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How Do Colors Affect Your Buyers?

Big Hit Creative Group

How Do COLORS Affect Your Buyers?

Do-Colors-Affect-Your-Buyer-Image

Color Theory in Marketing

If you’re a marketer or business owner you’ve probably asked this question at least once in your career. How do colors affect your buyers?  Read on, we will attempt to answer this question in the following blog post that uncovers color theory in marketing. Perhaps you will gain some useful insight into how moods that lead to conversion and ultimately purchases are inspired.

First, let’s answer the question “Do colors make people want to buy?

The answer, in short, is “yes”. Let’s see how colors affect purchases.

Most of today’s general ideas on persuasion and colors consist only on anecdotal evidence and hunches. However, if we go in depth, beyond the public’s general knowledge, this element of human behavior is proved by reliable research on persuasion and color theory.

 

Color Theory in Marketing and Psychology of Color

According to research, elements such as upbringing, experiences, personal preference, context, cultural differences, etc., often hide the effect on us of individual colors. However, the role of colors in persuasion and marketing is real. They have, for instance, a key role in branding.

In fact, branding is one of the most important aspects relating to color perception. In color perceptions, can be found some broader messaging patterns. For example, colors have a quite substantial role in branding and purchases.

In a study on the impact of color in marketing, researchers found that up to 90% percent of snap judgments about products are based on color alone. Another study on the interactive effects of colors has shown that the relationship between color and brands is based on the perceived appropriateness of the color used by a particular brand.

See the below infographic to explore how colors are used within some of the larger brands:

psychology-of-colors-graphic-Big Hit Creative Group

Color Research & Application

Due to the impact colors have on the way a brand is perceived, the purchasing intent is affected in great measure by colors, according to the study  Exciting Red and Competent Blue by  Lauren I. Labrecque and George R. Milne. We see that colors significantly influence the way consumers view the “personality” of the brand.

Woman-Shopping-Brand-Personality-Image

Additional studies have shown that we prefer recognizable brands. This makes color a key factor in creating a brand identity. The study called Color Research & Application has suggested that for new brands it is important to specifically target logo colors that can differentiate from entrenched competitors.

When it comes to choosing the most appropriate color, research has found that far more important than the individual color itself, is predicting consumer reaction to color appropriateness to the product.

This topic has been researched by psychologist and Stanford professor Jennifer Aaker in a study entitled Dimensions of Brand Personality. Her research has found that several core dimensions play an important role in a brand’s “personality”.

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Certain colors align broadly with specific traits (for example, purple with sophistication, brown with ruggedness, and red with excitement). It is also very important that a brand’s colors support the personality intended to portray. The context is also an essential consideration.

Color is an emotional cue in content marketing. It can help your content stand out. Understanding how color works is important for anyone in content marketing. The hues you choose can affect whether content is easily readable or not. A poor color choice can negatively impact your message. For these reasons, a good understanding of color psychology is a key factor for the success of your content.

Gender Influences in Color Preferences

Joe Hallock’s Color Assignments study explains some clear gender preferences for certain colors. In dictating color appropriateness for gender, one’s environmental factors such as cultural perceptions play an important role.

Hallock’s findings point to the fact that both genders have blue as their favorite color. When it comes to purple, the disparity between groups is the highest. No men list purple as their favorite color, while women consider it a top-tier color.

Female Favorite Color Chart-image

 

Male Favorite Color Chart-image

Additional studies on color preferences and color perception suggest that women seem to prefer softer colors while men prefer bold colors.

Also, women are more receptive to tints of colors while men were more likely to select shades of colors.

Color Coordination and Conversions

While there is no single best color for conversions on websites, research shows that people are able to recall an item much better when it sticks out from its surroundings. Studies such as Consumer Preferences for Color Combinations and Aesthetic Response to Color Combinations suggest that a large majority of consumers favor color palettes with highly contrasting accent colors, while preferring color patterns with similar hues.

In terms of color coordination this would recommend creating a visual structure consisting of accent complementary colors contrasting base analogous colors. For instance, background, accent and base colors can be used to compel customers on your website to take action.

Overall, the point remains that one should consider many factors when it comes to how you want your customers to react. Never discount the role that colors play in the grand scheme of Customer Perception & Acquisition,  Brand Personality and ultimately the road to Client Conversion.

What factors have you noticed that make a difference in client acquisition and conversion.  Leave your comments below.

 

Sources:

Kissmetricks

Dashburst

Small business Trends

Lauren I. Labrecque

George R. Milne

Jennifer Lynn Aaker

Big Hit Creative

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