The #psychologyofcolour - Effects of Colours on Consumers

A couple weeks ago I asked you what colour services poster spoke more to you. There were four colours to choose from, red, blue, yellow and green. Finally, the results are in.

But first let's take a look at why it matters. We can agree that there are a lot of businesses trying to get their message to you. Organizations have to fight through tons of distractions and competitors to get your attention. Not only that, but it's harder and harder to keep your attention once they have it. Studies on consumer behaviours have shown that colours evoke different emotions which influence the willingness to buy. For example, orange is associated with affordability, but it is also one of the least favorite colours. Blue however, is one of the most popular. Not just in North America either - on an international scale! Depending on who your audience is, the colour could influence the success of your campaign.

Popular colours and consumer behaviour:

Green: easiest colour for the eyes to process. Is passive and conveys relaxation. Green is commonly associated with wealth and with nature.

Yellow: is the first colour seen by the retina. It is often used to grab the attention of window shoppers and is best used in moderation.

Red: aggressive, passionate and internationally known as a buying colour. Can stimulate sales which is why it is commonly used for sales.

Blue: is associated with trust and tranquility. Royal blue is said to attract impulse buyers, navy blue attracts shoppers on a budget, and sky blue attracts traditional buyers. Appealing to such a wide range of consumers and industries, it's no wonder why blue is a world favorite!

Let's see how this works in real life. I'll use one of Quicksprout's case studies from chapter four of his "Complete Guide to Understanding Consumer Psychology”:

"Apple works with an extremely simple color combination. The black/white contrast is extremely easy to read, so accessibility is not an issue. The white background also gives the black prominence. The colors give Apple’s audience a reminder of power, sleekness, sophistication"

Do you agree with the analysis of the Apple colour combination?

Getting back to the results of the posters! My goal was to send out an informational poster as part of my strategy to stay top of mind and it couldn’t look sales-y. Based on the audiences responses, green was the preferred colour. Since a larger group of my target market chose the green option, I can confidently share my poster expecting it is more visually appealing to my audience than the other colours. Simple right?

This is also what's referred to as a/b testing. Optimizely puts in a way that's really easy to understand,

"A/B testing is a simple way to test changes to your page against the current design and determine which ones produce positive results. It is a method to validate that any new design or change to an element on your webpage is improving your conversion rate... Testing takes the guesswork out of website optimization and enables data-backed decisions that shift business conversations from “we think” to “we know.""

Pretty interesting stuff! You can actually use the data from your testing to increase conversion rates. Increased conversion rates usually mean more money for your business. We'll have to go deeper into a/b testing anohter time.

I’m interested to know if you think colours affect consumer behaviour? Do different colours affect the way you buy? I think it does! Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

References

http://www.surveycrest.com/blog/6-revealing-facts-about-color-psychology/

http://digitalmarketingmagazine.co.uk/articles/how-does-colour-affect-consumer-behaviour/

http://www.quicksprout.com/the-complete-guide-to-understand-customer-psychology-chapter-4/

https://www.optimizely.com/ab-testing/