What happens at the start of the year and then again midyear? The sales. What do you see when you go into a store? You see bright red signage saying 50% off or even 70% off. Ever feel tempted to buy yet another plain white shirt (got to keep the basics stocked up) or is that just me?
Do you notice the same colour when you go to a website and they are offering big discounts on their products and services? Red? Savvy businesses do this because they know that colours affect the way a person behaves. It’s a neurological response that us shoppers find hard to ignore. This is so true that there have been many studies undertaken on colours and how they affect buyer behaviour online.
Marketing Your Products with Colours
Do you notice how a great play and combination of colours enhances website design? An attractive website design creates a lasting first impression and jumpstarts customer engagement.
John Bredenfoeder, President of Color Marketing Group, designed for Procter and Gamble the packaging of Febreze. He leveraged a principle called senesthesia, “a multisensory psychological message colours communicate”. Accordingly, the more this engages the holistic senses of buyers, the more they are likely to become engaged with a product and purchase it. In 2005, Febreze was awarded best brand design and its market based was increased.
This clearly enunciates the marketing impact of colour to a business. Use the wrong colour and it will cost your business a lot. Use the right colour and it could help skyrocket sales and increase your profit.
In the same study by Color Marketing Group, they found out that colour increases brand recognition by up to 80%. Alongside from this, 85% of shoppers confess that they buy certain products based on colour.
How Colours Define Consumer Buying Behaviour
As humans we are open to psychological persuasion, which can be evoked by colours. As business owners we need to use this to our advantage so we can enhance our sales techniques and improve our marketing strategies.
Here is a compilation of colours that are known to have persuasive effects on consumer behaviour:
Red – This colour is one of the most powerful colours in marketing. Red represents passion, excitement, and a sense of urgency. It also increases heart rate and creates hunger. Notice how during clearance sales you’ll see everything in red? Or in restaurants, there’s often a prominent red item or red writing. It calls for urgent action.
Yellow – This represents optimism, energy, youthfulness, and warmth. It grabs the spotlight and attracts buyers to take action. Yellow attracts window shoppers and young adults. So if your product or services cater to younger age groups, consider this colour.
Black – Do you notice how luxury items are always in black? It’s because this colour evokes a strong sense of power and elegance. So if your product caters to a high-end user, then this colour could suit your business.
Purple – Like black, purple also represents luxury but, unlike it, it’s a more calming and relaxing colour. It evokes creativity, elegance, and imagination. It is used for most beauty and anti-aging products. If you are involved in make-up or cosmetics, purple is a great colour to use.
Blue – It’s one of the most soothing colours. It creates a sense of trust and security. Notice how banks and financial institutions use this colour? For buyers, this colour represents clarity and credibility. So if you have products or services that you want people to trust consider using blue tones.
Green – It’s also a soothing and relaxing colour. It’s associated with nature. That’s why if your products are wellness and health products, green could be used to market them.
In website design colours can be use tactically and combined for maximum impact. Psychology and creativity combined with strategy is a powerful mix and is what makes websites stand out from the crowd.
At Webics we put a website design together before you pay a cent. Find out how our design process works and let us show you what we can do.
