The Problem With Almost Every QR Code I See….
Note:Since my last post on QR (Quick Response) codes,they’ve been getting hotter. I see more every day –in flyers,magazines,store signs,you name it,there’s one there. But to get maximal results,they need to be used properly. Here is a post by Dave Lewis,Vice-President at ProList Inc. responding to the sloppy (my word) use of QR codes. –RF
As is well known,I love getting mail… and mail with a fancy barcode is better still! So imagine my excitement when I got a piece of mail from the DMA with not one,not two,but three QR codes. This is clearly an organization embracing technology.
Unfortunately,their hug missed.
In fairness,so does almost everybody’s. Marketers all want to get QR codes on their mail pieces,but they almost never do them right.
“Scan the QR code to access more details” they promised right on the face of the piece. I love more details,so I scanned. Nothing. I borrowed a colleague’s phone and scanned. No dice. They had misprinted the QR code,apparently. It was not readable.
Inside the self-mailer,more QR codes. “Scan this QR code to view last year’s presentations.” Cool! Scanned it – it worked,at least,and took me to a web page – not a mobile page. It was hard to read,clearly not formatted for a smart phone but undeterred I clicked on a link for a presentation and went to…a dead page. Again,none of this was formatted for mobile. QR codes are for mobile devices.
One last shot was hotel and travel details. I scanned and prayed. Again I went to a web page,not mobile. Now,when I zoomed in and clicked to reserve online I did finally go to an excellent mobile page for reservations,so at least their travel vendor is mobile compatible.
I don’t mean to pick on the DMA here – I see very few QR codes that genuinely work. It has nothing to do with QR code technology – that works fine. It’s just that marketers often don’t think through why they are using a QR code. If it doesn’t take you to a mobile page,it’s not worth having. If you can’t somehow respond on that mobile page it’s not worth having. A QR code to your home page is generally a waste of space. If you are using QR codes,do yourself a favor and scan them before you mail them,first of all to make sure they work at all,and then to make sure they make sense. Do they take you to a mobile page where you can respond,or maybe to a video formatted for your phone? They can even prompt you to dial a number. Whatever it may be,make sure it makes sense for a mobile device.
With the USPS 2-D barcode summer sale extravaganza coming up in six weeks,I shudder to think of where all of those hastily conceived QR codes will lead us.
Agreed,I was just in a restaurant yesterday and they had a QR code on the table on a promotional piece for their upcoming events. The code was supposed to take you to a listing of events that,I assume,you could add to your calendar. Great idea but unfortunately,I couldn’t scan the code.
It’s really important to test the code and to test it under the proper conditions. The restaurant was dimly list and the QR code was under plastic that was curved. Considering those issues they should have made the code bigger that it could be scanned more easily.
To reinforce the point about testing in realistic conditions,there are a number of codes in Arrive,Amtrak’s magazine. Most of them that I tested on my commute worked well but there was one that I’m sure would have worked if the train were stopped but while the train was moving,the code was too small to be scanned.
Thanks for your input,Ben. I think as QR codes become more popular,users will start to learn more about how o make them more scannable. Some older smartphones for example,with less reliable cameras need a QR code that is not covered by plastic or is located in a more brightly-lit area.
-Rainer
I agree. It truly is amazing how “marketers”are not thinking this through. Recent example –a local endurance race organization put a QR Code on their web site to the same web page! Better yet –their print ads don’t include the QR Code!!
Hi there~ that’s indeed a problem for most mobile users~
Anyway QR codes are presented so they can be scanned with a phone~
And moreover,some QR codes are created with no margin,which also makes it unscannable~
Here’s a wonderful barcode generator component for .NET~
It’s useful cuz I can use it in C#,ASP.NET,VB.NET,Reporting Service~
http://onbarcode.com/products/net_barcode/
And here’s a free barcode reader that you might wanna have a try~
talking about scanning over 20 major barcode types~
http://onbarcode.com/scanner/