In today’s economy, businesses of all sizes seem to be overwhelmed with keeping their existing customers happy while maintaining their current level of business. Planning for growth is often the lowest priority down on the list.

At a time when marketing and sales are more important than ever before, this is an unfortunate reality for many businesses.

So why are some companies experiencing record sales and building their businesses with ease? Even though the economy is what it is, smart businesses are gaining a competitive advantage. Many have learned to use hot new trends like QR code marketing to create greater customer engagement, boost sales and propel their business forward. As it is still gaining traction in the digital marketing arena, QR code marketing is becoming a new cost-effective way to quickly build your customer database and achieve sales goals.

While it’s helpful to create a full-fledged QR code marketing plan, there are a few simple strategies that you can implement right away to help you increase efficiency and start watching your revenues grow. Here are five things you can do now to get your business back on track.

1. Make Every Connection Count

Do you attend networking events, exchanging cards only to wish you had a better way to harness the connections you make? If so, you’ll want to consider using QR codes to help you stand out from the crowd at your next event and, at the same time, build your mobile text marketing database. Why not create a button or name tag that incorporates your QR code with a simple design? Instead of seeing your name on a traditional name tag, people will notice and scan the two-dimensional code with their mobile phones. As a result, you’ll be less likely to let valuable connections slip away. The experience will offer a competitive way for you to brand your company. And it will be quite a conversation starter.

2. Test Different Media with Unique QR Codes

Now there is a way to measure the success of your traditional media campaigns across different market segments using QR Code marketing. When you design your ad for magazines, trade journals, billboards, Facebook fan pages, websites or TV Commercials across different market segments, you can incorporate unique QR codes for each. It’s an instant data collection tool that can help you determine who your ideal customer really is and their media habits. For example, if you advertise your QR code in Better Homes and Gardens, The New Yorker and Vanity Fair, you’ll better understand the media profile of your VIP customer. Using QR code marketing as a data collection tool, you’ll be able to test your demographic and validate whether or not the subtle nuances between various media channels really make a difference.

3. Learn More about Your Customers

You can use your QR code to learn even more about people responding to your campaigns and the effectiveness of your message. You can discover in which geographic location they are located – tracking scans by city, state and country. It’s also possible to figure out the number of scans that your code produces by the hour, day, week and month. Other steps you can take to learn best practices for your future campaigns and multi-channel marketing strategy include testing different messages to learn which are best suited to QR code marketing. It’s another way to learn how to best connect with your customer.

4. Aid Your Field Research, Build Your Community

Now, unlike ever before, you can make the job of market research easy and much more affordable. Using a QR code posted on your signage or other tools like Facebook and Twitter, you can get the people that make up your target market to opt-in to take a mobile survey about their likes and dislikes. Compared to hiring a market research firm, it’s a much more cost-effective and time saving way to conduct field research to be sure you are hitting the mark in developing your product or service offering. At the same time, you’ll start building a community of key influencers, fans and potential customers that you can reach in an instant to successfully launch your new business or product.

5. Make It Easy for Customers to Access Valuable Support Resources

If your product or service requires training, support or customer service of any kind, you’ll want to provide an easy way for people to receive updates about your latest whitepaper, how-to guide or maintenance tip sheet. This simple gesture can prove invaluable towards building brand loyalty among your target market. By placing your QR code on your Facebook fan page, YouTube videos and customer care web page, you’ll be able to encourage greater engagement from customers. They can scan your QR code and more instantly access your support resources. And, at the same time, you’ll save time for your staff and improve your bottom line.

After incorporating these basic QR marketing strategies into your business, you’ll have a powerful marketing database that will help you consistently fuel your sales and gain customers more quickly and affordably than ever before.

You’ll also want to consider implementing a solution like Trumpia, which integrates QR codes as part of its multi-channel marketing platform. You’ll be able to increase your flow of qualified leads and sales conversions, all the while maintaining the loyalty of your current customers. As a result, you’ll soon be able to take your business to the next level.