Showing posts with label QR Code. Show all posts
Showing posts with label QR Code. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 7, 2023

Small Business Help: Creative Branding with Creative Marketing

Carmine's Pizzeria Google Review Pepperoni and Sausage Pizza, fDallas, TX

Trying to craft marketing content that gets the attention of the people you want to be your customers can leave you scratching your head. You can seek advice from a friend in the marketing business or perhaps ask a close family member who knows someone who works in the marketing department of a Fortune 100 company who might give you some good suggestions. However, there's nothing like having the people on the front lines of marketing nearby to help with your business communications. Not doing so can lead to lost opportunities, miscommunications, and a really tough learning experience.


This post will help you with at least three things:

  • Identify missed opportunities to influence potential customers.
  • Find out what consumers are searching for Online
  • Leverage simple technologies that influence prospects


At Oevae, we solve the problems between "what you are thinking" about content marketing and "what it will take to make those thoughts a reality." Whether getting more customers, looking more like a real business, or simply changing your approach, we can help you find direction and solutions for growing your business by identifying gaps in your marketing, so you can squeeze more potential out of your brand.


Here are a few creative marketing ideas that might help your Brand become more attractive to the people you want to be your customers. You may have thought about it but don't have the tools or people around you to help you make it happen. Sometimes all you need is a little help.


1.  Identify missed opportunities to influence potential customers.


Email Signatures that include your logo help readers quickly differentiate your email from the previous email. Email Signatures give the recipient a lasting impression of whom they are doing business with, making your contact information easy to find whenever the email recipient wants to connect with you, and it serves as a nest for several ways to access information about your company, other than email.


81% of small businesses rely on email as their primary customer acquisition channel, and 80% for retention. 

 

– Oberlo (Shopify Inc. Multinational E-commerce Company}


Business Cards work harder for you than Near Field Communication (NFC), and here's why. Once you use NFC (holding your phone near the data source to share small payloads of data between, similar to contactless payments popularized by COVID-19) to add a new phone number to your smartphone contacts, it's quickly out-of-site and out-of-mind. Meanwhile, a business card is still working for you. The business card gives you another opportunity to reinforce your brand identity and adds to the number of impressions your logo hits the conscious mind of the recipient. The recipient of the business card must find a resting place, sometimes the trash, but sometimes they are stored in a stack on the desk, in a desk drawer, purse or backpack, or maybe in a wallet. 


The best part about using business cards is, every time a person with your business card looks at it, they will remember who or where they received it. The longer it takes someone with your business card to put it out of sight, the longer their exposure to your brand. A similar approach is used by Fortune 100 brands, placing their logo on togo cups and shopping bags because they know the life expectancy of that disposable item will soon resonate with your subconscious mind. For instance, some customers like round business cards because they can double as a beverage coaster.  We've designed other business cards with QR codes to direct prospects for customized experiences.


Google Reviews can dramatically increase the number of times prospects find your company online, especially those with photographs, because they are more personal and relatable, which helps the reader better visualize and understand a reviewer's experience, making it even more valuable and convincing than reviews without photographs. Remember this the next time you ask a customer for a Google Review. It gives potential shoppers a glimpse into the experience you provide. A study by Sterling Sky Inc found that having a photo had a massive impact on how long a review stayed at the top of the reviews list on Google.  In fact, the photograph Pepperoni and Sausage Pizza, from Carmine's Pizzeria in Dallas, TX used at the beginning of this blog post is from a Google Review published in May 2020 and currently has 42,565 views.  That's an average of over 1,100 non-paid views per month (1,182.3) benefiting Carmine's Pizzeria.



2. Find out what consumers are searching for Online

 

Google Trends is a very effective way to easily see what consumers are on the Internet searching for all around the world, right down to your state, city, demographic, and time of day.  Visualise, discover and compare trending topics and people's search behavior within Google Search, Google News, Google Images, Google Shopping, and YouTube. With this data, you can better craft your promotional headlines, website content and keywords, email marketing Subject lines, text messages, and even the hashtags used in social media posts. 


Google Analytics provides countless resources to understand user behavior on your website, where aggregating your most authentic content should be. Two of the most valuable aspects are your ability to improve search engine optimization, groom content, find your target audience, and reinforce positive beliefs about your brand. With a comprehensive understanding of how your people engage with your website in real-time and business, you can deliver better experiences that help you grow your customer base organically.


"Authenticity means being open to stories that normalize the experience customers have with a brand, which is sometimes critical. Create a personal connection and tailor the customer experience. Personalization can go a long way toward building trust." 


– Forbes Business Development Council



 3. Leverage simple technologies that influence prospects


URL shorteners with branding capabilities allow you to share branded links as part of automated workflows – with the name of your choosing, you can take total control of your content, and your audience will know they can trust recognizable links. "With trust comes action. Businesses that share custom links see a boost in click-throughs," says Bitly URL Shortener. Every click, tap, and a swipe of your shortened links arms you with the information you need to share more of the content your audience is most excited about – track engagement metrics on your links' organic shares.


Quick Respons codes (QR codes) have been used for over two decades. If you have not found a way to use them, your competitors probably will or have already done so. The QR code is a simple way to leverage technology that redirects prospects from the scan of their mobile device to specific content that continues the message driven by your marketing campaign with quick and convenient access. Consumers scan QR codes and use them as a shopping tool from their mobile phones to navigate product offers. 


A study found that the usefulness, feasibility, and acceptability of QR codes are stimuli, which will influence the perceived flow (considered as an organism) of customers positively and affect purchase intention and customer satisfaction in the online shopping context (response). A POS displays with a QR code can be an easy way to get customers to share their experience in a Google review.


Wallpapers (not your great-grandmother's wallpaper from the 1920s) are photographs or videos used as a desktop on your PC, tablet, smartphone, or Chrome browser. The average American spends 7 hours and 4 minutes looking at a screen each day and 2 hours in front of a PC. When a person has your wallpaper on their smartphone or office computer, chances are that your image will catch the eye of their friends and colleagues as well, increasing the coverage. 


Whichever wallpaper image you choose must reflect the mission, values, and brand goals. A beautiful image can boost your spirits and create positive associations with your brand. It’s a great way to cultivate a strong emotional bond with your audience.  


If all else fails, and you still need a little help, get Small Business Therapy – a short conversation can do wonders for improving perspectives and bringing clarity to the Internet/marketing terminology, and how to utilize the latest marketing technologies to grow your small business most efficiently. Small Business Therapy is billed at $0.99/per minute (price subject to change without notice) with no minimum. Get the marketing help you need in less time, and at a fraction of the cost. 


Make a brand difference.™


Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Making the most of QR Code technology


More and more QR Codes are showing up. I have seen QR Code technology – on magazine advertisements, real estate signs, direct mail envelopes and postcards, brochures, t-shirts, business cards, restaurant table tents, and window decals – just about everywhere so it seems. 

Besides Near-field Communication (NFC), where you make communications between devices – hold your phone near the receiver like many credit/debit cards at checkout, or more recently you may have used your badge to access a secured office, QR Codes are an easy way to help readers/prospects make communications between from paper/print to digital – leading to websites, email, PDF files, images, apps, wifi login, and the list of destinations is almost endless.  

If you're clueless about what a QR Code is or how you can use the QR Code technology to beef up your brand exposure and marketing, this may be the technology you've needed. The QR Code, short for "Quick Response" is a square image that can be printed on your marketing collateral. The image is not something you read with your eyes, but it is readable like a barcode that your smartphone can read. If you've been to Japan, this comes as no surprise - it's been used there for a long time and just now starting to make its way into mainstream marketing in the USA.

The post is updated from time to time as I see unique instances of QR Code use and how it's shifting the ways we communicate and collaborate with customers.  Subscribe to this blog "Best Marketing Consultants in The World #AskGoogle" to get email notifications.


Apollo Building Products Catalog QR Code access to Digital Catalog.

Apollo Building Products Catalog QR Code access to Digital Catalog.



McDonald's Wall Wrap QR Code Outdoor Graphic Decal

McDonald's Wall Wrap QR Code Outdoor Graphic Decal



Round Business Card QR Code Special Marketing Offers

Round Business Card QR Code Special Marketing Offers



McDonald's My Rewards Join Now Scan QR Code on Bag

McDonald's My Rewards Join Now Scan QR Code on Bag



Kroger QR Code Earn Rewards on Groceries and Fuel

Kroger QR Code Earn Rewards on Groceries and Fuel POS Decal



FedEx Office Send. Print. Go. QR Code to Printing from your phone via printandgo@fedex.com

FedEx Office Send. Print. Go. QR Code to Printing from your phone via printandgo@fedex.com



Vital Farms Join Our Flock QR Code Exclusive Savings Email Sign-up

Vital Farms Join Our Flock QR Code Exclusive Savings Email Sign-up



Starbucks Rewards QR Code on Table Top Decal to Download App

Starbucks Rewards QR Code on Table Top Decal to Download App


Contactless Payment QR Code for Tom Thumb Deals and Rewards App

Contactless Payment QR Code for Tom Thumb Deals and Rewards App



Denny's Restaurant QR Code lets you view the menu from your mobile device

Denny's Restaurant QR Code lets you view the menu from your mobile device



Playworld Systems PlayPod Playground QR-Code used to report equipment damage

Playworld Systems PlayPod Playground QR Code used to report equipment damage.



Chick-fil-A "Be our guest" QR Code offers customers Free breakfast menu items.

Chick-fil-A "Be our guest" QR Code offers customers Free breakfast menu items.



Square.com Point of Sale app QR Code used to Activate Debit Card / Square Card

Square.com Point of Sale app QR Code used to Activate Debit Card / Square Card.


Smartphone use rises daily in the mobile market, popular brands are starting to take advantage of a better marketing mixture. As far back as 2011, when this QR Code article was first published,  Nielsen Wire, was reporting about low-tech material (mailers, newspapers, printed material in-store) still has the most popular consumer reach – Adding QR Codes connects low-tech with the latest technology.


Pharmacy Free Flu Shots QR Code to learn more about safety precautions

Pharmacy Free Flu Shots QR Code to learn more about safety precautions.



Chauffeur Driver Employee Identification Card QR Code used to verify driver safety.  Graphic design by Oevae Marketing Consultants

Chauffeur Driver Employee Identification Card QR Code used to verify driver safety. 
Graphic design by Oevae Marketing Consultants



Starbucks QR Code Join Starbucks Rewards More fun.  More free stuff.

Starbucks QR Code Join Starbucks Rewards More fun.  More free stuff.



McDonald's QR Code turns your receipt into a coupon.

McDonald's QR Code turns your receipt into a coupon.


Exclusive Savings and Pizza Perks at CiCi's Pizza when you scan QR Code Exclusive Savings and Pizza Perks at CiCi's Pizza when you scan QR Code

Exclusive Savings and Pizza Perks at CiCi's Pizza when you scan QR Code 



QR Code Parking Meter using PayByPhone.com – the most convenient way to pay for parking

QR Code Parking Meter using PayByPhone.com – the most convenient way to pay for parking




Get special offers at Olive Garden when you scan the QR code on the beverage coaster.


Consumers are now learning that they can download a free QR Code Reader app on Android or iPhone that will scan the QR Code to uncover special messages, discounts, websites, telephone numbers, social media links, events dates, email messages, contact details, and much more. Add this to the smartphone web browser and you've just added a unique voice to your brand message.


QR Codes used on Direct Mail Promotion

QR Codes used on Direct Mail Promotion 


So where can you get your QR Code? Search Google for "QR Code Generator" and you'll have your share of websites that allow you to create your own QR Code in about 5 minutes.  We like QR Stuff, a Free Online QR Code Creator and Encoder for T-Shirts, Business Cards, and Stickers. The QR Code photos in this blog post are added and updated as we find new uses for QR Codes and how various businesses are using QR Code technology.

Last update Tuesday, June 7, 2022