You’ve likely seen those black-and-white, pixelated squares on everything from restaurant menus and store windows to billboards and product packaging. QR Codes are everywhere—and for good reason. They give small businesses endless opportunities to enhance marketing, improve customer experiences, and streamline daily operations.
At their core, QR Codes are simple 2D barcodes that smartphones can scan to access information instantly. But their potential stretches far beyond convenience. Quick Response Codes are becoming indispensable marketing tools for modern businesses, and if you’re a small business owner, now is the perfect time to embrace their possibilities.
In this article, we’ll show you just how easy it is to use these codes to elevate your marketing and grow your business.
The marketing benefits of using QR Codes for small businesses
QR Codes have become an indispensable tool for small businesses to engage their audiences and grow their customer bases. Here are some ways small business owners can use these codes to their advantage.
One platform to track marketing performance
Many tools help you measure the success of your marketing efforts, but the Bitly Connections Platform stands out by providing detailed analytics through QR Codes and custom, branded short links. Once your campaigns are live, you can sit back (grab some popcorn) and watch your marketing performance unfold.
With Bitly, you can select a specific timeframe for your scan metrics, gather insights on the locations drawn to your campaign, and examine the nitty-gritty details of the browsers and operating systems used to scan your QR Code.
By closely monitoring these metrics, you’ll gain a clear understanding of how your target audience is responding to your campaign. And the best part? All these valuable insights are available through a single user-friendly dashboard. Armed with this data, you can refine and optimize your marketing strategies for even greater success.
Speedy, cost-effective marketing
Traditional marketing can be expensive and time-consuming, but QR Codes offer a faster, budget-friendly alternative to help you realize the benefits of digital marketing for small businesses.
With Bitly, you can create two QR Codes for free each month, making it easy to test the waters without any upfront costs. For businesses that need more codes or want advanced features like customization and tracking, affordable paid plans are available to scale your efforts seamlessly.
QR Codes are also a powerful tool for customer experience optimization. They quickly connect your audience to the content they need—whether it’s a landing page, a video, or a survey—while also helping you create measurable and efficient campaigns.
Forget complex or costly strategies—QR Codes deliver a cost-effective and memorable way to engage your audience and drive results. To learn more about Bitly’s free and paid options, you can browse the available pricing and plans and decide what works best for your business needs.
Drive brand awareness with customizable QR Codes
Adding your brand colors and logo to your QR Code isn’t just about making it look nice—it’s about building recognition and trust. These marketing tools can significantly enhance brand recall, helping businesses establish a strong, consistent identity.
Small retailers can become more competitive by using QR Codes across their marketing materials, such as posters, business cards, and product packaging, to create a cohesive, memorable brand experience.
When paired with broader digital marketing strategies, QR Codes can improve online visibility, drive customer engagement, and help businesses thrive in a crowded marketplace.
10 Ways to use QR Codes for small businesses
The beauty of QR Codes lies in their flexibility and versatility. With a little creativity, you can convert offline traffic into online engagement and gather valuable insights about your audience. Here are ten ways you can leverage QR Codes to grow your small business.
1. Share more with a business card
Business cards serve as an extension of your brand, leaving a lasting impression on potential customers and partners. But there’s only so much you can fit on a business card—unless you add a QR Code to it.
These functional squares provide a quick and efficient way to share additional information about your business, such as links to your website, social media profiles, or contact details. Including a QR Code on your business card adds a modern touch and shows that you’re tech-savvy.
When your business card has a QR Code, people can instantly connect with your brand via a quick scan. Plus, you can easily update the information your QR Code links to without having to reprint a whole batch of cards. A Dynamic URL QR Code allows you to change the linked content at any time, ensuring that it always leads to the most up-to-date information.
Make your business card virtual with a QR Code.
2. Drive online traffic
If you’re a small business owner in a competitive market, you must have a strong online presence—it’s non-negotiable. However, businesses with physical stores or market stands often face challenges in driving offline traffic to their online platforms.
But fret not—there’s a solution: mobile marketing and QR Codes. Small businesses can strategically place these eye-catching pixelated squares where customers can easily spot them, encouraging them to scan them with their smartphones. You can link the QR Code to almost anything—from websites and landing pages to social media profiles and feedback forms.
For ecommerce brands, QR Codes provide a seamless way for customers to access product information, make purchases, leave reviews, and more with just a quick scan. Add a Social Media QR Code to your product packaging to invite more followers, or entice previous customers to buy again with a Coupon QR Code on a mailer.
3. Amplify engagement on print materials
Are you printing hundreds or even thousands of marketing materials but seeing little engagement? Don’t let your message fall through the cracks. Instead, turn static prints into interactive digital portals with QR Codes.
QR Codes add a sleek, modern touch to your printed materials while enabling you to track scans and better understand how your print campaigns are sparking action.
Whether it’s posters, flyers, or brochures, adding QR Codes allows you to link directly to key information on your website or social media platforms. Encourage customers to scan the code for special offers, contests, or details about your products or services.
4. Grow your social media community
Do you have a loyal customer base but only a small social media following to show for it? What if you could easily direct customers to your social channels? By adding a QR Code to your product packaging, signage, or other promotional materials, you can connect your customers to any account with a single scan.
Small business hashtags play a big role in driving user-generated content and creating a community around your brand. Adding a QR Code that links to a social media page with the relevant hashtags encourages customers to share their experiences and spread the word about your business.
A clear call-to-action (CTA) alongside your code makes it crystal clear what action you want your prospects to take, minimizing any confusion or missed opportunities.
5. Broaden brand awareness
Building brand awareness doesn’t happen overnight, but playing the long game is worth the wait. Successful businesses understand the importance of cultivating a strong brand identity that people instantly recognize.
Your business needs a unified presence across diverse platforms and channels to establish a recognizable brand. From your website and social media pages to business cards, packaging, and team uniforms, consistency across all touchpoints is key.
Here’s the exciting part: You can use branded QR Codes to take your brand awareness to the next level. These customizable codes, complete with your logo and brand colors, make your materials not only functional but visually striking. By integrating branded QR Codes, you can enhance your brand presence and attract more customers.
Make branding a priority with a custom QR Code.
6. Personalize your offerings
Adding a personal touch to your product or service can turn a one-time customer into a loyal one. It’s about showing your customers that you care and value their support.
Handwritten thank you notes and free sample products based on their previous purchases are great places to start. These small but meaningful gestures demonstrate that you’re paying attention and genuinely appreciate your customers. But you can take these strategies to the next level with QR Codes.
Add a QR Code to the thank you note that takes customers straight to a page of similar or complementary products that they might enjoy. When you throw in a freebie sample, add a QR Code to the product packaging so they can buy a full-sized version instantly. These strategies make your customers feel seen, appreciated, and understood.
7. Promote discounts like a pro
Picture this: A customer has been eyeing one of your products, but it’s slightly out of their price range. Eagerly, they wait for your next sale, hoping for a price drop that fits their budget—but they forget and miss the opportunity to buy.
Now imagine if you could remind them of that special discount with a simple scan. One study revealed that 71% of Gen Z consumers wait until items go on sale before making a purchase, and 51% of overall consumers actively search for promo codes before checking out.
With QR Codes, you can easily link to a discount code or promotion on your website or online store. Customers simply scan and save the discount for later use, ensuring they never miss a deal. Place these QR Codes on your website banner, social media posts, or even physical products to give your customers a gentle nudge toward your offers.
Give customers quick and easy access to discount codes with a QR Code.
8. Boost customer engagement with a contest
Nothing grabs consumer attention quite like hosting a giveaway. It’s a go-to strategy you can always keep in your back pocket. Just look at social media content creators, influencers, and businesses—everyone seems to be running a contest or giveaway, and for good reason.
Contests are an effective way to engage with your audience while simultaneously attracting new potential customers. Instead of relying on traditional methods like paper raffle tickets, try using QR Codes.
Create a QR Code that links to a contest entry form or landing page and add it to your marketing materials. This makes it easy for people to enter without having to type a URL or fill out a paper form. Include a call-to-action like “Scan to Win” to encourage more participation.
Additionally, you can use QR Codes to vote in contests or even as part of the contest itself. Create a scavenger hunt where participants scan different codes around your store or website to collect points and win prizes. This not only increases engagement but also drives traffic to your platforms.
9. Showcase your catalog
It’s not always easy to get potential clients or customers to see the true value of your products or services. Whether you’re a small business owner running a photography company and want to showcase your award-winning portfolio, or you own a small stationery company and want to share your unique product catalog, a QR Code can help.
These tiny but powerful squares can be printed on virtually anything—business cards, flyers, brochures, billboards, you name it. When scanned, they take people directly to your online catalog or portfolio, where they can view all your offerings in one place. No more waiting or searching—it’s all right at their fingertips!
Digitize your catalog and make it more accessible with a QR Code.
10. Take advantage of invoices and receipts
Every interaction with a customer is an opportunity to strengthen the relationship. A great way to make the most of these interactions is to incorporate QR Codes on your digital invoices and receipts. Link it to your website, social media pages, or a customer feedback form to keep customers engaged.
For example, if you own a restaurant, you can include a QR Code on the bill with an invitation to leave a review or feedback on their dining experience. Offer 15% off their next bill in exchange, and you can gain valuable insights and repeat business—all with a simple QR Code.
Best practices for creating and implementing QR Codes for small businesses
Creating and using QR Codes may seem daunting at first, but following a few best practices can help you make the most of this powerful tool for small businesses.
Focus your efforts on Dynamic QR Codes
Promotions change, websites get updated, and marketing campaigns shift focus—all of which can lead to the need for a new URL. Instead of printing new QR Codes every time something changes, opt for Dynamic QR Codes. Unlike Static QR Codes, these can be edited to redirect to new URLs whenever needed.
Bitly’s Dynamic QR Codes are customizable, trackable, and easy to manage. For small businesses, they’re a budget-friendly option that eliminates the need for constant reprints. With Bitly, you get unlimited QR Code scans, so you can scale your marketing efforts with ease.
Add a call-to-action
A QR Code without a call-to-action will likely blend into the background—and that’s a missed opportunity! Your target audience won’t know what to do with the code unless you tell them.
Adding a concise and engaging call-to-action like “Scan for a Discount” or “Discover More” gives your QR Code purpose. It encourages interaction and creates a sense of urgency, making it more likely that your audience will take the intended action.
Customize your QR Code
When designing a QR Code, you want it to be a genuine reflection of your brand. The colors, logo, pattern, and frame all play a role in making it unique and memorable. And, as mentioned earlier, a customized code builds brand recognition and trust with your audience.
However, ensure there’s enough contrast in the design to keep it easily scannable across various sizes and formats. If you use colors that are too similar or don’t leave enough white space, it can cause scanning issues.
Test it for scannability
Before sharing your QR Code with the world, it’s important to test it thoroughly. Make sure it works smoothly on different tablets and mobile devices to avoid any hiccups.
If you’re incorporating the code into printed marketing materials, be sure to test the final version as well to ensure the sizing is correct and there’s no interference from the surrounding text or graphics. If you run into issues, tweak the design until your code works as intended.
How to create a QR Code for your small business with Bitly’s QR Code generator
Creating a QR Code with Bitly is quick and straightforward. Whether you’re linking to a website, social media page, or promotional content, follow these simple steps to generate your code and start connecting with your audience.
- Sign up for a Bitly account for free, or log in to your existing one.
- Select the Create new button, then choose QR Codes, or use the letter Q on your keyboard as a shortcut.
- Paste the link to the destination URL, add a title, and customize the back half of the link.
- If your plan allows it, customize your QR Code by adding your brand colors, pattern style, frame, company logo, and inner and outer corners. When you’re finished, select the Create QR Code button.
- Your QR Code is now ready to use on your marketing materials. Test it to ensure it works as expected, then download it in whatever format you need!
Need more detailed information on creating your QR Codes? Learn how to make a QR Code with Bitly.
Harness the power of QR Codes for your small business
Small businesses have limitless opportunities to reach their target audiences and foster lasting customer relationships. QR Codes offer a simple yet powerful way to leverage this potential and bridge the gap between offline and online experiences through business cards, product packaging, print ads, and more.
With Bitly’s Connections Platform, small businesses gain access to customizable designs, advanced tracking, and an easy-to-use platform. Whether you’re driving customer engagement, boosting brand visibility, or measuring campaign success, Bitly equips you with the tools to make data-driven decisions that elevate your marketing efforts.
Start creating impactful QR Codes today and watch your small business grow!
