Tips and Strategies for Maximizing QR Code Conversion Rates

More conversions = more revenue.

That’s where conversion rate optimization (CRO) comes into play. CRO gives your marketing strategy a boost that can make a real difference in your customer acquisition. What’s the secret ingredient to maximizing your CRO? 

QR Codes

QR Codes are easy-to-generate, scannable barcodes that can link to any webpage. They are user-friendly, invite engagement, and offer measurable, real-time results. Let’s take a deeper look at how you can improve your CRO with QR Codes, no matter what industry you’re in.

What is conversion rate optimization?

Conversion rate optimization focuses on improving conversion rates, often with regard to direct purchases or broader CTAs, such as registering for a webinar, requesting a quote, following a social media account, downloading an ebook, or subscribing to an email newsletter. Ultimately, CRO encourages particular actions on your website.

QR Codes are a fast and effective way to improve CRO because they’re eye-catching, making them the perfect marketing tool for promotional materials. 

Any QR Code marketing campaign should utilize links that are designed for mobile devices—a stunning web page and a smooth user experience at this stage of the buyer’s journey could mean the difference between winning business and losing a potential customer. 

As you iterate, you’ll consider the placement of the QR Code, campaign design, and user incentive to increase effectiveness and improve your conversion rate. 

What are the benefits of CRO marketing?

When you consistently increase conversions, you maximize potential growth. Conversions and click-through rates are simple metrics for success that contribute to your larger marketing initiatives. The benefits of CRO marketing include: 

  • Increasing your ROI: Turn the traffic you already have into sales and revenue and convert customer engagement into new acquisitions

  • Receiving better customer insights: Studying the results of campaigns and tests leads to a more comprehensive understanding of your target audience.

  • Improving the customer experience: The more you optimize, the more your site and social media will become intuitive and user-friendly, supporting brand trust and long-term advocacy.

  • Becoming more competitive in the marketplace: Dominate market share and get an advantage over your competitors by using CRO insights to improve future marketing efforts and product development. 

As a result, CRO marketing enables companies to scale their marketing and sales processes, meaning sustainable business growth. So, if your goal is to grow your business over the long run, use CRO to inform your processes, top to bottom.

How is the conversion rate calculated?

Calculating a conversion rate is as simple as dividing the number of times a user completes a particular goal by the total amount of traffic. For example, if you were calculating the conversion rate for a website, you’d likely use the following formula:

A depiction of how to calculate conversion rate

Let’s say your goal is to calculate the conversion rate for direct purchases from total sessions. In this case, your conversion rate formula might look like:

A depiction of the calculation necessary to understand conversion rate for direct purchase from total sessions

A conversion rate is only as meaningful as the goals you’ve set for it. If 1,000 purchases over 10,000 sessions was your aim, then congratulations! But if your goal was a 20% conversion rate, you’ll want to start optimizing your strategy. 

CRO is a constantly revolving door. Customer needs and market demands change, and the campaigns you’re running will eventually feel dated. There are always new ways to enhance the user experience and improve your campaign performance and use of QR Codes. 

Most important strategies to improve your QR Code conversion rates

You can use different types of QR Codes across platforms to improve your overarching CRO. By aligning individual QR Code campaigns with your overall marketing efforts and customer needs, you’ll create a harmonious strategy that delivers results. Here’s how. 

Campaign tracking

Campaign tracking is at the heart of any marketing strategy, whether used in print, digital, or both. 

Tracking empowers you to determine what works and what doesn’t. By comparing campaign results across different time periods with different styles in marketing channels and varied locations, you’ll better understand your end users and ultimately be able to cater to them more effectively. 

It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in or what you’re trying to sell—campaign tracking is a necessary strategy for improving conversion rates. If you’re trying to scale, consider using QR Codes to streamline the process. 

A screenshot showcasing the different information available through QR Code campaign tracking with QR Code Generator PRO

An example of QR Code campaign tracking with QR Code Generator PRO

Dynamic QR Codes offer robust campaign tracking metrics, meaning you can view data for all QR Code scans by location (city and country), time, operating device used, and unique vs. total scans. 

Whenever you enable a Dynamic QR Code, you can automatically view its scan data in your QR Code Generator PRO account. You also have the option to add specific campaign details if you’d like to use the same QR Code for different marketing campaigns.

A screenshot with QR Code campaign data collected from QR Code Generator PRO

Options to add QR Code campaign data in QR Code Generator PRO

A/B testing

A/B testing is a powerful campaign tracking tool. By comparing two similar campaigns, you can measure them against each other and find out which one has a higher conversion rate. 

You might compare different marketing channels, graphic designs, marketing copy, locations, colors, or even something as minor as font type. More often than not, small changes can lead to huge improvements. 

A QR Code being used in a A/B test comparing two different CTAs in an advertisement

A QR Code campaign A/B test that compares two different calls to action on a magazine ad

When you use QR Code Generator PRO to design your QR Codes, you’ve got endless customization options. You can style QR Codes with brand colors, custom frames with an editable CTA, different edges, and your logo in the middle. 

A/B testing with QR Codes means you can alter each of these elements to discover which ones consistently work best. If you’re wondering where to begin, many A/B tests focus on CTA variations.

An example of A/B testing an app store landing page

You can also use A/B tests when optimizing QR Code landing page conversion rates.

Whether you’re a SaaS company or an e-commerce business, A/B tests are vital for optimizing your digital marketing strategies.

Multi-channel marketing

Your company’s marketing strategy should include multiple ways to communicate with potential customers. You might use a mixture of print and digital mediums, create campaign variations for different social media platforms, or produce podcasts or video materials. 

How you truly learn to find your target audience is by testing where and how to engage them. Then, you can nurture them through consistent omnichannel marketing for a seamless experience.

The same QR Code being used on different marketing mediums for multi-channel marketing

An example of the same QR Code used on different marketing mediums

Make the most of multi-channel marketing with proper QR Code usage. Above,  a business consultant uses QR Codes to promote appointment scheduling on a variety of print media—brochures, billboards, and posters. This multi-channel marketing approach means the QR Code’s business page has a broader reach. 

Measuring success across different mediums allows you to optimize conversions by narrowing your focus on the most effective marketing collateral. Consider the number of conversions in different locations, time periods, or channels to find the most effective use of your marketing budget. 

A screenshot depicting the option to add detailed campaign info through QR Code Generator PRO

The option to add detailed campaign info per marketing medium in QR Code Generator PRO

QR Codes work both for print advertising and digital marketing. In print, users scan a QR Code image on their smartphone cameras. For digital, QR Codes use a short URL. When you use both, users have the choice to use the medium that works for them—whether that’s mobile, desktop, or tablet.

If you want to use the same QR Code in different marketing channels, you can segment campaign information for different mediums, print runs, and durations in your QR Code Generator PRO account. 

Sales funnels optimization

Nowhere is CRO more impactful for your revenue than with sales funnel optimization. A sales funnel begins with lead generation, where customers first come into contact with your business and continue down the funnel until they convert into customers. 

A QR Code on a real estate sign that leads to the option of joining an open house viewing event

A QR Code on a real estate poster and an email for retargeting 

For instance, if a real estate agency wants to sell a large building, it needs to generate leads in demographics that have the financial capacity for large purchases. To find these leads, they used an event QR Code on a poster to sign up for a tour and opted into email marketing updates. 

Building your email subscriber list through QR Code marketing is a functional way to grow your sales funnel.

User feedback

Any industry can benefit from increased user feedback. Direct feedback from users is an important factor for any QR Code campaign that shouldn’t be overlooked. Qualitative metrics can be just as—if not more—insightful than quantitative data.  

Incorporating QR Codes into your campaigns is a straightforward way to guide users to feedback surveys, making it easier than ever to collect data on overall experience. This contactless experience provides anonymity to users, and you can use it in print or digital media. Plus, you’ll likely find more participants because Feedback QR Codes are so easy to use. 

Design and placement optimization

A QR Code is only as good as its placement. They should be clearly visible to your audience and adjusted based on the medium. This is particularly crucial for print campaigns because if a QR Code is inaccessible to viewers—like too high or too low on a billboard or too close to the fold of a brochure—it won’t convert. 

When doing QR Code CRO, consider the clarity of the campaign from a visual perspective as well as a user experience point of view. Since your primary mission is to convert viewers into happy customers, make sure the CTA is direct, the QR Code is easy to view, and expectations are clear so that there are no surprises once the user reaches the scanned display page.  

Tips for creating QR Codes with higher conversion rates

To create a high-performing QR Code, consider the following: 

  1. Size: Be mindful of the context in which your QR Code will exist—you shouldn’t use the same size on a billboard that you’d use on direct mail. Aim for at least 2 x 2 cm or a 10:1 scan distance.

  2. Branding: Always ensure you communicate your business’s brand voice and identity in the QR Code campaign by using consistent messaging and colors.

  3. Visual appeal: Avoid cluttered designs that lack cohesion to create high-impact campaigns that draw viewers toward your CTA for higher conversions.

  4. Clear CTA: For users to convert, there needs to be an obvious call to action. Try different variations to find which words hook users best and result in the QR Code being scanned.

  5. Mobile optimization: All QR Codes should lead to responsive pages that are mobile-friendly.

Experience better conversion rates with QR Code Generator PRO

QR Codes are marketing powerhouses. When used effectively, they can improve conversion rates and take your marketing campaigns to new levels. 

By scanning a QR Code, customers can quickly access product details, promotional offers, or discounts—which may be exactly what they need to nudge them to purchase if they’re on the fence.

But they don’t just enhance the customer experience. They provide a wealth of information for marketers, too! With QR Code Generator PRO, you can gain valuable insights into how your campaigns are performing via analytics, helping focus future marketing activities on the most effective strategies.

Use the tips we shared to make the most of your QR Code campaigns and create branded QR Codes with QR Code Generator PROsign up today!

Author
Armanii Glaspie

Armanii is a Product Marketing Manager at Bitly. He received his MBA from the Cox School of Business at SMU, where he concentrated on marketing and strategy. With over four years of marketing experience spanning the SaaS and CPG space, he is passionate about helping companies connect with their customers on a deeper level through the use of tools like Bitly and QR Code Generator. You can find out more about him on his LinkedIn profile.

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