by Matt Genna

As a marketer, finding new and different ways to advertise one’s company or products can be quite difficult at times. This is why many companies today are starting to incorporate QR Codes into their marketing strategies, giving them the breath of fresh air they’ve been awaiting. A Quick Response Code or QR Code in short is a small black and white barcode that can be placed on anything and is readable by any QR scanners, mobile phones that are equipped with a camera or any type of “Smart Phone.”

But how does this benefit an owner of a business, you ask? It’s simple; QR Codes are being used to integrate direct mail with mobile devices. Meaning, anytime you send out a piece of mail from your company that has a QR Code attached to it, not only can the consumer view whatever it is you sent to them, but they can also research your company with a press of a button on their mobile device. Think about how convenient it is to do this considering the amount of people who have a smart phone, let alone cell phones equipped with a camera.

Now, although smart phones were first introduced to consumers as a phone mainly used for business owners, it has turned into a popular accessory for all ages. In fact, many consumers 18 to 34 years of age prefer to learn about marketing offers via postal mail rather than online sources. This leaves the doors wide open for marketers to advertise anything they can fit inside the small bar code on with a very low risk of failure; for example, you may want to place the QR Codes on a magazine, a flyer, a newspaper or anything that a consumer would pick up normally throughout their day out on the town. The QR Codes have practically no limitations on what can be stored on them; you can embed text, phone numbers, web addresses, coupons etc. Just thinking about the potential leads you can generate from QR codes is overwhelming.

The United States Postal Service announced that they would offer an up-front 3 percent discount on First Class Mail as well as Standard Mail which would contain one or more QR codes, effective as of July 1^st. All that would need to be done to do this, in addition to the QR Code being printed directly on the mail is to submit documentation for the mailing electronically. Marketing through Direct Mail has proven to be a great way of spreading the word for all types of products and services a business offers, and now with it collaborating with QR Codes it is almost impossible to not receive positive feedback.