QR codes: More than a B2C marketing tool

I travel all over the world for various reasons, mostly for work. My wife and I have roles that need face-to-face attention and therefore, we stay at hundreds of hotels and cruise ships. What is the most important requirement in a hotel?

Soft sheets.

Let me explain...

Can you remember a time when you slipped into a new bed after a long travel day and you were disappointed by the sheets? Cheap hotels or maybe even the guest room at your sister's house can benefit from quality bedding. 

Sheets secretly create a brand impression and customer loyalty. Disney, Ritz Carlton, and Radisson Hotels are proving my point. 

All products have a lifespan in the market. Consumables have a finite period they can be used before they begin to disintegrate or must be replaced. It is not impractical to time-stamp every product or product packaging used in a hotel with a trackable QR code.

Custom QR codes and short URLs make it possible for hospitality providers to scan a product at first use, at the point of repair, or as it enters a laundry facility, and use this data to predict when the product should be retired to ensure the highest customer satisfaction. 

Using trackable QR codes is deceptive because QR codes have traditionally targeted a consumer. They are visible and identifiable. QR codes can be read from most mobile devices and expanded into short links with complex UTM (Urchin Tracking Module) codes. These are snippets of text added to the end of a URL to help you track where website traffic comes from if users click a link or scan the QR code. They direct consumers to discounts or more detailed information. In short, link attribution is the key to making better data-driven decisions, operating more efficiently, and marketing more effectively.

Yes, of course, we can make invisible QR codes so as not to detract from a product experience but THAT is for another blog post.  

Custom QR codes for internal operations

So now, as an inventory specialist for a cruise line, you can predict the lifecycle of every towel, sheet, and pillow and save thousands of dollars each year. You can provide data back to manufacturers; you can sell the same branded product to those sailing on your ships so the cruise experience is extended to passengers’ homes. 

Custom QR codes unite brands and consumers while providing usage analytics, inventory management, energy consumption statistics, and much more. 

Imagine proposing a sustainability program and profit center from a single QR imprint that requires an investment of 1/1000th of a cent per unit.

By linking sustainability and marketing, we open new avenues for innovation, decision making, and product planning. 

This is why I joined BL.INK.

BL.INK is the only solution targeted at the needs of large enterprise companies that create memorable brand experiences using advanced branded links and custom-designed QR codes at scale. BL.INK can track the full lifecycle of any product or marketing campaign with an infinite number of attributes and attributions.

I hope BL.INK will appear on the corner of your hotel or cruise bed linen soon. 

So, if you don’t BL.INK, you don’t know what data you’re missing.

Want to learn more? Have a crazy idea you want to run by us? Let's link up.