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"We just started using them," explained Abby Suiter, practice manager for Daniel Island Animal Hospital. "…It’s all about clicking a link, so you don’t have to type in an address. You just scan it."

"We are using QR codes to try to get information out to potential patients and anyone who is interested in orthodontics as efficiently as possible," added Dr. Michael Zetz of Daniel Island-based Crescent Moon Orthodontics. "QR codes give you a way to give somebody information or access to information really easily."

Both Suiter and Zetz say they have added QR codes in their practice exam rooms, so patient families can literally tap into additional, relevant information while waiting.

Youth marketing agency Archival Youth Marketing have conducted a survey of over 500 students on 24 college campuses across the US to find out what they think about QR Codes. Of the students surveyed 81% owned a smartphone and 80% had previously seen a QR code. 21% of the students successfully scanned a QR Code when shown an example and 75% of the students said they are “Not Likely” to scan a QR code in the future. (The infographic below is reproduced with the express permission of Archival)

Here are some best practices for maximizing the return on your QR code direct mail initiative:

Ensure that QR codes link to Web pages that are optimized for mobile devices

Provide online content that adds value for the targeted consumer and makes it worth their while to scan the code.

Perx, a smartphone app from Singapore-based Maiplay Pte. that’s designed to replace all the cards in a consumer’s wallet with a single, easy way to get loyalty rewards.

they scan the QR code provided by the merchant when they check out. That, in turn, serves just like a stamp on an old paper card and counts towards the shopper’s next reward; Perx notifies the consumer instantly when they’ve reached that milestone. Meanwhile, users can also “spin the wheel” for a chance to win instant prizes.

URLs are out, and QR codes are in. With technology advancing daily, people want things instantly and effortlessly. QR codes do exactly that.

An article in USA Today laid out the process in three short steps. First, download a free QR code reader application to a smartphone. Many Android, Nokia and Blackberry phones come with QR code readers pre-installed.

Apple held 61.64% of the mobile/tablet OS market in October, according to Net Applications, up from 54.65% in the prior month, and a hike of more than 12 percentage points from December 2010. Android, in contrast, accounted for 18.9% of the market in October, up from 16.3% in September, an increase of just over 7 percentage points from December.

With 40 percent of smartphone owners browsing the Internet more frequently on their phones – using their devices to make holiday charity donations and buy gifts online – it only makes sense to ensure mobile purchases are available anywhere at any time.

The No. 1 thing is brand cohesiveness. Use the same URL on mobile as on your desktop site, as opposed to m. or .mobi. All it takes is a simple redirect script.

product reviews and testimonials, which could even be presented in the form of videos. Additionally, incentives like discounts for an opt-in for future communication and for taking a survey or participating in a poll.

Make it easy to share.

Don't assume your name for something should remain its name.

Keep an eye on trends.

According to a survey by DDB Worldwide, 27% of people who have liked a brand on Facebook say they often click that little thumbs-up button, and an additional 49% do it occasionally.

Consumers are more willing to interact with branded pages.

Interactions with branded pages will be a key metric to watch in 2011.

Recouping even the typically modest investment needed to deploy a QR code often depends on a few key steps. One is offering those who read the code something they can use. "The codes are a bridge," Strack says. "When the user crosses the bridge, there needs to be something of value." That might be useful information, a coupon or another promotion.

Similarly, the site to which the code leads should be developed specifically for mobile phones. A website designed for computer monitors usually is difficult to view on a phone, Pinto notes.

Finally, in order to reap the full benefits of a QR code, you want to find some way to gather information from the user, such as an email address, so that you can contact them again. The QR codes and the scanning applications don't capture this information.

Some 5 percent of Americans — and 15 percent of smartphone owners — have scanned such a code in the last three months, according to new figures due to be released on Monday by Forrester. A year ago, only 1 percent of Americans had been willing or able to do so.

codes provide an efficient and cheap means to link the online and offline worlds.

Digimarc, are pushing methods for embedding the codes into the page so that they don’t disturb the visual layout. The challenge, though, is that it is harder for readers to know that there is more content available.

it is expected that in the United States alone, there will be 115.8 million smartphone users by the time this year comes to an end.

Statistics indicate that 64 percent of smartphone owners already take part in mobile commerce.

• USPS – the Postal Service is now running its second campaign that uses a QR code. In this case, it is offering discounts of 2 percent to companies choosing to use their mailers with the barcodes printed on them. This benefits both the companies and shows that there is still a place for snail mail in this increasingly digital and mobile world.

• Coca-Cola – the soft drink giant placed a QR code on its containers throughout the 2012 Europe Cup soccer tournament, giving scanners exclusive videos from the tournament, as well as an easy way to obtain the free SmileWorld social app.

• Proctor & Gamble – PGMobile shopping trucks were launched last month by the beauty and home products corporation, distributing free samples as they patrolled New York City. Both the samples and the truck were emblazoned with quick response codes that could be scanned by smartphone users.

Giving the consumer an option to scan a QR code which leads them to a website that is not optimized for the device they use to scan it is like sending someone with a broken arm in to get a full-body physical. People use QR codes to take action directly, so don’t make them jump through hoops, pinching, zooming and navigating through a messy desktop site. Give them what they want: a mobile experience.

the QR codes that perform far better are the ones that offer consumers a benefit for scanning.  This means providing a discount, special offer or inclusion in some sort of exclusive program in order to provide customers a return on investment for their time. Of course, clever marketers can find plenty of ways to provide a reward for scanning while still integrating plenty of branding as well.

mobile web traffic has risen as much as 35% since July 2011.

 mobile traffic represented an average of 10.55% of total web traffic during the last week of February 2012, which shows a growth of 34.44% when compared to the earlier report.

PCs still holding on to 89.45% of all traffic

Is your website mobile ready?Have you tested it on a mobile device?  If you don’t have an iPhone, iPad, or other smart phone device – find one!  You might be surprised to check your Google Analytics or other website traffic and learn how many people are viewing your website on these devices.

Have you claimed your business page on sites like Foursquare, Yelp, Google Places, etc.?Whether your customers have reviewed you on these sites already or not, these services may already have claimed your presence on these sites. By claiming your sites, you improve your search rankings and have some control over special offers and responses.

QR Codes are key to directing traffic in your sitePeople don’t remember or don’t have patience to type in long addresses into their mobile devices.  In addition, you want to direct people to take specific actions like see a specific page for mobile users, opt in to email or sms marketing, check in on your social media sites, and many other options.

Because there are various types of phones, with various types of communications technologies on them, there are also many types of mobile marketing: SMS MMS Mobile Web Apps Bluetooth Location-Based QR Codes Banner Ads Mobile Websites

Mobile Website is an optimized website for viewing on a mobile phone.  Since smart phone screens are generally around three inches wide by four inches tall (or thereabouts), viewing a regular website often displays the text and images too small to read. By optimizing websites for mobile devices, your company can deliver a better web experience for the small screen user, thus increasing the chances that user might interact with the site the way you want them to.

A perfect example of a well-done mobile website is that of pizza maker Papa John’s. Pick up a smart phone and browse to papajohns.com. (It won’t work in a web browser, you’ll have to see it on your phone.) The site is designed so the on-the-go visitor has just a couple of options and can quickly do the most likely thing a mobile user will want to do on papajohns.com: Order a pizza.

Mobile websites are becoming an increasingly necessary tool as more consumers get their Internet information via their mobile devices such as cell phones, tablets and smaller portable laptops.

"In essence the Internet as we know it is changing now and will continue to do so dramatically over the next two to three years," said Lee Weiner, Co-Founder of Direct Marketing Concierge

Mobile websites, strategic implementation of QR codes and full in-house produced marketing campaigns have set Tampa-based Direct Marketing Concierge apart as a unique player in the changing landscape of cutting-edge marketing.