Floor Covering News recently launched a QR code for its website, joining a host of other industry entities. While the floor covering industry has always had the reputation of being behind the technological times—most of the time justifiably so— surprisingly, that’s not the case when it comes to this kind of application. Among those that have already established QR codes are Wools of New Zealand, Armstrong, Mohawk, Shaw, Laticrete, Mannington, Earthwerks, Coverings, Crossville, Interface, QFloors and RFMS.

What are QR codes? According to Wikipedia, it is a two-dimensional barcode, readable by dedicated QR barcode readers and camera phones, made up of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded can be text, URL or other data. Basically, it is a bar code that, when you take a picture either with your smartphone camera or QR reader app, redirects you to a place of the manufacturer’s choice.

QR codes originated in Japan, but only recently caught on in the United States. They are starting to show up everywhere from magazines, posters, business cards, even building signage.

There are many reasons to have a QR code. It can drive your audience to your website. Some companies link their QR code their Facebook accounts. Others link to a video on YouTube. But the commonality with all QR codes is they direct a person to a place where they can learn more about the company. Specifically, the audience can quickly and painlessly gain access to things like installation instructions, directions to the business, valuable coupons and special offers, recommendations for complementary products and services, and customer feedback forms.

Practical uses of QR codes Here are some ways of using QR codes that are mostly in practice now:

• The back of a business card
• Brochures/marketing materials
• The sides of vehicles
• Product tags and packaging
• Event nametags
• Point-of-sale receipts

Practical examples
Airlines: Many of the major airlines are now using 2D codes as digital boarding passes. By the end of 2011 all carriers will be required to provide this service for international flights.

Google Places: When you register your local business with Google Places, you’ll receive a decal for your place of business that includes a QR code to your company website. Be sure that QR code links to the most relevant information that potential customers are interested in.

Here’s an example from lifeofanarchitect.com. The architect created a QR code for a particular project on which he was working and placed the code on his job sign at the project site. When people saw the house, they were able to scan the code, which would take them to the architect’s website, where they could see animations of the project, possible floor plans, maybe even a blog post.