In the late 1660’s, Sir Isaac Newton discovered how the color spectrum is organized and composed. However, the psychology of color dates back thousands of years to Egyptians who studied their effects on mood and used them to accomplish holistic benefits. Fast forward to the early 1900's when a Swiss psychiatrist, Carl Jung, studied color and developed art therapy, which connected our cultural perceptions with the idea that we have a universal, bodily response to color stimulus. According to Jung, “colors are the mother tongue of the subconscious.”
In the past, color was considered a luxury because the ability to mimic it was challenging. Those who could afford it used favorite hues to decorate their surroundings. Today, not so long since the beginning of the Digital Revolution, we have free access to any color we can possibly think of, and more.
Where the use of color in all customer communications once was considered a novelty, it is now considered the standard and an expectation. According to CCICOLOR - Institute for Color Research, the average person makes a subconscious judgement about a product, another person, or the environment within 90 seconds. Between 62% and 90% of that judgement is based on color alone. Based on those statistics, it’s fair to say color is a key factor in marketing. However, there are many organizations that still do not leverage color in all branded materials- namely business-critical documents.
Why is color so important for your customer documents?
1.Color has a significant impact on your print document marketing
A study conducted by the secretariat of the Seoul International Color Expo determined that 92.6% of those surveyed stressed the importance of visuals when purchasing products, and 84.7% believe that color accounts for more than half of the various factors important to consumers when choosing which products they purchase.
Given these statistics, you can imagine the impact a color banner advertisement or statement stuffer would have, as opposed to black and white, when trying to cross-sell products to your customers. Technology today allows you to easily incorporate color into your document advertisements, and marketers can and should utilize that capability to their advantage.
2.Color impacts brand perception
Poor corporate image is an issue facing many organizations today. It isn’t necessarily because people’s perceptions of these companies are bad, but rather because people don’t have any perception of the company at all. This can happen as a result of inconsistent branding, changing customer expectations and target markets, or new executive management leading to a change in the overarching vision for the company. Whatever the cause may be, color can be a great way to counter and combat the issue. Studies have shown that leveraging the colors in your brand’s logo and imagery can increase brand recognition by up to 80%. By incorporating color into even just the logo on your customer documents, you can increase brand recognition and, when combined with full color marketing, increase the impact of your print documents as a whole.
3.Color affects customer retention and engagement
Adding color to marketing messages can increase engagement rates by up to 42%. And not only that, the addition of color can actually aid in improving your customers’ memory.
Studies have proven that color can help people process and store images more efficiently than black and white, so by adding color to marketing, customers are far more likely to not only read, but retain your messaging. This is important to note because, as with all marketing, the ultimate goal is either awareness or conversions. Color is proven to help you reach those goals.
4. Color is a mood changer
Many studies have shown that color can impact the moods of potential customers. If your organization improves a customer’s state of mind, their relationship with your brand will deepen and the probability of a return will increase. Finding the right choice of colors is an art because everyone interprets colors differently. Therefore, the trick is about an entire selection. No color scheme is ideal or universal, and there is no best palette for a specific social or cultural group. We have to understand the meaning of colors so that they can support our message.
Tips to remember when utilizing color in transactional documents:
1. The stronger the color contrast, the more powerful your message
2. Your choice of colors should reflect your brand mission with strength and clarity
3. Select three key colors and your message will sustain easier and longer in the minds of your audience
4. Warm colors impact users to take action
Conclusion
The results of incorporating color are demonstrated over and over throughout history, and guaranteed to increase the impact of your print communications. Furthermore, a consistent set of colors expresses thoughts without words and influences audiences. If you want to up the ante on your brand’s marketing and watch your ROI increase, start incorporating more color into your transactional documents.
To learn more best practices on color in business-critical documents, send an email to contactus@lanvera.com.
In the past, color was considered a luxury because the ability to mimic it was challenging. Those who could afford it used favorite hues to decorate their surroundings. Today, not so long since the beginning of the Digital Revolution, we have free access to any color we can possibly think of, and more.
Where the use of color in all customer communications once was considered a novelty, it is now considered the standard and an expectation. According to CCICOLOR - Institute for Color Research, the average person makes a subconscious judgement about a product, another person, or the environment within 90 seconds. Between 62% and 90% of that judgement is based on color alone. Based on those statistics, it’s fair to say color is a key factor in marketing. However, there are many organizations that still do not leverage color in all branded materials- namely business-critical documents.
Why is color so important for your customer documents?
1.Color has a significant impact on your print document marketing
A study conducted by the secretariat of the Seoul International Color Expo determined that 92.6% of those surveyed stressed the importance of visuals when purchasing products, and 84.7% believe that color accounts for more than half of the various factors important to consumers when choosing which products they purchase.
Given these statistics, you can imagine the impact a color banner advertisement or statement stuffer would have, as opposed to black and white, when trying to cross-sell products to your customers. Technology today allows you to easily incorporate color into your document advertisements, and marketers can and should utilize that capability to their advantage.
2.Color impacts brand perception
Poor corporate image is an issue facing many organizations today. It isn’t necessarily because people’s perceptions of these companies are bad, but rather because people don’t have any perception of the company at all. This can happen as a result of inconsistent branding, changing customer expectations and target markets, or new executive management leading to a change in the overarching vision for the company. Whatever the cause may be, color can be a great way to counter and combat the issue. Studies have shown that leveraging the colors in your brand’s logo and imagery can increase brand recognition by up to 80%. By incorporating color into even just the logo on your customer documents, you can increase brand recognition and, when combined with full color marketing, increase the impact of your print documents as a whole.
3.Color affects customer retention and engagement
Adding color to marketing messages can increase engagement rates by up to 42%. And not only that, the addition of color can actually aid in improving your customers’ memory.
Studies have proven that color can help people process and store images more efficiently than black and white, so by adding color to marketing, customers are far more likely to not only read, but retain your messaging. This is important to note because, as with all marketing, the ultimate goal is either awareness or conversions. Color is proven to help you reach those goals.
4. Color is a mood changer
Many studies have shown that color can impact the moods of potential customers. If your organization improves a customer’s state of mind, their relationship with your brand will deepen and the probability of a return will increase. Finding the right choice of colors is an art because everyone interprets colors differently. Therefore, the trick is about an entire selection. No color scheme is ideal or universal, and there is no best palette for a specific social or cultural group. We have to understand the meaning of colors so that they can support our message.
Tips to remember when utilizing color in transactional documents:
1. The stronger the color contrast, the more powerful your message
2. Your choice of colors should reflect your brand mission with strength and clarity
3. Select three key colors and your message will sustain easier and longer in the minds of your audience
4. Warm colors impact users to take action
Conclusion
The results of incorporating color are demonstrated over and over throughout history, and guaranteed to increase the impact of your print communications. Furthermore, a consistent set of colors expresses thoughts without words and influences audiences. If you want to up the ante on your brand’s marketing and watch your ROI increase, start incorporating more color into your transactional documents.
To learn more best practices on color in business-critical documents, send an email to contactus@lanvera.com.
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