The Study of E-color Marketing Technology Application in Tourism Industry

The Study of E-color Marketing Technology Application
in Tourism Industry
LI Yuanyuan
School of International Business, Inner Mongolia University of Technology, P.R.China, 010080
[email protected]
Abstract: This article discusses and finds the great significance of E-Color marketing technology
application in tourism industry combining the theory of Color Marketing. The intangible characteristic
of tourism products leads to low information capacity and low product marketability in internet.
Meanwhile, facing the homogenization of serious competition, we have to carry out the marketing
strategy on tangibility of service to affect purchasing behavior, improving the information capacity and
market competitiveness with providing multi-media technology, including pictures, voices and videos.
In this case, E-Color Marketing technology application is particularly crucial for the tourism enterprises.
Finally, following the analysis mentioned above, this paper further makes suggestions on E-Color
Marketing technology application in tourism industry.
Keywords: E-color marketing technology, tourism industry, application, purchasing behavior
1.
The introduction of E-color marketing
1.1 The theory of Color marketing
The theory of Color Marketing was first introduced by American Ms. Carroll Jackson who builds the
Color Me Beautiful (CMB) Company. Ms. Carroll Jackson refined and summarized the theory through
practice. It belongs to a borderline subject which is the combination of the modern aesthetics,
psychology and marketing. The color is one of the most important external characteristics of products,
brings high additional value and very amazing effects to the E-marketing. Appropriate color is good to
understand the felling of the brand by the consumers. Color representation, which is a characteristic of
many channels used to convey product information, impacts the effectiveness of sender-to-client
informing.[1] American marketing sums up the “7 seconds rule” that is consumers’ intention are usually
determined in 7 second. Color sale is helping an enterprise leave the deepest impression to customers in
the first. Research shows that the first impression accounted for 60% of consumer decision making and
it is brought by color. The essence of this theory is promoting by color marketing mix according to the
consumers’ psychological color demand.
，
1.2 The E-color marketing
With the developing and spreading of the Color Marketing theory, coloring strategy has been used
widely in net marketing activities now, and makes enterprises have possibility to get competitive
superiority, and becomes an important means to strengthen the competitive ability in the market.
E-commerce is enabling alternative routes to market. [2] And the E-Color Marketing is an alternative
structure differing from the traditional e-Marketing structure. The E-Color Marketing combines the
modern Color Marketing theory with the Internet technology by color marketing mix according to the
consumers’ psychological color demand. Tourism Cyber Marketing refers to a marketing mode based on
electronic information technology, with mediums of a computer network or the Internet, promoting
network of products. [3] When Chinese tourism industry grows up quickly with the annual growth rate of
30%, the application of E-Color Marketing Technology makes the traditional network travel service
facing the consumer with a more emotional way. The E-Color Marketing makes up for the gap of
emotion communication in the traditional, meets the need of tourism economic development and injects
a flow of fresh vitality into tourism e-Marketing. The e-Marketing rule of “Judging by Color” is just to
take advantage of the close association between people’s psychological feeling and color and gives full
play to the unique charm of color to be used as the one of promoting means. On the base of analyzing
and fully understanding the consumer psychology, to do the consumer want to do, to have the goods be a
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bridge to the consumer by using fit color to position goods properly so as to achieve unity of
“goods-color-emotion”.
2.
The significance of E-color marketing application
2.1The importance decided by the characteristics of tourism products
The intangible characteristic of tourism products leads to low information capacity of tourism
e-marketing and low product marketability in internet. The tourism enterprises have to carry out the
marketing strategy on tangibility of service in order to affect purchasing behavior, improve the
information capacity and market competitiveness with providing multi-media technology including the
pictures, voices, videos and so on. The tangible demonstration of service can be divided into three types:
test environment, information communication and price.[4] The color is an important communication tool,
in this case, E-Color Marketing technology application is particularly crucial. It enriches the content of
services, improves service standards and endows the tourism e-marketing with great energy and has the
overall different operating effectiveness from traditional tourism e-marketing.
2.2 The necessity decided by the homogenization of serious competition
The number of Internet purchases continues to increase, making the homogenization competition even
more serious in today’s Tourism. The homogenizing is a phenomenon that all kinds of different brand
among each main type of goods are produced by imitating on functions, appearance and even main
marketing tool leading to gradual assimilation as a result. The homogenization represents not only on
the single product and repetitive content, but also on the similar corporate image position lacking of
diversity. The fierce vicious competition causes severe conflicts within the tourism business of line,
which for the development of the industry as a whole is negative, but being driven by interest and lack
of innovation are two main reasons of homogeneous competition appeared. Most tourist sites are
introduced scenic spots, the price quotation and travel lines primarily in no features and dull unattractive
color. With Chinese leading network tourism enterprises as an example, eLong and Ctrip travel network
differ only in providing a separate page of Member point. In tourism internet economic developed today,
the product homogenization problem is very prominent, therefore intense needs to create a clear unique
brand vision image. Color is the key to the competition of homogenous products. Taking the road of
Color Marketing development in internet is indispensable to the tourism enterprises.
2.3 The strong influence to purchasing behavior
2.3.1 Leaving a Deep First Impression
The home page just likes a person’s face, relaxed or nervous, warm or cold, feeding back different
feelings to the client. The color applied and matched in can meet unexpectedly 10 thousand kinds of
amorous feelings. When first meeting others, you may not has a very deep impression on her or his
looks and dress, but, you can easily fell his or her passion or repulsion, like or not and more or less
attention. The felling is so delicate, may not be said out, but it is really out there, and also affects both
continue exchange. This principle is followed in color emotional effect of net page. Different colors in
the same field have all the difference of marketing results. Color itself is not beautiful and ugly. The fit
coordination is pretty, that is to say, the color matches with the content you want to express and
atmosphere is the best. The travel network is concentrated on the service, so the too strong color should
not be used in web page, or, it can produce subdued feel easily. The people who are planning to travel
outside with the ideal of relaxing and playing happily, may has chosen the leaving as soon as they saw
this kind color without opening the main page completely. The color effect is the fundamental web
principle, different color, used in the same field, has different effect. Color itself is not the beauty and
ugliness, appropriate coordination is beautiful.
2.3.2 Stimulating Demanders Purchasing Behavior
Don’t underestimate the psychological impact of color. Because color is actually a sensation, colors are
purely subjective, as interpreted by an individual’s visual system and brain.[5] Color is indeed a
magnetically expression tool that can stimulate demanders purchasing behavior, can not only attract
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potential target customer, but also conveys information more clearly and effectively. The tourism
products purchasing behavior is strongly influenced by tourism E-Color Marketing. Appropriate color,
can stimulate demanders purchasing behavior. Such as: the route design of the Red Revolutionary Base
Trip, the red color gives people excited and happy feeling, warm and thriving association; for the Yellow
Desert Travel, yellow supplies a vast expanse and distant psychological feeling to the customer; the Blue
Ocean Life journey, the blue presents for quiet, clean and intellectual producing the association of the
surface of the sea rippling and the vast clear sky; the Ecotourism is closely related the green is the color
of nature, is believed to be the representative of spring, associating the beauty of the countryside and
pasture; the red orange of Autumn Harvest Trip makes a ripe fruit and sweet feeling; Luxurious Trip to
Europe, the purple with a noble, elegant and delicate sense; Winter Snow White Trip, white can make a
person associate honest, clean, sacred and excellent quality. This kind of tourism color products and
services enriches service contents, improves the service level, and has changed the operation effects of
traditional network marketing, injected the new vitality to tourism E-Marketing. On the contrary, if the
enterprises don't concentrate on the more color of encourage, they don't get nearly as far in terms of
performance gains.
3.
The suggestions of E-color marketing technology application
If the tourism enterprise skimp their visual design of network products, will not only lose a concern, but
also a business opportunity. The application of E-Marketing Technology in tourism industry should pay
more attention to the following questions:
3.1 To be correspondent with targeted consumers’ color preferences
Adhere to the target market and consumer color preferences principle. To different colors, the consumer
in different countries has different aesthetic sense. For example, gray is cheap in China, but is expensive
high quality and reliable in America; color preferences are different among different genders and ages;
and in different psychological state is same too. When being excited, to choose red will sympathize
with each other, to the green will relax; if you are depressed, yellow can make you can excited, but gray
will bring the further depression. The psychologist research shows that: both preference and reactions of
people at the same stage and same sex groups to colors are of homogeneity. Just like that young male
prefer blue and middle-aged women prefer purple, etc. Tourism enterprise in product color choice must
be based on the target customers, avoid blindly color preferences by imitating, blindly using E-Color
Marketing Technology. No color preference analysis to the target market and no adequately possessing
first-hand information on the audience color preferences, but blindly collocated color with the goods,
could not be recognized and accepted. So I suggest travel web page design have to be with reasonable
collocation, make the customer feel comfortable and be correspondent with consumers’ color
preferences in the targeted market.
3.2 To be consistent with tourist enterprise image
A color can represent an enterprise image, like the green of Crocodile brand and McDonald's red and
yellow. Few major brands do not have their own web site.[6] The purpose of choosing “standard” color is
to show the unique image, establish brand and cultivate loyal customers. Secondly, to create unique
characteristics of color on culture, according to enterprise culture characteristics itself. Tourism brand
design must make full use of charming color. For instance, in 2005, Hong Kong has invested hugely to
built online travel tourist e-commerce platform, Mango Net. This new market, online travel e-commerce
brand, has changed the marketing pattern of lacing obvious color, which used by Elong and Ctrip Travel
Network before, color marketing obviously by bright orange boldly and peak green color combination,
and with mango as the main body, the combination image into the image characteristics, rapid rising in
tourism e-commerce market. Only in a year, it has become is an important force in the China tourism
electronic commerce market, has a large market share. From the perspective of brand marketing, Mango
network appeals to the urban elite groups of sunshine life by young color and young image. Except in
very consistent position on the brand personality, but by its distinctive color within short time
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strengthened consumer impression and memory and spread widely to realize the memory, enhance
market share constantly. As a new brand, if there is no bright brand personality, apparently, it is difficult
to shake the online travel market which has dominated by eLong and Ctrip Travel Network for two
years. While it shows that acceptance of many consumers is because of the bright colors from the
feedback information, many people even don’t remember specific mango’s websites, but can clearly
express orange and mango shape. This is enough to prove that Mango E-Color Marketing strategy is a
success. Our response on particular colors is culturally relative, so in process of carrying out enterprise
network image positioning, pay attention to match the using of E-Color Marketing technology with
regional and national colors on culture. The color of tourism product position depends on the different
culture of the region and nation. By investigating the cultural differentiation and cultural orientation of
color naming, color marketing, planning and design can be carried out accordingly.
3.3 To blend experience design into the color
Experience design(XD) is the practice of designing products, processes, services, events, and
environments with a focus placed on the quality of the user experience and culturally relevant solutions,
with less emphasis placed on increasing and improving functionality of the design.[7] In current parlance,
this creation and organization of useful representation in multiple media, in multiple ways, across
various user situations, is termed “experience design.”[8] The "Experience E-Color Design" is the way of
consumers-centered and taste-based purchasing approach, from which consumers can be served what
they want to know through their own experiences by surfing the internet, meanwhile great opportunities
are available for a tourism enterprise. When you are clicking on a tourist route and open it, not only see
the literal but also very vivid pictures or videos of the region’s tourist attractions, and browsing the page
with comfortable visual effect, this is a kind of experience-based tourism product design. The core
tourism product is the tour circuit, in this case, to present more pictures are better than more literal in a
certain degree. So, to create travel situation on line, to simulate the real travel circumstance, then, the
people have experience “really” on the “virtual” scene, emphasizing the customer’s initiative, arousing
the customer’s emotion, let customers to perceive the tourist products’ glamour among network space
themselves, that will be coming to affect the decision-making process.
4.
Conclusion
The application of E-Color Marketing Technology makes the traditional network travel service facing
the consumer with a more emotional way. It makes up for the gap of emotion communication in the
traditional E-marketing, meets the need of tourism economic development in network age and injects a
flow of fresh vitality into tourism E-marketing. Tourism enterprises should timely adjust network
marketing strategy, to achieve the business model of innovation and change, to constantly grow and
develop by the combination of information technology and the color application in the fierce
competition today.
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