Who doesn’t love rooting for an underdog? In all of our favorite sports movies, from Rocky to The Karate Kid, we can’t help but cheer on the newcomer, a character who’s outnumbered, or someone who has fewer resources than the clear frontrunner. We love to support small businesses for the very same reason (and many more).
As the retail world continues to consolidate under massive corporate umbrellas like Amazon and Walmart, it’s becoming harder and harder for small businesses like local stores and chains to compete. Retail giants have massive marketing budgets and enough scale to beat out everyone else’s pricing—and small-but-mighty businesses need a modern playbook to compete with them.
One powerful tool that small businesses can (and should) add to their belts? QR Codes. Read on to learn how these simple square codes offer powerful marketing benefits that help the small businesses of the retail world stand out in a big way.
Small businesses and their superpowers
Whether you’re visiting your favorite hometown shop or strolling through your local bookstore, there’s something special about supporting your community and engaging with the passionate folks who keep it running. Small businesses cultivate connections with their patrons like no other—and these relationships build loyalty.
Beyond the relationships between shoppers and staff, small businesses also foster community through their offerings and events. They often partner with other regional businesses, sell locally sourced products, and attract regulars who connect with each other in stores. These interactions create a lasting bond between brands and customers.
Behind the scenes, small businesses have another strategic differentiator to their credit: agility. Smaller retailers can change things up more quickly and easily than a massive corporation ever could and adjust their marketing strategy at will. This means there’s more opportunity to experiment and get creative based on customer preferences in real-time.
From relationships and community to adaptability, small businesses have some powerful strengths that retail titans can’t touch. But to stay competitive in an ever-crowded space, small businesses need to hone their strengths—and the right set of tools helps them do just that.
The power of QR Codes for small retailers
QR Codes are a must-have digital marketing tool for small businesses that helps retailers punch above their weight. They give small businesses the opportunity to engage with patrons both online and offline, creating more avenues for connection and relationship-building. From sharing product information to offering special discounts and rewards, with the simple scan of a code shoppers can interact in real-time, enhancing their in-store experience and deepening their connection with you.
There are a number of reasons why small businesses should start leveraging QR Codes across their retail locations. Let’s explore a few so you can feel confident in your decision to start incorporating these into your retail marketing strategy today!
Online presence
According to a recent survey by Visual Objects, 76% of consumers look for a company’s online presence before visiting in-person. For small retailers, QR Codes offer a simple and flexible way to grow their digital traffic and engagement, from their website to social media channels. You can use them to encourage followers, drive email subscribers, share product updates, or send shoppers to loyalty or rewards programs.
In-person visits tend to be the bread-and-butter of a small retailer’s business, but expanding your interactions to digital platforms allows you to engage with shoppers even after they leave your store.
Customer data
To lean into adaptability, you need to leverage data to inform your decisions and create the best possible experience for shoppers. It might be tempting to go with your gut when making changes to your marketing, messaging, or products, but these adjustments probably won’t work unless you have data to back them up.
With every scan, Dynamic QR Codes offer up data and analytics that help you gauge what offers are most compelling to your customers. Are they eager for behind-the-scenes information about each of your products? Are they hungry for sneak previews of what’s coming soon to store shelves? What kind of offers do they scan most often? QR Code data can answer these questions—based on how often people scan and which calls-to-action resonate most—and help you understand your audience for better decision-making moving forward.
Affordability
It’s no secret that small businesses typically operate on a tight budget, so every marketing cent has to count. QR Codes are a cost-effective tool for connecting with customers that any small business can leverage. They’re budget-friendly and have seemingly endless applications, from displays in-store and on hang tags to incorporating them in print advertisements and in direct mail campaigns.
Like small businesses themselves, QR Codes pack a small-but-mighty punch. These handy codes help retailers connect offline and online shopping experiences with the flexibility, analytics, and engagement of far more expensive tools.
Localization
QR Codes can also help increase foot traffic and drive local engagement. Add a QR code to a stand-up display outside your doors promoting an exclusive product offering or even offer a limited-time discount to encourage shoppers to pop in.
QR Codes can also help you zero-in on localized marketing tactics, too. By targeting advertisements to a specific city or even neighborhood, you can tap into people’s strong sense of local pride and deepen their engagement with your offerings. Do you sell locally-made jewelry or food items? Use QR Codes to share more about the creation process. Maybe you offer clothing or swag featuring hometown pride—promote these items with advertisements and use QR Codes to let shoppers browse before they buy.
Plus, with unique codes for every location, you’ll have access to data that shows which of your stores or advertisements are attracting eyeballs. Then, you can plan accordingly with partnerships or pop-ups in places where your brand is most popular.
Better customer experiences
For small businesses, the customer journey both in your store and online can make or break whether they purchase from you 100 times or never at all. QR Codes offer a wide range of ways to give shoppers a seamless and enjoyable experience, from easier checkouts to in-depth product details.
Customers notice the many small interactions that make up a shopping experience at small businesses, and adding a personal touch goes a long way toward building those connections. Small retailers should let QR Codes help them hone their strengths and build loyalty with customers wherever they are.
7 QR Code use cases for small retailers
Now that we’ve covered why QR Codes are a clear winner for small businesses, let’s dig into exactly how retailers can use them. This isn’t an exhaustive list by any means—in fact, hopefully, it will spark some creative ideas for how you can grow your business and connect with customers in new ways! Explore these seven QR Code use cases to see how a simple scan can supercharge your marketing efforts for your small business.
1. Encourage reviews
When it comes to shopping small, your potential customers love reading about past experiences from other shoppers before they stop by. Even slight increases in star ratings make a big difference when someone decides to visit a brick-and-mortar business. From Google Reviews to Yelp, you want your third-party presence online to be strong—and relationships with loyal customers are a great place to start building that presence through reviews.
Ask for their feedback when they’re in-store enjoying your selection or chatting with a friendly member of your staff. QR Codes offer a quick and easy avenue to convince customers to leave a review. Put QR Codes near the checkout counter, print them on receipts, or add them to a sign near the door and watch the rave reviews and kind words flow in.
2. Promote your rewards program
Rewards and loyalty programs are a perfect fit for small local businesses with a devoted customer base. They create a wonderful cycle—shoppers are incentivized through discounts or free items for their repeat patronage, and in return, retailers reap the benefits whether it’s a boost in sales or an increase in customer loyalty.
Your audience wants quick, easy, and frictionless ways to sign up for your special programs, check their status, or redeem rewards, and QR Codes make that transaction seamless. With just a quick scan, they can access everything they need for your loyalty program from their smartphones and get excited for their next visit.
3. Share your brand story
The story behind a small business and its products is especially important for building customer relationships. Shoppers care about the real people behind your business and the process behind designing and creating the unique products that fill your shelves.
QR Codes are a great tool for sharing these stories, whether you link them to a story about your brand on your website to a behind-the-scenes video showing how products are made. Place these QR Codes on shelves and in-store displays to encourage shoppers to learn more about their potential purchase on the spot. These transparent interactions foster deep trust with shoppers and keep them purchasing from stores that wear their hearts on their sleeves.
4. Turn window shoppers into customers
In an ideal world, you’d want most people who pass by your business to walk in, but this is far from a reality. Potential shoppers might be on their way somewhere or too busy to stop by—but you have the opportunity to intrigue them with what you have on display.
Give people the chance to browse display items digitally through a QR code on signage or a flier. Turn potential interest into plans to purchase, and move someone from casually browsing to becoming a customer for life.
5. Drive excitement for high-demand items
Do you have a popular or fan-favorite item that you can’t keep on shelves? Use QR Codes to promote them even when they’re out of stock.
Keep a sample product on display, notifying customers that the item isn’t available at the moment. Include a QR Code that customers can scan to purchase online, browse other options digitally, or sign up to be notified via email when the product is back on shelves.
Let them pre-order an upcoming product by joining a waitlist just like Rad Power Bikes. They use QR Codes on in-store displays to drum up excitement for their future offerings and drive sales.
6. Go contactless
In a world where everyone has felt the impacts of a global pandemic, contactless solutions have become the new norm. Touch-free transactions are safer and healthier during times of sickness, but shoppers are also now increasingly comfortable with contactless interactions. Small businesses should experiment with removing friction for customers thanks to contactless payment formats to meet these growing expectations.
Major retailers from Target to Amazon Go have been leading the charge on contactless payment for years, but you don’t have to be a corporation to offer seamless contactless checkout. Small businesses can use QR Codes to offer the easier, faster, and safer interactions that shoppers are looking for as well.
7. Let shoppers buy later
Shoppers might not be ready to buy right away for a number of reasons. They might want to mull over a purchase, check on a loved one’s color preferences before buying a gift, or confirm sizing for a new favorite clothing item.
Use QR Codes to link to an online experience where they can purchase at their leisure instead. You can take them to digital options for browsing your selection further or even prompt them to join your email list so they’ll remember to buy in the future.
When you connect their in-store experience to a digital one, you take up more space in their minds and hearts (and their phones), and in the process, you extend your marketing reach, too.
Small business, big impact
No matter how many customers you serve each day, every interaction matters. Each visit is a chance to deepen your relationship so that they stop by the next time they’re in town or seek you out when they need a gift for someone they love. Those relationships are your small business’s secret weapon.
Powerful marketing tools like QR Codes let you offer personalized shopping experiences and lead with your brand’s unique story. These strategies will set your small business apart and form customer connections that are built to last.
With the Bitly Connections Platform, customers can shorten and customize links, create QR Codes, curate their Bitly Link-in-bio, and track performance all from one place. Feeling inspired? Get started today.