How Law Firms can use QR (quick response) Codes Effectively
Donna Erickson has a great article on how QR codes are another way to use technology to reach clients and potential clients. This is a great topic I blogged about a month ago.
Quick Response Codes, also known as QR codes, are starting to appear on the Web sites of law firms, as well as business cards of lawyers. QR codes are two dimensional bar codes that can be read by cameras on a smartphone. The codes contain information in electronic format that the firm wants to convey to a target audience. The effectiveness of the QR codes can also be tracked at any level of a marketing campaign.<
"We expect to see the number of law firms using QR codes expand dramatically during 2011 as the technology continues to evolve and savvy law firms recognize the benefits," she says.
QR codes are read by a Smartphone equipped with a compatible code reader. A few examples of how law firms may want to use QR codes today include:
- Open a URL to:
- Web site
- Video
- Article
- Alert or newsletter
- Promote an event
- New service area (e.g. practice areas or class action law suit) for target markets
- Open a Vcard or otherwise provide contact information (saving the user time and eliminating possible errors in rekeying)
- A message
- Dial a number
Law firms may want to print QR codes on:
- Business cards to electronically transfer the attorney's contact information and the firm's Web site URL
- Event invitations / materials / lanyards to direct the user to an electronic version of the material, or additional information
- Web sites, micro sites, blogs to open a browser directly to that page
- Printed materials, opening a browser to an online version of <
- Attorney profile
- Practice area description
- Directories
- Articles, alerts, newsletters
- Advertisements opening a browser to additional related information
For the rest of her post, please see here.
Thanks Larry. I had been meaning to research QR codes and find a reader for my Blackberry. Hadn't even thought about a QR code generator yet. And then BAM!, there it all was in one good blog article.
Thanks for pointing us to Donna Erickson's article.
For a while, I was thinking of using QR codes in connection with my practice, but then I realized that QR codes are a fad that's unlikely to ever reach the mainstream populace, and that using QR codes is an inconvenient experience for the consumer.
In the time that it takes to get out my smartphone, open the QR app, focus on the square, and take the image, I could just as easily have typed in a bit.ly or goo.gl address. If someone is going to go through the trouble of scanning your QR code, they're expecting something worthwhile -- a game, a prize, a discount, etc. When they find out that all it does is go to your website, or imports your contact info, they're going to be sorely disappointed.
I understand the appeal for marketers, since a QR code is an immediate call to action, rather than allowing the consumer to wait until they get home, but the reality is that they're not often used.
Anecdotal case in point: I was in Austin for the first weekend of SXSW (a big indie tech/film/movie festival). All six of us had smart phones and were attending events that awarded you with free drinks and swag for Foursquare and Loopt check-ins (which we did), but even though QR codes were plastered everywhere, not a single one of us ever bothered to scan a singe QR code the whole time.
Not only will law firms be able to use QR codes in marketing to engage their more tech savvy clients and prospects, but they could also benefit by incorporating QR codes in the recruiting process. Once again, law firms can take the lead from the accounting profession.
In January, ABC News highlighted Ernst & Young's new recruiting program launched in February, 2011 for select campus recruiting. Posters and other displays attract students with the heading, "Want a chance to win an IPad?" Students are able to scan the QR code on the poster which takes them to a special area on the Ernst & Young Web site where they can take a brief quiz to test their knowledge of the firm, sign up for text alerts and get the latest on hiring.
Other professions and industries are embracing QR code technology. Law firms will as well, just little later than others.
Not only will law firms be able to use QR codes in marketing to engage their more tech savvy clients and prospects, but they could also benefit by incorporating QR codes in the recruiting process. Once again, law firms can take the lead from the accounting profession.
In January, ABC News highlighted Ernst & Young's new recruiting program launched in February, 2011 for select campus recruiting. Posters and other displays attract students with the heading, "Want a chance to win an IPad?" Students are able to scan the QR code on the poster which takes them to a special area on the Ernst & Young Web site where they can take a brief quiz to test their knowledge of the firm, sign up for text alerts and get the latest on hiring.
Other professions and industries are embracing QR code technology. Law firms will as well, just little later than others.
Its good to see ideas for using comparatively recent technology in the legal sector. I've produced a free, short video that offers the step-by-step process for creating your own QR codes using two free services.
Here is a link to a recent post that includes 15 ways to use QR codes to interact with clients and a link to the video. http://leighbeckett.com/fifteen-ways-to-use-qr-codes-to-improve-customer-interaction/