QR codes are just about everywhere these days. Their sudden rise in popularity over a short period of time has left many at a loss for what the codes are. A staggering number of businesses have been adopting the codes, but few are taking the time to show consumers why they are so important.
Hamilton Chan, founder of Paperlinks, a mobile marketing company that specializes in QR codes, believes that western society has entered a vital education period when it comes to mobile technology. After this period is over, he says, consumers can expect QR codes to become an integral part of society.
Chan notes that America is going through the same period that Japan went through when the codes first started flooding commercial space. Japan is the home of QR codes, having first been developed by Toyota subsidiary Denso Wave as a means to easily track inventory. When smart phones began their rise to fame, the codes were adopted by marketers who saw the connection between the two technologies. Since then, Japan has been awash with QR codes.
“QR codes will be ubiquitous in five years,” says Chan. “Smart phones will be like magic wands – you wave it and get things.”
There is no doubt that QR codes are a powerful tool that can connect companies and consumers. However, Chan notes that if more companies do not take the time to educate consumers about the codes, they will never have a properly successful marketing campaign. Education, he says, is driving force behind the success of the codes.
