Colored Rocks

How Colours Influence Buyers Choices

This is a wonderful article sent to us by Colour Graphics whereby they explain a lot about the power of color. I used to have a clothing store so I know first hand how important color is. Women and men both were always drawn to certain colors – and often those colors would change season to season. So if you are in business, or thinking about being in business, it’s a good idea to learn a touch about color and set up your company and promotional materials just right!   CLICK TITLE TO READ MORE

 

Colour affects what we buy, who buys it and why. Some of these colour influences we may be aware of but the impact on some colours is not something we are consciously aware of.

We all know what colours we like and dislike but knowing more about how colour influences buyers – your buyers! – is important. As Colour Graphics explains, the colour of your logo, your packaging, the colour palette of your brochures, business cards and so on could either be attracting or repelling customers.

Colour and marketing

Marketing is the life blood of any business. Fail to get it right and your business could stutter and flounder. You may look on with a certain degree of envy as your competitors seem to hit the marketing nail on point each and every time.

Research tells us that the key to successful marketing is by knowing who your audience is, who makes the purchasing decisions and so on. We also know that colour plays an important part role in every buying decision. Your colours let people know what type of business you are.

A staggering 93% of purchases are made on visual appearance. You see why colour is so important? For those who bought a practical product, such as a lawnmower, power drill etc., 85% said that the colour of the product and packaging did play a role in their purchase decision.

You may think this is too shallow of a feature to place a purchase decision on. Remember that we are not suggesting colour is the only consideration for buying decisions. However, it is one that plays an important role for sure.

Branding

As a business, you are aware of the importance of branding your products, services and everything about your company. This is an overarching term that covers everything from how people feel when they buy from you, to the level of after care and customer service they receive.

As you would imagine, colour plays an important part in this process too. From the colour of your logo, to the backdrop of your brochures, the design of your business cards and so on.

Logos and fonts etc. should all be used consistently as the key to successful branding is recognition. You want someone who looks at your logo etc. to instantly associate it with you and who you are and what you do. Statistics show there is 80% more brand recognition when the same colours are used throughout marketing material.

Global differences

Be careful not to just decide colours you like and then run with them for your business. Keep in mind that the colours you choose may say a lot about your likes and dislikes, but may not be the right thing for what you want your business to say to your customers.

The colour palette listed below is commonly used throughout North America and Europe. Be aware that different colours can also mean different things in different cultures. It is widely accepted that the following colours represent the stated emotions:

  • Yellow is optimistic and youthful
  • Red signifies energy
  • Blue is thought to signify trust
  • Green to some people can men wealth and restfulness
  • Orange surprisingly, is used in call to actions and instructions because it is thought to be an aggressive colour
  • Pink is romantic and is often used on products aimed and girls and women
  • Black is powerful and sleek
  • Purple is thought to sooth and is often used on packaging of cosmetic products, specifically anti-aging

Can you recognise why some well-known companies have the colour logos and brand that they do?

Attracts and repels

So colour can attract or repel a shopper and this is why you need to pay careful attention to what colours you use.

Impulse buying, such as fast food or sale shopping, is often associated with red, black and royal blue colours. Consider the ‘sale’ signs that many retail stores use; there is usually a lot of red in these signs, with the only other colour being white.

Shoppers on a budget, or those looking to manage their money by getting the best deal possible, often will associate navy blue and teal with getting a bargain. Budget Supermarkets also tend to use navy and teal in their signage and advertising.

Traditional purchases, such as clothing, tend to use pastel shades such as pretty pinks and sky or light blues. Consider the logos and branding of high end designer labels and you see these colour influences as well.

Online too!

It is not just printed material and logos that need to be spot on about colour and design. 52% of people said they wouldn’t re-visit a website if they didn’t like the design or thought it didn’t fit the company or product.

Getting the colour right is important and something you should spend some time researching and looking into. What do the colours you use say about your business? Is this the right message for your customers?

 

If you like what you have learned in this post, please feel free to contact www.colourgraphics.com for all your colour inspiration and graphics needs.

Colour Graphics is an established online print company, offering the latest printing and colour reproduction techniques across a range of products. Understanding colour in design is key to the success of a printed piece of marketing material. Their design team is on-hand to offer customers design and colour advice.