Guide · Small business

    QR codes for small business: the complete operator playbook

    Six QR use cases that earn their keep, what to put on each, and when a printed sticker isn't enough, written for owners and operators, not marketers.

    A customer taps her phone to a NearField Marker on the front of a cafe order counter

    1. The menu QR

    Tableside menus are the single most-deployed business QR code. The mistake operators make: printing a PDF link, then reprinting cards every time a price changes. The fix is a dynamic menu Experience you edit from your phone.

    A client taps her phone to a NearField Marker on the side panel of a salon styling station
    One Marker at the chair: booking, aftercare and a review prompt, without a POS integration or a monthly seat fee.

    2. The Wi-Fi QR

    Guests will not type a 16-character password. A Wi-Fi QR on the counter, table card, or hotel desk solves that in one tap. Free static QR is fine here, credentials don't change often.

    A client taps her phone to a NearField Marker on the side panel of a salon styling station
    One Marker at the chair: booking, aftercare and a review prompt, without a POS integration or a monthly seat fee.

    3. The Google review QR

    The highest-ROI QR code most small businesses ignore. Place it at the moment of the strongest reaction (post-meal, post-treatment, post-checkout) and reviews compound. Use a smart review flow to route unhappy guests privately to you instead of publicly to Google.

    A client taps her phone to a NearField Marker on the side panel of a salon styling station
    One Marker at the chair: booking, aftercare and a review prompt, without a POS integration or a monthly seat fee.

    4. The business-card QR

    Half your contacts won't enter your details manually. A QR linking to a vCard solves that in one tap. Owners and sales reps get a real boost from a dynamic digital business card they can update without reprinting.

    A client taps her phone to a NearField Marker on the side panel of a salon styling station
    One Marker at the chair: booking, aftercare and a review prompt, without a POS integration or a monthly seat fee.

    5. The link-in-bio QR

    If you're on social, you need one page that holds every link, every platform, and every promotion. A QR on packaging, business cards, or your storefront sends customers there without you having to spell out a URL.

    A client taps her phone to a NearField Marker on the side panel of a salon styling station
    One Marker at the chair: booking, aftercare and a review prompt, without a POS integration or a monthly seat fee.

    6. The event / pop-up QR

    Weddings, conferences, trade shows, pop-up shops, classes, anywhere temporary. The destination almost always needs to change (schedules slip, sessions move). Always dynamic.

    A client taps her phone to a NearField Marker on the side panel of a salon styling station
    One Marker at the chair: booking, aftercare and a review prompt, without a POS integration or a monthly seat fee.

    When the QR sticker isn't enough

    If a surface gets tapped more than once a week, replace the QR sticker with a NearField Marker, which holds both an NFC chip and a printed QR. Guests use whichever they prefer. You edit what they see from your phone and watch the analytics in your dashboard.

    Ready-made Markers for this

    Pick a design, tell us where it points, and check out - no account needed to start.

    Ships in 2 business days from the US - and you can re-point any Marker later.

    QR Classic - Emerald Noir

    QR Classic - Onyx Gold

    QR Classic - Dusk

    QR Classic - Midnight

    A preloaded Marker, on us

    Hold one in your hand. The first one's on us.

    Tell us about your space and we'll preload a NearField Marker with your version and put it in the mail. No card, no call to book. The first tap does the convincing.

    • •We build a version for your space, not a generic demo.
    • •One real Marker, in the mail, on us.
    • •We reply within one business day to confirm before it ships.

    No card, no commitment. We send one preloaded Marker so you can feel the tap in your own space.