Business branding… does colour really matter?

Karen Haller 01
Karen Haller

Business branding -  Does colour really matter?

Did you know that colour is the first thing our brain registers before words or shapes? In fact, up to 85% of the initial perception of your business brand or product is based on colour alone. [1]

Now, we like to think of ourselves as logical beings, but we will in fact, make purchases based on emotion and then we rationalise our purchase with logic. Colour triggers these emotional responses, which means, your business brand colours, your product colours has a real impact on your customer’s buying decision.

Do you know what effect your brand colours – the tone and the colour combination – are having on your potential customers? Are they attracting or repelling your ideal clients and customers?

Colour is registered by the brain before images or typography, making the colours you use for your business branding a key component of your brand’s identity and personality. So, why wouldn’t you want to get your colours right?

So here are seven reasons why colour really does matter when choosing colour for your business brand.

1. Engage with your customer’s emotions
If you fail to engage with your customers’ emotions, you’ll fail to make the sale. However you can use colour to increase your sales.

Major brands use colour to their advantage. They use their brand colour to engage with their customer’s emotions and encourage them to buy. Look at Coca-Cola. Over the years their packaging and logos may have changed but they have kept their bright red branding colour. This shows they understand the emotional response the colour elicits in us. In this context red makes us feel energised and alert. It speaks to us of energy, power, stimulation and upbeat emotions; People who drink Coca-Cola have a good time.

2. Build trust
If people don’t trust you they won’t buy from you. Using the same colour consistently throughout all aspects of your business builds trust and customer loyalty.

Hermes, Harrods and Sainsbury’s used their brand colours consistently, instilling customer trust and loyalty.

If every time you saw their signage they had used a different tone of their branding colour, unconsciously you may feel the company is flaky and unreliable. You’ll never quite know who they are showing up as, and this could damage the perception of their brand. Building brand trust is so important when it comes to loyalty and repeat sales.

3. Be instantly recognisable
Colour is the first thing we see. Imagine the power of your brand if it can be recognised by the tone and the combination of colours alone.

Does brand colour really matter - Be instantly recognisable.

Think about the last time you saw any advertising or packaging from Virgin, Starbucks or Chanel. Not only can you see their brand colour/s in your mind’s eye right now, but the last time you saw their billboard or newspaper advertisement, it’s likely you recognised the brand from the colours used, before you even took in the shapes or logos.

At that moment of recognition, you experienced psychological and emotional effects, the feelings and the sensations that brand has on you – sometimes subtly and sometimes very clearly.

“Colour is registered by the brain before either images or typography. Colour increases brand recognition by up to 80%.”Source: University of Loyla, Maryland study

4. Be authentic
If you project one thing and then deliver another, your brand is not being authentic and customers hate to be deceived. Do you know your Brand’s Authentic Colour Personality?

Each brand has an authentic personality. Some are very clear to see, others aren’t.

Fortnum & Mason and Selfridges are both department stores yet each has a very distinct brand personality, attracting very different types of customers. And they are doing this very successfully.

This is clearly reflected in the tonal colour group and actual colours they have chosen to express in their brand personality.

5. Don’t underestimate the significance of colour in culture
We work in a global market and it’s so easy to get your products and services in front of a global audience. Have you stopped to consider the message your branding colours may be saying to those from different cultures?

Does brand colour really matter - Significance of colour in culture.

Don’t underestimate the importance we put on the significance colours have in our cultures. They can make or break a product or an entire brand. For example, black may be considered stylish and sophisticated in one culture yet may represent death in another. Imagine the negative impact this could have on your sales.

6. Represent your brand through business clothing
You and your team are the working embodiment of your brand. You already know they need to look the part. Using your branding colours in your staff work wear is an effective way to further market your brand.

Every interaction a member of staff has with customers and the general public is an opportunity for your brand to gain additional exposure. It’s like having your own living advert.

You only have to go to a busy airport to witness this. Airline staff are easy to identify.The first thing you notice is the colour of their uniforms. Some brand colours will catch the eye quicker than others such as the red of Virgin and the orange of EasyJet. If you are flying BA you will still ‘train’ your eyes to look out for their dark blue brand colour.

7. Use your brand colours in your work place
When a potential buyer is in your workspace you have the best chance of making a sale. Using your brand colour will reinforce your brand’s attraction and make that sale even easier.

Major brands never miss an opportunity to reinforce brand awareness.

When you walk through the doors of any major business you will notice they use their brand colours to full effect. Walk into a Vodafone store and there is no mistaking where you are. You see their trademark red and on a sub-conscious level you have already confirmed you are in the right place. If instead you saw bright pink you would instinctively think you had wandered into T-Mobile by mistake.

Communicating through colour
As a business owner how much thought have you put into the tone and combination of colours that represent your business brand? Do you know what they are actually saying?

Surprisingly, most business owners use colour as decoration or as an afterthought. Try to think of colour as a subliminal language, another way to communicate and to attract your ideal clients.

Used to its full effect, your branding colours will give you the competitive edge, elicit the right emotional response from your prospects, and significantly increase your sales.

If you’d like to know how using the right colour can attract your ideal clients you can either 020 7727 4938 or email [email protected].

 

[1] CCICOLOR Institute for Color Research

 

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1 Comment

  1. Rod Gabin on May 7, 2013 at 5:55 am

    Colors indeed contribute in how you can perform ideal business branding. It could attract prospective clients if you know well how to use these. http://www.socraticsbc.com

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