Using qr codes on business cards. Pros and cons? What are your experiences?

Ask the community
1

I’m designing a business card, and the client suggested including a QR code. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this idea!

2

I recently attended an ecommerce conference, and one attendee shared a QR Code business card with me. And it was an Aha moment for me.

I lose most of the business cards shared with me and hardly take the effort to save users contact details. The attendee’s business card QR Code was linked to his VCF and I could scan and save his contact in less than 5 seconds.

3

Here’s a cool design I saw and saved for inspiration for my next set of business cards for an upcoming trade show.

Modern Black & White QR Code Logo Business Card
Modern Black & White QR Code Logo Business Card736×736 42.7 KB

4

I created a minimalist QR Code business card for a client, and she shared that it led to more service inquiries and improved brand recall.

It seems QR Code business cards are more effective than traditional ones!
Here’s the design.

Black And White Simple Personal Business Card
Black And White Simple Personal Business Card1004×590 57.4 KB

P.S. - We used a free QR Code, so I guess it expires and doesn’t work anymore.

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5

I, for one can’t stand QR Codes on business cards. We already have business card scanners, so why clutter a sleek design with a bulky QR Code?

It completely ruins the aesthetics in my opinion and takes away from the professional look a business card should have.

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6

I’ve seen an upgrade to traditional paper business cards. A sales colleague of mine recently asked me to scan a QR Code stored on his phone; when I scanned, a cool page came up with his contact details and a button at the bottom that you could click to store the contact info. Pretty cool.

He called it a “Digital business card” or something.

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7

I’ve used business cards extensively, including those with QR Codes. So, I’ll add my two cents on the pros and cons of them.

Pros

  1. Save Reprinting costs - All business cards have an expiry date. What does that mean? Well, let’s say your business is moving to a new location or changing your business name or professional contact details. Your old business card wouldn’t be valid anymore. You’ll have to reprint your business card.

Using a dynamic QR Code solves that problem.

  1. Saving your contact information by typing all the details is a hassle - Let’s say your team is attending a Home Market Trade show. You are distributing your business cards to your leads, but so are 20 other businesses. The recipient isn’t going to type all the details and store all 20 business contact information. That’s just too much work. You can argue that there are business card scanner apps. But then again, you are expecting the recipient to download an app, probably pay for it, and then scan all 20 cards.

A simple QR Card solves this problem. Your recipient scan the QR using their phone’s default camera and saves the info in 1 click.

  1. Understand how recipients are using your card - With traditional business cards, you are completely in the dark whether the recipient has stored his contact information or has thrown the card away. But with a QR Code business card, you can track scans, scan location, and more.

  2. Share more than you can with a traditional card - A paper business card has limited space. At most, you can add your contact details. Just by adding a simple QR Code, you can add so much more info. Link your QR Code to a page that contains your appointment booking link, customer testimonials, product videos, and more. The possibilities are endless.

Cons

The only con I’ve encountered is that sometimes older recipients aren’t aware of how to scan the QR Code. So if your target demographic contains elderly people, you might be at a disadvantage in using a QR Code business card.