It’s everywhere, right? The small, black, squiggly, nonsensical square that adorns objects all over, and it’s called a QR code. A few years back, these were all the rage; a trend that made first-mover marketers excited.
Today? Not so much, based on this personal mobile marketing story that happened this weekend.
I’m having shower woes; the master shower leaks, and I’m relegated to the extra basement shower which needs some TLC. At Lowes Saturday morning, I spied a really attractive end cap featuring four designs of Oxygenics shower heads.
The one I wanted had a QR code that when scanned promised:
1. See the Force (sic) spray settings in action
2. View a quick install video
3. And much more
Because the end cap wasn’t digital (the company should use Coloredge) and I couldn’t see a video in the display, I pointedly got out my QR code reader on my iPhone to immediately scan to help me make a purchase.
Your QR Code Sucks
To my utter dismay the QR code took me to a blank page on the company’s website.
There was no messaging!
The product I wanted wasn’t even listed in the “products” menu. I was so perturbed that I shot off an email to the support team saying I was standing in Lowe’s and needed that QR code to work to inform me of the value of their product.
Who’s at fault? Marketing.
QR Code Equals Mobile Marketing
QR codes are the absolute best mobile marketing strategy a company can use. My child has used them on the trails as the park district puts them on signage about the emerald ash borer.
Why do kids love QR codes? Because they’re interactive! Give a mobile device to a child and watch their eyes light as the scanner works and takes them to a website (the content of which means nothing to a kid).
Why would an adult, demographic notwithstanding, want to use a QR code? Read above – to help with information gathering about a product pre-purchase.
Mobile marketing still has kinks to work out. The first kink, obviously, is to match and update that QR code on packaging so customers can align with value propositions and product benefits.
