Times Observer photo by Brian Ferry Pat Lucas of Maps Technology presents information Thursday to the Warren County Visitors Bureau Board of Directors about using QR codes -- like the one superimposed on the bureau's promotional materials on the screen -- to give and receive information.

Warren County Visitors Bureau is heading for a digital transformation.

The agency works to bring people to the community, but struggles to get hard data feedback on its efforts.

Pat Lucas of Maps Technology of Venango County presented information about a “two-way communications panel” to the Visitors Bureau board on Thursday.

The company offers targeted communications. And, it doesn’t lean on email.

“What we talk about at Maps is digital transformation,” Lucas said. “Every business that I talk to, email is their primary method of communication.”

After asking the board members how often they checked their email and how likely they were to respond quickly or at all, he talked about “the power of text.”

“We all have smartphones,” Lucas said. “95 percent of texts are opened within the first three minutes. Text has a 209 percent higher response rate.”

Lucas explained that a visitors bureau “wasn’t even on our radar. We were strictly chambers of commerce.”

But, a successful relationship with the bureau would open up new markets and opportunities for the company.

“If you guys are seeing success, we’ll get it out to the other counties,” Lucas said. With enough counties on board, the company could provide “geofencing.”

“When you cross into a county, you get an alert – ‘here’s what’s going on the county today,'” he said.

All of that depends on the bureau having numbers to reach out to.

But, it doesn’t have a consistent and large-scale system for gathering phone numbers.

“How do we collect information?” Lucas asked. “The good old QR code.”

Visitors or people looking at some information about the county could use their smartphones to scan a code. They get information. They also provide information — possibly by filling out a contactless form that the code could direct them to. The information they provide is available to the Visitors Bureau.

“You want to incentivize the scan,” Lucas said. “And you have to promote it.” Incentives could include coupons, prize opportunities, or something else.

He suggested that, until the bureau is ready to include a QR code in its printed materials, it could rely on a sticker. QR codes could also be placed in key locations – if the owners are amenable.

Sherman said most visitors bureaus have a common biggest challenge – proving impact.

“Your pain point is collecting information and this can help you,” Lucas said. “Your wheels will be turning after this. You’ll know you’re reaching them.”

Sherman and the board members were enthusiastic about the proposal.

“We’ll be able to quantitatively measure what we’re doing,” board treasurer Troy Clawson said. “It’s more robust. We can pull out data, get reports, and justify what we’re doing.”

Being able to point to its efforts, and the results of those efforts, could help the bureau grow its membership, he said.

“This will confirm that we were right in targeting northeast Ohio,” Sherman said. “It was also point us where to target next.”

Lucas admitted that the data will take time to arrive. But, “you’re getting data for $300 a month, and there’s power in that,” he said.

The price was right, as far as Sherman was concerned, “if nothing else as an experiment for the calendar year.”

But, “I am confident we will expand rather than contract” the terms of the agreement,” he said.

Lucas said the agreement could be canceled at any time.

The board unanimously approved contracting with Maps Technology for a digital transformation.

“I’m very excited about it,” Clawson said. “There’s so much opportunity.”