WhatsApp is the most used messaging app worldwide, even ahead of the popular Facebook Messenger. That is why more and more companies are communicating with their customers and prospects via WhatsApp. However, users often have to reach for their smartphone from a desktop or an offline advertisement and laboriously search for the company's phone number in their WhatsApp account before they can communicate with a company. Forwarding is easier and much more convenient with a QR code.
Want to direct your customers to WhatsApp with just one click? In this article, you will learn how to use the WhatsApp QR code and start a conversation with customers and prospects with the free Click-to-Chat Generator from Superchat.
What is a QR code?
A QR code (quick response code) consists of several black and white rectangular symbols that prospects can scan with their smartphone. You often see QR codes on billboards or flyers that redirect to a specific website, landing page or into a WhatsApp chat.
As a rule, a separate QR code app is no longer needed to read the code. This is because most smartphone cameras now automatically recognise that it is a QR code and forward the user directly to the respective destination.
Why should businesses use a WhatsApp QR code?
QR codes are very simple and quick to use and easy to scan with almost any smartphone. According to a recent study by the consultancy Deloitte, 1 from 2020, 89 percent of Germans own a smartphone, which is used daily by almost all respondents. One of the most used applications is - unsurprisingly - WhatsApp. Good reasons, then, why you should rely on WhatsApp as a communication channel for your customers.
And to make it as easy as possible for your customers to contact you via WhatsApp, you should use a QR code. Because this bridges the so-called media gap in the best possible way. This means that in the case of offline advertising, the customer is forwarded directly from a poster, a flyer or similar to the smartphone in the Messenger app. And even when visiting a website on the desktop, the prospective customer can easily contact your company on the smartphone via a QR code.
Comeback for QR codes: There's life in the old dog yet
Until a few years ago, the QR code was considered unfashionable, ugly and on the verge of extinction. In times of new technologies like Image Recognition - the automatic picture recognition system - the QR code actually seems downright antediluvian. But the QR code, invented by the Japanese car industry in 1994, never really managed to realise its full potential. In the meantime, many (customer) contacts are generated via QR codes by large, established companies. This is because, especially in large corporations, it sometimes takes a very long time before new technologies can be implemented.
Since 2016, the QR code has therefore been experiencing a continuous upward trend despite all predictions. After all, the QR code has the clear advantage that most viewers can see at first glance that digital content is hidden behind it. After all, you wouldn't expect a conventional image to be scannable, would you?
In these 5 cases a WhatsApp QR code makes sense
No matter whether on- or offline: QR codes for WhatsApp can be useful in both cases. Here are five examples of where you can specifically apply the QR code to WhatsApp.
Flyer
For an offline business such as a shop or restaurant, entrepreneurs should provide flyers with a QR code to WhatsApp. Perhaps you can link the code to a discount promotion and thus encourage your users to order a certain product directly via WhatsApp.
Website
If your homepage is mainly used on the desktop and you want to forward your customers to WhatsApp, you should also implement a QR code to the messenger at a suitable place. This way, your prospective customers can get quick and uncomplicated advice from one of your employees in a WhatsApp chat.
Product packaging
Wouldn't it be handy if your customer could hold your product in his hands and be connected to your WhatsApp account with a quick flick of the wrist to place repeat orders or buy other products? Then it would be best to place your QR code to WhatsApp directly on your product packaging.
Newsletter
The QR code to WhatsApp can also be useful in the newsletter if many of your customers and prospects read the newsletter on their desktop. Then they can scan the code directly with their smartphone and connect with one of your employees via WhatsApp.
Shop window
For a classic shop, a QR code in the shop window or on the reception door is a good way to direct your customers into a WhatsApp chat with you. Especially if your shop is currently closed due to the lockdown, you can use this to encourage your customers to order from you online via WhatsApp.
How to optimise the QR code to WhatsApp
First of all, you should place the QR code where users can easily read it. These should be places where your prospects will stay long enough. For example, a billboard is not the best place if the user usually drives past it in a car or a bus. Whereas a QR code on a flyer that the user carries with them can easily be scanned at their leisure.
To do this, you should motivate your users with a suitable CTA (call-to-action) to actually read the code. For example, you could encourage your prospects to do so with a discount promotion for all orders placed via WhatsApp.
But no matter how you go about it: Ideally, you should make life a little easier for your users by scanning the code. Like, for example, a South Korean supermarket chain that uses QR codes in underground stations so that consumers can order food here while waiting for the train. The grocery chain has been able to achieve a huge national increase in revenue this way.
Create QR code for WhatsApp with Superchat
Simply create your own WhatsApp QR code and wa.me link with Superchat using the WhatsApp Click-to-Chat Link Generator. It's as simple as this, step by step:
Step 1:
Enter the mobile phone number where your customers can reach you on WhatsApp. Additionally, you can type in a message that your prospects can automatically send to you.
Step 2:
Use the WhatsApp Click-to-Chat Link Generator to create a wa.me link and a QR code, which you then download.
Step 3:
The QR code is then immediately ready for use! It is best to test it once before you offer the code to your customers for reading.
Bundle your customer inquiries with Superchat
With Superchat, you can not only create a QR code and a link to WhatsApp, but also connect all customer messages from all channels: No matter whether a customer writes to you by email, text message or WhatsApp.
Try out Superchat's messaging software today, free of charge and without obligation, and simplify the work of your employees. Save time, money and resources and always respond quickly to your customer via the channel they prefer.