Choosing the right colors for business isn’t quite as simple as just picking your favorite colors, though that’s always a fun place to start. Did you know there’s actually proven science behind different colors?
Simply choosing the right tone of red or blue for instance, can affect how customers perceive your business. This goes for everything from your logo and website color scheme to online and offline marketing materials. Once you know the science, it’s easier to choose your business look.
Color Affects Choices
The colors for business will vary greatly based on your target audience. For instance, while many women are attracted to products and brands using a soft purple or lavender color, men would be more attracted to brands using black. While that’s a generic assessment, the point remains that color affects who your brand attracts and how they’ll interact with you.
Before you think color can’t possibly be that powerful of a factor, consider the following:
- The University of Winnipeg Canada found up to 90% of a person’s initial assessment of a brand or product is based on color alone.
- 92.6% of people say color has a bigger impact on whether they make a purchase or not.
- When Performable changed their CTA button from green to red, the company saw a 21% increase in conversions.
Color affects every part of your business. Choosing the right colors helps you make that all important positive first impression on potential consumers.
The Science Of Colors For Business
Every color, and of course different shades of that color, have various meanings. For example, yellow typically signifies happiness, friendliness and positivity. That could also be why IKEA chose yellow for the brand’s name.
As a general overview, these main colors mean:
- Red – Anger, passion, excitement, importance
- Purple – Luxury, mystery, royalty
- Green – Nature, prosperity, money, eco-friendly
- Pink – Youth, romance, feminine
- Light Blue – Reliable, calm, relaxation
- Blue and Dark Blue – Maturity, professional
- Black – Modern, sophisticated, elegant
- White – Simplicity, minimalist, clean, pure
- Gray – Sophistication, maturity (often complements other colors)
- Orange – Vitality, youth, playfulness
As you can see, colors for business really do matter. If you’re a sophisticated business in the financial sector, you might opt for dark blue, black and/or green versus white and orange.
To dig deeper into what various colors mean, Colorcodes and Louise Myers have some great resources that break down how color affects emotions and customer actions on everything from your logo to ads online. Canva also breaks down colors based on popular brands.
Match Color To Your Business
Now that you know more about how and why color matters, there’s one more important thing to remember – match colors for business to your business’s purpose and products/services. Since people judge a business or product initially based on color, you want them to perceive your business’s personality correctly. Want to be considered a fun-loving, happy business? Consider yellows and oranges. Choosing the wrong colors sends an inconsistent message to consumers, which may make them doubt your business.
While color seems so simple, think about it carefully. Of course, you can always have a color rebranding to boost brand perception at any time. A great place to start with a color change is your website. Contact us today to find out how we can help you create a great site for your business.