JeongHak Kim - Fed up with Tesco & Qr Codes
Tesco & QR codes.
I am sure we have all read the case study of Tesco, after Carrefour and Wal-Mart, entering South Korea and "taking it by storm". They changed their name and then implemented a QR Code campaign. I too think it was a great marketing scheme, and also a great way to engage with customers, especially fast moving, busy Korean customers. However now in grad school I just wrote a paper on Qr Codes and am becoming fed up with Qr Codes and this Tesco reference.
I have talked to experts in Qr Codes and have yet to find people who would really promote Qr Codes in a positive light. Qr Codes, in my opinion, have a strong purpose when it comes to taking people from the offline world to the online world. It becomes a problem in the business world when marketers see a creative use of Qr Codes in a market where it fits, such as the Tesco scheme, and try to replicate or pointlessly use Qr Codes for their own business. For example Tesco allows offline users to see, scan, buy a product. This is what Qr Codes do. But what I inevitably see is people using them on their website (already online) or even just blindly add it to a campaign like twitter/facebook without thinking about the customer journey. What do you want your customer to do? Why do you want them to go here?
My main point is: Qr Codes DO have a purpose, but they DON"T have a purpose everywhere. Tesco needed to reach people in a place in the physical world, but fast and everywhere like their customers. So rather than having customers waste time coming to them, they went to the customers. Also Qr Codes take up little space. This was a perfect fit for both Tesco and their targeted prospects.