Untapped Potential: 21st Century Marketing in Las Cruces
By Mark Kitanga
Take a moment to compare the two main phone technologies - cellular vs. landline. How have mobile phones in the 2000s alone advanced? When the decade started they finally became mainstream, led by those popular candy bar phones and basic monophonic ringtones. In just one decade, they became full-fledged, all-in-one multimedia devices capable of complex computing and communication. Along the way they acquired the capabilities of text messaging, chirping, color screens, polyphonic ringtones, e-mail, office productivity programs, MP3 music playback, web browsing, photography, video, editing, multi-purpose gaming, touch screens, and sophisticated applications. All that in just 10 years!
Now consider how many years traditional phones have remained the same. Granted, they may have changed outfits (rotary to touch-tone to cordless), but functionally they haven't progressed very much. Oh by the way, how many people still use them?
Phones are just one example of the breakneck speed at which technology is developing. Consumers get to reap the benefits of these advancements, but they are largely driven by corporate competition in advertising and marketing. Companies and entrepreneurs who choose to embrace the pace survive and thrive by cultivating these tools in order to help their business grow. The questions is, are you willing to roll the dice and jump in the pool before everyone else? Sure there may be some risk involved, but nobody ever wins big by playing it safe.
This brings us to a breakthrough technology that has been around for well over a decade in Japan but is starting to pick up steam here in America - QR codes. Below is an example:
No, that's not one of those Rorschach inkblot tests or magic eye hidden 3D images. This is actually what a QR (quick reference) code looks like. It is a special offer for a 10% discount on a new website from Digital Solutions if purchased before March 31.
You may have already seen one of these symbols and not even realized it. Shipping companies like UPS and FedEx place them on their packages for commercial tracking. Nowadays though, this 2D pixelated square is a powerful communication tool that is revolutionizing the way goods and services are marketed. Huh? Stay with me and let me explain.
What are they?
We all know what bar codes are - vertical lines with numbers underneath that reveal basic product information after being scanned. But since they're one dimensional, data can only be contained within those lines. With QR codes, information is stored in the entire square in both directions, allowing much more data in the form of plain text, URLs, images, even video. Although there are similar technologies out there, such as Data Matrix, Ezcode, and MaxiCode, QR codes seem to be gaining the most steam.
How do they work?
As mentioned above, mobile phone technology has exploded, and it's largely due to the advent smartphones such as the iPhone, Blackberry, Android, and Pre. According to a 2009 year-end tech trend report by CNN, smartphone sales, in spite of the recession, increased by a whopping 24% from the previous year.
Clearly, we are in the midst of a mobile revolution in which these devices will soon be the primary source for accessing information. Several websites saw this coming and developed companion sites specifically for mobile devices, such as Yahoo!, Amazon, eBay, Facebook, and, more locally, Allen Theaters.
This trend directly enhances the value of QR codes since a camera-enabled smartphone is required to access them. All that's needed is a QR reader, a free downloadable application that comes pre-installed on many of these devices that scans the image. The reader decodes the symbol and generates the content. Want to create your own QR code? No problem. Hop online to one of the many free QR code generator sites, enter your content, and in moments you have your very own QR code that can be read in print or on screen.
Essentially, they act as brilliant "tell me more" tools. The benefits are huge for all involved. For product and service providers, it's a simple, space-saving alternative to get people curious about what you offer by displaying contact information, offering promotions or discounts, encouraging instant feedback, showing images and videos, and countless other creative ways.
For consumers, it makes acquiring information incredibly easy. No more jotting stuff down with pen and paper to access on some computer later. No more slow page-by-page searches for what you're looking for. And no more tedious typing of long links on your small handheld device. QR codes do the legwork for you.
How are they being used?
Since QR codes were developed in Japan, they can be found everywhere there, including McDonald's burger boxes to display nutritional information, movie posters to view of trailers, and doctor's offices and beauty salons to schedule appointments.
Here in America, there are some very innovative ways people are using QR codes:
- Illinois State University's 2009 official football magazine has them throughout its pages, allowing readers to book a tee time at the university golf course, make a donation to an endowment fund, give access to detailed player statistics, and order tickets to upcoming games.
- Disney World's PhotoPass card, which Disney Photographers scan to store your images you have taken throughout your trip, has a QR code on it that will allow you to view all your images from your smartphone.
- A student from the Parsons New School of Design in New York had QR codes that contains entries from her diary printed on T-shirts and made them available for purchase to the public. It was such a success that her website now offers to make custom shirts for visitors to submit their own entries for purchase.
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The Detroit Red Wings have included a QR code in their in-arena programs that lead directly to a humorous video that fans love. More important, it's encouraging advertisers to hop on the QR code bandwagon, according to the team Social Networking Coordinator, Nicole Yelland.
"In tracking this effort, the Wings have found mobile devices to be the #1 viewing medium fans are using to see videos accounting for an overwhelming 22% of fans viewing linked videos nearly 2,000 times all the way through," she said. "We're very excited at the possibilities this technology provides our team in giving more access and we've only just begun to tap into the capabilities it provides us in both marketing to our fans and giving them exactly what they are asking for in terms of access to their team."
As you can see, all you need is a little imagination. The point is to find more ways you can get people to your website and keep them coming back so that you can achieve a higher search ranking and attract more advertisers, which in turn leads to greater profits. QR codes are an excellent method to achieve that goal.
How can you tell if they are effective?
There are direct ways to determine QR code effectiveness, such as offering exclusive specials by going to pages at your website that are otherwise inaccessible. Once someone takes advantage of that special, mission accomplished. In addition, a very powerful aspect of QR codes is that their usage can be measured by using analytic tools, similar to tracking website traffic. The number of scans, date and time of scans, locations of the people scanning them, devices being used to make the scans, and number of website hits per scan are a few examples. Several services are available online to provide a wealth of reports and data, which can be used to adjust your marketing on the fly for optimal success.
Will they actually take off?
Like any new technology, there is initially a great deal of interest and support at the grassroots level from tech savvy consumers and niche organizations. In order to acquire mass appeal though, it needs backing from some big guns that have an established, wide-reaching presence.
The future for QR codes looks bright because they are finally getting that from Google, who is pushing hard to get the ball rolling with their recent campaign, Favorite Places on Google. Basically, they are rewarding local businesses that garner the most Google searches by sending them a decal to be placed on their windows, similar to a Chamber of Commerce seal. Once the QR code from the decal is scanned, the smartphone will be redirected to the business's Google Maps Place Page - a hub of information about it gathered from all over the web.
"You can easily go up to a storefront and immediately find reviews, get a coupon if the business is offering one or star a business as a place you want to remember for the future," said Ryan Hayward and David Kim, Google product marketing managers. "Soon, you'll be able to leave a review on the mobile page as well, just like on your desktop."
Locally in Las Cruces, you can see this in action at Asian restaurant Aqua Reef and pub High Desert Brewing Company. See how it works below:
The Bottom Line
Cleary, QR codes are here to stay. Here in Las Cruces, they are still relatively unknown, which means there's a great chance to capitalize on this untapped market, especially in real estate. But you have to be willing to get out in front before everyone else. Digital Solutions is on the forefront of this and is available to help you plan how to incorporate them into your marketing plan.
