Why You Should Think Twice About Free QR Code Generators

Submitted by Matt on Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Free. It's the big thing that everyone loves. Free this, free that. I'm not completely against free. With such a choice cluttered world, free helps you to "try before you buy." The consumer is in control now. Free is important. But, is free alone sustainable? 

I see it all the time. Check out this new free QR code generator. Their business model? 

Well, it's all free - there is no business model. They don't have any streams of revenue. 

Why Is This A Problem?

QR codes are best utilized on print. What happens to print? 

It lives on. 

Several free QR code generators redirect you from their own custom short URL. So, when you scan the QR code, you first hit their systems, and then you hit the destination (be it on your website or their platform).

So, you print a few thousands QR codes and stick it to your products, your letter head, or maybe even a wine bottle.

What Happens When Your QR Code Service Goes Down?

Let's face it: making money keeps us afloat in our ventures. If a company offers nothing but free services and doesn't list how they make their money... I question,

Can you trust them when you need to count on them? 

Can you get in touch with support when you need it? 

Can you trust that they'll be around as long as your print pieces/products will be? 

What's The Worst That Can Happen?

Good question! The worst that can happen is a bad experience is created.

On a product, you have something that says "scan for more info," or, "scan for a mobile coupon." Excited to try it, the person spends a few seconds of their valuable time to scan your QR code.

... and then ... 

it doesn't work. 

What Exactly Does This Mean?

It means one of your guests just spent time and had a negative experience. 

It means your QR code "kung fu" was just proved useless.

It means if you ever decide to use QR codes correctly, the chance of someone scanning again just went down. 

 

I was in a store in the market and I saw a QR code on pack of strawberries. Excited, I scanned it. And guess what? The page showed a "page not found" (404) error. It didn't work. My perception of that strawberry company wasn't a good one.

 

Have you scanned a QR code in a popular place only to have it not work? How did you feel?