Getting noticed on the Web - BedTimes

FactoryDirect
Raising the barcode
Consumers can
scan QR (or
“quick response”)
codes with their
smart phones to
learn more about
products. (This
one from the
Better Sleep Council takes people to episodes
of its ‘Suite 7’ Web series.)
use QR tags on beds. Other mattress
manufacturers using them include
Carolina Mattress Guild, Englander,
Natura World and Therapedic International.
Once the shopper scans a QR
code with her smart phone, she “is
taken to a website or some other
mobile-enabled content and provided
with information the retailer
controls,” writes Jeff Weidauer,
senior vice president of digital
16 | BedTimes | April 2011
shelf-edge services provider Vestcom
International in Little Rock, Ark., in
a blog post at www.retailcustomerexperience.com.
“At the same time,
a retailer can collect information
on the shopper, such as where and
when she scanned the code, how
many codes she scanned and what
actions she may have taken afterward.
Interface this with a retailer’s
loyalty database and the possibilities
for connecting in a meaningful
manner with the best shoppers
become clear.”
Factory directs can encode QR
codes that will allow shoppers to automatically
“like” them on Facebook.
QR codes can take smart phone users
anywhere on the Web you’d like them
to go—to a great customer review
of your brand or an article about
your business in the local paper. QR
code scavenger hunts are a popular
promotional tool. You can hide codes
throughout a store and offer shoppers
prizes or coupons.
You can create your own QR
codes—a relatively easy process. Find
a tutorial on Mashable, http://mashable.com/2010/08/23/how-to-createqr-codes.
“The next generation of smart
phones will be equipped with NFC
(near field communication) chips
that have the potential of storing
loyalty data, coupons and payment
information so we’ll probably stop
carrying around wallets,” says David
Dorf, director of technology for
hardware and software giant Oracle
in a speech at the NRF Big Show.
“The mobile phone will probably
replace our house and car keys, as
well.” BT
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