Color psychology marketing

Call me weird (I'd argue smart) but when it comes to selling and business development, I love using color psychology or more accurately, color psychology marketing. Apologies once again to the Brits. You can see, a week on, I'm still sinning (that's a British joke that's related to spelling) 😉

Tomatoes – Tom-ate-oes…

Ah let's call the whole thing off!

Ok, back to business!

My last post was all about using color to categorize your prospects and communicate in “their language” but this week's post is all about using color psychology marketing or color as a sales tool to influence buyers. So, I'm going to be delving into its use from a brand and presentation perspective.

And I can tell you something… this is powerful, and it's going to be good.

The reason why…

Color is your silent sales tool. How? Well it's the language of our subconscious. We make decisions based on color all the time and by using it correctly you can literally get the edge on your competition at a very intuitive level.

You see, you need prospects, clients and customers to connect with you in order to grow your business. That's obvious, right? Well, color connects you to a person, brand, place or product. It sparks initial interest and draws you towards making a purchase.

Color psychology & consumer buying behavior

To illustrate this point quickly, I'd like you to think of the last time you bought some clothes. Were you not drawn initially to the colors of the clothes?

Yes?

I rest my case.

Whatever your business proposition, your prospects need to like, believe and feel your authenticity in order to respond to you. And that's why all of your promotional material needs to have a consistent message that resonates with your offering. Having an awareness of, and choosing to use the most appropriate colors will not only enhance the overall look of your brand but it will also help to communicate your message. I wrote about this a while ago: how to find your perfect brand color.

Research on consumer buying behavior, color psychology marketing and color consistently informs us of its importance in the way that we understand and interact with the world around us. Color really does matter. Color evokes a mood that affects an emotion, which in turn creates a reaction or response.

For example, did you know that we make a decision about how we feel about someone within 15 seconds based on color alone? That could be a decision on whether your customer picks up your product or not! Or, whether they stay on your website or not. Or, whether you come across as someone who's approachable at a networking event. It could be the difference between making a connection with you or leaving your product or service on the shelf.

Now to someone who's built a 7-figure multi-million dollar business from scratch before, and sold and bought in order to achieve this, this is profound for I had no “conscious” clue! However, their are reasons why I got it right and was able to instinctively build my business successfully using the power of color, but that's for another post.

Anyway, now that I understand the principles of using color as a sales tool this new found knowledge makes me smile. When you understand that color is emotive and that buying is an emotional decision then it's vital to use color in a way that appeals and communicates what you're offering.

Why would you want to get it wrong?

When you're selling and growing your business you need everything to line up. Color can help you do that. It's a powerful persuader; a visual communication aid. Through the design of your brand or the products that you sell, you have an opportunity to speak to your clients and customers at another level – at the subconscious.

Color at it's core, is a signalling system that influences mood and behavior. It works on our feelings and sends messages to the brain faster than words or shapes. It's a non-verbal language that persuades, and you can use this to influence your prospects, customers and clients to buy subconsciously. Get it right and your brand or product will look authentic, you'll build trust, increase loyalty and grow your sales. Get it wrong and you'll drive business away.

The creation of attractive packaging, branding or any graphic communication is the design alchemy between style, form, font and color. The aim of which is ultimately to appeal to our senses. Of all the different design elements, color is the ‘sensorial ingredient’ which we perceive as visual and yet it has the ability to alter mood.

Increasing our awareness of the effects of color and how we react and respond to it visually and emotionally, means we can then understand how to use it to influence the way we want others to feel and think about our product or brand.

As your ‘silent sales tool’ color offers you the opportunity to speak directly to the heart of your audience. If you get the colors right, you promote the most positive perception of your ‘proposition’ – and then the rest falls in to place!

So here are 3 tips to help you do that.

3 tips for using color in your brand

1. What do your brand colors tell your customer about your product? Select the 1 –3 key colours that best capture the core values of your business. These are your primary colors. Select secondary colors to support them. They may be either lighter or darker versions of your primary colors, or complementary to them (e.g. blue and orange). This can have the effect of intensifying the core colors and bringing a palette to life.

2. Don’t confuse your customer. So often I notice that brands may keep the same design style but change the colors across different media. Remember – using the same colors consistently in all of your communications will increase customer recognition and build trust.

3. Maintain the visual harmony. Select colors that belong in the same tonal group and so share the same characteristics. This will maintain the integrity of the brand and its message. Your designs will be more fluid and have a creative edge!

Now I want to hear from you…

Tell me do you use color psychology marketing in your brand? If you do, what impact have you seen on sales and business growth? Just share your wisdom here and let's help one another. If you don't use color psychology, let me know if you're interested to learn more on this by dropping me an email.

Thanks for participating!

With love and gratitude – as always,

P.S.

Finally, if you know someone who'd LOVE the insight from this post, please send them a link. You’ll find web designers, interior designers, consultants and yes, even sales and marketing managers who manage people who'll be interested to hear about this.