5 Ways to Boost Your Business with Inclusive Marketing

Modern consumers aren’t just interested in the products or services you offer. They’re also curious about your values and if you truly care about making a difference to better the future.

According to Accenture, 63% of consumers are more likely to buy from you if your brand values reflect their values. A study by Edelman also revealed that 67% bought from a brand for the first time because they agreed with its stand on a controversial topic.  

As the leading digital marketing agency in Miami, we know that now is not the time to stay silent and be passive with the socioeconomic and racial injustices happening around the world. If you want to cut through the noise and launch successful campaigns, you also need to care about what your audiences care about.  

This is how you build trust and create satisfying customer experiences.

But just to remind you, inclusive marketing isn’t just a strategy to attract customers. Celebrating differences and recognizing common struggles should be something you truly believe in as a company.  

To achieve this, you must have clarity in your brand purpose and truly understand what your customers want from their relationship with you.  

If you do this right, your brand values will become a crucial part of your unique selling point.  

What is Inclusive Marketing?

According to Accenture, inclusive marketing refers to the messaging, people, processes, and technologies that allow underrepresented or marginalized groups to fully connect and experience brands.  

By making your marketing message, ads, visuals, and other efforts inclusive, you can appeal to a wide range of potential customers without making anyone feel like they don't belong or are left out.  

3 Questions to Determine if You’re Providing Your Customers a More Inclusive and Equal Experience for All:

• Do you include, consider, represent, and value each of your customers from different races, gender identities, ethnicity, shapes, sizes, and disabilities in your brand experience?
• Are you making them feel confident and included in your solutions, marketing message, service, or experience?

• Does your business stand for something bigger than just your offerings?  
• Have you optimized your website for accessibility?  

If you don’t consider each one of your customers when designing your brand experience, some might feel uncomfortable with your marketing message.  

And, they won’t feel like your business stands for something bigger than just your products or services. You may need to work on shifting your business to be more inclusive.  

How Inclusive Marketing Can Boost Your Business

Shifting your business to be more inclusive is the key to making your business relevant, building lasting relationships, and growing a loyal customer base.  

Below are some tips on how you can be more inclusive in your efforts towards marketing your products and services, and how doing this will benefit your company in the long run.  

1. Strive for a More Inclusive Approach to Marketing

Many people think that inclusive marketing is the same as multicultural marketing. But it’s not.  

Multicultural marketing is a marketing strategy that recognizes the fact that a company has a diverse customer base. As a result, it aims to produce more culturally relevant campaigns for specific races, cultures, or ethnicities within a brand’s overall target audience.

Inclusive marketing, on the other hand, is so much more than that. It's all about understanding what your customers care about. It's recognizing their values and aligning your beliefs with theirs.  

It's all about making sure that everyone has access to offerings and experiences that are tailored for their specific needs and wants. You want to build lasting relationships with your customers by providing them with true value and an authentic connection.

So, how exactly can you be more inclusive in your digital marketing efforts?

Here are some tips from the experts at our digital marketing agency in Miami to help you get started:

• Speak to all groups of people in your marketing campaigns, including the underrepresented groups.
• Don’t just employ diverse people in your ads to make it “look” like you’re an inclusive company. Aim to reflect real people in real situations in the real world. This can help make every person in society connected to your brand.  
• Instead of using stereotypical images, choose imagery that challenges existing stereotypes and biases.  
• Represent all forms of diversity, from race and culture to age and ability, to gender and appearance, and many more.  
• Spend time learning about the personal experiences and opinions of the minorities you’re representing in your campaigns. Doing this allows your brand to authentically represent them and enable their voices to be heard.  

• Be careful of the language and tone used in your digital marketing campaigns. When writing your marketing copies, make sure your audience doesn’t misinterpret the message you’re trying to send them.  
• Optimize your website for voice search and voice command for better accessibility.  

2. Create Value-Based Products Instead of Cheap Unsustainable Ones

80% of consumers consider sustainability when buying products or services. Nearly 80% of retailers also believe that sustainability efforts lead to increased customer loyalty.  

Price and quality aren’t the only factors that consumers consider when buying today. They also place great importance on your business’s efforts to be more sustainable in your operations, waste management, and packaging.  

Modern consumers have become more environmentally conscious and are supporting organizations dedicated to social and environmental change. Going green is going to be beneficial for you. It can reduce business costs, enable you to develop innovative strategies, and improves your reputation, which can boost your bottom line.  

According to a report by Nielsen, sales of consumer goods from companies with a commitment to sustainability have grown more than 4% globally, while those without grew less than 1%. Consumers are also willing to pay more for sustainable products and services.  

There are different ways consumers asses a brand’s commitment to sustainability, such as seeing “organic” on a label, a company’s association with a reputable non-profit organization, and major efforts for global footprint reduction.  

Whichever practice you choose to become a more sustainable company, below are some tips on how you can leverage it to win customers and make sales:

• Focus on Millenials and Generation Z. They're the ones who are willing to pay more for brands that are committed to sustainability and creating a positive social impact.  
• Highlight brand trust and demonstrate your commitment to social and environmental sustainability. 62% of people say brand trust is one of the most crucial factors that influence their purchases.
• Don’t be generic in your messaging. Be specific on how you’re going to help the environment and what action you’re going to take to make an impact.  
• Communicate your sustainability efforts through digital marketing in Miami. It will surely attract customers and drive sales.  
• Before creating your campaigns, define your brand’s social purpose and your target audience’s expectations. Relevance is so important if you want your marketing efforts to be effective.  

A consumer’s relationship with your business is just like their relationship with other people. Before befriending anyone, they want to know what they stand for, if they have the same values, and if they’re sincere about upholding their values.  

3. Create Truly Inclusive Customer Experiences

Consumers can tell if you’re being genuine in your intentions to become inclusive or if you're just doing it for the sake of compliance.  

You must go beyond merely complying with the American Disabilities Act (ADA) and Content Accessibilities Guidelines (WCAG). It's essential to create truly inclusive experiences that cater to the specific needs and preferences of your customers.  

This means putting your customers at the heart of everything. A great example of this is Xbox’s Adaptive Controller packaging.

You can tell that Xbox placed itself in its customer's shoes and because of that, they were able to develop packaging that elevated their entire experience with the brand. Doing something as simple as making unpacking convenient for your customers can make a huge impact on customer delight and satisfaction.  

Another way you can elevate your customer experience through inclusive marketing is by making your customers feel like they're a part of a larger family that's making a conscious effort to serve people and make a difference.  

4. Be Clear on Your Brand Values By Taking a Stance

Customers want to build a mutually-meaningful relationship with you.  But, to do that, they need to first identify if they share the same values and beliefs as you.  

This is why it’s crucial to be very clear on your brand values and take a stand on issues. According to Sprout Social,  66% of consumers believe that it’s important for brands to take a stand on political and social issues.

This is mostly because they believe that brands are effective at raising awareness around important issues when they speak out. 41% of consumers say that their opinions on public issues are influenced by what brands have to say on social media.  

Communicate your brand values by taking a stand on public issues that are most relevant to your audience. But it’s not enough that you just post about your stance on social media. According to statistics, some of the best ways for brands to express their public stance on social is to collaborate with nonprofit organizations devoted to addressing those issues.

You can create an ad about their stance, and respond when consumers ask about issues.  

A great example of this is how Whirlpool took a stand by raising awareness and uniting people around an issue and its impact on their communities.  

Whirlpool chose a more specific and relevant angle toward addressing educational issues in society. They focused on an unrealized cause as to why elementary school students drop out: dirty clothes.  

Whirlpool launched its Care Counts program in 2016, which has provided more than 38,000 kids with access to clean clothing. After the first year of this program, research revealed that 95% of participants showed increased motivation in class and 90% of tracked students increased their overall school attendance.  

To strengthen its campaign, the company used social media to continue educating consumers and raising awareness about the negative impact dirty laundry has on children's attendance at school.  

5. Be Honest and Transparent

Consumers appreciate it when you are honest and transparent about your business practices and what you do with their data. It helps foster stronger connections, builds trust, and establishes long-term relationships.  

Consider making behind-the-scenes content showing your supply chain practices, fair trade policies, and accessible experiences. By showing people who you are and what happens behind closed doors, you’re allowing yourself to become vulnerable and relatable.  

It’s also important to be proactive in solving customer concerns. If there are any problems in delivery or whatever issue, let your customers know and be open about how you’re going to solve this problem.  

When you have an honest and genuine relationship with your customers, they feel seen, understood, and incredibly special.  

Looking for a Digital Marketing Agency in Miami?

A recent study found that 63% of people say brands that represent diversity in their marketing efforts are more trustworthy and authentic. People are also more likely to buy from companies that stand for something bigger than just their products.  

Consider how your brand values can make the world a better place and use them to direct your inclusive marketing campaigns. Doing this will not only attract customers and drive sales for your business, but also give you the ability to change communities, establish lasting relationships, and evolve with the world.  

Digital Resource is a digital marketing agency in Miami. We can help you become a company that genuinely cares about inclusivity and equality. We will help you craft customer experiences that cater to every customer's needs and wants.  

If you want consumers to reward you with their trust, loyalty, and love, contact us today!

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