Sales & Marketing Authority, Bestselling Author & Business Motivational Speaker

QR codes have slowly been gathering momentum in the business and marketing world over the last few years, but many professionals are still unsure of what they actually are and how they can be used.

What’s more, many of the intended users of QR codes are still unaware of their real value or purpose so in this post I’m going to cover some of the basics and discuss the ways businesses can use QR codes within their marketing plans. 

What are QR codes?

The phrase QR code stands for “Quick Response” Code and in its most basic form a QR code is simply a barcode, in which you can encode many different forms of data which can then be read by a QR code reader.

How do they work?

QR codes are slightly different from barcodes, as although they are both a form of two-dimensional code, barcodes can only store data in a horizontal format (which is read through the spaces in between the vertical lines they are made up of), whereas QR codes can encode data both horizontally and vertically – meaning that much more data to be encoded in a smaller space.

How can you use them?

In order to view QR codes you need to download a QR code reader to your android phone (or smartphone as they are also known), and then use the scanner to take a picture of the QR code, which it will then scan and convert or direct you to whatever data has been stored in that code.

QR codes can be encoded with almost any form of data, which means that they can be scanned to show text, images, videos, maps or the entire content of a webpage.

In terms of using QR codes from a business perspective, there are numerous free QR code generators online through which you can create basic and permanent QR codes which you can then place onto any space you like, including giftware, advertising, clothing, printed products, packaging, signage, exhibition materials, as well as being placed in store windows – as they can even be scanned through glass.

You can also purchase QR code systems which can track the combined total of scans a particular code has received, as well as allowing you to produce one code that can have its data changed time and time again – meaning that you could print one code to be distributed and then update the data of this code every time you had a new offer or wanted to change the current promotion you were running, without having to generate and redistribute a new code for each.

How to download a reader to your smartphone

From a user’s point of view, there are a variety of QR code scanners that can be downloaded to most Android phones such as iPhone, Blackberry and HTC. Some newer models now have QR readers built in as standard as QR codes popularity and frequency of use increases.

iPhone

iPhone has a basic free QR code reader app by TapMedia Ltd, but you can upgrade to a HD version by DDQ for £0.69 and there are numerous other customisable versions to buy and download as well.

Blackberry

Blackberry Messenger 5.0 can read basic QR codes but if you are looking for something more sophisticated you can download either the Mobiletag scanner or the I-nigma app for free.

Mobiletag app allows you to create lists of results, track your decode history and search saved scans.

I-nigma allows you to save up to 50 decode results, which you can then share through SMS, Facebook and Twitter.

Other Android Phones

There is a whole heap of great free QR code readers available for other android phones, so here are some other suggestions:

·         QR Droid – free to use and can read, scan and generate QR codes,
·         Quickmark – fast scans and it reads both QR and Martix codes.
·         Redlaser – free, fast and superbly accurate.

QR codes are slowly catching on, as more and more businesses and users are starting to get to grips with how to use them to their advantage, but we seem to still be a fair way from the QR code becoming a staple of the UK marketing industry.

In future posts I will be discussing the ways businesses can really benefit from using QR codes as a legitimate marketing tool – so stay tuned for that.

Happy marketing!

Sean

Sean McPheat

Marketing Consultant – Sales Expert - Motivational Speaker

Everybody knows that there is an optimal email level somewhere out there; a magical line that you need to be careful not to cross for fear of people opting out and all your hard lead-generation work going straight down the drain.

If you’re interested in taking your email marketing to the next level this year, consider these simple tests before you hit the send button.

Apply the Scientific Method

Treat your explorations in email marketing like scientific experiments. Apply the scientific method, so that you can be sure that you’re learning from everything you do. Do this by establishing a meaningful hypothesis, taking test samples, and taking accurate measurements.

If you can remember back to junior high school, a hypothesis is an educated guess of what you expect will happen. For instance, you could hypothesise that doubling the frequency of your email will drive your click-through rates from 20% to 50%. Or you could hypothesise that doubling your email frequency would cut 20% from your subscriber list over 2 weeks (in this case, you shouldn’t complete the experiment).

Test samples are a crucial part of the email marketing process. When you want to implement a slightly new strategy, you should never be sending it to your entire subscriber list at the same time. Instead, take a small sample, one who you think will be most receptive to the change, and send it only to them. Based on their response, you can then implement whatever changes in frequency or content you’ve made to your whole list.

Lastly, make sure that every change you’re making to your email marketing campaign is being measured for optimisation. This means that if you make a change in the frequency that you’re sending out emails, then you should be measuring the effects on click-through rates (hopefully higher) as well as the effect on subscriber rates (if too many people are un-subscribing based on a change you made, you may want to think about changing it back).

Add Value

The golden rule of marketing is doubly true over email. Only send your readers something if it is of value to them. And don’t forget the corollary to that rule – don’t send anything to you subscribers if it doesn’t have specific value to them.

The readers of your website, and the people who gave you their email addresses and asked you to send them information did so because they are interested in you, your information, and the products and services that you provide. Take that information and use it wisely. They want to be sold to, but only if you have something of value.

Happy marketing!

Sean

Sean McPheat

Marketing Consultant – Sales Expert - Motivational Speaker

Writing marketing materials for your business is a highly involved task.  There seems to be a whole subculture in current marketing that pushes business owners to provide only the facts.  Unfortunately, that does not work to drive sales.  The facts are needed, but they are not what push people into making a purchase.  While it is true that if your company provides excellent service or products, then they will retain more customers, simply telling consumers that you are the best will not get them in the door.

People make decisions based on emotional responses.  Most people like to think that they make reasoned, logical decisions, and in some way, they do.  However, the original motivating factor is an emotional response.  After the emotion comes the rationalisation and justification.  Simply giving consumers the facts does not create the necessary emotional connection.  Emotion is not always deep and lasting, sometimes it is merely a sense that a company cares and is invested in customer welfare.

Slant the Facts to Include Caring

You should always include the facts in your marketing content, but they should be couched in a way that shows your company cares about the consumer.  Do not simply tell them that you sell the best cars, instead talk about how your high safety ratings help keep their families safe.  Do not make statements about your status as an industry leader without tying it back to how that helps the consumer.  Consumers are not logical about purchasing, and they are more likely to do business with a company they perceive as interested in ensuring their satisfaction.

Do Not Expect Miracles

Marketing can help drive sales, but it cannot create them from whole cloth.  While it is true that consumers are not logical about where they make purchases, they rarely make large impulse purchases.  If you sell high ticket items or monthly subscriptions, consumers will take their time before committing to a sale.  They will research the product online and consider a variety of reviews.  They do take the time to investigate the product thoroughly before committing to a purchase.  However, once they decide on a purchase, where they purchase the item is often an emotional decision.  They ask themselves which company is most likely to provide them with what they need to feel satisfied with the purchase.  That is where they will close the sale.

Marketing cannot convince someone that just bought a new car that they need another one unless their life circumstances support it.  It can’t make a totally healthy person invest in a knee brace.  The product must be applicable to the client.  Marketing can help businesses find broader applications for products and increase target demographics.  No overly emotional appeals, but solid connections between a product and consumer, are all that is needed to improve sales.

Happy marketing!

Sean

Sean McPheat

Marketing Consultant – Sales Expert - Motivational Speaker

The amount of businesses and websites that I come across that do not have a strategy to capture the visitors email address is staggering.

It’s one of the most fundamental and essential things that YOU SIMPLY MUST HAVE.

Why?

Well, without it approx 95%+ of your visitors will most likely never return to your website and you need to build an ongoing relationship with your prospects in order to sell to them over time.

Back in 2002 when I started out on the internet I started to build an email list for my business coaching business. At the end of year one I had around 980 people on the list.

I had continued to provide lots of valuable information to them over the course of the year and had great feedback. I did not send them one sales letter or invitation to purchase a product all year so I decided to try it out!

I ran a seminar in London called “Make 2003 your best year yet”

It was all about setting goals, making action plans etc

So I sent out an email and at that time I knew nothing about effective sales copy either so it was a “Hey, I’m running this seminar in December etc” type of email.

I got 30 orders paying me £200 each!

£6,000 for just one email.

That proved to me that the value is not in the list. It’s with the relationship that you have with your list.

If you build up a relationship with your list you don’t need to be an ace crack pot copywriter although it does help!

So, start to build your email list right now!

And then set about to build a valuable relationship with your list. Don’t make it a pitch fest all of the time.

Instead, give give and give some more and you will be rewarded down the line.

Happy email list building!

Sean

Sean McPheat

Internet Marketing Consultant – Motivational Speaker - Internet Marketing Courses