If you’ve been awake and working in the real estate industry for the past year or so, you’ve probably heard of QR codes by now. If not, you should probably go apply for a job at Old Navy, because they’re all the rage right now in real estate (and a few other industries, too), thanks partially to a massive campaign by those selling QR codes and related QR code management software, and partially to the nature of the Internet, which spreads every “latest” thing like wildfire, even if that latest thing is, well, kinda lame and pointless. If you have heard about them, you know they’re either the latest and greatest thing in the world and you must use them, they’re just so-so and you probably don’t need them or they’re rehashed, old technology that is merely making its last public dying breath before becoming obsolete for all of eternity. But which scenario is true?
Will QR codes replace Facebook? No, that's ridiculous.
First, we’ll start by saying that our official opinion is that QR codes are potentially useful for agents, and potentially a giant time (and possibly money) sinkhole for brokerages. The reason why QR codes, if implemented poorly, can spell a management disaster for a brokerage is because each and every QR code is unique and can only be pointed at one website at a time, obviously. This means using a different QR code for every active listing in your brokerage would be like having a single unique yard sign for each and every active listing that can’t be easily reassigned (without paying for QR code management software) to other listings in the future – not exactly cost effective.
However, if you do your research, QR codes can have a beneficial impact on your real estate business.
Let’s start with the “what” since you really need to know what it is we’re talking about here before you’ll get any value from the rest of this blog (the WHO should be obvious…it’s you).
WHAT: A QR code is a “quick response” code that is basically a two-dimensional barcode for any item in the world. When these codes are scanned by a QR code scanner, it will direct the user’s phone to a URL that the user’s phone will (hopefully) load and display something valuable for the consumer. But for this to all work properly, a few things have to happen. The user must have a smartphone (not just a feature phone), that user must download one of hundreds of QR code scanner applications (apps), the user must get out their phone, launch the app, hold their phone in front of the QR code, wait for it to scan and then wait for the page/video/website to load with their phone’s browser. This lengthy and possibly clunky process may seem like a major inhibiting factor to using QR codes, and it can be if things don’t play out just right.
Currently, there are hundreds of websites that create free QR codes, but no one is dominating the market just yet, and smartphones aren’t coming shipped with QR code scanners pre-installed on them, which is a major dilemma for those pushing QR codes. This means every consumer you meet could have a different branded scanner on their phone, each with operating in its own way with different levels of success in scanning barcodes – just yesterday we compared a Blackberry Torch with QR Code Scanner Pro with to a Motorola Droid 2 with a different barcode scanner and the time it took to scan the same QR code was wildly different. So, because there are different sources for codes and different apps to scan them, that’s the first dilemma.
WHY: The big “why” with using QR codes centers around one question – do QR codes actually make anything easier, faster, better or more useful for the consumer? Or are they just another (possibly slower) way of doing the exact same thing you can do by typing a URL directly into your phone’s browser? After all, every phone that can handle a QR code scanner must have a data plan and application functionality, meaning it likely has a pretty slick web browser and a nice, big screen already. To go to a mobile site on a smartphone, you simply launch your browser – which already comes installed on every smartphone – and type in the URL in the address bar. Pretty simple.
However, to scan a QR code, you have to get out your phone, download a QR code scanning app if you haven’t installed one already (remember, they don’t come on phones when you buy them), launch the app, scan the code and wait for the site to launch. My guess is that if you’re familiar with your phone and are a pretty good typist with your thumbs, it’s probably going to be easier to type a URL directly into your browser than use the QR code functionality.
But there are a few instances when QR codes could be better/easier than printing a URL directly on the publication at hand.
WHERE: First, QR codes are square, making them much friendlier to square and rectangular form factors, such as business cards, flyers and the like. Second, QR codes can be virtually any size, and they don’t need to be read to use them. So on a business card, for example, you might be forced to print the URL in a very small font that is hard to read for many people. A QR code is instantly recognizable and can be scanned regardless of the vision of the consumer.
QR codes can be placed on business cards in real estate
Second, QR codes are scalable, meaning you can make them very small – say .5″ by .5″, or very large, like the one used in Madison Square Garden for a dinosaur promo.
However, this introduces another dilemma to using QR codes – distance. For a code to scan properly, it has to visually fit the screen of the phone that is scanning it.
Giant QR code in Madison Square Garden
That means that the farther away you get from a QR code, the bigger it has to be for you to be able to scan it. So QR codes are really only going to be cost effective if it’s a handheld marketing piece, such as a business card, flyer or magazine. Or, if you’ve got a wild budget, you could buy a very large banner or billboard for your QR code, but given the harsh aesthetic of QR codes (remember, they’re giant black and white barcodes, not colorful logos or charming slogans), it’s hard to see this being a valuable use of large advertising spaces in most circumstances.
WHEN: So, when should you use QR codes?
We suggest using QR codes for unique, specific promotional purposes, and not for widespread, general use. For example, create a QR code for a personal video introducing yourself, or for a custom landing page within your website that features some kind of special content. Do not create a QR code that simply goes to the home page of your website! Especially if you have an easy URL in the first place, such as www.cbtghomes.com/ — consumers will just be irritated that they went to the trouble of scanning a code to go to a site that they could have gone to more quickly with their browser.
Another time when it’s relevant to use a QR code is when you have a long, clunky URL. Coldwell Banker Tomlinson Group is launching a QR code project that will feature a code on the front of our weekly tabloid, and that code will link to our YouTube channel so consumers can view the featured video tour for the listing on the cover of the tabloid. This is a beneficial use for us, because our YouTube channel URL is relatively long – http://www.youtube.com/coldwellbankertg – so we either choose to print it in a large enough font that it’s legible (and we hope our customers don’t typo the URL in their browser) or we provide a single QR code for easy scanning. This is also a good use for us because a single QR code is easy to maintain, and the code can be swapped out for a different code/URL any time we choose, should we decide to feature other content on our site.
HOW: Lastly, how do you use QR codes? Simple. Google “QR code generator” and pick one of the first 500 sites that comes up – they probably all generate easy, free QR codes. Going with the first Google result, we find http://qrcode.kaywa.com/. I have no idea who this company is, but one visit to the site and you’ll see it’s ridiculously easy to create a QR code there. Type in the URL, choose a size for the code and click “generate.” Then take that jpeg/png/image file and print it on whatever marketing piece you choose. QR codes have a tremendous tolerance for error (I’ve read it’s up to 30 percent), meaning even low print quality, odd coloration or other distortions won’t typically affect the performance of the QR code.
As far as scanning codes is concerned, QR Code Scanner Pro is a good app, though virtually all QR code scanners will do the same thing and do a pretty good job at it. The key is to get a free app that isn’t going to ask you for some kind of contract or subscription to another service.
BONUS ROUND!
WHY NOT:
1. You don’t have any unique or creative content to which you can point the QR code. Don’t use them if they aren’t going to deliver something special to the consumer, unless you’re limited to a very small advertising space and a QR code fits better than a URL.
2. QR codes are currently used by a minority within a minority. Explained: Most cell phone owners don’t own a smartphone, most smartphone owners don’t use (or even recognize, in many cases) QR codes. This could very well change, but as of late 2010, only 28 percent of cell phone owners had a smartphone, and of that 28 percent, it’s estimated that only 10-20 percent of those people have ever scanned a QR code. It’s impossible to measure precisely, since it’s difficult to accurately track how many scanners have been downloaded nationwide due to the sheer number of apps.
3. QR codes are not standardized. This simple little fact could spell an absolute disaster for a brokerage that invests a large amount of time and money adopting QR codes company-wide. It’s not the most probable scenario, but Google, Apple, Microsoft or another major tech player could come out with a rival scanning technology that is not compatible with QR codes. If Android phones all began shipping with a unique scanner that was not compatible with QR codes, then QR codes would essentially become obsolete overnight. After all, Android is projected to own nearly half of the U.S. smartphone market in the next few years, and people will always opt for the standard app that comes with a phone rather than downloading a third-party app to replace it.
This standardization problem also means that there’s no guarantee that every scanner will work with every phone will work with every QR code. Phones without auto-focus cameras can have a difficult or impossible time scanning a code because at close range, it’s just too blurry. As auto-focus cameras are only now becoming common, that means older phones (including many Blackberry models) won’t be able to detect the code properly.
As you can see, the waters surrounding QR codes are still murky, to say the least. If you can find a specific and easy way to implement these codes in a valuable way (without gobbling up tons of time and money), then sure, go ahead and use them, and be sure to document your successes and failures along the way. But realize that until a few major things happen in the world of QR codes, the jury is still very much out on whether they’re valuable and here to stay or they’re just another flash in the marketing and technology pan.
