12 Unique Ways to Generate Leads Using QR Codes

If you’re like a lot of other people, you might be wondering how mobile marketing can be used to generate leads for your business. For HubSpot users, the good news is that you have a head start – the HubSpot platform will automatically create a mobile version of your site for you.

But what should you do next? After creating a mobile website, what mobile tools should you use to attract new customers to your business? QR codes are one of the easiest tools to get started. You are probably already familiar with QR codes, but if not, it is the square barcodes like the one in this post that are used by businesses to drive potential customers to their websites.

While researching our new book Go mobile, Jeanne Hopkins and I took a deep dive into the most important mobile tools for small and medium-sized businesses. There are a lot of choices out there, but we’ll focus on the most effective QR code uses to grow your business.

Who uses QR codes?

The short answer is anyone with a cell phone. In addition to keys and wallets, our phone is one of the few things we cannot leave home without. Companies have picked up on this and are constantly finding new ways to use QR codes to get in touch with them or to make their processes smoother.

Use of QR codes in everyday life

While the concept of when to implement QR codes may be new, you have probably already familiarized yourself with their use in local businesses that you have visited. Here are some cases where you’ve most likely met them:

• Access to the public WiFi network
• Restaurant menus
• operation manual
• Cashless payment
• Web promotions during live events
• Contact information and link trees

Later in this article, we’ll discuss the many other ways you can use QR codes. But first we are going to look at how to make your own QR codes.

How to create your own QR code advertisement

On the Go mobile Website, we used QR codes to provide clues for a nationwide scavenger hunt for four iPads hidden across the country. Visitors to the site were able to scan the QR codes to download the notices. To make sure we captured leads from the promotion, we’ve also emailed the notices to anyone who filled out the form on the website. This is how we collect the lead information so that we can re-market this target group in the future.

Creating a QR code advertisement is actually pretty easy. Here are the steps we followed in creating the action for our nationwide iPad scavenger hunt.

1. Create a landing page

First and foremost, you need to create a mobile-friendly landing page. That means a landing page designed to be displayed on a smartphone screen. Keep things simple – for example, forms on a mobile landing page should be limited to just a few fields. Most people do not have the patience to fill out long forms on a smartphone.

2. Create your QR code

After you’ve created your landing page, copy the url into a QR code generator. There are a lot of QR code generators out there so just look for one. Paste your landing page url into the QR code generator and your QR code will be magically generated on site. This QR code is unique to you, so no one in the world has another like him.

3. Add your QR code to your promotional materials

Get your QR code from the generator. On a PC, this means that you right click on it and save it to your computer. (On a Mac, you can drag and drop it.) Now that you have the QR code handy, add it to your promotional materials. This includes any printed materials or websites that will be part of the promotion.

4. Get the word out

There’s no point in starting a QR code promotion if you don’t let the world know. So send your message using your blog, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, or any of the other social media tools available to you. The most important part in this phase of the game is to let as many people as possible know about the action.

5. Extend the action

For our iPad scavenger hunt, we wanted as many people as possible to participate, so we uploaded a new QR code every day for several weeks. This way our audience grows and we can get as much exposure as possible around the advertising.

How to use QR codes for your company

There are several different ways to use QR codes for your business, and new ones are popping up every day. Here are some great ideas to use below.

Common uses of QR codes

1. Web pages: Add a QR code to the “Contact Us” page on your website so visitors can download your contact information to their smartphones.
2. Business cards: Add a QR code to the front or back of your business card so people can download your contact information right away.
3. Webinars: Are you ready to make your webinars more engaging and fun? Then just add a QR code to your presentation. It’s a great way to engage and involve the audience.
4. LinkedIn and Facebook pages: Would you like to differentiate yourself from everyone else? Add a QR code to your LinkedIn and Facebook pages to draw people to your website. This is one of the best ways to position yourself as a forward-thinking, innovative thinker.
5. In-store posters with coupons: Do you want to provide instant coupons to people when they shop? Then add a QR code that will lead them to a special discount that can be scanned at checkout.
6. Choose a phone number: Do you want to encourage people to dial your number so they can order your product? Then give them a QR code to scan. When set up correctly, it immediately dials your number on their phone and connects them to your distribution center.

Creative uses for QR codes

1. Clothing and goods: Are you ready to promote your product or service in an innovative way? Then add a QR code to a t-shirt to give away to customers and prospects. Hija De Tu Madre (pictured above), a Latina fashion and accessories brand, cleverly placed a QR code on one of their shirt designs. It encourages viewers to “search for community and culture” so people can learn more about the brand and eventually turn them into new customers.
2. “Hello, my name is” tags: Do you know those big red and white signs that people wear with their names on at events? By inserting a QR code in place of your name, you can reach out to people and start conversations easily.
3. Event posters: Promotion for an event? Enhance your posters and flyers with a QR code that passers-by can easily scan. Let them take the code to your event page, where they can see all the relevant details and buy tickets.

4. Outdoor billboards:Be one of the first companies in your market to execute a giant QR code on a billboard for your business. In the example above, Cygames enlisted the help of 1,500 drones to create a giant QR code in the sky to celebrate the anniversary of one of their games.
5. Galleries and museums: Make it easy for viewers to find out more about your work and upcoming projects. Putting a QR code next to the artwork instead of text is a wonderful alternative to the standard description. The guests do not have to push each other to read and can take the information with them. If you are selling in a gallery, it can also be worthwhile to activate the payment via the QR code as well.
6. Product packaging: If you’re selling a physical product, adding a QR code that tells the buyer more about your brand or the product itself can build connections and trust. If you’re selling groceries, consider using a QR code on the ingredient list or perhaps simple recipes that the item can be used in. For cosmetics, use QR codes that provide more information about how the products are made, tested, and where the ingredients come from.

Use QR Codes to Grow Your Business

Using QR codes to grow your business is not really a secret. All you have to do is generate the code and insert it into your action. Make sure you test the campaign before you go public with it – people who scan your code expect it to work relatively smoothly the first time after it’s launched. Otherwise, running a QR code advertisement is a breeze.

An important point to keep in mind about QR codes is that they are simply a mechanism for interacting with prospects and customers. In other words, they aren’t the end game so it’s up to you to figure out how to use them to capture the visitors you drive to your website as leads through landing pages.

Once your strategy is established, using QR codes to grow your business is relatively easy. All you have to do is generate the code and insert it into your action. Make sure you test the campaign before going public with it – people who scan your code expect things to work relatively smoothly the first time after it’s launched. Give them an experience that will excite them and make them want to come back again.

This is a guest blog post by Jamie Turner, founder and chief content officer of 60 Second Marketer. Jamie is also a co-author of the book Go mobile, written with Jeanne Hopkins, VP of Marketing @HubSpot. He is a regular guest on CNN and HLN on digital marketing and is a popular one Mobile Marketing Spokesperson at events and companies around the globe.

This article was originally published in January 2012 and has been updated for completeness.