Since ink is free they just won’t go away

I posted twice last year about QR codes. My point was and is that they are fascinating to marketers, and another tactic they can use to raise the flag. But to what end? In yet another article which makes my point the author writes, “…consumers are not nearly as excited about QR codes as marketers are.”

Further to my earlier points, the article states, “Experts cite three reasons that QR codes haven’t caught on. First, people are confused about how to scan them. Two, there’s little uniformity among the apps required to read them. Last, some who have tried the technology were dissuaded by codes that offer little useful information or simply redirect the user to the company’s website.”

Melissa Parish of Forrester Research calls them the next “shiny object.” The author makes the point that, “The appeal to marketers is clear. Implementing the codes is far less expensive than developing a proprietary app. They offer the ability to measure consumer activity and can provide shoppers with information, freeing up salespeople and increasing productivity.”

But as he notes, if the payoff isn’t there the consumer won’t use them again. I have said since my first post on this subject that it is not about not using your QR code again, it’s about destroying the consumers desire to ever use them. For this reason I predict they will die.

What will cause their death? Limited space on packaging. While the ink is free, the space is limited and right now marketers have the delusion that the QR code is the best use of that space. Or they need to “keep up with the Jones” so they offer the code.

This a perfect example of confusing activity with results.

Mitch