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Want to learn how to grow your business with marketing strategies that you can apply on your own. Len and Leslie created the Treasure Trove podcast to help you out. They discuss best practice and tips and advice from over 25 years of marketing experience. Welcome to the Treasure Trove Toronto podcast!
Leslie. Hey. You know, I was just in China, over December and January. And while that in and of itself was a fantastic trip just to seize all the history and culture and amazing things there. One thing that kept sticking out was their use of QR codes.
Len:They're light years ahead. Yeah. And so, coming back home to Canada and and sort of just seeing the smattering of QR codes here and there, I realized we are so far behind in in how we can use QR codes.
Leslie:Right. Among other things. Right?
Len:Yeah, among other things. But but but QR codes that I mean, I've been saying this for years, they are so powerful. And there's so much more that you can we can do with them. So I I did a presentation a couple of weeks ago. It was kind of like a live master class.
Len:I would like to share some of the insights that I had from that, with our viewers and help them also help you guys to start using QR codes in your own day to day operations and marketing and advertising so that you can actually benefit from them. Like, it's it's easy.
Leslie:Easy. I can imagine our viewers will be blown away by what we shared with them today, and they will be very excited to implement these themselves. And it's great because we have a way that you can do that. So cool. Stay tuned.
Leslie:Alright.
Len:Yeah. Well, let's get right into it.
Host:Welcome to the Treasure Trove Toronto podcast dedicated to transforming your local business into the treasure jewel of your Each week, cofounders Len Marshall and Leslie Stout bring you creative strategies, actionable marketing tips, and fresh ideas to elevate your customers' experience and build deeper connections with your community. If you want your local shop, restaurant, or service to stand out, reach more customers, and make your mark on Toronto, you're in the right place. Now here's Len and Leslie.
Leslie:Good. Hi.
Len:You started?
Leslie:My name is Leslie Stout, cofounder of Treasure Toronto.
Len:And I'm Len Marshall, cofounder of Treasure Trove Toronto. And today, we are talking about QR codes for your business, marketing, operations, advertising. I'm really excited about this. How about you, Leslie?
Leslie:Yeah. I think it's gonna be fantastic. I I always we always talk about it too. We always say, well, we don't use QR codes the way we're supposed to, and I'm very happy that you went to China and saw people that did it the right way. So now we can explain to them all the things that are possible.
Leslie:So.
Len:That's, that's exactly it, right? It's just understanding what's possible. Because right now I think 99% of the QR codes that I see are just the very basic links. So we'll get into that. First of all, what is a QR code?
Len:If this is like confusing to you, if you've never understood them or never scanned them, what is it? It's QR stands for quick response code. And I think of it as kind of like a barcode for your smartphone that takes you from the physical world to the digital world through your phone. I'm gonna jump into the presentation now.
Leslie:Yeah. Good to show them, but it's exactly the same thing. You do take them from a physical location where you're out and and rotating around into the digital one, which you're familiar with, the Internet, websites, and different platforms that you'd want your customers to engage with. So, yeah.
Len:Exactly. So, yeah, think of a QR code as a portal between the physical and digital experience of your customers. If you think about it this way, think about how your customers interactions with your business can be enhanced through this experience. So I've got three, maybe even four specific tactics that we can use. The first one is the bridge.
Len:And this is sort of the very basic, most essential use of QR codes, where you basically make a simple connection between the physical and digital world, like typing in a URL into your address and into your phone's browser, right? At this level, the QR code serves basically just as a direct link to an online destination. Instead of asking customers to type in that URL, they can simply scan the QR code and be taken straight to the page that you want them to visit. This could be a website, a booking page, a menu, a review form, or even your social profiles.
Leslie:Yeah. And the easy way to think about it is, like, during COVID, people had menus where you'd scan the code to access the menu to order your food instead of having a physical menu. And that was a quick gap that took someone from the physical space. You scan a code, now you have a digital experience where on your phone, you can order from the menu. So really easy.
Leslie:And that's why I I like the term bridge. It's pretty good.
Len:But there are a lot of other ways that you can use this as well. No matter what business type you're in, the easiest way is just to get started with putting them on your ads, in promotions. Put them on your business cards, on your flyers, brochures, posters, packaging, on your receipts, anywhere that customers engage with your business, right? Restaurants like have been putting them on the tables, putting them on tent cards. Salons can use them for sending people to their booking calendar to book appointments, and retail stores can use them for like an exclusive online offer, sending people to a coupon page.
Len:It's also a great way for bridging the gap between digital marketing and in person interactions. For example, if you've run if you're running a Facebook or an Instagram ad, include a QR code in the print ads or in store signage so that people can instantly follow you online. So what are the results of this? Like, what can you expect? I would say the big the biggest benefit of using QR codes at this level is just reducing friction, right?
Len:If a customer has to type in a URL, the chances of them actually doing that are pretty low. But a QR code removes that barrier and increases the engagement. It's kind of a fun thing to do, like what's gonna happen when I scan the QR code?
Leslie:Also, it takes them like, it makes it easier for them to to follow that interaction with their phone, you know, instead of booking it and writing down your name and address and stuff like that. People rather go to a menu where it's prefilled or they can just type in what they need to type in. Exactly. Yeah. A lot of times collecting information is 10 times easier with someone's smartphone than it is someone using an actual pen.
Leslie:And so using the QR codes enables you to do that in a way that they're used to interacting. So awesome.
Len:Now one of the ways that we're using QR codes at at Treasure Trove Toronto is we include a QR code for each of our events on posters to direct the attendees to our registration page. We put them on window clings like these ones so that people can quickly access our website in the neighborhood that they're visiting.
Leslie:Looking for a business card.
Len:Oh, we even put the we put it on the back of our business card, which I don't have in front of right now. We have a QR code on our business card, which presents business owners with a link to go and create a free listing on our directory. So there's lots of simple ways to to use QR codes to to streamline and remove the friction of getting people from, you know, holding their phone to actually doing something on their phone. Alright. Do you wanna hear level two?
Leslie:Yes. Let's move on to level two. Stay deeper.
Len:This this is the part I get excited about. Level two is the data driver. Okay? So at level one, we have a static link that takes people to a page. At level two, we can actually start to track some of that information.
Len:So now we go beyond just linking to a website. We start collecting data. We start tracking customer engagement and using that information to improve your existing marketing efforts. Right? This is where the businesses can see a direct ROI from the QR codes.
Len:And how this works is essentially using a dynamic code. So so think of scanning the QR code and seeing a URL. Instead of taking them directly to that link, we put something in between. And that that little something, it's like a redirect, is where we can measure. We can measure how many times it's been scanned, the time of day that people are scanning, the devices that they're using to scan, the general location of those scans, which would be great if you have a regional or a national campaign, and the conversion rate of the scanned users taking action.
Len:So that's a lot of data that helps to inform how the QR codes are being used.
Leslie:I think that's that turns into a a measurable impact. So you can take those codes now, you can actually use that tracking to see if it's working, how much it's working, where it's working, make informed decisions based on it. So, the next level, essentially.
Len:Exactly. Now there's some cool things you can do with this now, because unlike a static QR code, once you create that QR code, you can't change it. But with dynamic QR codes, you can. So you can now manipulate how the user is getting to that destination. So let's say you have a time sensitive promotion, right?
Len:So like a restaurant wants to run a lunch special. And the QR code that links to the daily menu is on their wall or whatever, they can change the destination of the data that's going to that, QR code and change the menu. Or, let's think of a retail experience. So retail store launches a weekend only sale, The QR code leads to the sales page, but after the sale ends, the link is updated to a general discount offer, or takes them to some other page on the website. So you can be really specific about how how people are using, how and when people are using that QR code.
Len:Yeah.
Leslie:You can even add a little mystery to it. Like, you can have a QR code and say, hey. Check here for our weekly specials, and you can update the special every week as someone just scans that code, and they scan that code consistently because they wanna know what that special is all the time, and that code can always be changing. So really cool.
Len:I saw that being used with Pizza Pizza.
Leslie:Yeah.
Len:They had a QR code on all of their boxes, and rather than reprinting the code every time they needed to change it every week, they would just change where that QR code would redirect to. So one time printing, change it as often as they want. At Treasure Trove, we've been doing this QR code to on signage to direct attendees to the event agenda or to the specific, opt in for that event. So we can keep track of who's scanning, like where the code is that they're scanning, and then redirecting them to the specific event that they're that we're running at the time. And we already talked about AB testing, So let's say you've got a QR code, you're running an ad in a magazine, you're running an ad on a billboard, and you want to see which of those two placements are performing better so that you know where you're going to do your advertising spend in the future.
Len:And you can have the same same QR code on both of those, but it's going through and you can see which one is being scanned by the data in the analytics. So very useful.
Leslie:Very cool. And you can also just turn those interactions in in those data driven experience in into much more. You can take that and say, hey. These people that are scanning these codes becoming customers. These people are not.
Leslie:Maybe we lead them to a different sequence or nurturing. You can collect information by day, by device, by time, and it turns it into, you being able to plan your a digital strategy based on what people are doing in the real world, which is data that every single marketer in the world wants. So super cool.
Len:Exactly. Yeah. Exactly. Alright. Level three.
Len:Level three. I call this one the multiplier. This is the point where QR codes go from being simple tools to interactive experiences that drive engagement, loyalty, and viral marketing. K? With with this type of approach to QR codes, businesses can use QR codes to create gamified customer experiences like like a QR code that unlocks rewards based on participation or milestones.
Len:It could be for social sharing incentives, right? QR codes that encourage customers to share content or refer friends. It could be for exclusive dynamic rewards. You know, think of a QR code that grants VIP access, loyalty perks, or time sensitive deals, right, like we talked about. The key here is that every scan creates another action, right, multiplying customer engagement instead of just being the one and done interaction.
Len:How this could work. Let's look at the social sharing for a sec. We can create a viral loop, right? So imagine scanning a QR code at a cafe, and it says, get a free coffee when you share this on Instagram, right? And then the user clicks the link, and it generates a prefilled Instagram story with a business tag and special promotion code.
Len:So the person just has to snap a picture of their coffee and send it, post it, and it's done. Right? But each person who shares helps spread that promotion, and the business gets free organic reach from every scan. The other way you could use these is like with a loyalty or referral code, like a hidden perk. Instead of just using a generic paper rewards card, you know, like coffee shops and McDonald's have, you can create a personal QR code for each user.
Len:And then every time they scan at the checkout, they get a new exclusive offer based on their past visit.
Leslie:I have a crazy hypothetical for you. Do you know how, like, McDonald's right now has a scan to win? And you, like, basically scan the code, it tells you you won a free copy or something like that. Can you do that with the QR code? So say people come up, they scan that QR code and say every fifteenth scan, somebody wins a free coffee or a discounted deal or something like that.
Leslie:Is that possible?
Len:Yeah. Absolutely. Right? So using that dynamic QR code, every time someone scans it, it's being connected to a CRM or some sort of loyalty program and keeping track of the number of clicks. And they've got it set so that in, like, every fifteenth scan, the redirect goes to the reward page versus sorry, try again page.
Len:Not hard to do.
Leslie:Yeah. I mean, it kinda makes
Len:a positive hard to do. Yeah. But but it's not complicated in this in how it's executed.
Leslie:Yeah. So it turns into, like, you anything you can think of in terms of rewards and loyalty programs are possible with QR codes. And and that is where the dynamic kinda changes. You can have conversations. As as far as a a business imagination goes, you can take dynamic QR codes and put that actually into practice.
Leslie:And that's, I think, where the conversation should start. It's like, hey, what do you wanna accomplish here? What are your dreams for your business? Do you dream of having a contest where every time someone buys, they scan a card and can win a certain amount of prizes. Well, what prizes are those?
Leslie:We can make that happen. Here's how we can do it, you know. And taking that from, hey, I wish I could do that because this awesome store does it to, I can do this for my business and it's not that hard. I think that's a huge part of what well, we can do it and what marketers can do with QR codes. And the fact that we're using it just to, like, look at menus and stuff is is the that's it's almost a crime.
Leslie:It's a crime that we're not using it to its full potential. So
Len:It's a crime against marketing. Yeah. Yeah. I'm gonna put that on a t shirt.
Leslie:Yeah.
Len:Yeah. I mean, with with with QR codes, because because all of the interactions are happening on the phone, there are so many other ways of connecting people to your brand, whether it's just through a browser or directly through an app like Facebook, or Instagram, or YouTube. But but really being able to measure and track all of that information, that's really the important valuable part for a business, right? And creating these these different campaigns or ideas really just takes a bit of imagination. Say, this is what I want to have happen.
Len:And then we just figure out what are the steps to make that as smooth as possible. Right? So with the multiplier, really what you're gonna be getting from all of this is like increased engagement and brand awareness, especially if you're doing like a social viral social campaign, where people are sharing, getting your your message out there.
Leslie:Yep.
Len:But it also builds higher customer retention, right? Gamifying and and giving people exclusive perks builds that loyalty and and keeps them connected to your business. And then with that, it just leads to more sales with zero extra ad spend. We Right? Because it's all happening organically.
Len:Yeah. Every scan and every share increases your brand awareness and exposure without the cost of running ads.
Leslie:We talk about gamifying a lot, and it's because people like to engage with things that are entertaining. And so if you make something like, hey. Do this and win or do this and here's the result that can happen from it, people are more inclined to take the action. And so the more you can encourage action amongst your customers, the more you get them to come back and bring their friends, which is how you make money. So yeah.
Len:Well, that leads me to one additional level because we can always take it one step further. I'm always looking how can we take this to the next level. And then we have the boss level.
Leslie:Right?
Len:I call this one the key master. Okay, now that we've covered those other three levels, let's talk about a tactic that can completely change how the business drives instant sales and customer engagement. Really, that's the bottom line, right? We want we want more sales, we want more customer engagement. So with the key master idea, it takes inspiration from like that limited time flash sale that we see a lot online.
Len:But we can do we can take all of those other elements, right, from the first three levels and include it into here. So the the idea is simple, but it's extremely effective. A QR code that links to a special offer that is time sensitive and limited in quantity. The discount or the deal changes dynamically based on how many people scan it. And then once the maximum number of redemptions is hit, the offer either disappears or changes to a less valuable deal.
Len:Okay? So instead of having a static discount that runs forever, and everyone gets the same thing, you can create a real sense of urgency and exclusivity by by having this The faster you get in, the more you can save. And the more you sit on the fence, those sale opportunities are are going. So it's a pretty fun way to drive a lot of engagement and sales. It's quick.
Len:That creates a little bit of FOMO, right? Fear of missing out. That really triggers people. And then customers feel that urgency, and they take action immediately. So let's look at the retail stores.
Len:That's the easy one, right? A clothing store can run a scan to save deal in store, right? And the first twenty scanners get 40% off, and then the next 50 get 25% off, and after that drops to 10. Right? So the number of people walking in and making a purchase, they're making instant savings, but but they have to get there sooner to scan and and save bigger.
Leslie:Yeah. Which yeah. It it plays on all the the things that we do in sales. Fear of missing out and and but what it it really does is it gets people, a, to get their information into your system by saying, hey, I do want this deal. I'm gonna scan the code and put in so I can see what my discount is.
Leslie:And once they see that discount, they can act quickly and you get your product off the ground really fast, get some sales through the door really quickly, and and take your product and turn it into like, this is something that everybody wants. Hey, we've already sold 20 of these, right? There's only five more 50% discounts left, right? A huge great way to sell something, especially for tickets like it's a higher ticket item. If it's, you know, something that costs $2,300 and you're saving 50%, it's like, oh my god, what a deal, I should buy this.
Leslie:And then when it's like, hey, you you're in that second tier, you still get 30% off, it's a good deal. And missing out on one of those, like if you scan the code and then you don't purchase and you see it, all those deals are gone. Well, the next time a deal comes up, you're probably like, wait, I gotta get on this because I missed that last sale.
Len:That's right.
Leslie:Way to keep your customers engaged, way to keep them on their toes. And if they like your product, way to get them to save a couple bucks on your launch. So
Len:Exactly. Yeah. And and then they also tell their friends.
Leslie:Yeah.
Len:Like, everyone loves getting those exclusive inside deals, and they wanna share that with their friends. So they'll they'll definitely share that quickly. Now, I mean, that's easy with retail, you know, in restaurants, that's easy. But what about like a service business? Alright.
Len:A home service company could do the same sort of thing where they offer the first five get it free.
Leslie:Or if you're, like, a plumber or something like that, and it's like, hey. The first ten, get a free drain inspection. There's there's a million different ways you can do it. You can even announce that you're launching a new special offer on social media beforehand. So people that are following you get first crack at it, then you launch that QR code on your social media page.
Leslie:So if they're following your business, they get first crack and everyone else has to see it in the ads. You can basically choose your own adventure and create to on a way to run an offer any way you want. And I don't wanna say they'll all be successful, but anything's better than nothing. Like, having an awesome limited time offer is better than than not having an awesome limited time offer. So, we encourage businesses constantly to to get out and do things that engage the audience.
Leslie:This is probably one of the best ways to do it. I I can't think of a better way. So
Len:For sure. And and we've mentioned this a couple of times, but I haven't ex explicitly described this. What's really important is in between the scan and the offer page is data collection on that customer, right? Put the offer behind a simple opt in form with their email, maybe their phone number, and their name, and start building your own database of leads and customers so that you can continue to market to them, knowing what exactly they've already excited and engaged with your brand about. If they've purchased something because of that scan, or because of that offer or deal, put them into a specific segment, and send them more information about that, and start building up your own internal marketing, for email, social media, etcetera.
Leslie:Another thing that we encourage every business to do.
Len:In fact
Leslie:I was gonna say that we're gonna talk about that.
Len:That's that's what we're gonna talk about next. We haven't told anybody about Skyrocket yet.
Leslie:No. Well, yeah, we should have done it earlier, but here we go. We have a website. Well, Len has a website that you can create and do all of this stuff without any charge. It's free to use.
Leslie:And the reason why it's free to use, we think, is because every business needs an opportunity to generate income. I'll let Len tell you more about Skyrocket, though.
Len:Sure. You know, I've been using QR codes for years, and I I was struggling to find a tool that I could use, to get all of those analytics and data and and all the different functions and features without paying an arm and a leg. So I just decided to build my own. I put all of the features and tools that I needed for for myself, for treasure trove, for my clients, and put it into my own package, and then I just decided, let's just share that with everybody. So if you go to skyrocketqr.com, you'll see all the features, all the tools that you have there.
Len:It's totally free. Register a free account, and you get everything. I'm not gonna list all of the different features because we'd be here all day.
Leslie:Let's go to the website.
Len:Basically, everything that you would pay someplace like Bitly, or the other the other QR generators that have a free and a premium listing, all that stuff in the in the premium, you get for free on skyrocketqr.com. So go there, start implementing some of these ideas, Start using the analytics, dynamic links that will help you to understand how your audience, how your customers are using QR codes in the different places. Leslie
Leslie:Yeah.
Len:What's been your your big key takeaway from this episode?
Leslie:To be honest, my my real key takeaway is is that there's so many ways that you can use QR codes to help grow the business and do all the things that you wanna do outside of it. So, you know, offer special promotions, send people to your website, collect their info on forms, run special offers and limited time offers, as well as advanced stuff like doing, you know, limited time based activities and things like that. And it's it's really as simple as you getting them to take their phone and use the the camera app on the phone. And businesses think that it's, you know, super complicated. You have to go on social media, create a contest to all these things.
Leslie:Well, it's like, no. Like, if you have people that come into your store, you could build lists and generate revenue and give them limited time offers and sales just by printing a code out. So, that's my main takeaway is it's not as hard as you would think it is. How about you?
Len:Yeah. One thing that I love about QR codes is that it triggers so many of of our emotional and psychological curiosity. Right? When we see the QR code, we naturally wanna know what happens when we scan it, right? What will it reveal on our phone?
Len:What will it give us? And that makes using QR codes, not only effective and streamlined, but fun, right? You can have a lot of fun, especially if you start changing the colors and design, adding logos and frames to it, and you can really integrate it well into your existing business branding, design, ads, and incorporate it into something that's a little bit more fun than just, you know, visit our website for more information. You know?
Leslie:Yeah. That's totally fair. You know what? Maybe we'll we'll sign off and leave it on that, and we'll encourage our people, our listeners to go to Skyrocket QR. Get on there, take a look at it.
Leslie:And if you have any questions, you just let us know. So until next time, keep following the map to success.