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
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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. 

According to the Direct Marketing Association,  mail can offer a strong return on marketing investment, with returns similar to those of social media (15-17%). With those percentages as a benchmark, it’s safe to say the marketing and communications opportunities within print transactional documents are endless and can yield a high ROI if executed properly. However, we have seen many organizations throw away unnecessary time and money through the utilization of an outdated method: pre-printed stock “statement stuffers.” These stuffers typically range from letters and notices to coupons and other offerings, which are all great things to provide to your customers, right? So why exactly does inserting pre-printed stock into business-critical documents work against you?
 
Pre-printed stock statement stuffers are:

• Expensive- They have to be printed at a separate location from the rest of your documents and shipped to your in-house production facility or vendor
• Time consuming- They require a separate inserting machine, slowing down the entire production process
• Often problematic- High gloss buck slips and poor formatting can lead to operational errors or equipment malfunction
• Require significant planning- They have to be ordered and shipped well in advance to ensure they make it to your customers as scheduled
• Generalized- They typically go to all your customers, regardless of whether or not the offer or promotion is applicable

 
The key in maximizing your transactional document marketing ROI is to capitalize on every customer touch point through dynamic communications, allowing you to educate, sell and retain customers. On printed documents the best vehicle for this plan of action is inline inserts.
 
The future of document marketing: Inline Inserts
Inline inserts are statement stuffers which are printed in-line, in full color with the rest of your documents. While this may not seem groundbreaking, it can save you a tremendous amount of time and money.
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          Inline Inserts are:

• Affordable- They print in line with the rest of your print process. This eliminates the need to print at a separate location from the rest of your documents and to then be shipped to your in-house production facility or vendor, thereby eradicating the separate charges for printing and shipping of pre-printed statement stuffers.
• Fast-As they print side by side with the documents themselves, inline inserts don’t require a separate inserting machine. They print, fold and insert quickly and easily in one process, expediting production.
• Effortless- Inline inserts eliminate the operational errors and equipment malfunction potentially caused by buck slips and high gloss inserts
• Require Little Planning- Because they don’t have to be ordered and shipped and are managed online with the rest of your files, inline inserts can be created easily and quickly, changed on the spot and still make it into the print process and to your customers on schedule
• Personalized- Again, because they are managed online with the rest of your files, you can easily set up rules and workflows to determine who gets what message based on whether or not the offer or promotion is applicable. You save money by only sending marketing messages to those who will find them useful, and drive revenue by introducing customers to products and services unique to their needs.

 
And they provide these additional benefits:

• Drive customer engagement and action
• Increase customer retention
• Full color capabilities
• Complete automation
• Easy and fast change management

 
Inline inserts are the future of document marketing, and the remedy to all of your current issues with statement stuffers. If you want to stay ahead of the curve and improve your marketing with inline inserts, contact us today at lanverainfo@lanvera.com.