QR Codes - Use the power of mobile phones to promote your business

What is a 2D (QR) Code?

2D or QR codes (which they are now more frequently called) are 2 dimensional data matrix codes that were originally created by Denso Wave Corp (part of Toyota) in 1997. Each code holds up to 4700 alpha-numeric digits and when decoded resolves to an action. The action can open a link to a mobile website, download video content to your mobile, deliver personalised vouchers, enable m-commerce sites or put the information of a business card in the memory of your mobile. In fact, as mobiles get more and more powerful, it is only our own imagination that restricts the use of QR codes in marketing.

 

What are the benefits of marketing with QR Codes.

By 2013, more people will browse the internet via their mobiles and iPods than they will their PCs and laptops.  The great benefit of QR codes is that you can just add the QR code artwork to any advertising, literature, exhibition panels or other communications you are producing to practically any scale, from the back of a business card to the side of a bus! Once the code is scanned by any smart phone, it will deliver a link and enable the person browsing to become interactively involved with your brand.

QR codes will give forward thinking brands some fantastic opportunities:

·         Build stronger customer relationships

·         Provide an additional channel to sales

·         Be seen as an innovative company

·         Deliver promotions and communications to customers wherever they are

·         Send video messaging to your customers’ mobiles

·         Turn traditional print and media interactive

·         Monitor and track campaigns with real time response

·         Build a database of new customers with ‘permission to use’

 

Get in touch to find out more 

0845 643 4463 

www.theproductmarketingcompany.co.uk 

tim.gale@product-marketing.co.uk

 

 

 

 

Great packaging design will give your business the competitive edge.

 

Here are just five points to consider:

  

1.       First impressions count 

We only have a few seconds to impress. Make the right first impression, and you have made decisive contact with a new customer. This can be the start of a new mutually profitable relationship. 

If you don’t make the right first impression, you might not get another chance; lose the opportunity and the competition wins. 

Great packaging design speaks to the customer at a level they understand and appeals to them not only on a visual level, but on an emotional level too.  Start with a study of the customer; their views, needs, feelings and outlook. Once you understand how the customer thinks; great design can follow, communicating to them exactly what they are looking for. Your designer must also have a clear understanding of exactly what the competition is, knowing who you are up against gives you a head start.

  

2.       Promotion, promotion, promotion

The right packaging must attract your target customer and sell the product benefits to them. Think of great packaging as your top salesman. It can tell your customer:

a)      why a product is better than the competition, and

b)      why it offers more value.

The right packaging continues to promote your brand, even after purchase.

  

 3.       Communication

The more information we provide at point of sale, the higher number of sales we can make. Packaging has the capacity to convey a wealth of information.  Great packaging design will disseminate this information:

a)      maximising its usefulness, and

b)      enhancing its impact.

Packaging can also be designed to facilitate feedback and the building of relationships with your customers. Better customer communication instils trust, and this in turn is a builds brand loyalty.

 

4.        Brand identity

 

Great packaging reinforces a brand’s logo, message or tag line. These elements help customers to instantly recognise products on shelves, and in other forms of marketing. Your packaging will play a huge part in the relationship between brand and customer. It is a constant; sourced in store, held at home, ever-present both subconsciously and consciously.

 

Great packaging provides a huge opportunity to build your brand, telling your customers the story you want them to hear – which should also be the story they want to hear.  Great packaging shows your customers the images they want to see and conveys the feeling they want to feel.  Customers buy into the look and feel of a brand and make informed judgements when using that product - the right look and feel can give your brand the competitive edge.

 

 

 

5.       Product longevity and recyclability

 

Clever packaging is 3-dimensional in every sense.  Its design is part of a process, not simply the visual on-the-shelf impact it makes.   Clever packaging takes into account how a product will be used, the longevity of that product and also, how and where it might be stored for future use.

 

Packaging and the environment are now joined-up considerations.  An awareness of the effects of discarded packaging on our world will boost your green credentials.  Considering end of life at the design stage reinforces your commitment to a greener community.  This is of benefit not only to your environment but, naturally, your sales!

 

 

Get in touch to find out more

0845 643 4463

www.theproductmarketingcompany.co.uk 

tim.gale@product-marketing.co.uk


 

Social Media will Benefit your Business

Think about it. 

 Your customers are online right now. They are networking, searching, buying and selling, and socialising.

 In fact, did you know there are now more people on Facebook than there are on Google, with twitter not that far behind.

 

So what does that mean for your business? 

 Let me give you FIVE Good Reasons to invest in Social Media. 

1.         Brand Trust

The Internet enables us to make better decisions than ever before. We can easily check what a brand has to say about itself but we can also see what everyone else is saying. Having a manageable platform on which to build trust in a brand creates a wealth of new opportunities which should not be missed.

2.         Great for Search Engine Optimisation

  •  Google still dominates the seo market at 85% - if you want people to find out about your product or company you need to be ranked as highly as possible.
  • Google algorithms are based on popularity; the more popular your website is, the higher it will be ranked. Good seo is about high quality links and conversations about your brand and product. The more people that talk about you through social media, the higher your website will rank.

3.         Multi-channel Brand Interaction

In the last 10 years brand interaction has changed considerably. We now demand more information than ever before. This information helps us to make purchase decisions, it helps our levels of understanding, it makes our lives easier and it encourages us to recognise good brands.

4.         Viral Opportunities

Never underestimate word of mouth.  A good story travels quickly; in an instant it can be right across the globe. When your customers, prospects, suppliers and staff are talking about your brand, they are selling for you.  Consciously, and unconsciously, they are spreading the word – its not rocket science, and it is so much cheaper than conventional advertising.

5.         Brand Loyalty

Digital media allows us to choose which brands, colleagues, friends or family we want to communicate with.  Our mobiles are sacred to us, they are on us at all times and they carry a host of personal information.   If we choose to let a brand communicate with us in our own time, it follows that we will take the time to consider what that brand has to say.

 

Food for thought: there are 67 million mobiles in the UK, 30% of which connect to social media sites every day and have opted to receive information from them. 

 

Forward thinking brands are always with their customers;

put yourself in their pocket.

 

Will mail order and ecommerce companies use 2d (QR Code) Marketing to enhance their multi channel sales

What is a qr code

QR-Codes are two dimensional barcodes (datamatrix) that allow bar code readers (built in mobile Aps) to decode at high speed. QR-Codes are capable of holding upto 7,089 characters that can be encoded in a single symbol. This enables our mobiles to

  • Connect to a web address
  • Download a MP3
  • Dial a telephone number
  • Allow you send an immediate email to the correct email client
  • This can all be done instantaneously

How do they work

2 dimensional bar codes store information that when photographed and then read through a bar code reader provide a quick response (QR) through to a dedicated mobile site or information source.

How could this be used in conjunction with catalogues or other printed literature

If we take a standard catalogue page we have a limited amount of space to show product information, images, prices and promotions. The benefit of adding a qr code to the product description or page is that we could then enable our customers to snap the code and be directed to a mobile page which provides further information, enables immediate purchase, adds another channel for customer communications and purchase opportunities and provides the marketer greater opportunities for acquiring new prospect names.

Who would it work for

Latest figures suggest that 70% of all new UK mobile phones have a bar code reader built in as a usable AP. 2d bar code readers can also be down loaded for most mobiles from enigma, beetag and other sources. In Japan 90% of all mobile phone users snap QR codes on a daily basis from all sorts of media. QR codes were created by Japanese manufacturing giant Denso-Wave in 1994. Although they were originally used for tracking parts in vehicle manufacturing they are now used in every day life for gathering information, capturing promotional codes and making mobile purchasers. QR codes can used on posters, magazines, point of sale, packaging, signs, buses, business cards or any form of product that users need more information about. Currently brands selling to mobile phone innovation early adopters and heavy users of mobile applications would benefit more from the use of 2D codes but as pace gains towards the inevitable mobile world we are embracing, the early and mid majorities should follow shortly after.

What will the future hold for 2D marketing, mail order and e commerce

Turning traditional media interactive should further enhance a true multi channel shopping experience. Providing more information, video, music, promotions from what used to be just a printed page may appeal. Creating relationships with customers that ‘opt’ in to having mobile dialogue with their favoured brands is certainly a new form of permission marketing and allowing customers the flexibility to buy on line now with their mobile has got to be a benefit to us all. As a mechanic for promotions 2D does give an immediate track able and paperless audit of who is interested and what their interested in. For the customer, the benefits seem to be they have more choice to interact with their favoured brands, they can receive promotions via their mobiles which means the promotions are always available to them, brand and promotion access is immediate and for the early adopters that champion innovation there is a very smooth process to go viral.

In summary

It is likely that we will see these little bar codes more and more over the coming months being used in all sorts of media. How long will it be before this technology Enhances our catalogues?

The Product Marketing Company

FREE marketing advice to improve your product sales.

Telephone now - 0845 643 4463

Can 2D mobile marketing enhance multi-channel sales?

2D mobile marketing is relatively new to the UK, but is growing in both popularity and effectiveness as another tool in the marketing armoury! Put simply, 2D Mobile Marketing it is the use of a 2D (two dimensional) barcode, which allows you to incorporate large amounts of information in a small area. Current research shows over half of the UK’s mobile telephones users already have a barcode scanner in their telephones that can decipher a 2D message.

Let’s put it in perspective. UN Research published in February 2010 indicates that 67% of the world’s population is a mobile phone user and this far outweighs online access. Most of us carry our mobile with us; we use it as our calendar our address book, we use it for listening to music, watching the news, for emails and for socializing. As marketers, we should be seeking every opportunity to maximize potential in a way our customers feel comfortable with.

What is a 2d barcode?

2D or QR (Quick Response) codes are two dimensional barcodes that allow barcode readers (generally pre-installed mobile Apps) to decode. Web addresses, phone numbers or hidden messages can all be contained in the 2D barcode that enables you to speak to or interact with your audience. They can be used on T-shirts, posters, bus shelters and off-the-page advertisements – and these are just a few of the applications that can be incorporated into 2D mobile marketing. Simply put, you can direct your audience straight to a web address and mobile website or even a telephone number so that your audience can get in touch with you instantly.

Uses in conjunction with catalogues or other printed literature

Take a standard catalogue page for example. There’s a limited amount of space to display product information, images, prices and promotions. Adding a QR code to the product description, design or text enables our customers to scan the code and be directed to a mobile page. This provides additional information or even enables immediate purchase through a specialist mobile-commerce site. This adds another channel for customer communications and purchase opportunities and provides the marketer greater opportunities for acquiring new prospect names.

Who does it work for?

Latest figures suggest by 2013 more people will browse the internet via their mobiles than their computers and that 70% of all new UK mobile phones will have a bar code reader built in/or downloadable as a usable App. 2D barcode readers for most mobiles can also be easily downloaded from a number of sources. In Japan 90% of all mobile phone users scan QR codes on a daily basis from all sorts of media. Already innovative brands are using 2D codes to target ‘early adopters’ and beginning to realise its potential. As pace gains towards the inevitable mobile world, the late and mid majorities will follow shortly after. This trend should lead us to prepare ourselves for a new marketing channel.

Turning traditional media interactive!

Turning traditional media interactive will further enhance a true multi-channel shopping experience. Providing experiential marketing through; video, music and promotions from a printed page may appeal. Creating relationships with customers that ‘opt’ in to having mobile dialogue with their favoured brands is certainly a new form of permission marketing. Allowing customers the flexibility to buy online immediately using their mobile has got to be a benefit to us all. As a mechanic for promotions 2D does give an immediate track able and paperless audit of who is interested and what they’re interested in. For the customer, the benefits are abundant. They have more choice to interact with their favoured brands. Customers can receive promotions via their mobiles which means the promotions are always available to them, brand and promotion access is immediate and for the early adopters who champion innovation there is a very smooth process to go viral.

In summary

It is likely that we will see these little bar codes more and more over the coming months being used in all sorts of media. How long will it be before this technology enhances our catalogues?

The Product Marketing Company

FREE marketing advice to improve your product sales.

Telephone now - 0845 643 4463

Search Engine Optimisation - Is SEO right for you?

Will seo increase your sales?

 

Have you tried the following.

 

Click here www.google.adwords.com This is the Google  adwords tool and it allows you to find out how many people have searched for a specific phrase or word that is relevant to their product. You are then given the results locally or globally as to how many people typed in that phrase over the last year and what for example was the approx monthly search.

 

Now take into consideration SERPS (Search engine results page) ranking

 

On a normal Google page there are 10 natural listings shown. The higher up those listing, the more people are going to click through to the site. The approx figures are as follows.

 

Position                                    % of click throughs

 

1      42.25

2      11.93

3      8.46

4      6.04

5      4.87

6      3.99

7      3.38

8      2.97

9      2.96

10   2.82

 

Now lets take an example.

 

You have found that 10,000 people a month are looking for your product. Based on a very specific search phrase.

 

You get your website to the top of page 1 of google. The amount of click throughs to your site should be approx 4225.

 

If you click here www.google.serpscalculator.com  you can use the google seo calculator to work out the sorts of traffic or even the sorts of revenue you should be expecting if your website is doing its job properly

 

Converting traffic into customers is a strength of ours, if you would like to find out more please just call.

 

CALL TO ACTION

 

If you feel it would be worth while investigating further please just give us a call 0845 643 4463 and we will provide you with a free seo report and give you an idea of what work needs to done to get the results you want.