Everybody is familiar with QR codes, those two-dimensional barcodes that bear a resemblance to square Rorschach tests but provide informational links to the user of any Smartphone with a QR code reader app installed. QR stands for “Quick Response”. Originally invented by Toyota back in 1994 as a means of inventory control during automobile manufacturing, QR codes have been widely adapted to a variety of advertising uses in recent years, generally linking to a website or a page on a website that provides either more information or a call to action.

There are several newer technologies that now compete with the open-source QR code concept, and even the QR code itself has been adapted to offer more colorful, brand-recognition alternatives; however, the bottom line is whether or not any of these marketing tools have been broadly adapted by consumers. There are certainly applications that make sense. A poster on the streets of New York City might advertise a first-run feature film or off-Broadway theatre production and include a QR code that takes users directly to online ticket sales. A transit ad in an airport shuttle might allow users to check the status of arriving and departing flights. I have even seen QR codes on potted plants in garden centers, where a scan will display information such as growing conditions and guidelines. All of these are brilliant applications, but they still do not overcome the fact that QR code adoption and usage rates have been consistently low.

QR codes can be displayed almost anywhere – direct mail, packaging, magazine and newspaper ads, websites, posters, e-mail, and TV commercials. Although there are studies that present encouraging statistics about young adult usage, the studies generally only ask respondents if they have scanned a QR code within the past 12 months; there is little or no data to support consistent repeat usage. According to a study conducted by Pitney Bowes and released in January 2013, the highest usage rates are for QR codes that appear in magazine ads and, to a lesser degree, other printed materials. QR codes on websites, embedded into e-mail messages and on TV commercials get very low rates of response. (Think about it: Is somebody already on a website going to click on a QR code to … go to a website?)

Use the following QR code to download the complete Pitney Bowes report:

There are many reasons that QR codes have not been more broadly adopted, either in the United States or internationally. One reason is that neither Android nor iOS (Apple) phones come with a QR code reader app pre-installed. Other reasons include QR codes being displayed in places with poor quality or nonexistent wi-fi signals (like subway stations and many campgrounds) and the disappointing initial experiences of users who have been brought to Web content that was not optimized for mobile devices.

Most campgrounds have limited advertising budgets and need to spend their dollars wisely. Few campgrounds advertise in magazines, although most advertise in printed directories that bear some similarity to magazines. With regard to printed materials, QR codes certainly do no harm (other than their lack of visual appeal) when added to things like directory ads, rack cards, postcards, and business cards – allowing users to scan through to further information. None of this makes sense, however, unless it is supported by actual scans by end users who embrace your subsequent call to action and are converted into buyers.

How Do You Measure Effectiveness?

All online traffic needs to be measured. Thanks to Google Analytics (which should be running on your website!) we can easily measure the amount of traffic to any particular page of your website from any search engine or referring site. What about traffic from your QR codes? Without taking a few added steps, that traffic is nearly impossible to measure. One solution is to have the QR code link to a specific page that is uniquely linked to the code. That works fine, but it requires your webmaster to create a separate landing page for each code that you generate (so that you can measure the traffic from each specific code application, not simply overall traffic from any and all QR codes that you may be displaying).

A better approach is to have the QR code go to a specific URL that you can create for free using the Google Analytics URL Builder, a very useful tool that is not widely known. (The URL Builder is primarily intended for tracking traffic from a Google AdWords campaign, but it will also work perfectly for this purpose.) First of all, determine the page that you want people to reach through your QR code. Keep in mind that this should probably be both a “call to action” page and a page that is at least mobile-friendly. It might be an existing page on your website or a new page that you will want to create.

Go the Google Analytics URL Builder – http://support.google.com/analytics/answer/1033867 – and follow the instructions. Enter the URL of your landing page in the box that says “Website URL”. For “Campaign Source” and “Campaign Name”, you might enter something like “2013 Rack Card” or anything else that identifies where the QR code will appear. For “Campaign Medium”, enter “QR Code”. Click “Submit” to generate your tracking URL.

The next step is to copy and paste that tracking URL into a QR code generator. I particularly like QuikQR – http://quikqr.com/ – an easy-to-use, free QR code generator, where you simply paste your URL and generate your QR code in one quick step. An optional step would be to paste your tracking URL into Google URL Shortener – http://goo.gl/ – to generate a shortened version of the tracking URL. After generating the shortened URL, click on the “details” link under the new URL, and you will be shown a QR code for your shortened link. Click on the QR code, then right-click on the image on the next page to save the file to your computer to be used in your offline advertising campaign.

Follow the same process to generate QR codes for any other advertising campaigns that you would like to measure. Now any traffic from that QR code will be tracked in Google Analytics, under Traffic > Sources > Campaigns. A few weeks, months, or a year down the road, you will be able to know – with certainty – whether your QR codes are being used and whether or not the traffic is converting into sales!

One caveat: As with any of your advertising, do not presume that the traffic that is generated directly from a QR code is the sole measure of an advertising campaign’s effectiveness. This exercise will only measure whether or not QR codes are generating business in your advertising, as well as whether their adoption over time is trending upward or dying a slow death.

Remember the days when landline long-distance telephone service was profitable and highly competitive? Back then, even the major carriers would engage in a practice known as “slamming”, which generally consisted of mailing out solicitations that appeared to be invoices, often accompanied by a check that you were encouraged to sign and deposit into your bank account. The fine print indicated that the solicitation was not actually an invoice, and that, by endorsing the check, you were agreeing to transfer your long-distance service to another company. That check was a token to lure you into the offer, and they would more than recover that small cost in your first month’s fees. Nowadays, with the dramatic adoption of cellular phone service, the carriers protect themselves from this type of deceptive competition by locking their subscribers into two-year contracts in exchange for the latest phone models. Not to worry, there are infinite numbers of fish waiting to be caught in the Internet Ocean. We are all swimming in that ocean, and you simply need to learn to recognize a hook in order to avoid getting caught!

Check them out before signing a check.

If an unsolicited communication from a company seems suspicious, I always advise doing a search on Google or Bing for the company name followed by the word “scam” or “complaints”. The results could save you from being the next victim. The most recent scam involves a company called DNS Services. For the last 6 months, if not longer, they have been sending out mailings to the owners of just about any and every website. The mailings look like invoices in the amount of $65.00 for “backup DNS service” – something that nobody needs. Only the fine print reveals the disclaimer that, “This is a solicitation for the order of goods or services, or both, and not a bill, invoice, or statement of account due. You are under no obligation to make any payments on account of this offer unless you accept this offer.” Most people do not read that fine print, and many people unwittingly mail in the $65.00. The mailing looks particularly legitimate because it includes your name, domain name, and the name servers where your website is hosted (all public information). If 1% of the people who receive these solicitations pay the $65.00 fee, these scam operators are making a fortune! What about a Google search for “DNS Services scam”? At the time of this post, there are 2,900,000 results!

Another scam that has been making the rounds for a long time involves mailings from a company called Domain Registry of America. If you are the owner or administrative contact for a website domain name, you can expect a mailing from this outfit about 5 months prior to your registration renewal date. This is a spin on the old long-distance telephone service “slamming” from years ago, except that in this instance, they don’t send you a check and it is your domain name registration that is being “slammed”. Nobody wants to lose their domain name, so many people pay the fee out of fear of that possibility. The letters, which include the disclaimer, “This notice is not a bill”, ask for a response within 30 days – presumably before the recipient might learn the truth behind the mailing. A Google search for “Domain Registry of America scam”? Only 39,900 results at the time of this post (probably because Google considers this scam to be “old news” and has decided to display fewer search results.)

Finally, there is a phone-based scam from an outfit called Main Street Host. This company employs telemarketers out of offices in Buffalo and Amherst, New York and Las Vegas, Nevada. It is basically an SEO (search engine optimization) scam, where they promise you top search engine placement for a very low initial fee (sometimes even free). It is once they have their victims hooked that they get many people spending thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars on their worthless services. There are 987,000 results in a Google search for “Main Street Host scam” (which is a 50% increase within the last week alone!), including links to complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau of Upstate New York. The Buffalo office has a C- rating, based upon a total of 32 consumer complaints over a variety of deceptive practices. Don’t be their next victim!

There is one interesting thing in common among these three companies. DNS Services is located in Vancouver, WA; Domain Registry of America is located in Buffalo, NY; and Main Street Host is also located in Buffalo, NY. The common element is the Canadian border. In all likelihood, these addresses are simply mail drops for businesses that are actually located in Canada, making them difficult to prosecute. In fact, the Federal Trade Commission actually ruled against Ontario-based Domain Registry of America nearly 10 years ago, in December of 2003. The result? The language of their solicitation letters was modified slightly, but the mailings continue to this day. Ripping people off is a very profitable enterprise.