You know the saying: “Put on your own oxygen mask before helping others.” This idea also applies to agencies that serve and support other businesses. A marketing agency, for instance, might deliver top-notch campaigns to their clients, while struggling to prioritize marketing for their own business.
Whatever services you offer to your clients, your marketing and client services are an essential part of building and growing your business. And while it’s tempting to spend all of your time on your clients (and keep putting off your own presence as a company), that approach isn’t sustainable long term—or even short term.
Luckily, marketing and client services don’t have to be a headache for agencies. Tools like QR Codes can make every outreach to your potential customers more convenient and connected, so your agency can keep expanding to new clients. Let’s explore why and how to use them for your business.
Why QR Codes work for agencies
At any given moment, your agency is competing with countless other organizations for your potential clients’ attention, time and money. You need to stand out—not just with the services you offer or the results you drive, but also through your marketing and how you convince them to take action.
QR Codes are the perfect way to connect with your audience and give them next steps to learn more or engage with your agency. With a quick scan from their smartphone, they can learn from your content, figure out if your services are right for them, or get in touch with you.
Here are a few reasons QR Codes are well-suited for agency marketing.
Versatility
As you’ve probably already noticed in your daily life, QR Codes can (and do) show up everywhere. That means the marketing and promotion possibilities for your agency are endless—you can build them into just about any marketing channel.
The flexibility of QR Codes as a tool lets you direct them to a wide range of destinations and customize URLs based on channel or call to action. No matter your marketing needs, QR Codes make every channel more interactive and better connect you to your audience.
Real-time analytics
Every agency knows that any campaign is only as good as its results—so why would marketing your business be any different? The most skilled marketers try new tactics, analyze the data, and adjust to improve their marketing based on audience interest and behaviors. And it’s the same with promoting your agency.
QR Codes offer real-time data and analytics from every scan, so you can see where people are scanning, which QR Codes are performing best, and even what device someone used. Review how they’re working for your business, then change calls to action, code placements, or even links with dynamic QR Codes. Remember: Data-driven campaigns are effective campaigns.
Cost-effectiveness
No budget for expensive marketing channels? No problem. QR Codes are an inexpensive addition to your marketing toolbelt and one that you can naturally fold into your existing tech stack.
Adding QR Codes to your physical and digital designs is simple and easy, so you don’t have to overhaul your budget or your processes to add them to your campaigns.
Quick convenience
QR Codes meet audiences’ real-time desires to consume content, connect with businesses on their own terms, and take action when they’re ready. Instead of asking someone to remember or type in a URL, a QR Code takes audiences from an in-person interaction or channel to the digital sphere in seconds—with just a scan.
6 QR Code marketing tactics for agencies
Whether you’re trying to connect with (and convert) potential customers or support your clients with an exceptional experience, QR Codes are an instant value-add to help your audience take action and your agency better promote itself. Try these six tactics to market and grow your business in new ways.
1. Make print collateral pop
In a world where most businesses rely primarily on digital means to promote themselves, creative and interactive print materials have an opportunity to stand out to prospects in memorable ways.
Business cards don’t have to be outdated, though a beautifully designed “traditional card” still has its place—create a functional, memorable giveaway like a keychain and include a QR Code with your team’s contact information or website. Send direct mail to an ideal client, or run a flyer or outdoor ad campaign featuring some of your best work for your clients, and equip all of those channels with a QR Code for people to scan and learn more about your agency.
2. Engage at in-person events
Relationships are everything for agencies, so naturally, in-person events are a great forum to meet ideal clients for the first time, talk to them face to face, and give them a sense of what it’s like to work with your team. While you’re there, make the most of your agency’s presence with QR Codes to let attendees learn more and take the next step with you.
Do you have a booth on the trade show floor? Share a QR Code on your backdrop or handout materials, so audiences can take your information with them on the go. Link a QR Code to a brief form for a chance to win a giveaway like a free lunch with your team or a complimentary consultation—you’ll capture new email subscribers in the process. Presenting during a session? A QR Code is the perfect way to share your slides and materials after your talk or invite audiences to get in touch with you.
You might even have some fun and dress your team in company swag, complete with a QR Code to your website or a video.
3. Connect people to your content marketing
Whether someone knows they’re interested in your agency and wants to review a case study or simply wants to read your educational blog post, share your content with a QR Code.
Complete a digital or physical ad with a QR Code that lets them read an article or watch a video from your agency on the go. Do you have a podcast episode or video about a topic that also appears on your blog? Provide a QR Code to signal that audiences can switch from their desktop to their mobile device and consume other content on the go.
Content is an essential way to build relationships and rapport with companies that could be your future clients, so get creative about driving traffic using QR Codes.
4. Offer a self-serve resource
Some prospects know they’re ready to connect with your team, but others might still be in the “just browsing” or research phase. Meet these potential clients where they are by creating a low-pressure lead generation quiz or form, then share a QR Code wherever people might find you, from your ads to networking events.
Build the quiz to show your agency’s personality and values, whether that’s funny and playful or educational and consultative. Guide prospects to understand if your agency is right for them (and if so, which services), including budgetary constraints, project goals, and preferred workflows. When they’ve finished the form, you should both gain a sense of whether you’re the right fit to work together and know the next steps if they want to move forward.
5. Punch up your pitch decks
When you’re presenting to potential clients, you don’t just want to wow them with your big ideas or promised results—you also need to show them what it’s like to work with your team and give them something to think about when they leave.
Wrap up (or start) your slide deck with a QR Code that lets your audience dig into details of your presentation on their mobile device during and after the pitch. Give them a more convenient experience on their terms, so they can see that your team is committed to meeting their marketing goals and customizing their client journey.
6. Keeping your clients happy
For service-based businesses and agencies, marketing and sales aren’t the only keys to growth—client satisfaction and retention are just as important. QR Codes are your right-hand tool to create more convenient interactions with your team throughout workflows.
For instance, share a QR Code to let your clients scan to view a project or progress report via their mobile device on the go. Do the same thing with links to video calls so they can join the conversation from their phone, whatever’s going on in their day. Make payments quick and convenient with a QR Code on invoices so clients can schedule or set up recurring payments from their devices.
The smoother your customer experience, the more likely your clients will be to recommend your agency to others for invaluable word-of-mouth marketing you can’t beat.
Best practices for using QR Codes
Before you add a QR Code to your next campaign or event collateral, keep these best practices in mind to make the most of every scan.
Bring your brand to life
Every time you use a QR Code to market your agency, it should feel like your brand and personality. Customize each code with your brand’s colors, logo, and style, so that prospective clients will recognize that code as uniquely yours. Include a fun, compelling call to action around the frame of the code, and watch the scans roll in.
Perfect your placement
Don’t miss out on a QR Code scan because your code wasn’t the right size or placement. For outdoor ads, presentations, and other locations where scanners might be farther away, make sure your codes are big enough to scan. The minimum scan-to-distance ratio for QR Codes is 10:1, and this ratio gets larger as someone gets farther away from the code. For codes that will likely be scanned up close (like on merch or printed materials), aim for a minimum of 2 cm by 2 cm.
Test, measure, adjust
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Data-driven marketing is good marketing. So use the analytics you gain from every QR Code to review performance and make improvements. Change calls to action and destinations as needed if something isn’t performing well, and consider spending more of your budget on channels that you see performing best. You can even use QR Codes for limited-time offers and seasonal content and change the link without reprinting the code itself—that’s how you make the most of the flexibility of QR Codes.
Better marketing with every scan
You don’t have to put marketing for your agency on the back burner. You can harness the power of QR Codes to enhance your marketing efforts and drive more traffic and engagement from your current and future customers.
With QR Codes in your marketing stack, you gain a wealth of data and analytics, connect with your audience in new ways, and bring your agency to life. That way, your business can keep growing while you help your clients do the same.