Easier, Faster Access to Buyers’ Guides Through QR Codes
■ By Gary Reichert, Publisher
Welcome to the Spring 2020 issue of Rollforming Magazine. While you don’t normally hear from me, I wanted to take the opportunity and address some changes across all of our magazines. We have completely redone our Buyers’ Guides and the way we do lead generation. The print Buyers’ Guides, which include the Metal Roofing Buyers’ Guide, published at the end of each year, and the Rural Builder Buyers’ Guide, published in October, will remain mostly the same. They will contain basically the same information and will appear in the same print issues.
However, the online versions are almost unrecognizable. Manufacturers can now upload their own information, including pictures and videos. The Buyers’ Guides will interact with our catalog library, so in some cases, you will be able to go directly from the Buyers’ Guide pages to a company’s product information.
You can find the new Buyers’ Guides at
www.metalroofingmag.com and www.ruralbuildermag.com. Please take a few minutes to try the new system and give us your feedback.
The other related HUGE change is we are doing away with reader service numbers. You now have a new, fast way to request information. We will be placing QR codes on all print ads in our magazines. Most smartphones’ built-in cameras can read these codes automatically.
After taking a picture of the QR code, your phone will instantly take you to the advertiser’s online Buyers’ Guide page. On the phone view, there will be three buttons: Contact Business, Call Now, and Visit Website. Choose a button and you are connected right to the advertiser. No writing down phone numbers, no Googling the company name, no copying/pasting. Simply scan the QR code with your phone and click on a button to connect.
Shown below is a QR code for a trial listing. It is titled Metal Roofing Magazine. The buttons go directly to me, so if you have feedback on the new system, send me a note.
If you have been receiving our magazines, you realize we are in the process of evolving, and rapidly making changes. We think this change is a huge step in the right direction.
Thank you for taking this journey with us. Many new things are on the horizon. RF
