This month, we’re doing something a little different. I asked Maxwell Ivey, the Blind Blogger to write a guest blog about the importance of inclusive marketing and utilizing accessibility features in your web design and other marketing practices. He delivered!
Maxwell has been educating entrepreneurs about accessibility and advocating for more inclusive content on a daily basis since starting his first website brokering used carnival rides in 2007. He loves sharing his knowledge about accessibility through writing, speaking, delivering workshops, or podcasting. He wants you to see accessibility as a competitive advantage instead of a burden.
Below you’ll find Maxwell’s blog. He’s unique in that not only does he live the experience as a consumer, but he’s also extremely informed on the marketing side. He frequently writes about improving accessibility options. He also shares his thoughts on podcasts. He taught me a thing or two and I know you’ll find his blog useful for your own efforts.
HelloWhen my friend Anthony suggested I write an article about inclusive marketing, I thought to myself, “what are the most important things I could tell you?”
The first thing that came to mind was explaining just how powerful the disability community can be. Not even most disabled people truly know the value of our market.
It’s Not Just Size
They’ll point to the fact that over a billion people globally identify as having a disability. Or the fact that over 60 million Americans alone have a disability. But that is just the beginning.
Because you see, it isn’t just our numbers. It’s the fact that we are highly loyal consumers who will advocate for businesses and brands willing to make the effort.
When we find a quality product or service delivered in an accessible manner, we tell our friends, families, coworkers, and social media communities. We will also stick by companies. In some cases we have even been known to overpay to buy from a company because of its commitment to accessibility. And I don’t have to tell you that it is far more profitable to keep your existing customers than it is to always be chasing new ones.
Inclusive Marketing Helps Everyone
The second thing I thought I would emphasize is how creating accessible products, services, and content will improve the user experience for everyone else. For many companies, accessibility improvements can also lead to improvements in SEO – search engine optimization.
For example building websites with clean simple designs that make the purpose of the site obvious can lead to fewer disappointed new visitors to your site while making it easier for regular customers to quickly get to what they need.
Simple Forms
Creating simple forms that break up multiple questions into multiple pages or screens makes them easier to use on mobile devices. It also makes it easier for desktop visitors to quickly eliminate mistakes so that multiple attempts aren’t required to sign up to your mailing list or make a purchase.
Alt Text
Adding alt text tags to images is great for screen reader users. But most people still don’t realize that those text descriptions are being indexed by search engines.
For screen reader users these alt text tags are make or break, and most website building or content management systems offer prompts to remind you to add them.
This is because the screen reader can only tell the user what the coder told it. If alt text tags are omitted for attached buttons, links, or videos, then for a large number of users, those items don’t exist.
Easy to Read Fonts & More
Clean, simple font choices with high color contrast values are important to people using screen magnification tools. But it turns out this is also important to people using mobile devices. I have learned that this is especially true when reading on a small screen in bright light.
Having closed captions for videos and audios is critical for the hearing impaired. But, did you know that a large percentage of younger consumers won’t watch a video without captions. This is especially critical if your marketing campaign leans heavily on Facebook, instagram, YouTube, or tic toc.
Headings are one of the quickest ways for people using adaptive tech to navigate a site or an app. They also make it easier for able-bodied people to navigate your platform. This is especially true on mobile devices.
And while this article is mostly about online accessibility, there are great examples for brick-and-mortar business owners.
For example the ramps and curve cut outs for wheel chair users make your store more accessible to parents with strollers. Wider isles may cost more money in rent, but they are critical for wheelchair users. But it also makes a place feel more inviting for everyone else.
How To Implement Inclusive Marketing
Now that I’ve talked about why you should care about inclusive marketing, I’d like to talk more about the how.
First, creating an accessible buying experience (through inclusive marketing) or work place is no different than addressing any other problem in your business. I find that one of the real problems with accessibility is that people believe that it is a foreign almost Alien problem that they will never understand how to address.
To that, I say nonsense. Solving for accessibility is no different than solving for any other problem in your business. It is no different than addressing slow sales, outstanding accounts payable, finding quality employees, etc. You take the process you use to solve these other problems and apply it to accessibility.
And I would remind you that while you are implementing your process, to remember that this is a process. Sincere continued effort is more valuable than trying to meet the arbitrary rules overnight.
Once you understand that accessibility isn’t any different than other challenges, the next part gets easier.
Your Business Priorities – A Good Place to Begin
What you want to do next is focus on the most important part of your business. What do you want people to do when they visit your location or discover your website.
For example, for airlines, priority one is being able to book a flight, select your seat, and make your purchase.
If you are selling products such as clothing, books, electronics, etc., the goal is for people to be able to find the items they want easily, determine if these items are what they were looking for, and then make their purchase.
If you are selling your services, then you want visitors to be able to quickly discover if you are a fit or not, to evaluate your fees, and then to make a purchase or book a conversation for next steps.
By focusing on the most important thing in your business, you will find ways to simplify your website and make the experience much more enjoyable for everyone, not just for your disabled customers.
Understanding Why
Beyond simple design and staying focused on your purpose, there is one other key bit of information about adaptive tech users that you really need to know:
To add access for screen magnification, screen readers, and other methods of using a computer; the designers have to remove the mouse.
This means that a user with a disability can rarely execute a mouse click while visiting your website or app. We can sometimes simulate a mouse click, but it isn’t reliable. And trust me nothing is more aggravating than searching through a site, filling my cart, going to check out, and being ready to press purchase only to not be able to do so.
When using a screen reader or other adaptive tech it can take much longer to navigate this process. So, I have often been online an hour or more only to be stopped at the last minute.
To avoid this design your inclusive marketing means creating content for keyboard users first. Then, you can add options for people who can use a mouse or manage hover cards. You also want to have either a prompt or a file with keyboard commands to help disabled users understand how to quickly navigate your site.
Besides people with disabilities, quite often older computer users without a disability are more comfortable using a keyboard than they are with mouse clicks.
Consequences for Not Utilizing Inclusive Marketing
Finally, consider what happens when a disabled person visits and has issues with your website or app.
One of three things is going to happen.
Lose a Fan
One, they are going to make their purchase but won’t have the joy around the experience they should have. You will miss the opportunity to make a sale and a connection.
Get a Complaint
Two, they will complain about the problem. While I personally believe in reaching out to a business owner with a positive, non-threatening problem-solver approach, I am in the minority.
Most will reach out to your customer support or technical support teams. And yes I know for a lot of you that will be you.
But they will most likely be frustrated, possibly even angry or indignant, which won’t be good for fixing the problem and making a new fan. Some may even bypass complaining to you and go straight to their social media feeds to bash you for your lack of accessibility.
Lose a Customer
Three, and this happens most often; they just leave your website and try to find someone else to buy from.
The sad truth is most of us are not Walmart or Amazon. Only a rare few offer a product or service with no competition.
We can’t afford to turn off potential clients or customers, regardless of whether they have a disability or not.
Improving accessibility will help avoid problems with that over 1 billion I mentioned before. And the improvements to your platform for accessibility will improve the user experience for everyone else.
This should lead to a healthier business over time.
As marketers , we look for ways to bring in more customers, keep more of our existing customers, make more sales, and earn more profits.
Accessibility can really help with this. From your website or app to your product design to your marketing materials, accessibility has value.
My final words to you is that accessibility can be a problem something to be dealt with that is painful. But it can also be a competitive advantage. Because when you design to include people with disabilities, it is like hiring influencers you won’t have to pay.
I wish you all more success. I would be happy to answer any questions and I also love working with up-and-coming companies that have realized the value of inclusion and just need a little help with implementation.
Thanks for reading my post, Max
