Special offer

Are those funny looking bar codes a good user experience?

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with caimeiju.com

A close friend works with a technology company that helps drive sales for organizations through mobile applications.  He knows about my blog on AR and asked that I try to get some feedback from the real estate community.  The solution has been proven successful but his concern is the average real estate agent could not afford the $800 charge to get set up. ( THis is where I need your feedback)  

Real Estate agents were actually early adopters of QR ( Quick Response ) Codes. Those are the funny little square bar codes that are becoming more and more frequent on fronts of property signs, business cards, and print advertising. The end goal is to entice the prospect to point their phone at the code and access your online information. If you read my blog you already know that I am already pretty techy, but even I  were not, these tags sure to beat having to call in to hear a recorded message about a listings. 

Mixed Results in the past...
When I first started seeing QR codes a few years ago, I would always click. Most of the time I was dumped onto a generic website, and the problem with that is the sites either take forever to load or it is just too difficult to navigate a regular website from my phone.

This is smart...
My friends company takes your existing website and optimizes it for a phone. The best part is that you don't have to go through the stress of building a site since they are just extracting the most important info from your current site and changing the format for mobile. 

 

"A local Coldwell Banker Broker uses it’s mobile website to give

prospective buyers more information about properties.

Links to embedded walk-thru videos, room by room pictures,

floor plans, map to property and easy call to action buttons to

contact brokers.

Also are links to mobile property search and local newspaper.

All information within 3 clicks."


To sum it up, I would love share your feedback and expiences using QR Codes in real estate with my friend. If you comment, he promises not to call you either. This is only information gathering. Thanks in advance! 


Comments (3)

Ted J. Macy
Top Agents Atlanta Metro - Milton, GA

There are a lot of new tools and everything just evolves every day and gets easier and easier and more complicated and more complicated (HA)

Dec 07, 2011 02:50 PM
John Pusa
Glendale, CA

Jennifer - Thank you for sharing detailed quality information on are those funny looking bar codes a good user experience.

Dec 07, 2011 04:47 PM
Jennifer Chao
caimeiju.com - San Diego, CA

I just realized that you can scan this screen with you phone to see a real life example. If you don't have a QR code reader on your smart phone here is how it works: 

1. Search for i-nigma on your app store and download the free version to your phone. 

2. Once downloaded, open the app and point your phone at the QR code right on your computer screen. The page should automatically open. 

 

Dec 08, 2011 05:14 AM