By sonia@soniaethompson.com (Sonia Thompson)

Welcome to Creator Columns, where we bring expert HubSpot Creator voices to the Blogs that inspire and help you grow better.

I’ve been an inclusive marketing strategist and consultant for seven years. My entry into this space was heavily influenced by my lifelong experiences as a frustrated consumer.

Several components of my identity make me different from what is often considered to be “mainstream.” And as a result, brands didn’t often serve me well because of the things that make me different.

Some Consumers Consistently Have Less Than Ideal Customer Experiences

I conducted a research study for a client in 2022 to understand how consumers of hotels and bed and breakfasts think about belonging.

Here’s what a few consumers who are part of underrepresented and underserved communities had to say about their subpar customer experiences:

• “People with food allergies and restrictions should have an opportunity to get everything that they paid for.”
• “I wish they realized that larger people want to travel and feel as though our money is as important as straight-sized individuals. Oftentimes, larger guests will find themselves with tiny towels, hard-to-reach items, not much space between furniture.”
• “I’ve stayed at numerous places where there was nothing to eat on the menu for me (vegan) and staff was not open to making adjustments.”
• “I need grab bars in the shower.”
• “People are allergic to feathers.”

This frustration doesn’t just exist for some hospitality industry consumers. It often impacts people across the board who are part of underrepresented communities. Historically, brands have done a poor job of serving these communities well.

A comprehensive study commissioned by beauty retailer Sephora showed that 2 out of 5, or 40%, of retail shoppers, have personally experienced unfair treatment based on their race or skin color.

Numerous studies show that women are subjected to the “pink tax,” where they are charged (and sometimes taxed, in the case of feminine care products) more for similar products such as razors, toys, and dry cleaning than men are.

One study showed women are charged 48% more for shampoo, even though the ingredients are similar. Another study showed that the pink tax costs women an extra $1,351 annually and more than $100,000 throughout a lifetime.

These less-than-ideal experiences for consumers from underrepresented and underserved communities lead to frustration and much lower conversions with the brands they have these substandard experiences with.

When people are frustrated or feel like they are treated like an afterthought, they don’t convert, don’t make repeat purchases, and don’t achieve success at the same rate as others.

In this episode of the Inclusion & Marketing podcast, I do a deep dive into factors that influence your customers’ success and conversions that you should be aware of so you can fix them.

There’s a simple solution to increase conversions throughout the customer experience you deliver for all the people you want to serve.

Eliminate identity-based friction.

Here’s how to …read more

Source:: HubSpot Blog

Author: Aaron