Bridging the Offline World with Online Content
The main value of QR Codes is that they quickly and easily link the offline world with online content. Until recently, offline and online content have been like the Earth and the Moon: two separate worlds. Offline, a business owner may have a sign outside her business with details on hours and specials. Online, she may have a website with the very same information.
However, a QR Code on a sign outside the store can bridge the two worlds (see Figure 1-4).
Figure 1-4: QR Codes can make ordinary store signs more engaging to patrons by linking them to interesting and relevant online content.
Duplicating information is one option, although I show you in Chapter 5 that’s not the best use of QR Codes. Scanning a QR Code is at least as easy as, and more effective than, taking a picture for shoppers who want to “know and go.”
A better way to use QR Codes is to have them to do something the medium they’re on, in this case a sign, can’t do. For example, if the sign features daily specials, a QR Code can open a page of pictures of menu items to whet the customer’s appetite. Or it could link to the restaurant’s full menu or to the latest customer reviews.
The offline and online worlds are no longer separate. QR Codes are the bridge between the two. ...
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