What the heck are those funny looking black and white squares that are popping up everywhere? QR Codes (Quick Response Codes) are everywhere these days. You see them in retail stores like Best Buy and Home Depot, and designer stores like Guess and Calvin Klein. You’ll see QR Codes at Starbucks, in libraries, on coupons, in magazine ads and on business cards. You can even use a QR Code on your smartphone as your boarding pass while flying with many airlines.

What is a QR Code? A Quick Response Code is a specific two-dimensional code consisting of black and white elements arranged in a square pattern on a white background. A QR Code can also be printed in color. The specific code is readable by a QR reader or barcode scanner and can contain a URL, text or other data.

So what’s the big deal about QR Codes? QR Codes are a fast and easy way to get information to consumers without having to type in a long URL or find pen and paper to write something down. All your customer needs is a phone! A QR Code allows you to provide information immediately to a consumer while “the iron is hot.” Users can download contact information, details about a special product promotion, discount or special event and get immediate results or they may peruse the information later at their convenience.

Viewing a QR Code is simple. You need a QR Code reader application on your smartphone which you can download for free. Some smartphones even come with a QR Code reader already installed. You simply point your phone toward the QR Code and click. Instantly, you can see a website, landing page, contact information, coupon, special offer or message. The possibilities are endless.

At DMX Direct, we were early adaptors using QR Codes in integrated marketing programs. Using DMX Direct’s marketing dashboard, you can measure campaign results via data captured real time by our tracking system. This allows you to comparing metrics across multichannel campaigns. For example, did the QR Code perform better on a postcard, flyer or billboard? How many people typed in the personalized URL by hand? How many scanned the QR Code by phone? How many viewed your newsletter via your Twitter post? How many viewed it via the QR Code? Was the email more effective than the direct mail piece that had a QR Code? What are the sales and ROI?

Marketing is an enterprise of many moving parts, with changing needs and evolving technology. It’s a space of many facets…fulfillment, web, data, loyalty, printing, social media and communications services. Contact DMX Direct for more information on how QR Codes can enhance your next marketing campaign.