We have published a number of articles over the last few months featuring companies who are incorporating QR Codes into their products. We have seen QR codes on Urns,
headstones, memorial markers, and even business cards. But in the funeral industry are QR codes really valuable?
At first glance this topic was very exciting and popular but as time has past over the last 6-8 months it seems as though the excitement has fizzled out. Is this justified or should we still be excited about this “new” technology?
QR (quick response) codes are two-dimensional bar codes that were created in 1994 by Toyota subsidiary Denso-Wave. They we created to track car parts through the manufacturing process. Now with the rise in smartphone usage there are apps available that allow you to use your smartphone’s camera as a bar code reader.
With the advances in QR code integration you can use your smartphone to scan the QR code which will direct you to a specific website or in the case of the funeral industry to an online obituary or memorial. Some companies are even directing the QR codes to an audio file that will tell you about the life of the person “buried below”.
My question is this: with the advances in technology is there something better than a QR code already out there? Are QR codes really valuable?
Think about an online memorial, after the initial grieving process has past how often do online memorials get updated? So is it really valuable to have a QR code on a
headstone that is linked to a stagnate memorial page? Are people really going to walk through a cemetery and scan QR codes of people they don’t know? Isn’t that who the
QR code is for, I mean a granddaughter isn’t going to scan grandma’s QR code every time she goes into the cemetery because she has already visited Grandma’s memorial
page online and it probably hasn’t changed.
What about QR codes that link to a deceased Facebook profile? Is that Facebook profile still going to be online in 5 years? What if something bigger and better than
Facebook comes along?
I think that it is great that companies are embracing new technology and integrating that technology into the funeral industry, but are they focusing time and money on
integrating a technology that is really over before it starts?
On the flip side I see many valuable uses of QR codes for marketing purposes for funeral homes. Putting QR codes on handouts at the funeral home that links to different
grieving resources or an email newsletter sign up. But I still am trying to find the true value in using QR codes during the memorialization of a loved one.
So, I pose this question for discussion: In the funeral industry are QR codes really valuable?
Please share your thoughts below.
Author Bio
Ryan Thogmartin is founder and CEO of two innovative funeral service websites, Connecting Directors and CDSocial, the only social networking site for funeral service. With the advent of Connecting Directors, Ryan showed his strong commitment to creating a global community through an online platform where funeral service professionals can network, and get the cutting-edge information they need to stay ‘on top of their game.’
In 2011 Ryan launched Disrupt Media Group, a social media marketing company. Disrupt MG is a Social Media Marketing company which helps people grow their business and take it to the next level, by creating massive viral visibility with social media. For more information on using social media marketing for your funeral home please visit: http://www.disruptmg.com/funeral or email: ryan@disruptmg.com.
