Small Businesses
Work Better
With Color
Capture Attention
YOUR
Work Better
With Color
In a recent study of small businesses conducted by International Communications Research and Xerox, an overwhelming majority of respondents embrace the benefits of color. U.S.-based small businesses surveyed agreed that color does in fact have a positive effect on their business. The findings show that small business owners/managers believe that color documents have a strong ability to attract new customers, make companies appear larger, gain a competitive edge, increase memory retention and enhance creativity.
92% Believe color presents an image of impressive quality
90% Feel color can assist in attracting new customers
90% Believe customers remember presentations & documents better when color is used
84% Think greater consideration is given to color documents
83% Believe color makes them appear more successful
83% Feel color capabilities enhances employee creativity
81% Think color gives them a competitive edge
78% Report that color documents are easier to understand
76% Believe that the use of color makes their business appear larger to clients
20 Ways to Share
the Color Knowledge
Color Captures Attention, Enhances Productivity, Improves Communications and Helps Boost Sales.
Color emphasizes critical information and conveys a sense of professionalism.
Your company's first impression is the most important one. Using color demonstrates that you mean business. The decision whether to read or reject pamphlets and direct mail pieces is made by readers in just 2.5 seconds. Using color can keep your materials on the desk and
out of the wastebasket.
Color increases reader's attention spans and recall by 82%.
Safety notices, warnings and vital technical information are more likely to be remembered
if they stand out in color. That can help decrease costly and time-consuming
errors throughout your company.
Color gains readership by 80%.
Adding color to product guides can help critical information get read, helping ensure that customers understand how to operate the products they buy from you. That alone can reduce
the number of unnecessary service calls and save your company time and money.
Color makes an impression that is 39% more memorable.
Direct mail pieces and collateral leave a lasting impression if they're in color. That makes follow-up calls more successful.
Telephone listings printed in color can increase response by 44%.
Amidst hundreds of black-and-white listings in a telephone directory, a color entry can really stand out. This can lead to increased exposure and increased business.
People are 55% more likely to pick up a full-color piece of mail first.
How do you get a customer to open mail from you quickly? Simply use color on the envelope. By capturing their attention, you are more likely to get a speedy response.
Enhance Productivity
Color reduces search time by as much as 80%.
Contracts, insurance policies and other lengthy documents can be made more understandable by highlighting the important information with color. Customers will spend less time tying
up your customer service representatives with confusing questions, increasing your operation�s overall efficiency.
Color reduces errors by 80%.
Improperly completed forms and applications can bog down data entry and customer service
departments. Highlighting important information and instructions can help customers fill out forms correctly the first time.
Information can be located 70% faster if it's in color.
Executives have little time as it is. Speeding up the time it takes to locate and understand important information can significantly improve your company's efficiency. For example, the 1.5 hours an executive spends reading black-and-white documents every week can be cut to a 0.5
hour by using color. That means less nonessential time and more billable time.
Document sorting improves by 15% when highlight color is used.
Improving the ease with which documents can be identified, sorted and filed can reduce the number of people assigned to the task. That can mean real cost savings during peak seasons when temporary help is brought on board.
Highlight color improves search time by 39% compared to using different fonts.
Administrative personnel can spend less time looking for information and more time performing critical tasks if the information is easier to find. Using color to highlight it can make the difference.
Color can increase payment response by up to 30%.
By highlighting the amount owing and the due date with color, a sense of urgency is added to invoices. This can help make your customers pay their bills faster, thereby improving your cash flow.
People are 2.5% more likely to pay the full amount when it's shown in color.
Some companies have found that highlighting the amount due on an invoice actually causes customers to pay the full amount owing. That reduces additional invoicing and improves your business cash flow.
Improve Communication
Color increases comprehension by as much as 73%.
Your prospects and potential customers can understand your message faster and more clearly. That speeds sales presentations and makes the whole process run more effectively.
Color increases learning and retention by 78%.
Educating your technical and service staff is a time-consuming process that can be drastically shortened by preparing the materials in color.
Color can boost survey participation by 80%.
Low response on customer satisfaction surveys can be dramatically improved and repeat mailings made unnecessary by using color to grab attention. Reader comprehension has been found to be 14% better with highlight color than with bold text. Training sessions can be more effective when the presentation materials and guides are produced using highlight color, rather than using just bold type.
Color increases motivation by up to 80%.
Getting response from employees can often be more difficult than getting response from customers. Using color on memos, correspondence and posted notices from payroll, human resources and personnel can help motivate your employees to respond in a timely fashion.
Boost Sales
Color helps sell up to 80% more.
Collateral materials, sales brochures and other consumer communications can help generate
more sales with the application of color.
Color can improve brand recognition by up to 80%.
Local retailers, realtors, consultants and others can cut through the clutter with the help of color. Improved brand recognition can lead to increased sales.
- Article Courtesy Xerox Corporation
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