Printing services add mobile marketing

BY JON BOND

Many printing companies are branching out into customer-focused technology tools for broader reach. These forward-thinking firms have added a new marketing tool to help customers sell more products and services to their customers. Many technology experts see mobile marketing as the next frontier of technology – using cell phones, PDAs and handheld devices as a complement to more traditional marketing methods. Many printers have incorporated mobile marketing into their offerings and are helping businesses use Mobile Marketing and Quick Response Codes to extend information about products and services to the Web from a printed piece.

Mobile marketing gives companies the ability to send the right message to the right person at the right time and trigger a better response rate. By adding QR Codes to a printed piece, a person using a mobile smartphone such as the iPhone or BlackBerry can scan the QR Code and have their telephone connect to a Web address, download a MP3 file, dial a telephone number or prompt the e-mail client with a sender’s address almost instantaneously.

Any mobile phone that has a Web browser and camera can usually scan and read QR codes. You will need a special QR Code Reader, but most phone companies offer the reader either free or at a very low cost at their Apps Store. By adding a QR Code, companies can extend their information provided by the printed piece. Consumers can access additional information about products through their mobile phone. The QR Code can be used to deliver content and purchase information. Some companies use mobile marketing to both capture and redeem coupons and discounts.

The QR Code allows companies to combine their printing with their online marketing efforts. Companies have been looking for an economical way to connect the physical world with the cyber world. QR Codes are a very inexpensive way to get more out of both your print and Web-based marketing efforts.

Jon Bond is owner of Bond Printing Company, located in Hanover. He can be reached at (781) 871-3990 or jon@bondprinting.com.


Published in Cape & Plymouth Business August 2010