QR Codes and Coffee

In a famous case from several years ago, a woman sued McDonald's for - and I swear I am not making this up - spilling hot coffee on herself.

That case is emblematic of the problematically litigious and nature of American society.

But, if we are looking for them, problems always bring with them opportunities.

Taking preemptive measures against consumer burning themselves by holding a paper cup with steaming hot coffee inside, restaurants like Panera, Starbucks and others began providing thick paper sleeves to wrap the cup in.

With Starbucks and Panera completely altering the idea of what a coffee shop could be, there has been a massive proliferation of coffee shops.

Now. like Waffle House restaurants in the South, there is seemingly a coffee shop on every other corner throughout the U.S. - many of them single location, independents.

Companies like Panera and Starbucks have massive scale and deep pockets.

But, that Mom & Pop coffee shop on the corner must watch carefully every penny.

So, what IF there was a way that those shops could provide these sleeves to their customers at NO COST to the shop?

I thought about this when combining the words Coffee and Marketing.

[Ask me about the Anchor Term method of Purposeful Creative Thinking.]

Coffee Marketing

As a small business that is located in the same geographical area as one of these independent coffee shops, provide coffee sleeves to them for their customer's use.

Each sleeve has printed on it your company's logo along with a scannable QR code.

This QR code could have printed text that says...anything you choose.

One Example:

Customers of M&P Coffee Shop receive 10% off their first order. Scan here to (buy now. download a digital coupon, etc.)

Nearly 100% of people who are buying their coffee in these paper cups have their phone with them; making that QR code super easy to utilize.

And, the easier it is to do business with you the more people will do business with you.

Bonus Idea: Two or more businesses could collaborate on providing the sleeves in order to reduce the marketing cost to each.

Plumbers and QR Codes

The coffee marketing idea above came from an Idea Session in which I was coming up with multiple marketing ideas.

[Yes, I do that kind of stuff on a regular basis so I have a vault of ideas for clients who hire me to develop unique and simple-to-implement strategies.]

In that same session, I combined the words Elbow and Marketing.

The word Elbow made me think of plumbing.

So, naturally, my mind drifted toward an idea for how plumbers could market themselves better.

Sticking with the QR code notion, here is the idea I came up with.

Have a sticker that has the name of the company along with a QR code that is placed every few feet along any pipe that is visible.

The sticker says: Need Help? Scan Here.

When scanned, the QR code pops up a site that has both a contact phone number that people can call or text, a chat bot which can perform basic functions (like scheduling a service call) and an email address for other inquiries.

That way, when there is a problem people can easily contact the company.

In addition, the chat bot has basic prompt questions that, when chosen, can guide people through how to deal with a leak while they are waiting for a plumber to arrive.

Which of these ideas is your favorite?

What can your company/industry do with QR codes to serve customers better?

Btw, be sure to pick up a copy of my book, 101 Freaking Brilliant Business Ideas: And Ten Ways YOU Can Create Your Own for more ideas like these.

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Want to see how our Purposeful Creative Thinking Training can help your organization become more innovative and stand out in an increasingly crowded world?

Don't want to do it yourself? Our Business Strategy Design Services can help.

PM me?so we can discuss.

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Have you seen the movie classic Jaws?

Remember at the beginning of the movie, you knew there was a shark but weren’t sure exactly just how BIG it was?

The podcast and success community that David Rosenberg and I are launching is kind of like that – minus the blood and fear.

You might need a bigger boat!

The Amazon of B2B for Micro, Small and Mid-Sized Business

As mentioned above, we have many amazing Vendor Partners who provide the products, services and training micro, small and mid-sized businesses need to thrive in today's world.

They include:

CREATE Sales Masterclass training from Chad Johnson

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Purposeful Creative Thinking training from SpearPoint Solutions

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Btw, ask me about how becoming a Vendor Partner or Brand Ambassador can increase your prosperity and help you win your personal gold medal.

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About?Bob Sager

The founder of SpearPoint Solutions, Bob’s professional background includes over three decades of experience in sales, leadership and training. Combined with Purposeful Creative Thinking, he uses that experience to develop business strategies that help organizations increase sales and margins. Additionally, Bob and his team of Certified Facilitators train individuals and organizations on these same methods of Purposeful Creative Thinking so they are better prepared to thrive in the modern?economy.

Among other accomplishments, Bob is the?inventor?of the Purposeful Creative Thinking game, What's the BIG Idea?? and author of the books, Discovering Your Greatness , 101 Freaking Brilliant Business Ideas and his latest, More Freaking Brilliant Ideas (comment or PM me to ask for a no-charge copy of this one).