If you’re looking for ways to extend your signs’ functionality into the digital sphere, QR codes can be an excellent solution. QR code signs from SpeedPro allow anyone with a smartphone who views them to connect quickly to digital resources that can further your marketing efforts and enhance the customer experience in your business.
What Is QR Code Signage?
A Quick Response (QR) code is a two-dimensional barcode-style image that people can scan using their smartphones. These codes are the perfect solution to use as a bridge from your printed marketing materials to your online presence.
Advantages of QR Code Signage
There are many reasons to consider adding QR codes to your signs. QR code signage even offers some advantages compared to other types of smart signage, like near field communication (NFC) signs.
1. It Connects Print Signage to Digital Resources
As with all smart signage, QR code signs provide a bridge from your printed marketing materials to your online presence. Connecting the print and digital world opens up a wide range of possibilities. You can start connecting with audiences in person through signage and then direct them to virtual resources that take your messaging and marketing efforts further. They can even take these digital resources with them when they leave your business or walk past your sign on the street.
2. It’s Familiar Technology
One advantage of QR codes over more recently popularized technology like NFC tags is that they’ve been around long enough that people generally recognize QR codes when they see them, and many people have experience scanning QR codes with their smartphones. It took several years for QR codes to become popular with the general public after they first came out in 1994, but today, most people will see a QR code on your sign and instantly understand what it is and how it works.
3. It’s an Affordable Option for Smart Signage
The cost of signage depends on a variety of factors, such as the size and material of the sign. When it comes to smart signage, you also have to consider the cost of the technology you’re incorporating into the sign. In this regard, QR code signs have an advantage over NFC signs since you can generate QR codes for free using online generators. You can then include these codes in your signs’ designs without the need to install physical chips into the signs.
4. It’s Convenient and Touchless
As with NFC signs, QR code signs provide a way for people to connect to resources without having to physically interact with a sign as they would with a digital kiosk, for instance. These days, iPhones and most Android phones are equipped with native QR code scanning. With an iPhone, all the user has to do is open their iOS Camera app or QR Code Reader in the Control Center and hold their phone in front of the QR code to scan it. Some Android users will have to download a third-party app to scan QR codes.
How Can You Use Smart Signage With QR Codes?
Marketers have found many uses for QR codes on signage. Here are a few ideas of how you can creatively use QR code signage:
- Touchless menus: One popular use for QR codes is to create a touchless menu experience for restaurant customers. With a QR code on a sign posted inside or outside your restaurant, people can quickly pull up your menu on their phones and scroll through options without the need for a paper menu.
- Recipe ideas: A grocery store can install QR signs throughout their store to provide recipe ideas to shoppers that will inspire them to buy certain products. For example, someone in the produce section looking at apples may see a sign prompting them to scan for recipe ideas. The QR code could pull up recipes for apple pie, apple spice cake and Waldorf salad.
- Social media connections: QR codes can be a great way to connect customers to your social media pages. Include the icon for the social media platform next to your QR code with a message such as, “Like us on Facebook,” “Connect with us on Instagram,” or “Follow us on Twitter.” You can use your social media pages to highlight certain products, promote events, share news and more.
- Discounts and coupons: QR codes in a retail store can link to information about upcoming or current sales or can provide shoppers with exclusive coupons and discounts. Mobile coupons, and QR code coupons, are gaining popularity. Juniper Research expects QR code coupon redemptions to reach 5.3 billion by 2022.
- Real estate virtual tours: On real estate signs, you can include a QR code to pull up a property’s online listing. You can also link directly to a virtual tour so someone passing by a home they’re interested in can instantly see what it looks like inside without having to wait to schedule a tour.
- Website landing page: For out-of-home advertisements like posters and vehicle decals, you can include QR codes so passersby can quickly link to your website. You can also include your web address on these marketing materials, but a QR code makes connecting to your site even more convenient for people. Plus, you can create a special landing page for your QR code and track the traffic that comes in through QR codes.
- Surveys or reviews: If you want your customers to fill out an online survey about their experience at your business or leave a public review to boost your presence online, you can include a QR code sign near the exit prompting people to share their experience. A person can quickly scan the sign and pull up your internal survey page or external review site.
QR Code Smart Signage From SpeedPro
SpeedPro is equipped to help your business create smart signs that can connect your print and digital marketing efforts. This includes QR code signs, which feature high-resolution QR codes on a wide range of high-quality marketing materials. Our teams will provide you with start-to-finish assistance setting up your designs, delivering a finished product that exceeds your expectations. Find a SpeedPro studio near you to get started creating smart signage that serves customers and strengthens your connections.
