In This Edition
Setting the Table
I want to start this edition with a confession. I hate using QR codes to order at restaurants.
I’m a sucker for an old school, hard-copy menu. The form and styling of menus feels like an essential way of informing me about the experience I’m about to have. A stylized, leather-bound menu tells me that I’m likely about to have a memorable (if pricey) experience. A gigantic, laminated piece of paper with loud colors and dozens of options? Ok, I might be at Denny’s.
"The advance of technology is based on making it fit in so that you don't really even notice it, so it's part of everyday life."
Maybe there’s also a PTSD factor from the QR code mania that swept through restaurants during & after the pandemic.
Despite my arbitrary preferences, I’m going to recommend - strongly - that you incorporate QR codes into your communication strategies.
If you’re already using them? Great! I bet you can dig deeper and find more use cases.
If you’re not? No problem. Let’s help you get started.
36% (amount that postage costs have increased over last 5 years per USPS). Doesn’t include cost of vendors/staff to print & send letters.
36%
The increase in cost of postage since 2018, per USPS.
Postage costs are skyrocketing, plain and simple. This doesn’t even include the costs of paying your team to print/mail documents or outsourced vendors that do it for you. (BTW, these costs are also increasing quickly!). Smart companies are offsetting this by relying more on emails, text messages and other digital communication strategies.
But print mail is still required in many situations - and can also be quite effective. But if you’re going to spend this much for each communication you send, you better be damn sure you’re doing everything you can to make the letter effective.
This is where QR codes come in.
Why QR Codes?
QR codes have two primary benefits:
They increase response/action rate. QR codes direct users to exactly where you want to send them. This reduces friction for the user and helps to eliminate user error.
They improve action attribution. In the old days, you’d measure the effectiveness of a letter by using a unique phone number to track how many inbound calls it prompted. But what if the letter prompts someone to make an online payment or visit a website? QR codes allow you directly track when they’re scanned so you can measure the exact response rate.