QR Codes - In or Out?

[Nick Gorton]

Hmm, Google, Twitter, Facebook are all free for millions of users: priced appropriately? The value of a technology is not established by the price the user pays.

The above rant beside, I find some of the posts here to be somewhat self-referential. I will probably never Tweet anything and I personally think it is kind of stupid but I recognize that others really enjoy it. However, I don't discount the entire technology because I don't "get it." I recognize less people US QR codes than twitter, by a large margin, but Rome was not built in a day. QR codes may be replaced by NFC or things like google goggles but for now they are free to use, easy to deploy and will help you connect with shoppers on their smartphone. I don't see a downside.
PS- Ed, If you have an iPhone, donwload the Redlaser app and you can scan QR codes in under 1 second, then you will see that Kelly Wilson's QR code links to her stores mobile site.

 

[john.quinn]

Nick, there is nothing free about prospering on Google, from site architecture to SEO services to Paid Search to Banners, etc.

Quite interesting that you choose to align QR's with other technologies whose return for dealers is dubious, and at best, undocumented.

Don't mistake popularity for usefulness. The Pet Rock was popular for 15 minutes too.

 

[joe.pistell]

... QR codes may be replaced by NFC or things like google goggles but for now they are free to use, easy to deploy and will help you connect with shoppers on their smartphone. I don't see a downside.
PS- Joe, If you have an iPhone, donwload the Redlaser app and you can scan QR codes in under 1 second, then you will see that Kelly Wilson's QR code links to her stores mobile site.

Nick,

My marketing instincts led me to believe that QR's potential would be limited by many factors, but QR's are cool, I want to deploy them for use for retail and internal operations.

My opinion of QR was shaped with a test I ran here: http://forum.dealerrefresh.com/f14/window-sticker-2012-dr-art-project-2238-2.html#post19364

I'm in Marketing and I purchase SPACE. Inside that high rent space, I craft a short story with prices and images. I wrestle with how the QR tags eat up a portion of that real estate. Yes... I know the QR opens up a hundred fold more marketing real estate than the area it occupies and creates a bridge to the users personal phone. I am 100% with you, that's why I love the concept!.

In my world, I am waiting until the QR marketplace matures and I see usage climb.

Until then, I'll watch my never ending window sticker test (above) and look for a new trend to emerge. I remain a QR curmudgeon until it tells me other wise.

 

[yagoparamo]

These are not "negatives," Yago, they are questions, inquiries. You mad a blanket statement that this QR is "useful" without explaining WHY it is useful. And you still have not explained why it is useful.

Last I checked, you can change the content of any website any time you want. So if the onus of the board is to drive traffic to a specialty site, then wouldn't a vanity URL be more effective?

I, for one, have failed to see nothing: the ONLY reason the QR exists is because it is FREE.

I remember responding to a thread over the Summer about whether mobile sites should be free or not. My answer was that if anything provides some level of value, then by definition it should not be "free."

QR codes are priced appropriately.

My comment wasn't trying to explain why the QR code is useful but the fact that there is little work to have it so why not. The billboard was going to be there anyway, sponsoring the park was the expensive part.

A vanity site would have done the same job, but it must be typed. The purpose of the QR is not to type things--we just take a photo of them.

I remember the mobile thread... I don't know if it applies here. QRs enhance something we already have, the mobile sites are a wholesome new avenue to communicate with customers.

But quoting threads, I think this one applies better: http://forum.dealerrefresh.com/f43/does-video-really-increase-time-site-1974-2.html#post21059

 

[Nick Gorton]

Joe- sorry about that, my PS comment above was intended to be towards Ed because he asked what the QR code pointed to, I have edited my post. I apologize for mixing up your names.

The test study you performed and linked to was really fascinating. It is interesting to see the difference in effectiveness of QR in different markets. In my experience, if you were to put the QR codes in your outgoing photo feeds as a picture, you would see a much higher number of monthly scans. Maybe the same percentage of scans(1.5% is what you estimated), but the total scans per month would be way higher because more people are exposed to your QR code online in the photos than on the lot. It would allow the shopper to "easily" transfer the car they were interested in to their smartphone.

 

[ed.brooks]

Joe- sorry about that, my PS comment above was intended to be towards Ed because he asked what the QR code pointed to, I have edited my post. I apologize for mixing up your names.

Thanks for the info Nick. I already have a number of QR Scanning apps on my phone and use them all the.. well... NEVER. My question regarding where the QR resolved was for Yago not Kelly. There are only a few instances where a QR Code makes sense in my mind:

1.) On a print Ad - But really, are people that read newspapers likely to have a smartphone with a QR scanner?
2.) On a window sticker
3.) Online in pretty much one instance only: quick access to download an app.

Yago's park sign doesn't make much sense to me. Way less than 10% of the public is in-market for a car at any given time. Only a small fraction of that small fraction will have any desire to scan the QR. A vanity URL might be remembered and could act as a branding message. FordOfKirklandCares.com for instance.

I'll leave you with this:

 

[Nick Gorton]

Ed, thanks for posting the article. Not very scientific, but an interesting piece. To your point about scanning a qr code when online to download something, I think you would be surprised by the number of customers who scan QR codes off of a website. A number of dealers in our area put QR codes in their photos to allow an online shopper to transfer a car from their computer screen to their phone and they get a few hundred scans per month.

I think you are right that having a branded URL is a good idea. It gives both types of customers an option depending on how they want to engage. Having a URL like fordofkirklandcares.com next to a QR code could help tell the potential scanner what they are about to scan/why. With no message, hint or call to action I would not expect much in the way of results.

 

[merritt]

Here's how I would do it:

Window Stickers: Pull up that vehicle's inventory page (for customer to have the ability to review and compare)

Front Door of Dealership: Have a code that launches a chat with customer service. Great if dealership is closed.

Website: Join our mailing list for discounts in the service department, etc.

Inventory Pages: Same codes as on window stickers in case they want to view or pull later from their phone.

my $.02.


me personally, I've only used to scan inventory and join a mailing list at a restaurant. It's not something I put much stock in, but doesn't hurt.

 

[john.quinn]

Mazda Rental Cars Will Feature QR Codes | Briggs Supercenter

We probably already saw this, but at least it should be interesting for some follow-up data and results.

The best QR idea we've come across, in my opinion, was a QR on the Dash or Windshield that, when scanned, would schedule a service appointment for the car -- at least open-up a Service Scheduler. Then it hit me that with On Star and Tel Aid and the like, push-button service is already here, and likely to expand.

So I'll be the 1st dummy to cede that I'm a charter member of Nick's "Just Don't Get It" Club. Based on my own failed experiments, and Uncle Joe's valiant efforts, I'm just not seeing the practical usefulness beyond the novelty. Scanning inventory to mobile? Eh, maybe useful, maybe not. I can think of a couple of other steps I'd prefer my browsers to take other than scanning.

But I do think it would be cool if I'm proved wrong.

 

[Kelly Wilson]

So if a customer is walking the lot after hours or on Sunday (in a Blue-law State like IL) and they are visiting many locations...how do they (being the average lazy American) remember what car they liked and where they saw it?
Idea--give them a QR that links to the car's info and options to contact your dealer. If they want to it's what at most 4 taps on their smart phone and it generates a lead...why not?
QR on a business card...you have the card in one hand your phone in the other...you can type in the 7 digit number and most likely talk to someone...but if you just want to know X and you have the option to maybe find the information in 4 taps on your phone...some may do it
QR in print...again it's not for everyone. Yes a vanity address is a great option for anyone that wants to buy one-find a free one maybe-but I still think novelty/laziness should have consideration too.
They may not be the most attractive little squares & not everyone is going to use them...
My dad can't text...
My mom doesn't own a computer...
but they still buy cars...
QR's are a basically free option that may generate a lead... especially an elusive lethargic evasive or even a techie customer
Why NOT use them?