QR codes continue to expand in popularity, but most still suffer from fatal mistakes.
Wow! It sounds like this QR code is going to be useful! Except, of course, it’s lying.
Here’s one that get close, at least with its description. This is a retail package that includes barbecue accessories including a bag of wood chips. Some customers who use gas grills may not be sure how to use those special wood chips, so it seems to make perfect sense to offer a bit of education right on the package. So they chose to include a QR code to offer a video with helpful info.
The description and stated purpose next to the QR code are great. It’s the target website that’s a fail. Customers get taken to the general website, instead of just the exact video the description promised. And of course, that home page is not mobile-friendly or responsive. So good luck to those customers who do recognize the QR code, pull out their phone, open their scanner app, scan the code, and then get dumped on a poorly-thought-out web page.
“Enjoy your time pinching and scrolling and searching for that video we promised you. It’s on here somewhere.”
This would be so easy to fix. Just link the QR code directly to the useful video.
And before you even consider using a QR code on anything, please review the 7 QR code mistakes that can kill your promotions and how to avoid them.
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Becky started Small Biz Survival in 2006 to share rural business and community building stories and ideas with other small town business people. She and her husband have a small cattle ranch and are lifelong entrepreneurs. Becky is an international speaker on small business and rural topics.
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