When starting or rebranding your business, you have a lot of decisions to make about a lot of different aspects of your company. One that may not seem like a big deal but that can actually have a very large impact on your commercial success is the color palette you choose to use with your branded materials.
From products to logos and websites, the colors you choose to associate with your company are noted and considered by your customer base both consciously and subconsciously. For this reason, it’s crucial that you pick the right colors to brand your business by. To help you make this important decision, here are three things you should consider when picking brand colors for your business.
Consider Your Industry
Because certain colors elicit certain thoughts and emotions, it could be a good idea to pick a color or color palette that matches your industry and the type of work you do. For example, John Williams, a contributor to Entrepreneur.com, shares that most colors fall into two categories: warm and cool.
Warm colors should be used by companies in more outgoing or energetic industries. These colors include reds and yellows. Cool colors should be used by companies that are calmer and more serious. These colors include blues and grays. Use your industry and the color emotions that correspond with it to help choose your basic type of color for your brand palette.
via Column Five
Consider Your Messaging
According to Jason Miller, a contributor to Marketo.com, picking a brand color that matches with your messaging is one of the most important yet difficult things to accomplish when making branding decisions. Miller states that customers can tell when there’s a disconnect between your messaging and the emotions brought on by your logo colors, so making the right choice the first time could save you a lot of time and money.
Really consider the response you want your logo and other marketing materials to have on your audience before picking your final color choices.
Consider Your Competitors
While choosing a color that corresponds well with your industry could get your messaging across more easily, there is also something to be said for standing out for your competitors when it comes to image. Eric Markowtiz, a contributor to Inc.com, reminds readers of Heinz’s decision to make green ketchup and how this choice to be vastly different from their competitors was ultimately a success. However, going too far out of the realm of your industry could also backfire and send your sales plummeting.
So before you choose to follow the crowd or break away from tradition, be sure you are ready to face the consequences.
Takeaway
Deciding on the colors to associate with your brand can be a fun and challenging experience to go through. To make sure you end up with colors both you and your customers can stand behind, use the advice mentioned above when picking the right color palette for your company.
