QR codes and its effectiveness in your email content marketing strategy

You’ve been using email content writing as your primary source of marketing and so far it has been working out great. The outreach to customers (potential and existing) and return on investment is remarkable. 

However, your business is growing and you find that the traditional method of email content marketing is proving to be insufficient; or you may want to keep your business in tune with the latest technological developments.

If the above applies to you, read on to know the use of QR Codes in email marketing and how it could prove to be the boon you were looking for.

 

• What are QR Codes:

 

QR (Quick Response) codes are an advanced form of bar codes that can (i) store a large amount of data; (ii) can easily transmit the stored data from physical to digital medium using a smartphone; (iii) can be used by anyone who possess and scans the code. There are two types of QR code: 

1. Static QR Code: The data of the code once embedded cannot be modified.
2. Dynamic QR Code: The data of a dynamic QR code can be changed anytime (and any number of times) as it doesn’t store the data directly and stores only the URL that directs the user to the relevant data.

 

• QR Codes and Email Content Marketing:

 

Still not convinced about using QR codes? The table below lists some of the reasons why the use of QR codes is better than the traditional use of URLs.

Area of Business	Reasons to Use QR Codes	Type of QR Code
Online Job Portals	Details of the job can be embedded in a QR code instead of the body of the email. One QR code per employer / job type.	Static QR Code
Retailers / Hoteliers/ Restaurateurs	Provide (i) discounts and offers; (ii) info about any new item/ dish by scanning the QR code. The same QR code can be used to avail different offers at different points of time.	Dynamic QR Code
Educators	QR code can store all course related details and direct the students to the correct course based URL. Data can be modified on the same QR code as and when a new course is added/ starts / ends.	Dynamic QR Code
Consultants	QR code can provide all relevant details (areas of practise, cost per service, URL etc.)	Static or Dynamic QR Code

Key Points:

 

• QR codes are easy to generate. Select an online QR code generator that satisfies all your requirements.
• Dynamic QR codes are always better than Static QR codes. It’s easier to modify the data than generate a separate QR code.
• Aim at having only one QR code for numerous purposes. The user should be able to find relevant data using a QR code even in old emails.
• QR codes are quickly gaining popularity, therefore make it easy for new user to use your code. For example, add an attachment with the image of the QR code, thereby making it easy for phone users to scan it. 
• You can also give incentives (additional discounts) for consumers to use your QR codes. This will familiarize your customers with the code and prove beneficial to you in the long run.