Author: Darren Bates
EAPD President | CEO
How Can Your Company Tap Into this Multibillion Dollar Market?
When developing or redeveloping your initial marketing strategy, be sure to include people with disabilities (PWD) on your marketing team. The best way to market to any demographic is to first understand your market, then implement a plan. And who would know best what people with disabilities want and need? That’s right, people with disabilities will be able to tell you what is important to their niche. If you don’t include people with disabilities on your marketing team you can be sure of one thing, that you will miss this market all together.
2) Support the Community
Make sure your company or business shows local community support for people with disabilities and accessibility. Go to city council and city and county planning commission meetings and make sure they are looking at accessibility when starting new projects. People with disabilities in the USA take 32+ million trips and spend more than $13.6 billion annually on travel ($4.2 billion on hotels, $3.3 billion on airfare, $2.7 billion on food and beverage and $3.4 billion on retail, transportation, and other activities). But that won't visit your city or spend their money at your place of business if your community is non-accessible.
...you can create a positive image and reputation for your business that says - you support people with disabilities, older Americans and veterans
By finding out what community projects are happening, such as a new community center or a new playground at a local school, and lending your support to make sure they are accessible, you are playing a direct part in a more accessible community for your residents with disabilities. And by supporting these efforts in your own town, you can create a positive image and reputation for your business that says you care about the people with disabilities in your community.
Affiliate your company with a disability organization like the Employment Alliance for People with Disabilities. Be sure that your employees get involved too. Whether through an annual job fair or a yearly donation, your help will encourage the organization you are supporting to give your company recognition through their Web site and other channels to bring more exposure to your brand.
4. Know Your Community and Market
Three words: Know your customer. Know your customer. Know your customer! The basic building blocks of advertising and marketing make it essential to know who you are marketing to --it's simple really, people that buy your products want to see others who look like them working in your store. Customers will shop and dine where they feel comfortable. As with any customer segment, the best way to tap into a demographic market is to ensure it's represented in your workforce and supply chain. It makes smart business sense to include people with disabilities in the workforce.
5. Think Employment
Customers will shop and dine where they feel comfortable. As with any customer segment, the best way to tap into a demographic market is to ensure it's represented in your workforce and supply chain. It makes smart business sense to include people with disabilities in the workforce.
Be aggressive in your recruiting efforts and be sure to include a variety of disabilities in your workforce. And remember that it has been proven that people with disabilities are more likely to patronize a business that would employ them. Here's a great resource on how to build and build an inclusive workplace. Creating an Inclusive Work Environment
6. Create a Channel for Communication
Create advisory committee, employee resource group (consisting of people with and without disabilities) and make it one of their goals to evaluate company-wide accessibility. This gives people with disabilities a say in what happens and an opportunity for all employees with and without out disabilities to learn a connect.
7. Advertise Your Support
Make sure your brand in diverse and inclusive by integrate people with disabilities as models, actors, and spokespersons in your advertising campaigns. Stats tell us that 1 in 5 people in the US has a disability, but 1 in 3 people know someone with a disability. By placing a person using a wheelchair or man and his service dog in your advertising materials, you are speaking very loudly to the disability community. This doesn’t cost extra money. Simply cast actors with cross disabilities. What you will be saying is: people of all abilities are welcomed at your business.
8. Advertise in Disability Media
Reach out to customers with disabilities through any number of disability publications and on social media.
9. Advertise in Mainstream
Reach out to customers with disabilities through mainstream advertising. One in five people in the US lives with a disability. And their “Entourage” is ever bigger. The Entourage is made up of friends, family members, spouses, caregivers, and even acquaintances. These individuals support disability issues and are sensitive to the needs of this community. Every time a member of the Entourage sees an opportunity for the person they know with a disability, they tell them about it. It’s that simple!
10. Think Diversity and Inclusion
If you want to tap into this multibillion dollar market of people with disabilities and their allies, remain competitive and keep your business approach relevant. Then always be sure your product ideas and marketing efforts reflect the needs of the disability community. --And become an advocate for positie change in our community, workplaces, government and in your own back yard.