5 Ways Small Businesses are Using QR Codes to Build Customer Traffic Amid COVID-19
QR Codes are creating a positive customer experience in 2020.
- Over the last two years, both iPhone and Android phones changed the software so the camera becomes a QR code reader, so users do not have to download an app to read the codes.
- They are easy to use, easy to share, mobile friendly, and most importantly touch-free, which makes them a great way to make customers both happy and comfortable.
No-touch menus
In a “new era of dining out”, QR codes are the stars of the show when it comes to creating a safe, germ-mitigated environment. Do you know how many germs are on an average menu? According to one study, “menus have bacteria counts as high as 185,000 per square centimeter – far more than a dish towel or bathroom handle.” QR codes solve that problem, which is why restaurants consider them a saving grace.
NorthShore Loyalty has taken this menu one stop further and offers the ability for the customer to sign up to a text program, so the business can stay connected with that customer even after they leave the restaurant.
Links to websites
As retailers reopen, they have been using QR codes to help customers get info with less contact. Website linking can be used in several ways, it just depends on what your goal is. Some examples include:
- Restaurants linking to their online menu
- Restaurants linking to an online order page (can do this in the restaurant as well, so the customer does not have to touch the bill or receipts after the meal)
- Retailers linking to an online shopping order on their website
- Linking the QR code to leave reviews (read how Amazon does this)
- Professional services linking to a Check-In platform (shown below)
- Restaurants setting up a QR code at the front of their entrance to link to a Reservation Check-In
- Including a QR code on a business card that links to the small business or individual’s website or portfolio
Builds email database of names
The most successful way customers are driving new customers into their store is by offering them a special offer and loyalty discounts through social media, in store, or through your neighborhood’s community text program, powered by NorthShore Loyalty.
Having the email of the consumer opens the door for the restaurant or retailer to stay connected with the consumer through updates and special offers.
Text messaging
QR codes work well to also reinforce small business text marketing strategies. For example, with our mobile community program, we can set up QR codes in store or digitally so that you can share them via your social media so that the consumer can be entered in the mobile program while also building the customer database.
This strategy has proven to have a 98% open rate (almost all texts sent are read by the recipient), can have an unlimited amount of characters, and high conversion rates.
Call to order
Several small businesses are seeing high conversion rates with a “Call to Order” QR code. There are several ways this can be implemented depending on your business, but here are some examples of opportunities where you could do this:
- Flyers and posters around town promoting a restaurant’s special with a QR code that customers can quickly call and order from
- Digital promotions on social media that customers simply hover over and call
- A restaurant or retailer using this to both order their food and pay without having to touch a check or receipts (shown in photo)
What will be next in QR code development?
While COVID-19 sparked up a reason for businesses to lean into QR codes, there is reason to believe this is just the beginning of a new way of swiping, scanning, ordering and browsing. In fact, Juniper Research indicates that 5.3 billion QR code coupons will be scanned by smartphones and 1 billion smartphones will access QR codes by 2022.
With this forecasting in mind, trailblazer companies like Apple, Amazon, and several QSRs are already taking great strides in developing outside-of-the-box ways they can use QR codes to make things faster, easier, and ultimately more customer-friendly.
All in all, we expect QR codes to become more and more of the norm in the “new COVID-19 world” and will continue to thrive post-pandemic.
About NorthShore Loyalty
NorthShore Loyalty is a community-focused digital services company. Our business purpose is to create measurable engagement with new and existing customers to drive more traffic to our clients and increase their revenue. Our social purpose is to amplify our client’s community involvement.
Our business is active in the community with the Hunger Resource Network as we co-lead the program to make Northbrook a Hunger Free Community. When a client has an important cause to share or they want to engage in the community in some way, we make that happen authentically and effectively.
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