Overview
Over the last year or so, we have had numerous requests from our customers to generate QR codes associated with a list. Based on these requests, we have decided to introduce a QR code module in our new product portal. This article introduces our QR code module and provides information about how to maximize it for the benefit of your business.
First of all, many of our customers are printers, and if you have the appropriate print software, you should be able to generate and print QR codes straight from there. Here is a video from HP SmartStream discussing how to generate and position a QR code on a print piece. Go to 1:40 in the video to watch the QR code generation and positioning. However, there are a few things to be considered over and above what HP discusses in this video.
- Not everyone has access to the appropriate print software to generate and print QR codes, and require the QR codes to be generated outside of the print system.
- QR codes are much more than just a URL. Generating QR code powered by variable data from a list gives you tremendous flexibility in terms of creating your Calls to Action. We will be discussing this topic at length later in this article.
- Even if you have the print capability that can generate and print the QR codes, you may need to incorporate some logic behind how the QR code is generated, over and above being just a simple URL, e.g. a vCard, maps and directions, initiate an SMS and so on. Our QR code module can generate these complex strings and allows you to export them for printing, even if you do not need to generate the images through our system.
Getting Started
In Mindfire’s product portal, you can go to Asset Manager, choose the Call to Action tab and go to the QR code generator. Please see the image below for a clear understanding of how to access the QR code generator.
Please note that everyone has access to the QR code generator for creating single QR codes. Optionally, you would like to use variable data associated with a list, which will generate QR codes associated with the list and connect each QR code with its own contact record. There may be a fee associated with that, depending on your subscription level. Please contact your Customer Success representative at csteam@mindfireinc.com to get access to this module.
Once you are in the QR code generator, here is an Infographics that describes the actual process. We have additional help text and videos in our knowledge base to provide further detail on how the QR codes can be generated.
QR Codes + List: Power of Variable Data Printing
Personalized URL: The simplest form of variable data associated with QR codes, as generated by MindFire, will be to point a QR code to a personalized URL. Optionally you can provide URL parameters for source tracking, Google Analytics and many other reasons.
As shown in the image here, you input the following data:
- Content Type: Personalized URL
- Set the targeted URL
- Add URL parameters if reqd
- Select image size and type.
Finally, click on the Generate button to start the process. The system will ask for an email address where the QR codes need to be sent. It will also ask you to pick the fields that will be included in the export file that will be required to be sent to the pint system along with the QR code images. We have tested the system with up to 500,000 QR Codes being produced simultaneously. If you require more QR codes to be produced simultaneously, please discuss with our support team first, before starting the work. Please also note that for ease of downloading, we will put the QR images into zip files and send you links to those zip files. Each zip file will have a maximum of 5,000 QR code images. So if you are generating 50,000 QR codes, you will get up to 10 zip files.
Let us now explore the remaining options that we bring to the table. I am going to describe some use cases for each option, instead of describing how to use the system.
V-Cards: A possible use-case for this application will be to send a QR code in a direct mail piece that introduces a new customer to the service representative that will be helping the customer. The customer can scan the QR code and save the service rep’s contact information. If you are a loan provider, you can also do something like this: “Scan this QR Code to save the contact information of your Loan Officer.”
Google Map: A common use case here will be “Scan this QR code to get directions to our facility nearest to you.” This could be very effectively used by businesses with many franchise locations (e.g. fast-food restaurants), and provide a coupon to incentivize the prospect to visit the location.
Phone and SMS: You can have use cases like “Scan the QR Code to text us a question” or “Scan the QR Code to call us”. The variable data associated with the list brings additional power here, e.g. for a mortgage company, “Scan the QR code to text your question directly to your loan advisor”.
Text Strings: This brings the ultimate power to the user by allowing them to concatenate various fields such as ##custom1##, ##custom2## etc to build a QR code logic. Some examples are:
- Send a preset text message to a predetermined recipient.
- Initiate a Payments
- Use it to reveal offers or coupon codes
- Add an event to the calendar
- WiFi code for your nearest store (as in a franchise situation)
- Follow someone’s social media profile
- Pull up your store’s menu
Conclusion
QR codes associated with variable data brings tremendous power to your business, both for marketing campaigns as well as operational efficiency. As the world is moving towards contactless businesses, the significance of QR codes is increasing. MindFire has brought a solution here that provides a variety of QR code options with ultimate flexibility. Please let us know if you have any questions, or have use cases that we have not covered in this article.
