We all are familiar with bar codes. Bar codes contain price information about any specific product. But what the heck are these ugly looking, QR codes? We are now starting to find out these ugly little, black & white, computer generated codes on everything from small chocolate bars to ice creams, garments, products, packaging and even billboards. Some big brands have even started utilizing QR codes as a way of branding themselves.

Over a decade, our usage of the smartphones has changed. From sending sms and making calls, to browsing internet, shopping online and gaining discounts, our experience of mobile phone usage has been totally revolutionized. Businesses are now having a big opportunity in reaching the untapped market. QR codes were developed by a subsidiary of Toyota in Japan in 1994. Just one Chinese company generated over 300 billion QR codes for European clients in on year alone.

QR Codes are 2d images that could contain any information including:

• URLs
• contact information similar to vCards
• Automatic Tweets
• Discounts

If you are using QR codes and social media together, you can take immense benefits of selling your products. Every code has a purpose designed by the creator of that code. For example, if you have a QR code generated for a Facebook page like, your customers would scan the QR code from their mobiles and it would automatically like your Facebook fan page.

Promote your products through QR codes and give discounts to your customers

A QR code contains every information for online shopping. Once scanned through your mobile camera, you can automatically check out, avail instant discounts or get directed to the social media page.

Here are some benefits of using QR codes for your business:

1. On business cards. Your business cards can use these codes to send you a direct email, resume, or import your entire contact information on to the mobile.
2. On the marketing material. On brochures, packaging, flyers, posters, etc., you can use these codes to direct your customers where to purchase your products.
3. Discounts. You can also provide discounts to your customers if they come to your shop and scan your QR codes
4. For video tutorials. If your product has an installation manual for your customers, then incorporating a video or picture tutorial with a link to your website could be a good idea to educate your customers.
5. For any information you can have any information in your QR code as per your needs

These codes are changing the way businesses are constantly interacting with their customers. The coming digital age is going to be dominated by these codes.