The business card needs a haul. They’re just not what they used to be. I think it’s safe to say that their importance in the business world has definitely dropped since the invention of a little thing called the world wide web. Yet much like the fax (although nearly extinct), we still find the need to use business cards because they are expected in the business world. What we’re left with then, is essentially a modern day relic that has become a staple.

Enter: QR code. A QR (Quick Response) code, is specific two dimensional code that stores information and reads like a barcode. The code consists of black boxes, modules and squiggles arranged as a square against a while background and contains text, URL or other data (see picture below). It was designed to allow its contents to be decoded at high speeds. With just one picture using your smartphone, a QR code can take the user directly to a website, a social media page, a video or share contact information. 

You can generate your own QR code just by googling around and finding the right generator. QR codes have already been appearing on bus stops, in magazines and on flyers, allowing the viewer to gather more information with a quick snap from their smartphone. One of the best uses of QR codes has appeared on business cards. Talk about upgrading an ancient technology. Now your business card can feature the standard information, as well as a QR code that will take the viewers directly to your website, facebook page, video link  or allow them to download content while they “check-in”at your location via Facebook/FourSquare. And best of all the use of QR codes is free of all and any licensing; so you can use/abuse and incorporate wherever, whenever for whatever. 

It’s the perfect bridge between the real world and the online world. Now perspective clients you meet can connect with you via the internet right away. Applying the use of a QR code to your business card allows you to maximize its potential and propels it into the ranks of leading companies that have incorporated a QR code to their business card. But don’t let that be the end! Flyers, door hangers, posters, reusable bottles, packaging, casing- any of these surfaces can now hold a QR code! 

Scan the QR code below and begin getting the most for your business!