What can you do to jazz up your corporate holiday cards this year to make them more personal for your client and more useful to your business? By including QR Codes and PURLs inside the card you can tailor your message, offer your clients a choice of gifts and provide a specific offer. This is the third post in our blog series, Holiday Card Campaigns 101, designed to make your cards more valuable to both you and your clients.
Quick-Response, or QR Codes, are printed square codes that are scanned with a smartphone and take viewers directly to a designated landing site. Personal URLs, known as PURLs, take your viewer to a personalized web location. Both of these options can greatly enhance your holiday card campaign, providing personalization to your customer and feedback to your business.
PURLs - The beauty of a PURL is that you can use it to direct your customer to their own personalized landing page. Think of it as a private location that you create just for them. Here your customer can choose from a range of gifts that you have chosen specifically for them. If they are unable to accept gifts, you can offer a range of charities where you will make a donation on their behalf. Another benefit to this private landing page is that you can provide a personalized message or customized offer, designated just for that recipient. PURLs work so well with email greetings because with just a simple click, your customer is taken directly to the gift or offer that you want them to see. 
QR Codes - With a QR Code, you can create a unique code for each card, which allows you to personalize the landing page. Or, save time by using the same QR Code on each card, taking all recipients to the same site for choosing a gift or making a donation to charity. Keep in mind:
- If you use a QR Code, leave space for it in the layout of your card.
- We recommend that the QR Code be at least 1.5" square inches.
- White space surrounding the code is also important. Leave enough around the edges so the mobile device scans and decodes the QR code correctly.
Not sure if your clients use smartphones? You can easily protect yourself by including a PURL if using unique a QR Code for each recipient. If you are using the same QR Code for each holiday card, simply include a static URL. Benefit to using PURLs and QR Codes With access to tools like PURLs and QR Codes, why send a typical run-of-the-mill holiday card? In addition to using today's technology to wow your customers, you can provide a customized gift selection, make a customized offer, personalize your greeting and even track how many used it. Don't miss this opportunity to amplify this aspect of your communications plan. What ideas do you have for using PURLs and QR Codes in your business holiday cards?
