Businesses are always looking for new ways to engage customers, make interactions more convenient, and save everyone time and money. One simple way to achieve this is with QR codes.
These codes are free to create, allow you to easily share all kinds of information, and can streamline your sales and customer service processes.
While we often see QR codes at restaurants nowadays, there are many different ways you can use these codes in both your business and personal life.
1. Link to a Website
Using a QR code to send someone to a specific website is probably the most common way I’ve seen QR codes used. In fact, you’ve likely seen a code placed on a restaurant table and scanned it to view the contactless menu.
QR codes would also make a great addition to real estate flyers so people who are interested in a property can quickly access more information. You can also add a code to an event flyer that links to the registration page to make it easy to sign up. You can even include QR codes on the back of your business cards and link them to your social media profiles to gain new followers.
2. Share Your Contact Card
If you’d like to get rid of business cards entirely, you can create a QR code linking to a vCard, or virtual contact file, with all your contact details.
It's similar to how you share a contact from your smartphone to someone else's smartphone. Instead of typing out their name, phone number, and other information in a text message, you would share the actual contact from your contact list, or vCard, to the other person so all the contact details can be instantly and correctly be added into their phone.
The next time someone wants your information, instead of a business card, pull up the QR code you created (just like you’d pull up a photo on your phone) and ask that person to scan it. It will bring up your details as though they are viewing a contact listed in their phone and be given the option to add you to their list. With your details saved on their phone, it’s less likely they will ever lose your information!
3. Provide WiFi Network Details
Never give out your WiFi password again! Whether you’re always helping your vendors or customers at the office to get connected or the guests and teenagers at your house, you can now use a QR code to do it.
You simply input your network name and password into the QR code generator and it will create a code that once scanned, will prompt people to join your WiFi network. I’ve seen some people get creative by designing free signs in Canva and posting them in conference rooms, lobbies, and family rooms.
4. Add Events to Calendars
Make it easy for people to add your event to their calendars by creating a QR code with the event name, location, date, and time.
When someone scans the code, they will be prompted to save the event to their smartphone calendar. Some QR code generators will even let you select the time zone and add an event description.
Since most busy people will live and die by their calendars, this is a great way to make sure everyone has the correct information in their schedule.
5. Share Documents and Coupons
Sharing PDF documents or other files via QR codes can be a fun way to promote products, offer coupons, and provide digital downloads.
If you’re hosting an event, you can create a code that allows attendees to download a digital workbook. At a book launch, an author can promote sales with a QR code that allows people to download the first chapter for free.
You can even have some fun with it and create a scavenger hunt, offering a discount, free item, etc. for anyone who finds and scans the QR code you created and hid.
There are many ways you can use QR codes to quickly and easily share information and this list is just a starting point, so get creative! If you think through your processes and systems, there are likely several places you could use a code to streamline interactions between your business and your customers.
To learn more about how you can use them in your business, I encourage you to play around with one of the QR code generators mentioned in my recent blog post, How to create a free QR code and scannable graphics.
If you would like to talk more about QR codes and get help creating your own, schedule a Tackle My Tech Session.
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