I stumbled upon an interesting article on “Why the QR code is failing“, recommended today in my Twitter feed. The title is misleading because Sean X Cummings mentions halfway through his obervations that “it’s really not the QR codes fault: A QR code is a tool, nothing more”.
It’s simple: A tool only can fail if it’s used in the wrong way. So it must be the user’s fault – in this case marketers and advertising agencies – because they fall short in creating real value for customers. It is a phenomenon that can be observed almost everywhere today: The usage of technology with total disrespect of the user.
It seems that sometimes agencies are just showing off their know-how. Of course we can create Facebook pages. Of course we can launch this app. Of course we can implement QR codes in our campaign. In most cases all of those measures are incredibly well executed, look good, feel good. It’s just nice. But shouldn’t the more important question be: Why are we using this? What is in it for the customer?
We’re hunting for awards, for the next big things, while all that matters is to talk to the target audience, tell them a compelling story. If those stories earn awards or become the next big thing – congratulations. But this “ad pour l’ad” is just a waste of time. We waste the time of the people we ultimately work for: customers. We have been talking about creating experiences for customers for quite a while now. So what is the user supposed to feel by uninspired use of technology?
Technologies give us very powerful tools to reach our customers. Let’s not forget what we tried to reach them for in the first place.
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