What's in a Color: Creating an Emotional Impact to Incite Action |
|
In a sluggish economy, businesses of all sizes are squarely focused on two things: sales and productivity. But in the era of information overload, the burden is on the consumer to distill meaningful information from the noise, including the nearly 3,000 marketing messages the average person is exposed to every day. Employees face a similar challenge as many struggle to stay focused on priorities amidst constantly refreshing social media feeds, a 24/7 news cycle and phones that serve as a pocket-sized entertainment system. For bottom-line oriented businesses, the answer to both of these challenges may lie in color. In a color survey conducted by Xerox Corporation, 69% of people said that they understand new ideas better when presented in color. Seventy-six percent of those surveyed say they can find information faster if it's presented in color. And the benefits don't end with productivity — color can also give companies a leg up in competitive differentiation and sales. For Bing, the right color choice was the million dollar difference — or $80 million to be exact. Microsoft's research team found that blue engaged people the most, so they tested various shades of blue in user groups and determined that Bing's previous paler shade of blue lacked confidence. As a result, Bing decided to switch to a shade of blue similar to the one used by Google. Based on user feedback, it is estimated Bing's blue could generate $80 million to $90 million in advertising sales. Color as a Sales Differentiator By using Morton's color symbolism and selection tips below, businesses can create documents with the appropriate emotional impact to incite reader action.
Businesses can engage their readers, create a positive first impression and help their message stand out from the marketing noise by creating color harmony in document design. A document with smart, strategic color application will ensure communications are delivered with maximum value — impacting the company's bottom line with increased productivity and sales. SHELL HAFFNER has more than 17 years of experience in high technology product marketing managing hardware, software and service offerings. Currently, Mr. Haffner leads the product marketing team for the Xerox desktop product family, including the ColorQube family of solid ink printer products. |