Everywhere you turn, everyone’s going mobile. Smartphones are everywhere, and not just in the hands of “business” people. Soccer moms, NASCAR dads, and yes, even kids, have them, and more users join the fray each and every day.

Now that the technology is really going mainstream, finding new ways to capitalize on it and monetize it is what everyone is clamoring for.

Raise your hand if you know what a QR code is. Anyone?

Outside of the world of tech-geekery, few people do, but I’ll bet you’ve seen one. See that little square up in the left-hand corner? Well, that’s it. But what is it? What does it do?

The answer is, “Quite a lot!”

Most smartphones — BlackBerry, iPhone, Palm Pre, Droid … you name it — have applications available that read those handy-dandy little codes (they read regular barcodes, too, but that’s not germane to this conversation). The neat thing is that you can use those apps (as well as countless web-based apps) to create QR codes. Even neater? You can make them to hold almost any information you’d like.

Code them with a link to your website. Or a website for your listing. Create a coupon that they could use for a discount on a particular service. Include a special message just for people who’ve got a QR code reader.

Think of the possibilities.

Once you’ve generated a QR code, you can place it on just about anything. Include it in property flyers. Put it on your business cards. Embed it in your website. You can even put them on t-shirts, mugs, or just about anything else you’d like.

All your potential customer has to do is point his phone’s camera at the QR code, snap its picture, and his code reader will send his “secret” message. Pretty cool, right?

This is still emerging technology, but being an early-adopter is cool! Take a look at QR codes. How could you use them to help your business? We’d love to hear your ideas!