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Teammates Moving Guidebook
A helpful workbook with moving tips and
tactics from Teammates veterans who have helped hundreds of
Colorado companies move to new or
renovated space.
Sustainable Development - The Challenges and Opportunities
A Powerpoint Presentation by Scott Duego, VP
Sustainable Development- Teknion
Article of Interest
(send your articles to
info@team-mates.com)
How Color Affects Mood
and Enhances the Automobile Sales Process
A Summary of Research Studies Presented to O'Meara Ford by Teammates
Commercial Interiors
There is no doubt that color and ambiance play an important role in
designing a space and creating specific moods within that space. Since the
early 1930s, researchers and psychologists have conducted dozens of
studies that prove this theory.
Leatrice Eiseman, founder
and director of the Eiseman Center for Color Information and Training, and
Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute, states in her book
Colors for Your Every Mood, "Color is the single most important design
element in creating spaces that reflect mood and style."
When it comes to
designing a selling environment, marketing psychologists advise that a
lasting color impression is made within 90 seconds and accounts for 60% of
the acceptance or rejection of an object, place, individual or
circumstance. Because of this quick response by the consumer, researchers
have spent considerable time studying which colors best suit specific
products and induce the consumer to buy. We can surmise that red makes us
hungry, because every fast food chain we know uses red in their logos,
restaurant environments and marketing materials. In fact, research
supports this conclusion.
Blue is the color of
constancy and truth. It is ideal in often anxiety-charged selling
environments because it brings tranquility and calm and reduces blood
pressure and respiration rate. In his groundbreaking book The Luscher
Color Test, Dr. Max Luscher says of dark-blue surroundings "Anyone in a
situation as balanced, harmonious and tension-free as this feels settled,
united and secure."
Dr Arthur Ellis states in
his color studies that blue makes consumers feel more in control and
actually makes the pace of things seem slower and more manageable. In
fact, in all the studies we reviewed, blue seemed the perfect alter ego to
red, which tends to provoke the "fight or flight" impulse and raise blood
pressure. Some different hues of blue - gray-violet and silver-gray, seem
to produce many of the same feelings as the blues: calmness and
tranquility. It is important to note that too much blue in a setting,
especially dark-blue, may seem depressing.
Yellow is the color
closest to light and is seen as joyful, outgoing and open, often giving a
feeling of youthful vigor. Because of its friendly feel, consumers feel
welcomed to sales settings that include mild yellows. Dr. Luscher,
considered the father of color research, states that buyers seem to feel a
bit "more relaxed and uninhibited" and have an "expectation for greater
happiness" that is ideal in a buying situation. He continues to say that
"yellow presses forward toward the new, the modern and the developing.
Yellow always triggers a light, free, open feeling…a liberating, loosening
effect. Therefore it corresponds to a definite sense of freedom and
self-development."
Eiseman states that
yellow is great for opening up cramped and dark areas and "draws people in
and through the space," which makes consumers more likely to feel
comfortable exploring a sales area instead of holding back. She does note
the importance of using the right yellow hue. Yellows with a green tint
tend to turn off consumers and the brighter, more garish hues may cheapen
the product.
Light browns and beiges
are the colors of hearth and home and represent nurturing. The
down-to-earth and "real" feelings that these colors emanate help a buyer
or customer feel on the same level with the salesperson, that they are not
"looking down their nose" at the buyer. Eiseman says that brown represents
"roots, a steady, stable source of security, comfort and normalcy." Beige
gives feelings of warmth. Dr. Benjamin J. Kouwer says in his book, Color
Their Characters, "It possesses a sturdiness, a strong powerfulness" and
gives a feeling of stability that anxious buyers often appreciate.
Green hues often lead to
thoughts of nature and country instead of city, which some consumers find
soothing. Indian mystics see the color as representing balance and
harmony. Dr. Luscher says that greens appeals to consumers because they
feel their "opinions will prevail," helping the buyer feel more in control
of the situation. Dr Kurt Goldstein found that "…green induces a state of
tranquility and a withdrawal from external pressures which occurs on both
a motor and emotional level" making a buyer feel at ease. Many consumers
say that they associated green with the sea - calm, spacious and cool.
While orange tones are
usually seen as brassy and loud, when used sparingly they may be
interpreted by buyers as gregarious, fun-loving and full of energy.
Eiseman states that orange, when used correctly, is a wonderful
"attention-getter." Orange should be used in moderation, however, as it
can "cheapen" a product in much the same way as yellow.
Clearly colors, their
tones and hues affect mood and dictate the "personality" of a space and
how comfortable buyers are within that space. Similarly, adequate and
creative lighting is one of the most important features used to highlight
a dealership. More and more car dealerships, for example, are
incorporating "daylighting" into the design of retail selling spaces -
that is, using lighting that emulates natural light. Some have even
included skylights in their building plans.
In fact, The California
Board for Energy Efficiency commissioned a study titled "Skylighting and
Retail Sales." The research, completed by the Heschong Mahone Group, found
that stores with lighting that simulates natural light or that from
skylights, experienced a sales index significantly higher than stores
without that type of lighting. People said the store felt cleaner and more
spacious and open.
When reviewing the above
information, it is important to note that response to color is inherited
and learned. Carlton Wagner, founder of the Wagner Institute for Color
Research in Santa Barbara, California and one of the country's leading
authorities on color research, notes that several factors affect
individuals' responses. These include socioeconomic status, education,
sex, age, intelligence and regional attitudes making generalizations
difficult. Simply stated: the personal tastes of consumers more
significant than any scientific research. |