313 | How To Integrate Inclusive Marketing Into Your Customer Experience With Sonia Thompson
Making your customers feel like your product or service is tailored specifically for them is the key to inclusive marketing. Inclusive marketing expert Sonia Thompson joins us today on the podcast to share more on how to integrate inclusive marketing into your customer experience.
Tuning in, you’ll hear all about Sonia’s career, how you can diversify your products and circle of influence, how to audit your customer experience to be more inclusive, the importance of considering how different people are and making them feel seen and heard, why you must stay true to your values, and much more!
We delve into some ways you can infuse inclusion in your marketing before discussing why your work environment needs to be inclusive in order for your customers to feel welcome. Finally, Sonia tells us how she can help in the ongoing evolutionary inclusion journey.
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The Impact of Differences within Your Community
Sonia & I started out by talking through all the ways people within your audience might be different and the impact of differences.
This work is important to Sonia because she is someone who has a lot of differences in her identity.
She is a black woman who lived in Argentina, where she met her Spanish-speaking Argentine husband. They now live in Florida and have a biracial, bilingual, and bicultural child.
These experiences have shaped their perspective on the significance of creating a sense of belonging for everyone. She also follows a gluten-free diet. All these things make her a customer with diverse needs & looking for brands and companies that support those differences.
The important takeaway for me was that even if we do not personally experience them, we still need to be mindful that these differences might affect people who buy from us.
Sonia talked about how she never considered the challenges of navigating through Buenos Aires, her home for a while, until she had her baby and was trying to navigate the city with a stroller. This prompted the consideration of the experiences of individuals in wheelchairs or with accessibility needs.
Waiting until we personally encounter a problem is not the ideal approach; instead, we should proactively make necessary adjustments to create a more inclusive environment for all.
Inclusion in Personal and Business Life
Sonia brings valuable insights on how to integrate inclusivity into brand messaging, marketing activities, and day-to-day operations.
I also asked Sonia to walk us through how you could audit your business to see where you might be lacking in inclusivity.
1. Authentic Diversity and Inclusion
Embedding diversity and inclusion into your brand requires more than just surface-level representation. It involves developing an authentic understanding of diverse communities, their challenges, and their aspirations.
Sonia talks about how important it is to tailor your language, photography, and feature experts to represent your target audience.
This inclusivity will resonate with your customers and foster a sense of belonging.
2. Auditing Customer Experience:
Evaluate every interaction point with your business from an inclusivity standpoint.
Consider the language, imagery, and accessibility of your website, products, or services.
Testimonials should reflect the diversity of your customer base, showcasing success stories from people similar to your target audience.
By consistently auditing your customer experience through an inclusive lens, you can ensure that all customers feel seen, heard, and valued.
3. Diversify Your Circle of Influence
Expand your circle of influence by including individuals from the community you aim to serve. You can better understand their needs and preferences by involving people with diverse backgrounds and experiences.
Partnering and collaborating with members of the community make it easier to tailor your offerings to their specific requirements.
4. Embrace an Inclusive Culture
Creating an inclusive culture within your business is essential both in the forward-facing pieces of your business as well as behind the scenes.
Foster a sense of psychological safety, allowing team members to express their ideas and experiences freely.
Open-mindedness helps normalize diversity and different backgrounds, leading to more inclusive marketing practices. Empathy plays a crucial role in understanding and incorporating different perspectives.
5. Adjusting Language and References
Customizing your language and references in your marketing materials. For example, are you always referencing Taylor Swift or are you also talking about Beyonce?
You create a sense of connection with your target audience by utilizing inclusive language and relatable references. This adjustment can also help attract and retain people whose values align with your brand.
Inclusivity Comes with Growth & Evolution
Creating an inclusive business involves constant growth and evolution. Inclusive marketing is about understanding, empathy, intentional adjustments, and creating a sense of belonging for all customers. It requires a commitment to ongoing education, diversifying your circle of influence, and considering the needs and experiences of diverse communities.
Recognizing that you are not alone and enlisting the help of those from the community you aim to serve is vital in shaping inclusive marketing practices.
Quick Links
Here is a quick recap of links to other helpful blogs and podcasts shared in this post.
If you have ever wanted to pick my brain, or get my eyes and ears on your business, Proof to Product LABS is the place to do it.
We have monthly group coaching calls and a wide range of On Demand training specifically for product-based business owners. We open up the doors a few times a year so be sure to sign up to learn more!
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MEET sonia thompson
Sonia Thompson is an inclusive brand coach, strategist, and consultant helping companies grow by including more customers, especially those from underrepresented and underserved communities. Sonia writes columns for Forbes and Inc. in inclusive marketing. She also hosts the Inclusion & Marketing podcast.
CONNECT WITH sonia
WEBSITE: inclusionandmarketing.com/ | INSTAGRAM: @soniaethompson| LINKEDIN: @soniaethompson
Connect with Katie Hunt
Katie Hunt is a business strategist, podcaster, mentor and mama to four. She helps product based businesses build profitable, sustainable companies through her conferences, courses and coaching programs.
Website: prooftoproduct.com | Instagram: @prooftoproduct
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