We recently went through a workplace communication color testing exercise at our office. I am a huge fan of this program, and have been since I was first exposed to it in the late 90’s. Color testing focuses on four primary personality types and their natural communication styles, and is a tremendous tool for any business looking to improve internal communications.
The four primary color types are red, blue, yellow, and green. The primary objective of this exercise is to help your team members identify their color type, which corresponds to core personality traits and a preferred communication style. Each color type naturally communicates in a different way – through how they speak, listen, and process information.
This exercise allows everyone in an organization to better understand the different communication styles in the workplace, so that they can modify how they approach communication based on the recipient. Knowing your audience before communicating, and tailoring your delivery, makes all the difference in the end result.
After going through this exercise, I realized website visitors are similar. They can loosely be compartmentalized into these four color types. Their communication styles differ, as well as how they seek out and prioritize information and an online experience.
Reds want information that is relevant and concise. They are looking for information to be delivered quickly. They especially appreciate mobile friendly design.
Blues will seek out the greater good, your mission information. They will be the first to look for your social media icons, and what you’re doing as a company.
Greens want to feel excited by the story behind your products and services. They seek case studies and the excitement that comes from a story well told, and hearing first-hand about success.
Yellows want lots of the finer details. They’ll want you to have a product spec page, an FAQ section, downloadable PDFs and be the first to request a demo to see the inner workings.
All of this should be accounted for in your website layout and design. This is commonly referred to as user experience design or UX. User experience design enhances customer satisfaction by improving a website’s usability and increasing the enjoyment factor of the interaction between customer and the information presented. Since each prospective customer may come from any of the four color types, they will seek and digest information on your website differently.
The goal of any website is to connect business goals with user needs through testing and refinement that satisfies both sides of the relationship; better communication, and the satisfaction that comes from it. An understanding of the color types and how they approach your website can go a long way in helping to determine where and how to present information in the best format possible.
It’s critical to account for different communication styles in the layout, design, and structure of your website content. Consider where your information is located, and if it is easy to access. Does your format appeal to personalities rooted in the red, blue, yellow and green communication types? Should it?
For a copy of the color testing insights and questionnaire, contact me directly and I’ll send it to you.
For those of you who many be interested, I am a Green.
