jamie Pepper, marketing administrator at English Septic in Bridgeton, N.J., has placed QR codes almost everywhere but inside portable restrooms. The septic pumping and portable restroom company does, however, have QR codes on ads in restroom stalls inside a local stadium.
Pepper says once people learn what QR codes are and how to use them, they become a quick, easy, effective, inexpensive direct marketing strategy a company can pinpoint and track. To help English Septic's customers along, Pepper wrote a brief article explaining QR codes and posted it on the company's website: www.englishseptic.com/qr-codes.php.
English Septic has added QR codes to just about all of its marketing efforts including newspaper ads, phone book ads, restaurant placemat ads, and company brochures. Some codes send people to the English Septic website, others to the company's Facebook page. English Septic also has created QR codes that go right to a discount coupon, which, Pepper says, customers don't even have to print out to take advantage of. They can just show drivers the coupon on their phone.
GAINING TRACTION
"Every month I review our marketing efforts, and wherever the return on investment isn't up to par, that's what I try to push people toward, whether it's Facebook, Twitter or the website," Pepper says.
English Septic has been using QR codes for about a year.
"At first it was a little touch and go, but because there's no cost to it at all, we could stick with it," she says. "After people started getting familiar with it, it took off very quickly."
A marketing tool that's flexible, inexpensive and effective seems like a win-win for any small business. If you're seeing QR codes in more and more places in your area, maybe it's time to try using them yourself to promote your portable restroom operation.
