Looking beyond the surface: Improving CX for people with hidden disabilities
CXM (Customer Experience Magazine) recently commissioned Bascule to write an article on the customer experience (or CX) for people with hidden disabilities. Here is a short excerpt- the full article is linked below:
If you suddenly became aware that the needs of one in four of your customers were not being met- how would you react? You’d probably prepare to make some drastic and immediate changes, right?
Well, 24% of people in the UK have a disability, and globally the disability market controls over $13 trillion in disposable income, (that’s £274 billion in the UK alone), yet only 10% of companies have a targeted plan to access that market. As a result, three out of four people with disabilities walk away from retail outlets due to poor customer service or accessibility.
So, how can businesses enhance the customer experience for people with disabilities, whilst benefiting from the financial gains that inclusivity brings?
In order to know what must be changed, we must first gain an understanding of our shortcomings, and this can only properly be understood by taking a closer look at how we perceive customers with disabilities.
Most businesses, when considering the needs of customers with disabilities, mainly focus on the impairments that can be seen. We tend to think of customers using wheelchairs and walking aids for example, or white sticks and service dogs. In actual fact only a small percentage of disabilities are visible and shockingly, 80% are non-visible (also known as hidden). Sadly, being unaware that your customer has a disability, means you can easily, (but unknowingly) be providing them with a poor CX, as staff can easily misunderstand or perceive people’s behaviour negatively. Fortunately, by implementing a few simple changes you can begin to accommodate the needs of people with disabilities, whose impairments cannot be seen.
