How do I achieve high scan rates? What are the keys to success of my QR campaigns?
We get this question a lot, and it is certainly valid. Based on our experience, several factors can bump up QR Code scan rates. Here are the most important keys to success:
1) Your customer takes the time to pull out his mobile phone, opens his scanner app (hopefully our Kaywa Reader), and scans your code. He’s clearly interested in your campaign, and you obviously don’t want to disappoint him with this first impression. Make sure your customer gets something of added value when he scans your code. Direct him to your sub-site where he can register for an event or access product information. Don’t just send him to your homepage and make him find his own way. You’ll lose him. Make sure he gets to his destination quickly and that the experience is easy and enjoyable.
2) Tell the user what he has to do with the code. Lots of people know the square now, but still do not know what it is called or what they have to do. So tell them: Get a QR scanner and scan it. We propose you to recommend our Kaywa Reader (free on the AppStore and GooglePlay). For two reasons: First, it is easier for any user if he directly gets a recommendation from his trusted brand than to have to look it up himself on the App Stores. Second, you get better data with our Reader.
3) Tell the customer what she can expect when scanning your code. Write short instructions around your code – for example, “Scan and get our latest blog post”, “Scan & Win” or “Scan to get the Coupon”. A customer who knows what to expect will be much more inclined to scan your code.
4) Embed your code graphically into your campaign. The code should be an integral part of your whole campaign’s design. Do Design Codes – see examples here: http://www.kaywa.com/static/design-qr-codes. Statistics show that Design Codes get scanned 100% more often because they communicate safety – through an integrated logo, for example – or they stand out with special colors or shapes. Available on all our plans.
5) Make sure that your code can be scanned easily by following several important steps:
a) Use our dynamic code generator, which shortens your URL automatically. By using a URL shortener, codes are less complicated and thus more easily scanned.
b) Print the QR Code large enough and leave a white edge around it. Read more about sizes and formatting here.
c) Imagine the distance between the person scanning the code and the code’s physical location. If you know that a customer will be standing about 65 feet/20 meters away, the code must be bigger than if he scans it from 8 inches/20 centimeters away. As a test, you may want to print your code on a piece of paper at a specific size and find out the farthest distance from which it can be scanned.
6) If you have the resources, it’s great to offer mobile-friendly content to your customers. Today, many web services are responsive and adapt to specific devices from the start. So if you can, use responsive and thus mobile-friendly websites as landing pages. But, hey, if you can’t, it’s still better to help your customers get to your normal website via a QR Code on their phones than to force them to type your web address into their phone’s browser.
7) Use different codes in different communication channels all leading back to a same URL of the campaign. That way you can truly measure the response of the different media and get a clue of where you should spend your money. And where not.
We hope these ideas help make your next QR Code campaign successful. We’ve found that if you follow at least the first four rules, your hits will improve. Sign up for one of our plans, try our suggestions, and watch the scan rates of your QR Codes climb!
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