QR Code Revolution

An Automotive Industry Game Changer

There has been some unrest since Google dropped support of QR Codes last week and seems to be leaning toward another technology, near-field communication (NFC) chips. Google has said that previous businesses with QR Codes linking to their Google Places pages will continue to work. The company is merely investigating alternative options.

Despite Google’s recent move, don’t underestimate the current viability of QR Codes. They are easy to produce and use, and have been appearing more and more to the average consumer, whereas NFC chips are not as widely known. Waiting on this technology to see what comes out ahead could be disastrous.

Paul Potratz and his “Think Tank Tuesday” for automotive industry tips has had two short videos on the use and tracking of QR Codes, with a huge emphasis on the importance of getting involved now to stay ahead of the industry curve:

[Smartphones are] a game changer for automotive sales and for marketing and for the simple fact of how the QR Code comes into play.”

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He seems certain that dealerships not using QR Codes for advertising are missing out on dynamically reaching tens of thousands of smartphone savvy customers, and he is not alone.

For those who may not be familiar with QR Codes, they look like the example above and are appearing on storefront windows, posters, ads, and more. All a consumer needs is one of the many smartphone models with access to a QR Code scanning app and they can scan the code wherever they find one, taking them to the page or promotion the code is linked to.

CNN also recently reported on how QR Codes are a great new innovation:

“Imagine you see a poster of your favorite artist’s upcoming concert,” Galica said. “Usually, you would have to go home to look them up. But QR codes work as paper-based hyperlinks that can lead you to music videos, the site for MP3 downloads, and even purchase tickets right there.”

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The article stressed that the QR Code link has to lead to something exclusive and uniquely advantageous to the consumer to be effective.

In the automotive industry, QR Codes can be set up for your salespeople, such as on the back of their business cards to lead to more dealer and salesperson information, or as part of the sticker on each vehicle on the lot. A customer could then scan the image and know more info about their vehicle of interest instantly, maybe even taking them right to the CARFAX.

This isn’t only helpful for customers taking a walk around the lot on their own, but for salespeople to have that much more information available to them while they are discussing different vehicles.

Consider the benefits of QR Codes for driving customers to exclusive and interesting content that has the potential to build a more lasting relationship with a dealer.

Are you using QR Codes yet?