The QR code is back ! Do you want to swiftly guide your readers from a tangible DM to a digital online environment? The QR-code is the answer.

The QR code reduces the number of clicks and makes the actual conversion much easier. Scan a QR code with your smartphone and in an instant you will land on a landingpage with information or a customised/personal offer.

QR code, a smart link

A QR code is a kind of barcode that you can easily scan with the camera of your smartphone and which then automatically opens to a URL. There are several ways to use QR codes in print, all of them have a technique that is clever yet simple. You can choose 1 standard QR code that is the same for every recipient. But it is even better to show each reader their own link, read their own QR code. This opens doors to even more personalization and more accurate measurement of results.

From QR codes to personalized offer

Everything starts with coming up with the right link to the landing page. Imagine you want readers to end up on the “Discover / Benefit” page after scanning the QR code. This can be done by supplementing the link per recipient with additional information that you send to the landing page. For example, a recipient of a direct mail immediately opens a landing page with his own name or with a personalized offer.

QUERY string, source of information

We call linking additional information to the link a QUERY string. You can create a QUERY string to make the page found via the QR code respond immediately to specific features you have come up with. For example, you can include a first name, last name and place in the QUERY string or a personalized offer. This will make the visitor extra sensitive to your message.

Conversion analysis with Google Analytics

You can even enrich the URL with a UTM code. A UTM is used to report online traffic in Google Analytics. For example, you process data from the data source or campaign in your URLs. Then we convert the URLs for you into QR codes that can be printed. The link to Google Analytics allows you to analyze the effect of your efforts in detail.

QR codes require short URLs.

A QR code is built up in small black blocks. The advice is to use a minimum QR size of 1.5 x 1.5 cm. The more text in the link, the more blocks are needed. If you have a link with many characters, more black blocks are needed and the QR code becomes much more intricate. This makes the QR code less easy to read for the smartphone’s camera. The solution is to use shortened URLs. Take a look at how bit.ly works. A long link is converted into an unrecognizable short URL. Note that all URLs you create with the bit.ly website are public. At PSI-Vransen, we can generate large numbers of anonymous URLs via an automated program.

Our anonymous URLs are not indexable by Google and are not easy to guess. This is very important if you have processed sensitive data in the URLs. In addition, this prevents any problems with privacy regulations.

QR codes make response more successful

Whenever we use personalized QR codes for campaigns, we notice how positive the results are. For example, a little ‘donate’ QR code increases the proceeds of charity campaigns. In addition, we see that when a QR code leads to a landing page on which most of the customer’s data has already been entered directly, the conversion is higher. In conclusion; the easier we make it for your customers, the more successful your campaign.

Interested in how we can help you realize a QR code DM-campaign? Feel free to pop by our office to talk further.