What’s your favorite color? Have you ever considered why you chose that particular color as your favorite? Probably not, but there is actually a debate about the psychology of colors, and whether or not using certain colors can have an effect on a company’s overall marketing.

There is little to no evidence that certain colors evoke hyper-specific emotions. For example, many people equate the color red with anger – think a raging bull chasing a matador’s red cloth. But, if red actually brought on rage in consumers, your local Target store would be a very dangerous place. Color is far too dependent on a person’s personal experiences and preferences to be used solely as a marketing trigger. There are, however, some research-based insights on how color does play a role in persuasion in marketing.

In a study titled Impact of Color in Marketing, researchers found that between 62-90% of judgments made about products can be based on color alone. The study also found that color can be used to increase or decrease appetite, enhance mood, calm down customers, and, reduce perception of waiting time among consumers.

Another study conducted by researchers at Virginia Tech’s Pamplin College of Business looked at how red and blue background colors on websites or on store walls influence consumers’ willingness to buy. Their research measured the impact of color in three settings: auctions, negotiations, and fixed-price settings, such as retail stores.

According to lead researcher and associate professor of marketing, Rajesh Bagchi, “Our results suggest that incidental exposure to color on Web page backgrounds or on walls in brick-and-mortar stores can affect willingness to pay and have important implications for website and store design.” Their research found that consumers shopping for a limited product in a competitive arena, such as an auction, were more willing to pay after being exposed to a red background as opposed to a blue one.

In contrast, during negotiations over a readily available product where the consumer is competing with the seller to get a lower price, a red background decreased a consumer’s willingness to pay as compared to blue. However, consumers in fixed-price, or retail, settings were more influenced by the color blue.

Color Your Marketing

So what does all this color research mean for marketing an aging care business? While colors may be able to influence consumers in certain ways, there’s still no hard and fast evidence that strictly choosing one color over another for your brand will make people purchase your services. However, color can help create a feeling, mood, and image for your business, and those things combined can help attract customers to your company and improve your brand’s recognition.

Need help with the color palette for your brand? The aging care marketing and design experts at corecubed can help. Contact us today to learn more about our services.