QR Codes: How to Use them Better in 2026

I'll be honest, my favorite part about marketing is definitely not the technical side, but everybody needs some practical information every once-in-a-while. QR codes have become pretty common and for a great reason. They create a choose-your-own-adventure type of marketing experience for customers, allowing them to bridge real-life and digital interactions with organizations. They are also incredibly useful. As somebody interested in user experience, I love when brands take initiative on making the customer’s life easier.

Currently most small businesses use QR codes to manage information transfer or for simplifying things like registrations. For tips on this, I would simply say don’t miss the opportunity to create a branded product. Branding builds trust, recognition, and belonging. As we have talked about before in the blog about personality types here, for some markets and people, this is incredibly important. Customization of QR codes is more possible today, so make the most of it. On your end, QR codes and other 2D barcodes can hold a lot of information. 2026 will bring with it more ways to track data from QR codes more effectively and securely and it will also come with more QR code agility. If you are a small business, this is important, because it is also time-saving. Make sure you look into dynamic QR code options in 2026 as they become more accessible.

Aside from the backend differences and branding, I encourage you to get creative about how you are using QR codes next year. With more customization and agility comes an ability to personalize. If you are a small business, you can now create exclusive content, loyalty rewards programs, and individualized services using QR codes. Often times, what seems like a small upgrade is actually game changing for those willing to try new things out. Go for it.

How Do People Use Your Website?

Myers-Briggs, astrology, the enneagram —sometimes I wonder why humans are so obsessed with personality quizzes, but when I consider it from a neurological perspective, it seems logical we would want to classify ourselves in order to better make sense of our own behavior (or that of others). Even before scientific studies were so prevalent, observational data has been collected across a variety of cultures and centuries of human societies. As with anything, when some patterns are consistent across such a broad spectrum of data, they probably hold some truth, even if we aren’t sure why. What does this have to do with your website or social media calendar?

It would be unwise to completely dismiss these tools from the table when considering your market. Look at personality tools like quick guides for the user on the other side of your browser. Which personality type does your marketing tend to attract and how do those people tend to interact with the world? Use this information to funnel your focus and what you invest in with design and content. As an example, if your brand is geared towards people who love to explore, they are likely curious and into novelty. Make your product discoverable on other platforms that would appeal to their natures. Keep your content fresh.

If your audience is more of a homebody, they probably value safety. Make sure their information is secure. Focus on building a more steady, loyal (and maybe small group?) online community. What about the rule follower or planner in the group (Enneagram type 1 anybody)? Communicate clearly and often, and don’t be too cheeky. Make sure your navigation is obvious on your platforms and try to include calendars when possible. These are the people that want to know when their item has shipped, for instance.

Obviously these aren’t the only categories to explore, but you get the idea. Which personality test can you NOT make all about you, but instead use to understand your clients instead? How can you serve this group more fully now that you better know what they need?

Give them the Fun: The American Market Appreciates Indulgence

In some countries, like Russia, Portugal, Italy, China and India, restraint is not just a virtue, but a way of life. Generations are raised with the undercurrent that fun and enjoyment are excess or occasional gifts meant to spice up life - at least for the majority of the people who live there. In indulgent countries, like Mexico, Sweden, Australia, the UK, and the United States, fun is virtually viewed as a right.

If America was a person, she may not be the life of the party (that’s definitely Mexico), but she’s absolutely an extrovert. She likes a challenge and loves to work hard, but she also feels fulfilled with many kinds of friendships, some of which are casual and care-free, and struggles to thrive under systems with a need for too much discipline or self-control. While of course there is a spectrum of values in the population, the average American is more indulgent in nature than the majority of the world.

If you can understand this as a small business, maybe you can even learn to love, work with, and even mature it into a deeper version of itself. Online, Americans are often the connectors. They use the internet for the loose socialization they appreciate in reality and explore other countries and spaces frequently. They are quick and open to sharing fun information, trends, and humor.

Americans are less likely to judge your business for candidly expressing itself and more appreciative of direct, honest discussion. Their general ability to connect quickly also allows you to add variety to your marketing without too much fear of losing your audience. They are used to diversity and, in general, find fast ways to relate.

The ability to savor the pleasures in life is often preceded by an optimistic disposition. It may be hard to believe at times, but this is actually true of America. We are optimists. Even in the midst of struggle, we like partaking in joy, humor, and friendly comedy. No matter what your niche is, keep in mind all Americans want to have fun. It’s your job to find what’s fun for your market.

A Short-Term Mindset

With so much on socials about how modern generations lack focus, it probably comes as no surprise that Americans score low in terms of long-term orientation. If your audience is largely from the states, then they are probably short-sighted. What may be enlightening to some, is how this orientation impacts the way we tend to interact with the organizations we come across.

American audiences have less patience when it comes to visible results. Yes, this may mean you need to manage expectations clearly and highlight the ares of success more readily; however, many small businesses fail to recognize this also translates to an expectation of timely customer service. Whether it’s realistic or not, your clients likely expect you to address each of their concerns visibly and swiftly.

Depending on your field, fast results may not be possible. In this case, education and culture building can be used to recalibrate the beliefs your market adopts as valuable. You can use some of the benefits of short-term orientation to do this very thing.

People who have been raised in places like America tend to appreciate anything that helps them make good decisions in a timely manner. Ratings, data, infographics, and evidence based arguments ease our minds. Truthful information in easy-to-digest formats can be your best friend. Short-term audiences also love a good trend. Don’t be afraid to participate in them, or even set some. Understand you can use these tools as culture builders, not just as a mechanism for appealing to your customers. Move people towards a bigger perspective by starting with what feels a little more familiar and usable in their minds.

Uncertainty Accepting, an Underlying Current in your American Market

So far, I have touched on equality and independence, and now I will move the heuristic discussion on to the metric of Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI). If you want to dive deeper into the psychology of different markets, I learned the majority of these topics from The Web Psychologist, Nathalie Nahai. You can find her website here.

Despite what the media may have us believing, the USA (as a whole) actually ranks pretty high in our willingness to accept uncertainty. This makes sense because we are, after all, a nation of immigrants with a higher genetic propensity for dopamine seeking behavior (see The Molecule of More by Daniel Z. Lieberman and Michael E. Long). We appreciate flexibility, innovation, the entrepreneurial spirit, and we tend to turn our nose up at rigidity in institutions, laws, or structures. In practical terms this means we like websites and platforms where we can explore (think Reddit and search bars). We also like to interact with information how we please, instead of being forced to approach a brand in one way. Give your audience at least a couple of options, such as blogs, YouTube, podcasts, social media, or websites.

As a small business, you don’t have to do everything, but the American market appreciates the ability to dive deeper when their interest is peaked, so make sure at least one of your offerings gives them the ability to do that in some way. It can be relational (getting to know you or your business more intimately) or more complex insights into ideas (educational blogs or videos for example) or both!

How Independence Shapes Your Market

It’s no secret Americans value independence. We were born from the idea of personal freedom, after all. Internationally, we rank the highest - just above Australia- in how strongly we prize autonomy, and we form our identity around the individual, rather than the community. If your customer base is American (or maybe Australian), then, it is critical to acknowledge the idea of independence as a foundational orientation in your marketing strategy.

People in America are expected to have enough freedom and equality (as I mentioned in my last blog) to take care of themselves. The onus is largely on the individual to be self-sufficient and find a way to meet their needs. With that also comes an expectation for sovereignty over one’s own life (and time). We value personal time, privacy, and the ability to travel. Because we place less emphasis on communal ties, we tend to be riskier and are often motivated by things that benefit us as an individual. This explains a higher level of competitiveness and adventure, a tendency towards tangible or visible expressions of achievement, a love of the rebel spirit, and the desire to feel unique. We like things that make us look and feel good as an individual (though there is a high level of variance in what those things are).

The American tendency towards independence works well for all small businesses in the sense that there is always a market for what you are selling out there. It can also present challenges—if your brand involves encouraging people to ask for help or sacrifice personal time for the community, for instance. Like any good therapist, though, it’s important to meet the client where they are. Speak the language they understand and relate to first, understand this coding drives their decision-making, and open them up to different ways of being as you build a relationship with them. You’ve got this, you self-sufficient rebel.

Market Heuristics: How Culture Influences your Audience

If you have ever traveled to a foreign country, you may have found yourself confused about how to navigate cultural differences and how they come up in every day interactions. A common shock in many countries, for instance, is how open many Americans are when talking to strangers. With a country as diverse and sprawling as ours, though, you don’t have to travel internationally to see the way culture influences how people react to things. The bluntness of New England—the superficiality of LA—the “polite” South. These are all stereotypes born from cultural differences and priorities. Generational differences, too, can be a challenge to reach across in our own communities. Gen Z is often seen as being unable to focus or commit to anything; however, they have been raised with a high level of customization. Is it possible that perspective can help us to understand and work with them better?

Heuristics are how our brains cruise control on decision-making, and the cultures we come up in set the code for what those heuristics look like. If you live in America, there are some general cultural norms you can be aware of as a starting point, and then further research your specific market niche from there.

The first one I’ll touch on is equality. America ranks pretty high in terms of the level of equality they expect for the least of us. This may seem obvious, but when fleshed out, it clarifies a lot of unseen motivators. What appears to be entitlement, for instance, may be the flip side of the same hidden beliefs that allow us to fight for the freedoms of communities we don’t even know. Whatever your market, who has the least power in the system? If you work in education, it is likely the child. In any market, the casual or passive consumer is often the least powerful within the community. Understand that in our culture there is a low tolerance for exclusion at these levels or a high expectation for fair treatment regardless of the level of power people hold in the system. This idea shapes people’s subconscious expectations of fairness, and even influences what qualities are attractive in a brand. Think of the ways we respect companies and people who share their expertise and give followers tidbits of education on their socials for free. Being aware of this influence is the first step towards working with it in a way that works for your business. How can you express equality in your market?

What does it really mean to engage your customer?

Have you ever thought of what the actual definition of “engagement”is? The term has range. It can signify anything from betrothal to military combat, and for somebody who owns or works with small businesses (outside of the wedding world), it probably brings to mind social media and marketing metrics. One thing that is true across the board, though, is that engagement signifies another level of commitment. It’s something we use to acknowledge the presence of a deeper level of intimacy or relationship. We move from being separate entities in our own little worlds, to interacting with one another in some way.

What does this mean for marketing? There was a time when businesses were able to get in front of their customer with the service they provide and do great work. That was enough. Today, the quality of your work still matters, word of mouth still works, AND people have access to infinite options. The spaces they keep coming back to are the ones that are committed to them as people and interested in building a multi-faceted relationship. Nobody wants to hang out with that one friend who only shows up to the barbecue to sell everybody their latest batch of essential oils. Engaging your customer means showing them you are committed to a relationship with them and earning the right for them to return the favor. How can you do that with your brand?

Aspirational Marketing: Reinforce the Culture you are Building

Sales. That’s what many people think about when they bring in somebody for marketing. It’s your job to get more people in the door, isn’t it? The struggle with the job of marketing is you can bring people in, but the quality of what they find is what get them to stay…or leave. And many potential customers value different things, so the RIGHT people have to wander towards you in the first place. Only half of it is up to you, then, right?

Maybe. Certainly, you won’t be able to influence everybody, but as Seth Godin speaks about often, marketing is as much about culture building as much as it is about selling the current state of things. In your strategy, imagine a desired community to work towards and make sure a large portion of your marketing is building around that. What you are aiming for as an organization may not be the majority in this moment, but in making it overt, you are calling the people who are attracted to that kind of culture in towards you. Those are the people who will help shift the group mindset into a force that can help make your organization’s aspirations a reality.

Understanding Customer Decision-Making to Market with Integrity

Humans like to think they make up their own minds about things, but the truth is, most often, when decision-making is in the moment, our subconscious does the work. Any "thinking” we do often happens with ‘post-hoc rationalization’ afterwards to justify the choice. This very fact drives people like James Clear to promote better habits as a mechanism for better decision making in his book Atomic Habits. The idea is that true free will is not available to us in the moment, but instead over the long term. We shape our habits today to create a subconscious that makes better decisions for us in the future.

Outside of the value these insights provide for my own life, I am interested in how this neurological wiring gets exploited today in media and marketing. What does this knowledge mean for marketing with integrity? One thing that has to get prioritized is the broader view. Communicate the vision beyond the “sale” to your audience. Aim for them to understand the scope of your business. Help them become a better version of themselves over time through each interaction with your services (regardless of if they ever make a purchase). And take responsibility for the integrity of your own products and services. If you know somebody may pay for something from you on a gut impulse, do everything you can to make it worth it. Be relentless in your own work and the pursuit of make it of the utmost value in the world.

The Emotional Brain: Connecting to Your Market is Good for You and Your Business

Connecting emotionally is an important way you can build a relationship with the people you serve with your small business services and products. Forming this relationship not only makes their experience more fulfilling, but it also helps to keep you attached to the purpose of your work. That’s because the best ways to connect emotionally with your audience is to show people experiencing authentic emotions that trigger mirror neurons for those observing them or to tell a story.

Finding ways to hone in on genuine experiences to share or tracing a story from the work you do lets people in on why what you do matters, and if you are like most small business owners, it also gives you a breath of fresh air and reminds you of why all those tasks that are piling up in the notes section of your phone are actually for.

Help your Audience Make Decisions: Reframing Scarcity in Marketing with Positive Urgency

You’ve seen scarcity used on every platform. We all have. Hell, we have even used it! “One day sale” and “Only 3 available” or even the idea of an early bird window all pull on this marketing tactic. Based on our previous chats, you may guess this is useful because it targets the primal brain. In ethical marketing, though, the goal is not to manipulate the audience, but to serve them as best you can. When it comes to using scarcity, then, we need to orient ourselves around positive urgency rather than fear tactics.

It should go without saying, but deadlines and numbers should be honest and practical. What are the deadlines you actually need for the backend work? How many products are actually available? We also need to recognize that humans were designed to be seasonal creatures, rather than having nearly everything available all at once.

Our world now has so many options, 24/7. It can actually be helpful, then, for businesses to create some windows of services and remove some of the decision-fatigue of daily life. In turn, this also creates demand for your customers when those windows are open. If it’s a seasonal event or product, for instance, they begin to look forward to it; and, if you do it with intention, it helps to create rhythm in their lives and in your community. Take a look at your business and look for areas where you can benefit your client with rhythms and positive urgency.

Feeding your Audience: Serve your Customers a Three Course Meal with Marketing

Let’s imagine you’ve been gifted a free meal with your favorite person. You have been given two options: a fine dining experience at a new fancy restaurant with several courses or, alternatively, two combos at your favorite fast food place. Play out both of those options in your mind. Which one makes you feel more fully nourished?

I’d bet that while you might have a great time eating with good people at Chipotle, the fine dining experience likely seems more appealing overall. Part of the reason this may be true is that the fine dining option stimulates several areas of our brains. It’s new, which sparks our attention. The person we are with is safe and the thought of being with them and experiencing something new together stirs up the emotional parts of our brains. And lastly, the idea of dining at a fancy restaurant brings with it the possibility for higher levels of learning. It makes us feel a little curious about what we may discover about food itself.

Attention, Emotion, and Cognitive Curiosity. These are the three aspects of the human brain that want to be fed well. As a small business, recognize that each component has its value and use good marketing to serve your customers up a three course meal they will appreciate and remember.

A Case for Video Reviews: Why Small Businesses Should Use Real Customers for Ads

Do you remember the first time you ever had a to record yourself talking on camera? I do. I was incredibly awkward. In my defense, I went my whole childhood never having to do anything of the sort, aside from “I love you, dad!” videos to my dad when he was deployed. This is no longer true. Most people under the age of 30 are relatively comfortable on camera. As a small business owner, this is incredibly valuable—especially if you provide a service or product that truly brings people value.

With social media ads and market manipulation running rampant, people have not only gotten better at speaking on camera, but at recognizing when they are being sold to. Our brains, designed to pick up subtle signs of trustworthiness in the human face, have learned to recognize when a smile is genuine or paid for. Because of this, your best ad is an honest one, and video makes it even easier for your customers to recognize that truth. Don’t be shy, ask your customers to shoot you a video review. If they appreciate what you’ve given them, they will probably be more than happy to support.

Keeping the Customer's Brain in Mind: Marketing to Real People

Have you ever craved a particular food when you are feeling bored, or upset? Maybe craved some chocolate when you really needed a cuddle? The part of your brain that loves those familiar comforts is also responsible for shaping your purchasing preferences. Our decisions about what products to buy are largely made for us by our base brain settings and the early experiences that shaped them. Sure it’s possible to reshape the things we find appealing, but that takes time and awareness. Instead, our brain often just finds creative ways of chasing the same things we have had before, even when we like the excitement of something new.

Understanding this tendency as a consumer is clearly valuable for our personal growth, and likely our wallet. As a marketer, though, this knowledge can mean the difference between product sales that bloom or ones that wither. Your customer is both looking forward to something new and, to some extent, wanting what they already have, what they already know, and what they have already seen. Give them both. Make your new-to-them product feel familiar. All that takes is knowing your market…simple, right?

User Experience (UX) Strategy. What is it?

Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat. -Sun Tzu

The beautiful thing about the world of product design and the “user experience” way of thinking is that businesses often begin to orient themselves around the way their products impact others. The details matter and designers become empathetic to all of the ways people and systems interact with those details. A struggle that arises, then, is that the work is infinite. How does one decide where to provide value first, and where to channel design energy most often? The potential for deliverables are endless, but which ones will make an impact, and which are a waste of time?

All of these answers (and the importance of the questions themselves) vary depending on the field each business exists in, the size or the organization, and the value it is trying to provide in the world. User experience strategy involves the unique approach each team will take to deal with these questions and problems. It isn’t just about how products will be designed, produced, marketed or sold (though all of these things are addressed), but instead how the concept of user experience will fit into the framework of the business or organization at hand. How will this team prioritize user experience? How can user experience principles be implemented and who will be responsible for them? How will UX itself be internally assessed, prioritized, developed, and expanded? How do the business strategy, product value, and the user themselves (using research and considering their experience) fit together practically?

Take the time to consider how these questions might take shape within your organization or influence your processes differently! Every business and organization can begin to implement UX strategy on some level and save themselves some busywork in the long run.