So you've followed the directions in our early post I Can Do This: Registering Your Business In Google Places. You've validated your account, either through a phone call, or through the postcard that came in the mail. 

So is that it? Do you just let the account sit there?

Well, you certainly can. And you will still get traffic from it. But there are also some additional great opportunities to take advantage of.

Now that you have a listing – which allows individual users to comment on and rate your services – you want to get as many of your current customers as you can to go online, and share the good experiences they’ve had in  your place of business with others!

There are many creative ways you can do this.

In fact, Google (again) provides some great free tools for you to use! Once you validate your ownership of the business in your Google Places account, you will have the immediate opportunity to print out a poster with a special QR code, which includes the well-recognized and trusted Google Places logo.

That's nice, you say. But what's a QR code?

It's very much like an enhanced square-shaped futuristic barcode, designed to be scanned by modern cellphones.

Most smartphones have a barcode scanner app pre-installed, or have one freely available in their operating system's respective App Market or Store.

The poster can serve a few purposes – for those leaving your store, for those considering stopping in, and even more.

If you post it on the door on the way out, it gives your customers the opportunity to scan it, and immediately enter in feedback right now while they’re thinking about how well your employees just treated them.

If you post it on the outside of your door, potential on-the-edge customers can scan it to read about all the good experiences and services that your place of business has provided others in the past. It may, at that very moment, be that extra little something needed to get them to decide to spend some time in your place of business, which could then lead to them become a loyal lifetime customer.

You can further place this code on any additional printed (or electronic) marketing materials you may personally make, including business cards. It’s a great way to take an in-person encounter, and turn it into additional free advertising on your Google Places site, by means of content-rich personalized reviews!

What other uses for the QR Code can you think of?

Link: Google Places Barcodes