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Is your QR Code too Data-Laden to work? Keep it Simple!

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with Realty Arts NC Broker License #235526

Are your QR Codes just too dense to work?  If so, you are wasting time, and worse, you are frustrating consumers who may be trying to scan them.  A dysfunctional QR Code is comparable to having a broken link on your website.  And we all know how frustrating and embarrassing that is.  

This QR Code is a VCard for my Favorite                   This QR Code links to My No  
lender, Kevin Martini of Suntrust Mortgage:           Hassle Property Search:

 QR Code           .          .                     My No Hassle Property Search QR Code

 

 

 

 

The QR Code for Kevin's VCard will probably fail more often, because it is so densely packed with data, many older smartphones cannot scan the detail in it.
The second QR Code, My No Hassle Property Search link, is obviously simpler, and accessible to many phones that cannot scan the first code.

Give them something that works.  Frustrate fewer consumers.  Keep It Simple! 

QR Code Failure Does Not Have to be an Option! 

Posted by

.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Scan the QR Code with your Smartphone to Email MeQR CodeMike Jaquish, REALTOR®

919-880-2769 www.RealtyArts.com

Try my"No Hassle Home Search"

Visit the Triangle Real Estate Forum for hassle-free answers to your questions and discussion of local Triangle Topics.

 

Independent Broker/Owner, Realty Arts

130 Towerview Court,

Cary, NC

Comments(26)

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Mary Lockman
Windermere Real Estate Methow Valley - Winthrop, WA
Methow Valley Real Estate

In our small little rural region only a handful of agents know what QR is and only one uses it.  I am going to start as will with the QR so that I can help the consumer and thus help my clients. I have an old iPhone so I needed this lesson, and a lot more. thxs

Apr 20, 2011 04:58 PM
Mike Jaquish
Realty Arts - Cary, NC
919-880-2769 Cary, NC, Real Estate

Terrie,

Worse than useless, they are a dud and reflect on the professional using them.

Apr 20, 2011 04:58 PM
Mike Jaquish
Realty Arts - Cary, NC
919-880-2769 Cary, NC, Real Estate

Mary,

Get it right the first time, and you will stand out, even in your rural area.

You are quite welcome!

Apr 20, 2011 05:00 PM
Maria Morton
Platinum Realty - Kansas City, MO
Kansas City Real Estate 816-560-3758

I like the QR Codes that work, Mike. Here's one: QR Code  Did it work?

Apr 20, 2011 05:00 PM
Mike Jaquish
Realty Arts - Cary, NC
919-880-2769 Cary, NC, Real Estate

Maria,

If I am supposed to see "435 Nichols Road, etc," it worked just fine for me!

But, I have an EVO with a very good scanner/camera, and I can read some codes that older phones cannot.

Apr 20, 2011 05:04 PM
Kristine Ginsberg
Elite Staging and Redesign, LLC - Short Hills, NJ
NJ Home Stager

Mike - I just inserted my QC code into my settings and tried it out - it worked.....thank goodness! Great post and I'm still laughing at the comment you made (or didn't make) on my post - you are a clever one!

Apr 20, 2011 05:06 PM
Mike Jaquish
Realty Arts - Cary, NC
919-880-2769 Cary, NC, Real Estate

KIristine,

If you have a newer phone, you might have a friend with something older try to scan any new QR Codes to prove that they work.

LOL

Apr 20, 2011 05:09 PM
Glenn Roberts
Retired - Seattle, WA

No smart phone here. I tried a QR code and a Microsoft tag on a sign post a while back and got no scans on either. I guess Seattle is still in the technoir-age.

Apr 20, 2011 05:12 PM
Emily Read
Salt Lake City, UT

By shortening your links (bit.ly) THEN generating qr codes - you make the codes easier to read. :)

Apr 20, 2011 05:15 PM
Mike Jaquish
Realty Arts - Cary, NC
919-880-2769 Cary, NC, Real Estate

Glenn,

The MSFT Tag is proprietary, and no one cares about propietary any more.

Emily,

Yes, but the VCard is not a link.  It is raw data.  My No Hassle Property Search link is a shortened link, and, yes, easier for the phone to read.

Apr 20, 2011 05:16 PM
Mike Jaquish
Realty Arts - Cary, NC
919-880-2769 Cary, NC, Real Estate

Another "Featured Post" in ActiveRain Group:  QR Codes!

I know.  I know....

Apr 20, 2011 05:18 PM
Praful Thakkar
LAER Realty Partners - Burlington, MA
Metro Boston Homes For Sale

Good comparison, Mike - a dysfunction QR code is a broken link!

Good post.

Apr 20, 2011 05:28 PM
Raine Carraway (Michelle Carraway)
EXP Realty - Lenoir, NC

Mike, I just tested both of those codes with my phone (Blackberry bold, don't know the model offhand but it's about 8-9 months old). It tried scanning the first code 12 times and never took it. Yours worked the first time.

I'm going to try Emily's suggestion, too. I did not know that the shorter urls made cleaner QR codes.

Apr 20, 2011 08:34 PM
Barb & Sal Dragotta
Macomb, MI
Macomb County Michigan

Mike...also no Smart phone here, but learned a lot about QR codes from reading your post.  To present such info to folks [like us] who do not utilize the Smart phone format and to make it clear to such non users says much to your clear and concise information.  Thank You, will I ever get a Smart Phone--don't think so as we are moving close to "moving on" while we can LOL.
Have a great Friday & Easter greeting to you & yours.

Barb 

Apr 21, 2011 08:51 AM
Mike Jaquish
Realty Arts - Cary, NC
919-880-2769 Cary, NC, Real Estate

Praful,

Thanks!

Raine,

You make my point.  Thanks!

Barb,

Contentment is wealth,  so they say.

Apr 21, 2011 11:39 AM
Maureen McCabe
HER Realtors - Columbus, OH
Columbus Ohio Real Estate

what makes his QR code dense?  lots of info? Do you use home search QR on a listing or info on that property?  

 

Apr 22, 2011 03:08 AM
Mike Jaquish
Realty Arts - Cary, NC
919-880-2769 Cary, NC, Real Estate

Maureen,

Yes, I believe it is the amount of data, and the variations of that data.
I am not sure the density is the issue, as much as the inability of lower resolution smartphone cameras to scan accurately.
Referring to the QRStuff.com page, click the button for "Contact Information (VCard)," and you get this explanation:

"Important: VCARD information embedded in a QR Code will often result in a QR Code too dense for many mobile phones to read. To work around this, we recommend you choose the "link to download" option. This will embed a website link in the QR Code, and when someone scans the code, they will be taken to a web page that will prompt the user to download the VCARD VCF file (or, in the case of an iPhone user, to receive the VCF file by email.)"

Apr 22, 2011 03:16 AM
Maureen McCabe
HER Realtors - Columbus, OH
Columbus Ohio Real Estate

Thanks that was my question, the link (vcard) has too much data not the page or information that you can provide. 

Apr 22, 2011 04:29 AM
Charita Cadenhead
eXp Realty - Birmingham, AL
Serving Jefferson and Shelby Counties (Alabama)

Mike this all makes sense to me now.  This is likely the reason why I've had so many failed attempts at reading QR codes.

May 03, 2011 10:07 PM
Mike Jaquish
Realty Arts - Cary, NC
919-880-2769 Cary, NC, Real Estate

Maureen,

Yes.  TMI is a QR Code issue, too.

Charita,

I see codes that are unbelievably complex, but I suppose camera/scanners will one day handle that sort of detail better.

May 04, 2011 02:30 PM
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