QR Codes: Part I

Quick Responses. That’s where our generation is headed. We want quick responses, and we expect no less than that from the businesses we buy from, the customers that buy from us, and the people we interact with on a daily basis.

Which brings us to QR Codes. You know, those black and white, square codes that tend to appear on marketing materials?

If you haven’t seen one, it looks like this:

GotPrint QR Code to follow GotPrint blog on blogger

What Is It?

You may be asking, what is a QR Code exactly? Since they’re relatively still new to most people, the term “QR Code” (also known as Quick Response Code) has almost become a metonym for 2D Barcodes. (In fact, QR Codes are just one type of 2D Barcodes.)

The gist: QR Codes and barcodes are encoded images that can store a variety of data that can be retrieved with a simple scan that recognizes the pattern of the components of the image. We’ve seen them everywhere (and we’re sure you have too), whether it be flyers posted in the streets, on business cards, on direct mailed postcards, or product labels.

So How Does It All Work?

All your customers need is a smartphone that has a QR Code reader/scanner (they can download an app for it), and upon scanning your QR Code, their scanner reads the code and converts it to a URL.

Where that URL directs them to, is entirely up to you: your website, blog, a specific promotion designed by you, or whatever you like! It’s quick, easy, and there’s no need for pencils and note-taking of URLs and contact info, either.

In the case of the QR Code we provided above, if you scan it, it will allow you to click to follow our blog. (Of course, there’s almost no point in displaying this code on a digital platform such as this webpage.)

Many businesses and freelancers incorporate QR Codes onto their marketing material: it’s simply a great way to grab the attention of the smartphone-savvy generation and quickly direct customers to your message.

Mary Vantine business cards scattered on the table with a QR Code on the backside

For example, take Creative Designer Mary Vantine (and GotPrint customer), whose business cards (above) have a QR Code displayed on the backside. A simple scan of the code and her customers and whoever she meets are directed straight to her website, where they can browse her portfolio, send her an email, or connect with her on social media, all without even having to download an app or type her website into the address bar.

In the next blog post, we’ll discuss how you can make your QR Codes work for you.

What Is It?

So How Does It All Work?

Erina S.

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