The Psychology of Color and How It Can Impact Your Business

If you run your own small business, you understand that nothing can be left to chance when it comes to your success. Just as important as the products and services you sell is the appearance of your store, logo and website. A key element for creating a positive emotion is the use of color. The psychology of color plays a powerful role in consumer perception and confidence.

As printers and lovers of color, we decided to take a look at what colors can positively impact a small business and how to implement them in various marketing strategies.

Take a minute to think of some of the most successful businesses out there and how they used color to successfully brand their product. McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Starbucks and Home Depot are just a few that come to mind.

Below find the top five colors to impact your sales:

1. Blue - The color blue crosses both gender and cultural lines as the most favored among the rainbow. The many shades of blue evoke feelings of calm and tranquility, perhaps because it’s the color of the sky and sea.

In business marketing, blue denotes feelings of confidence and dependability. Facebook and IBM both use the color blue in their logo and both are leaders in their respective industries.

2. Red - When you think of passion, energy and excitement, you most certainly think of the color red. It’s definitely an attention grabber from red lips to the red carpet, a show stopper. Red is not just a fashion favorite, it also strikes a chord with shoppers.

Red hangtags and store banners are used by businesses to mark sales items and sale promotions. Retail powerhouse Target uses red for its logo as well as all the signage throughout its stores. Target has become famous for its line of trendy and thrifty clothes and home products.

3. Orange - Own a restaurant or other gourmet business? You may want to strongly consider the use of orange in your establishments if you haven’t already. The color orange inspires creativity and increases chances for social conversation. We are not suggesting you paint the walls orange, but subtle hints of orange in the menus and decor are a nice option. Dunkin’ Donuts has used orange to its advantage.

Orange also creates feelings of affordability and savings. Home Depot is a great example of a company that has used the color orange to define their economical home improvement products.

4. Yellow - Remember when you were a kid coloring big bright yellow suns on all your artwork?! The color yellow still evokes warm and happy feelings. It’s a playful, cheerful and optimistic color that is often used in schools to stimulate academic achievement.

Yellow has been said to nourish creative thinking. It’s no wonder that post-it notes and legal pads are primarily the color yellow.

5. Green - These days so many of us are becoming environmentally conscious and committed to our health and well being. The color green sparks growth and vitality and is also linked to health and nature. Many vitamin and natural beauty lines are packaged in shades of green.

The Body Shop and Herbalife are both globally known and respected brands. They both use the color green in their marketing, website and product labels.

This is just a quick look at the five colors of the rainbow that can positively impact your small business sales and marketing efforts. Before choosing a color for your brand, first consider your target customer and the products you are offering.

You don’t have to have a PhD in psychology to understand that colors affect our moods and decisions. Which color best describes your business and how do you use it to drive sales? Let us know below!