QR codes for Estate Agents

What is a QR code and as an Estate Agent, why should I care!?

So you've all got yourselves your mobile 'apps' and are frantically getting to grips with the wonderful world of 'social media', but what about the latest craze to hit the world of business? - The QR (Quick Response) code.

Put very simply, QR codes are a form of barcode that make the storing and retrieving of data very quick and simple, principally through use of an app on a mobile phone such as an iPhone or Android device.  Simply open the app, point the camera at the QR code, and wait for the magic to happen.

Scanning a QR code can perform a number of different actions from displaying text, contact information, composing an email, or opening a web page in your mobile phones web browser. The later of these actions is probably what you will see most often - point your camera at a QR code and be taken to a web page with all the information the company using the code would like you to see.

The QR wave

QR Codes were created by Toyota subsidiary Denso Wave in 1994 to track vehicles during the manufacturing process, but have since burst onto the scene in 2011 with virtually all major global brands including Subway, Coca-Cola, and the BBC making use of them on a regular basis.  The technology should not be ignored. The increasingly common use of so called 'smart phones' to access the internet means QR codes offers interesting opportunities for estate agents to direct people from offline media to online.

Take a simple scenario in the world of the property agent. A prospective client walks past a property you're marketing, scans the QR code you've added to the For Sale board and within 5 seconds is looking at a page on your website with all the information they need about the property. One more click and they're making a call to your office to arrange a viewing. Neat eh?

Here are some advantages to using QR codes:

• Simple, fast, and inexpensive to create and distribute
• Connects people with detailed product information
• Smartphone's with QR code readers are becoming increasingly common

And here are some examples of what a QR code can include are:

• URLs
• Text
• Phone numbers
• Complete contact information
• SMS text messages
• Calendar events
• An email address
• A geographic map location

Simple to get started

Here's the best part... no matter what that company you've spoken to has told you about making the most of QR codes, you really shouldn't have any problems doing them yourself. There are a plenty of sites out there for generating QR Codes and they are allcompletely free.  An internet search for QR code generator will offer many choices, here are but a few:

http://qrcode.kaywa.com/

http://www.beqrious.com/generator

http://delivr.com/qr-code-generator

http://quikqr.com/

http://www.qurify.com/en/

Simply save the QR Code image generated and add to your marketing collateral as you please.

Top 5 ways to use QR Codes for Estate Agents.

1. For Sale Boards- Consumers like to get as much information as humanly possible before calling someone in your office.  By placing the QR Code on your For Sale and To Rent Boards you will be instantly providing the hottest leads (those people actively driving around looking for property) with the price, interior photos, floor plans and those all important office contact details.
2. Business Cards- Add a QR code to your business card to direct people to your business website or Facebook page.
3. Direct Mail -For specific, targeted marketing campaigns by direct mail, adding a QR code will direct your potential clients to additional information which may have not been able to feature on the literature. Less is more, as they say.
4. Property Flyers -People are used to viewing information online. It is simple, effective and available at their convenience.  Flyers can hold limited information on properties but with a QR code you can ensure a potential buyer is able to view the full features of each property by directing them to a specific webpage.
5. Newspaper advertising -We all know one of the biggest issues with your newspaper advertising is that they go out of date almost the second they are published! What about adding a QR code to your newspaper ads with the message 'scan to view our latest properties'?
6. Window cards & Shop Front Literature -By having a QR code against each property window card a potential buyer can scan the code and view full property details. This can be very advantageous out of business hours.

How effective is my QR code?

So you've been using QR codes on your advertising for a few weeks now and that question finally pops into your head - "Are these blocks of dots actually doing anything for my business?". This is where the art of 'URL tagging' comes in to play, allowing you to track and monitor how many people are using your QR codes and how they move through your own business website.

Let's say you have a very simple QR code that directs the user through to your home page e.g. www.propertylive.co.uk . The resulting QR code (using http://qrcode.kaywa.com/) would look as such:

But how do you separate the visitors to your website from the QR code vs. direct traffic in your Google Analytics account or other web analytics system?

Simple.

Use Google's free URL builder and fill in all the details about your QR code campaign. Using the PropertyLive.co.uk example again I filled in the form as follows:

Simply click to 'Generate URL' and I get a shiny new URL - http://www.propertylive.co.uk/?utm_source=QR%2Bcode&utm_medium=Flyer&utm_campaign=QR%2Bpromo which I can plug in to a QR code generator to get a new QR code:

Scan this one and I'm still taken to the PropertyLive.co.uk homepage, but with the added benefit as an agent of being able to track people visiting the site at the new URL in my web analytics package.

Is your website mobile friendly?

Top tip: Make sure the page you direct your visitors to from your QR code is 'Mobile friendly'. Have your tried visiting your agency website from a mobile phone? Compare navigating your website on a phone to the experience of navigating the BBC website for example.

For more information on making your website mobile friendly, for only £15 per month + one off set up cost, please call PropertyLive.apps Team on 0845 250 6012 or email services@propertylive.co.uk.