State Farm Simplifies Moving with 2D Barcodes and iPad
The prevalence of 2D barcodes on advertisements and business cards is quickly disseminating the aura of innovation that surrounded them a year, even six months ago. But a broad spectrum of 2D barcode application possibilities remains. Rather than asking “what can we put a QR code on?” companies should be asking, “how can I better serve my customers?” The time for the technology to pass as the innovation is over. The novelty has worn off. However, the inherent benefits of the technology are the same. The innovation will now reside in its application.
State Farm is one company whose answer to, “how can we better serve our customers?” includes QR codes. The company has developed a free iPad application called MoveTools, that helps its customers through one of life's most stressful activities, moving. The company labels the app, a relocation planning and household inventory assistant.
MoveTools is designed to assist in planning and organizing a move by providing all the necessary resources in one place. Users can customize a weekly moving checklist to help plan their move and then create an inventory of their possessions. Users can then create and print “smart labels” with digital QR Codes, which can be read by smartphones with barcode reading applications. Scanning a box's label will quickly display a list of the items packed inside.
“MoveTools™ blends innovation with utility in something that’s useful to people during one of the biggest moments in their lives,” said Patty Gaumond, assistant vice president of Enterprise Internet Solutions at State Farm. “Leveraging new technology is just one of the ways we’re being there for our customers.”
This is the first application from an insurer designed to assist people with relocation. This marks StateFarm's second first, in August 2010, State Farm released the insurance industry’s first Android widget, called “On the Move,” aimed at combating the issue of distracted driving.
What State Farm has demonstrated with this logical, intuitive application of QR codes is that the customer's needs must come before the technology. The technology should be the answer, not the question. Customer's will not be impressed by 'innovative technology' unless its value to them is immediately apparent.
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