How much emphasis do you put on the colors you choose for your marketing materials?
Do you leave it up to the designers? Do you pick the colors you like best?
The effect colors have on our mind and more specifically the decision-making process should be a crucial part of your strategy.
When it comes to your customers – research shows 85% of them say color is the most important reason for why they buy a particular product. 94% of consumers say visual appearance is a bigger factor than any other sensory dynamic.
But it’s about much more than just selecting colors that match. The hues you choose can give you an advantage when you want to influence a customer or client’s decision.
That’s why picking the right color for your custom folders, website design, company logo or anything else that requires such a decision is something that deserves a good deal of consideration.
Here are what kinds of thoughts and emotions various colors evoke:
YELLOW
Yellow is an optimistic and youthful color. It is also the color the human eye is drawn to most, which is probably why we use yellow highlighters. A lot of big-name companies put yellow in their logos. Think about McDonald’s golden arches. You’ll start noticing a lot of yellow used strategically in advertising and marketing.
ORANGE
Orange is another attention-grabbing color. But it’s more aggressive than yellow. It can create a call to action that is your final push for the sale. You’ll often see “Buy Now” or “Subscribe” buttons on websites that use orange and yellow.
RED
Red is a color of energy. It increases your heart rate and can create a sense of urgency and excitement. Think twice about using too much red in your marketing materials as it can be somewhat unnerving. However, using it as an accent or to direct the consumer’s eyes is a good idea.
BLACK
Black is a color of power and is often used to market luxury items. Think about TV advertisements for the newest Lexus. It’s always a black car used in the commercial. Black can be associated with authority, style and intelligence – but it’s also related to evil and doom. It’s another color to use strategically but somewhat sparingly.
PINK
Pink is a feminine color and it’s obviously used to market products like makeup and other girly-stuff to young girls and women.. Take a walk down the Barbie aisle in the toy section of any department store – that’s a lot of pink.
BLUE
Trust, loyalty and security are the emotions that we sense upon seeing the color blue. That’s why many financial institutions, insurance companies and law firms use the color blue prominently in their marketing materials. It can also be a very calming color.
GREEN
It’s no surprise that the color of money is often associated with wealth. But green is another calming color, and also the easiest for the human eye to process. Maybe because of how we feel when we see a green traffic light versus a red stoplight. Green is also connected to nature, and can be considered an eco-friendly color thanks to all the “Go Green” marketing campaigns.
One other thing to keep in mind as you design websites, marketing folders and other items – white space is important too! Make sure you give your customer’s eyes a chance to rest. Information overload and visual anarchy will only hurt your chances of converting potential buyers.
You’ll have a nice selection of color options when you choose to order folders from The Folder Store. Read our article on Paper Options to learn more about choosing the right paper for your folders.
Not only will the folders themselves need to be a specific color you’ll also be able to decide on the color of foil you want to use if you plan to have graphics and text embossed on your presentation folders. If you’re not using foil on your folders than you need to choose the right color of ink.
FINAL THOUGHTS ON COLOR
Before you can come to your final decision on color choices, you need to consider the type of business you’re in, the kind of customers you are trying to reach, and how you want them to react to your marketing efforts.
Not only can color influence decisions, it also plays a part in brand recognition and credibility. Studies show that 42% of online shoppers base their decision to buy solely on overall website design. Keep that in mind when you design folders as well!
To learn more about the psychology of color – watch the video below.
Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Related posts:
