What The Heck Is A QR Code?

What is a QR code – be one of the first of our kind to know.

Have you heard of QR codes yet? If not, let me introduce you. I’ve started seeing these around, but didn’t really understand the significance of them until a realtor showed my husband and I how he would use them as part of his aggressive selling campaign if we list our house with him (we did).

What are QR codes?
They look like this (this is mine):

Originating in Japan where they are commonly used, QR is short for Quick Response and they are quickly recognized by a smart phone as a short cut to a web site. QR Codes are starting to appear in magazine advertisements, on billboards, and web pages.  I even saw one recently on someone’s t-shirt. Once your cell phone captures the QR code, it goes to that URL and you instantly have access to details about that business – or details about the person wearing the t-shirt. It will show you a URL that you can click to see a trailer for a movie, get a coupon, or visit a web site telling your all about a beautiful home for sale.

How can you use QR codes to benefit your therapy business?
Well, much in the same way you use your web site. Only with a little more punch.

Maybe you have focused on working with stressed out businessmen. You’ll probably want to add a QR to your LinkedIn profile. Since I would venture to say very few therapists even know what QR is, being one of the first to have one would be pretty impressive. It certainly suggests you know something about their world, have some business savvy yourself, and care enough to stay current.

Same holds true for most anyone under 30 years of age. If I was targeting that market, I would have a magnet QR made and place one on the rear of all my cars, just like a bumper sticker. You never know whose attention you will attract just riding around town or parked at the mall.  Or put it on a tee shirt like that guy I saw and wear it to an outdoor concert.  You’re hip. You’re happening. You’re sick (ask your teenager what that means—it doesn’t mean catching a head cold.) You’re not just some stodgy, out-of-touch therapist sitting in a moldy old office! Just kidding, but you get my drift.

Adding a QR is also quite nice for SEO.

Most of your clients and potential clients may not yet be using QR codes, but you can bet they will be and will certainly appreciate your knowledge. While it shouldn’t, there are naturally going to be some assumptions that being tech savvy also makes you a more knowledgeable/skillful therapist. (I know, I know. Don’t shoot the messenger.) At the very least they will be curious. And now you have been noticed.

How do you generate a code?
According to the blog at Search Engine Land where much of this information was obtained, you can easily generate a QR code using a site like Kaywa.com or your web developer should be able to make one for you for less than $30. Google also has a tool and you can get more information about that at the Search Engine Land blog post: Close-Up With Google’s New QR Code Generator.

Learning can be fun.
I first saw this on that’s guy’s t-shirt and didn’t get it, but it must have registered, because when I saw one again, it was on a business coach’s Facebook post. I am so glad I know what this is early on so I can add it to my business cards (that need replacing), the signature line in my e-mail’s, my web site, my social media, my brochures, my letterhead. Who knows—maybe I’ll have a t-shirt made with one on it. Or put one on a car magnet and slap it on my bumper. Innovation. Innovation. Innovation.

What about you? How will you use your QR?

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Our unique situation and my work for you. In as much as we are in a profession that is truly unique, by extension any business involving the delivery of psychotherapy services is truly unique as well.  I have read, synthesized, and adapted this information to best serve you, the private practice psychotherapist. This is what I do. I go out into the world beyond the therapy office in search for information that psychotherapy business owners need, then sift through it for information that is potentially useful to you, translate it into terms that resonate with you, and deliver the information in as clear and accessible ways as I can find. And I offer to support you and your unique plans personally. It is similar to the same process you will need to do in your own business.

Can I share this? Of course. This information isn’t for everyone, however.  It’s specifically for those who are committed to creating a psychotherapy business that has vitality, profitability, and high value to clients. If you know 2 or 3 clinicians who are tired of struggling with old, ineffective models and are ready to grow themselves and their business beyond their current limitations, then absolutely SHARE THIS. They will appreciate you for it and I do too!

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