How To Increase Your QR Code ROI

We’ve all been there. You spend a lot of time and resources on a marketing project, expecting it to make a killing, only to find yourself exactly where you started. 

How do you avoid making the same mistakes over and over? By monitoring your marketing campaign‘s return on investment (ROI). This can be the difference between success and failure in future QR Code campaigns. Without clear numbers, it’s hard to track whether or not you’re using your marketing budget efficiently. 

Wondering how to measure and maximize your QR Code ROI? Stick around for an in-depth guide. 

What is ROI?

ROI involves calculating the amount earned compared with the amount spent. It applies to any business that makes a financial investment based on expected results. Consequently, ROI is often the main determining factor in how companies spend their money, on which types of products, and how often.

Marketing ROI applies to ROI calculated precisely for marketing budgets. For example, how many conversions occurred as a result of a particular Facebook ad, or how much profit did a company make after developing a new QR Code landing page

Marketing ROI helps marketers and companies understand how and where to spend their marketing budgets for maximum efficiency.

Here’s how to calculate your ROI:

(Increased Sales Revenue – Marketing Cost) / Marketing Cost = Marketing ROI

You can adjust the formula depending on your costs and revenue. For example, in a social media QR Code campaign, you need to factor in the sales realized from social media platforms. But you’ll also need to account for costs like paid QR Code creation, influencer payments, and paid ads, if any. 

This can give you a clear picture of your marketing strategy’s performance and inform future campaigns by revealing the kind of content that generates the highest ROI. 

How QR Codes can maximize marketing ROI

The benefits of Quick Response Codes as a marketing tool are virtually limitless. They help maximize ROI by connecting digital and print mediums, allowing businesses to reach their target audiences on all fronts. 

Businesses can also access in-depth QR Code analytics, like the total number of scans received across different mediums and platforms, simplifying ROI calculation. Here’s a more detailed look at how QR Codes are beneficial for your marketing ROI.

Effortless QR Code campaign tracking

Whether you decide to add QR Codes on print materials, digital platforms, or both, you can use QR Code tracking to monitor your campaigns. QR Code Generator PRO offers multiple types of codes, one of the most popular being Dynamic QR Codes. 

With Dynamic QR Codes, you can access campaign tracking data, like scan locations (city and country), unique vs. total scans, operating device used, and time scanned. 

This data provides valuable insights into your campaign, like your brand’s demographics and the most popular content. Armed with this information, you can refine future content marketing campaigns and improve your ROI. 

Scan statistics in QR Code Generator PRO
A demo version of QR Code tracking data in QR Code Generator PRO

Connecting print marketing to digital opportunities 

While QR Codes were invented to improve inventory management systems (which is still a frequent use case), they’ve expanded to other processes, like improving print advertising. 

It’s clear that print advertising is still a strong marketing strategy—there are print ads on billboards, shop windows, fliers, and even business signage. However, the major disadvantage of using print materials is that there’s no way to connect readers with digital information—at least, not without QR Codes. 

Sure, you can create a giant billboard just for branding, but how can you actually calculate its effect on your financial returns? With QR Codes, you no longer need to guess which billboard brought in X amount of sales or how many fliers you need to hand out to get people to buy something online. 

Put a QR Code on your print ads, and not only will users thank you for making your digital content accessible, but you can also track what each user did due to your advertising efforts. This is precisely the information marketers need to calculate and maximize marketing ROI. 

For optimal results, customize your print ad QR Codes to reflect your brand image—this can boost recognizability and, consequently, scans. Also, place your QR Codes in visible areas, like busy streets or locations your target audience frequents for maximum exposure. 

A large QR Code for a spa coupon on a sign in a public area
A QR Code on a poster ad makes the entire customer journey calculable

Segmented QR Code campaigns for comparison

Need to compare different QR Code marketing campaigns or platforms used? No problem! With QR Code Generator PRO, you can create unique QR Codes for each platform or marketing campaign and compare their ROIs to identify strategies with the highest returns. 

Through the QR Code analytics on the platform, you can determine times when your ads are the most effective and the kind of content that drives engagement. You can even measure the most effective custom QR Code designs. So not only can you calculate marketing ROI with QR Codes, but you can also optimize it! 

Easy updates and edits with Dynamic QR Codes

Found a mistake in your QR Code’s content or need to swap out a link? No need to worry when using Dynamic QR Codes. You can edit them in real time whenever you need—without having to redesign the original QR Code. 

That’s right! The external appearance remains the same (or you can change the design if you want—that’s the beauty of Dynamic codes!), but you can fully edit linked content. What’s more, you can even change your type of QR Code (such as using a video instead of images if the former boosts your ROI) with just a few steps.

How to calculate marketing ROI using QR Codes

Calculating your ROI offers incredible advantages. It can help you maintain long-term profitability by showing you what works and doesn’t before you sink all your resources into the same old campaigns. 

Ready to calculate your marketing ROI using QR Codes? Here are the steps you need to take.

Determine the required goals for your marketing ROI formula

First and foremost, you need to set clear goals. A goal could be, for example, to gain 1,000 leads from an ebook landing page or 1,000 sales from a Facebook ad in the next three months. 

If you’re unsure about specific goals because you have no prior campaigns to base your numbers on, make your best guess. The key is to ensure you have a calculable (and realistic) goal that you can compare with your achieved ROI to determine the success of your campaign. 

To determine campaign success, you may need to collect data like: 

  • The number of QR Code scans received

  • The conversion rate

  • The revenue generated from your campaign

  • The costs incurred, including design, printing, and promotion expenses 

For an in-depth look at this data, leverage QR Code Generator PRO metrics and Google Analytics insights. 

Choose your mediums

Once you’ve set your goals, you need to determine how you will market your products or services. The right marketing channels heavily depend on your audience and what you’re trying to promote. It may also take some guesswork initially, but understanding marketing ROI will help you improve this for subsequent campaigns.

QR Codes can complement both online and offline marketing campaigns. So you can run both in the beginning and compare their performance to determine which marketing channels to focus on in the future. 

QR Codes can be anywhere from billboard-sized to sticker-sized. So, there’s no doubt about whether you can adjust your QR Code to fit any design requirements for different types of marketing channels. Just ensure they’re at least 2 x 2 cm (0.8 x 0.8 in)—otherwise, you can run into QR Code scanning problems.

To achieve your desired campaign results, you’ll need to align your QR Code campaigns with your broader marketing goals. This is why you need to start by setting campaign goals. 

If your main goal is to increase traffic to your website, design your QR Codes to do just that. Link them to your website URL and incorporate them into your greater digital marketing strategy. For powerful insights, use built-in analytics to monitor QR Code performance alongside other marketing tools like Google Analytics.

A large, branded sticker with a QR Code on it
A QR Code example on a sticker

Set a budget

After deciding how to market your product or service, you should determine how much to invest in that marketing method. 

Again, this takes some guesswork if you’re starting from scratch, but it can become much clearer after calculating your first campaign’s marketing ROI. If you have a lower budget, it’s best to focus on one or two of the most suitable channels for your particular audience.

A large billboard on a building with a QR Code on it
A 'For Sale' sign with a QR Code on it
An example of QR Codes used in multichannel marketing

Implement your QR Code campaign

Now, all you’ve got to do is create your QR Code and activate it to begin your campaign. Consider comparing multiple types of QR Codes, locations, and design variations to maximize your results. The more data you have, the clearer your decision-making process will be for further strategic iterations.

Ensure you position your QR Codes appropriately to enhance customer engagement. Consider locations popular with your target audience and their most preferred platforms. For example, if your audience frequents coffee shops, you can post fliers in these establishments. 

Similarly, if millennials are your primary audience, determine their favorite platform. According to the latest research, millennials are migrating away from Facebook and X, preferring Reddit and TikTok instead.

Also, incorporate design elements that resonate with your target audience into your QR Codes and add a call to action (CTA) to boost engagement. For example, you can use your brand’s colors and add your logo for recognizability, then use a CTA like “Scan Me for an Exclusive Coupon” to let your audience know what to expect.

A large billboard for a real estate agency with a QR Code on it
A large billboard on a building for a real estate agency with a QR Code on it
A real estate agency uses QR Codes to test billboard ad locations

Monitor QR Code scans

Once your campaign has begun, you can view QR Code scan metrics in your QR Code Generator PRO account. Remember to create unique codes for different campaigns to determine which mediums give you the best results. 

How long you need to monitor your campaigns depends on your marketing goals. For example, if your QR Code campaign is for an event, you only need to monitor scan data up to that event. But if you have an ongoing campaign, it’s highly recommended to monitor your scan data consistently.

Calculate your current marketing ROI

When you collect your campaign’s performance data, you can calculate your ROI. To reiterate, the basic formula is:

(Increased Sales Revenue – Marketing Cost) / Marketing Cost = Marketing ROI

Again, you can adjust the values as needed, depending on your goals. For example, if your main goal is to gain B2B leads, you’ll need to extrapolate your potential sales based on the generated leads. Your formula may look like this:

((Number of Leads x Lead-To-Customer Rate x Average Sales Price) – Cost or Ad Spend)) / Cost or Ad Spend x 100

To get your “sales revenue,” you’ll need the number of leads, sales, event attendees, and so on (depending on your goals) multiplied by the percentage of leads who become customers. Then, you’ll multiply that by the average sales price. 

Set benchmarks and optimize

For long-term profitability, regularly monitor and adjust your QR Code campaigns based on performance data. Pay attention to changing customer preferences and market conditions for optimal results. You can use your ROI results to determine what resonates the most with your audience. 

For example, say you realize an ROI of 13% from digital ad QR Codes and 4% from print ads. This lets you know that digital marketing resonates better with your audience. In this case, you can optimize your strategy by focusing more on digital campaigns. 

Also, set benchmarks based on current ROI results and try to consistently exceed them in the future through campaign optimization. Say you achieve an ROI of 4% from print ads alone. You can set a benchmark of 4% for future campaigns and optimize them by incorporating digital advertising through QR Codes. 

Find out how QR Code campaigns can lead to more conversions

Tired of paying for marketing that doesn’t deliver results? Enhance your marketing ROI by incorporating QR Codes into your strategy. 

They improve campaign results by bridging the gap between digital and print mediums and providing performance metrics like the number of scans received. This allows you to determine what resonates with your audience and optimize your campaigns. 

With QR Code Generator PRO, you don’t need to jump through hoops to create QR Codes or assess their performance. The platform is built for everyone, regardless of tech expertise, so generating or monitoring your QR Code campaigns is intuitive and effortless. 

Register for QR Code Generator PRO today to enhance your marketing efforts’ conversion rates and, ultimately, your ROI.

Author
Armanii Glaspie

Armanii is a Product Marketing Manager at Bitly. He received his MBA from the Cox School of Business at SMU, where he concentrated on marketing and strategy. With over four years of marketing experience spanning the SaaS and CPG space, he is passionate about helping companies connect with their customers on a deeper level through the use of tools like Bitly and QR Code Generator. You can find out more about him on his LinkedIn profile.

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