This is a guest post by Amanda Winstead, a freelance writer from the Portland area.

Customer service should be one of the top priorities for every business, no matter your industry. If you have unhappy customers, they probably aren’t going to keep doing business with you. Even worse, they’re likely to tell their friends, family, and followers to stay away, too. 

While you might already have high standards for customer service, are you sure you’re doing your best to serve all of your customers — regardless of age, ability level, and neurodivergence? 

Taking a “one-size-fits-all” approach to customer service doesn’t ensure every customer feels welcome, cared for, and included. If it’s been a while since you’ve tweaked your customer service processes, it’s time to make changes that prioritize accessibility. What your business has to offer should be available to everyone. 

With that in mind, let’s cover the importance of implementing service accessibility and what you can offer to make all of your customers feel as comfortable as possible. 

Why Accessibility Is Necessary

One of the first steps of any successful marketing strategy is identifying your target audience. However, you might be missing key facts and statistics about that audience that could cost you larger numbers and sales. For example, approximately 15% of people experience some sort of disability worldwide. Some of the most common include: 

• Vision and hearing problems;
• Mobility issues;
• Self-care or independent living struggles;
• Cognitive disabilities.

Additionally, 15 to 20% of the population is considered neurodiverse. This simply means that their brains work differently from what is considered “normal.” People with ADHD and autism are considered neurodiverse, but any type of brain function considered different from the norm falls into that category. 

People with these differences often have a hard time with things like websites and social media because businesses don’t focus on accessibility. That can cause them to leave a website immediately and visit a competitor’s site. If that happens on your platforms, you could be losing a customer for life. 

At its core, accessibility is customer service. It’s a way to show all of your customers that you care about them and want to meet their needs, no matter what. Let’s take a look at what your company can do both digitally and through your employees to prioritize accessibility throughout the customer service experience. 

Making Your Web Presence More Inclusive

When someone wants to learn about a business, service, or particular product, they’ll usually look online first. When someone visits your website, it’s important to think of it as a sort of first impression. You only have a few seconds before a potential customer will either click away or decide to keep browsing your site for more information. 

If you want to improve the customer experience on your website, start by running an accessibility audit by checking the official Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines. Doing so will help to ensure your website is ADA compliant and will point out any areas that need improvement. To ensure your site is compliant, it should include things like: 

• Image alt text;
• Captions and transcripts;
• Color contrast;
• Keyboard navigation.

It’s also important that every customer who visits your website or uses your mobile app feels empowered to do things on their own without confusion. Making your content easy to read, using AI to implement chatbots, and designing a website that’s easy to navigate all utilize tech to improve customer service. 

You might not have as much control over the design aspects of your social media platforms. However, you can improve the accessibility of social media content by making all of your text clear and easy to read for people using screen readers. Write in plain language. Don’t use phrases like “click here,” and avoid using special characters as often as possible. You can also be very descriptive with image and video captions, as well as utilize accessibility tools provided by platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

Focusing on Human Interaction

Today’s consumers crave relationships with the brands and businesses they frequent. That includes interacting with real people when they need help, have a question, or just want more engagement. 

That kind of human engagement needs to be available to every member of your target audience, including those with disabilities or people who are neurodivergent. 

All of your customer service representatives should be properly trained to handle all types of people. They should be patient, warm, respectful, and understanding of everyone with varying needs. Focus on teaching soft skills, because they’re often exactly what a customer with a disability needs to feel comfortable and welcome. 

Contact with a real human should always be offered as an option. Whether a customer has a question, needs to file a complaint, or requires more information, you should have various forms of contact options listed on your website and social media — with a direct call to a customer service rep as one of those options. Talking to someone directly is often easier for a person with a disability rather than having to leave a message or send an email. Whichever method they prefer, this opens the lines of communication and undoubtedly improves the customer experience.

Moving Forward

Accessibility needs to be at the forefront of every department within your business. From the design of your website to the way your employees interact with customers, it’s essential to make sure you’re not leaving anyone out. The more you focus on accessibility, the more you’ll expand your audience. More importantly, you’ll boost your word-of-mouth advertising and create more loyal customers for life. 

This is a guest post by Amanda Winstead, a freelance writer from the Portland area.

About Amanda

Amanda Winstead is a writer from the Portland area with a background in communications and a passion for telling stories. Along with writing she enjoys traveling, reading, working out, and going to concerts. If you want to follow her writing journey, or even just say hi you can find her on Twitter.

Thanks to Pexels for the image.