QR Cautions

I am assuming you are aware of Quick Response codes. They are those pixelated squares you see in a lot of places these days. Sometimes they are on products. Sometimes on store windows. Sometimes on business cards, vehicle wraps -- in short, almost anywhere you can post a graphic, you may find a QR code. For those of you who are not as familiar with them I will first explain what they are.

These squares of code are meant to be read by the scanning app or function on Smart Phones and iPhones. The scanner reads these in the same way they read bar codes. The main difference is that when a bar code is scanned, you are taken to product information. If I scan a bottle of ketchup, I will see information about the brand of ketchup I have scanned, including the number of ounces in the bottle, where I can purchase it and what I may expect to pay for it.

If I scan a QR code, my scan will take me to a specific web property of some sort, such as a company's website. I attended a festival last summer at which I saw a QR code on the temporary cardboard waste containers set up throughout the festival location. The QR code would take me to the site for the waste disposal company that had placed the containers. An auto dealer had an exhibit booth set up at the festival and near that booth there was a new car covered by a wrap advertising the dealer. Here and there on the wrap was a QR code leading to the dealer's website. At an arts festival, signs were set up beside each artist's booth and on that sign, along with the artist's name and medium was a QR code. If you scanned the code, you were taken to the arts festival's website and to more information about the particular artist you were viewing.

These are some of the many imaginative uses for QR codes. BUT - I am writing this blog entry to warn against using QR's on billboards. My first warning light came on when I was driving in a city and saw a billboard beside the road. The billboard had a large QR code on it with the invitation written beside it to "Scan This Code with Your Smart Phone". The problem was not that a smart phone can't scan and read the code from that distance. It wasn't far. The problem was that the billboard was about a hundred and fifty feet frrom an intersection with a traffic light.

Do you see any problem yet? Being the curious creatures that we are, and especially equipped with cool new technology like a multi-function smart phone, we are prone to want to use that  technology (think "texting while driving") to attempt to scan the offer on the billboard 1.) while driving, 2.) near an intersection controlled by a traffic light. I would have to take my eyes off the road long enough to get my phone focused on the QR code and for it to scan the code, and then read the results. All happening while the traffic light is changing to red. The kicker is that the QR code took you to the site of an auto collision company! Talk about generating business!

I have seen another billboard QR code placed on a two lane state route, on a curve at the outskirts of a city. This code led to a military recruitment site. If you survived long enough to enlist, maybe that was a sign of the courage the recruitment staff was looking for. Or eye-hand coordination. Or quick reflexes. Or collision avoidance skills.

There are also limits to the scanner's sensitivity, so placing one on a billboard that sits a quarter mile away from the road across a cow pasture might not even work.

Bottom line advice:  Don't use QR codes on billboards in most circumstances. At least not along roads. Keep your billboard message to the basics:  Attention, Interest and Branding. And do it safely. The goal is to gain customers, not to endanger people.

Business Ethics: Do Unto Others...

Let's talk about business ethics for a moment. One of the most frustrating things I have to deal with is lack of communication from business owners. It is my job to contact businesses, set appointments to evaluate their needs and discuss the best way to help them meet their lead generation goals for the near future. If only life were that simple.

For whatever reason, most of my time is spent on the very first step in that process: making contact. What should be the shortest, easiest part of my job is the longest, most drawn-out portion of my efforts. I call my client. Often, that means leaving a message. Then I wait for a return call. And I wait. And wait. Then I call again. And wait. And wait. And wait. I call yet again. Same routine. So I try going by the place of business. He or she isn't there. I have even had this happen:  I get there, the contact person is there, but they tell me that they prefer I call and schedule a time to meet with them. They don't want to set up the appointment while I am standing right there in front of them! For whatever reason I am supposed to follow a form of etiquette requiring a call to their office. This comes after the multiple attempts I made earlier, trying to do that very thing. So I call. Again. And again.

Eventually, we get to meet. We discuss plans. I try to formulate the best program based on the criteria available. But before we can implement the program, I have to wait. They want to think about it a while. Or they want to run it by some heretofore unmentioned "other" person (spouse, business partner, accountant, uncle's nephew's neighbor's kid who just started business school). OK, fine. I don't like to "high-pressure" someone, so I am willing to give things time. But we don't want to drag things out any more than necessary, so let's schedule our follow up call or meeting. OK. That's done.

I call for the follow up. I get voice mail. Leave a message. Again. And again. And again. Or I get to the meeting and find that they forgot about it. Or something came up and they couldn't be there. What? Did their cell phone go dead? They couldn't have called prior to the meeting to tell me? Oh, that's OK. I had to be out working today anyway. And what's a few gallons of gas wasted running around for no good reason? It isn't like it actually cost me anything, right?

I know some of my associates who shave their heads, and I suspect it is to prevent them from pulling their hair out from having to deal with this sort of thing. Remember the Golden Rule? "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"? It applies to your business dealings as well. Answer your phone messages. Answer them in a timely fashion. Set yourself some sort of guideline such as answering all calls by the third ring. Return calls within the hour, or at least within the day. Then hold to it. If you set an appointment, keep it. If you can't keep it, notify the person you were supposed to meet.

I have had people tell me horror stories of contractors who were supposed to show up on a job site but who never showed, and when questioned about it later, are surprised to find that the customer was not OK with their no-show, no-call. Since when is this OK?

Common courtesy should dictate that you realize that the other person's time is just as valuable as yours. I find it ironic that the business person who seems the least tolerant of someone else being late or not showing up for a meeting is often the person who is worst at doing the same. Don't let this be you.

Why am I bringing this up? Because, for whatever reason, this tendency seems to be reaching epidemic proportions. It is becoming the norm rather than the exception. Want to stand out? Be conscientious about these matters and you will. Sad to say, it is just that simple.

Now if you will excuse me, I have to make a phone call. And wait. And wait....