The Value of a Barcode Scanner

by david

For the longest time, the Internet has held the unique advantage of allowing users to participate in something simply by having them click on a button. It's fast, easy and takes only a fraction of the effort that dialing a phone number or filling out a reply postcard would. Barcodes or QR Codes represent the one way for an offline piece of paper to become linked with your online business. As time has progressed, most people have become owners of barcode readers – right on their smartphones. This allows them to be a very widespread and easy-to-use advantage for your media. In the event that you haven't had the opportunity to witness how easy a barcode scanner can make your life (and the lives of your audience), here's a quick run-down on how barcodes work with printed media: First, a person scans the barcode on the piece of media that they want to access some additional content on. Next, their device pops up with the information. It can pop up with a web page, an embedded HTML document, video that describes how to use the product, or sweepstakes opt-in form. It can even subscribe an individual to a mailing list. Barcodes are both that simple to use and that powerful for business. The power in barcodes lies with what can be used as a barcode scanner. Most mobile phones are capable of pictures and video. They're also capable of using these features in applications. These applications can then decide how to handle the information encoded inside of the printed barcodes. As stated earlier, this means opening a document containing extra information about a product or opening a subscription opt-in page for email newsletters. This is what allows barcodes to be so powerful. The accessibility provided by barcodes comes as a result of the way that technology has evolved. Higher-resolution cameras means that the need for separate scanners connected to computers can be eliminated. The result is that the consumer no longer has to bring the product home to take advantage of the shortcut provided by a barcode reader, which means information can be retrieved while a consumer is at the retailer. Marketing strategies such as sweepstakes can have their costs reduced by allowing a barcode to link a recipient to more information rather than printing it on the paper that is delivered to them. Imagine how much more interactivity your business could have with potential customers if you could store things as complex as trial software downloads and product manuals in the form of printed barcodes. You could bridge the gap with users that may have access to a smart phone that lack access to mobile Internet, which may be enough to build loyalty with consumers in this type of situation. To learn more about how QR Codes can help with your marketing activities visit us at scanlife.com or email us at info@scanlife.com.