When was the last time you thought about inclusivity and accessibility as a core part of your customer experience strategy? For many brands, creating an inclusive and accessible customer experience is no longer just a ‘nice-to-have’—it’s a business imperative. Accessibility and inclusivity aren’t just buzzwords—they’re essential pillars of a world-class customer experience.
As a small business owner, I understand how overwhelming it can be to stay on top of these practices. One step I’m committing to this year is ensuring the language in my keynotes is more inclusive. For instance, I often invite people to scan a QR code to give me live feedback in my keynote. A guest recently (kindly) pointed out that better language would be, “If you’re able to…” ahead of my request. I greatly appreciated her feedback and will be incorporating it into every keynote I give from now on!
Accessibility and inclusivity tie directly to the “U” pillar of my SUPER model: Understand your customer’s story. You can’t truly deliver a world-class experience without understanding the unique needs of your customers—all of them. According to Deloitte, 57% of consumers say they are more loyal to brands that demonstrate a commitment to addressing social inequities in all their actions. That’s a powerful reminder of the impact inclusive practices can have on your business.
In this article, I’m highlighting three recent examples of brands that have committed to creating a more accessible and inclusive experience for their customers.
Accessible vs. Inclusive Customer Experience
Before we dive into the examples of inclusive and accessible customer experience, let’s go over the difference between the two terms. While accessibility and inclusivity are closely related, they focus on distinct aspects of the customer experience.
Accessibility
Accessibility refers to the design of products, services, and environments to ensure that people with disabilities can access and use them effectively. It focuses on removing barriers that might prevent individuals from fully participating in an experience, whether physical, digital, or otherwise.
Examples:
Sign Language Support: Offering sign language interpreters for in-person or virtual events allows individuals who are deaf to fully participate in experiences.
Website Accessibility: Ensuring websites comply with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) by offering features like screen reader compatibility, keyboard navigation, and alt text for images.
Voice-Controlled Interfaces: Devices and services that integrate voice control (like smart assistants) provide hands-free access for individuals with motor impairments.
Accessibility is about ensuring that everyone, regardless of ability, has equal access to what your business offers.
Inclusivity
Inclusivity is the practice of creating environments and experiences where all people feel welcomed, respected, and valued. Accessibility involves eliminating obstacles that prevent participation, whereas inclusion focuses on intentionally fostering an environment where everyone feels encouraged to engage.
Examples:
Cultural Sensitivity in Marketing: Featuring people of various ages, races, body types, and abilities in advertisements, website imagery, and instructional materials helps customers see themselves reflected in the brand.
Multilingual Support: Offering customer service in multiple languages, whether through live agents, chatbots, or translated materials, ensures customers from different linguistic backgrounds feel supported and understood.
Celebrating Inclusive Holidays: Acknowledging and decorating for a variety of cultural or religious holidays (e.g., Diwali, Ramadan, Hanukkah) helps customers feel valued.
To deliver a truly world-class customer experience, businesses need to address both accessibility and inclusivity. Accessibility ensures no one is excluded due to barriers, while inclusivity ensures that every customer feels seen, valued, and represented. Together, they are foundational pillars of creating superfans—loyal customers who feel a deep emotional connection to your brand.
Now let’s dive into three examples of brands that are leading the way with inclusive and accessible customer experience.
1. Philadelphia Eagles: Sensory Room for Fans
The Philadelphia Eagles are redefining what it means to create an accessible and inclusive fan experience. Inspired by owner Jeffrey Lurie’s brother, the team built a state-of-the-art sensory room at their stadium. The space was carefully designed by leading medical professionals to provide a quieter and more secure environment for fans who need a break, including those with sensory processing challenges.
Employees of the Eagles, as well as Lincoln Financial Field staff, were trained on how to recognize guests with sensory needs and how to handle a sensory overload situation. The sensory room offers noise-canceling headphones, fidget tools, verbal cue cards, and weighted lap pads as part of their experience.
Even if your product or service has limitations, there are always opportunities to make your audience feel more included. Football games are inherently loud and chaotic—especially Eagles games! Rather than accepting this as a given, Jeffrey Lurie sought out ways to create a more inclusive experience for fans with autism or other sensory sensitivities. Thoughtful changes like this can show your customers that you understand their needs and care.
YOUR TAKEAWAY:
If you have a physical space, consider what you can scale back, if needed, to accommodate customers with sensory sensitivities. Loud noises, bright or flashing lights, overwhelming displays, or overpowering smells are good places to start. Many businesses catering to kids and families have sensory-friendly options. Chuck E. Cheese hosts weekly “Sensory Sensitive Sundays” where families can enjoy the same arcade games but with dimmed lights and reduced noise.
2. Starbucks: Accessible Store Design
In 2024, Starbucks opened a fully accessible store in Washington D.C. under its Inclusive Spaces Framework initiative, with plans to implement similar updates across all new locations and remodels by 2030.
Updates include automatic doors, wide entryways, adjustable lighting, open sight lines and travel paths, sound-absorbing materials, ensuring products can be reached at varied heights and much more.
With a renewed focus on its role in the community, Starbucks believes these changes are essential for fostering a more accessible and inclusive customer experience: “Grounded in our mission to nurture the limitless possibilities of human connection, Starbucks has advanced efforts to make accessibility and inclusion a core component of the Starbucks Experience.”This framework ensures that physical spaces reflect the needs of customers with different abilities. Starbucks’ commitment to accessibility underscores the importance of designing spaces where everyone feels welcome and valued. I promise that parents pushing double strollers will appreciate these store updates, too!
YOUR TAKEAWAY:
If you have a physical space, look for low-cost changes to be more inclusive to customers and employees. Last year, when I spoke at the Rhea Lana’s Franchise Owners Conference, I was impressed to see a breastfeeding area set up inside the main auditorium. Instead of providing an obligatory space that was a far walk away from the stage (forcing women to miss part of the content they traveled far to hear!), Rhea Lana’s made a more accessible and inclusive space. I’ve spoken at hundreds of events and have never seen a lactation area inside the main auditorium.
3. E.l.f. Beauty: Accessible Product Packaging
E.l.f. Beauty is setting a new standard in accessibility by integrating QR codes into its packaging. Partnering with world champion blind swimmer, Anastasia Pagonis, the makeup brand launched a “Beauty for Every Eye” accessibility bundle.
Pagonis, who went blind at the age of 14, had to relearn how to do her everyday routines, such as applying her makeup. Her mom helped her stick QR codes on all of her makeup products, which, when scanned, would play audio of her identifying the products and tips for application.
When E.l.f. heard this story, they reached out to Pagonis to co-create a bundle of her favorite products, each stamped with a QR code linked to the swimmer’s audio description.
Other beauty brands, like Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty, have incorporated more accessible packaging to accommodate those with dexterity challenges. Target has even partnered with the Arthritis Foundation to create guidelines on accessible packaging and product design.
By providing such resources to designers and engineers, Target hopes to redirect businesses before they bring their products to market to encourage more accessible practices.Redesigning products and packaging is an expensive feat, and sometimes these changes can compromise the sustainability of the materials. So as you launch a new digital or physical product in 2025, I hope you take the extra step to evaluate its design for accessibility and keep your customers’ needs in mind.
YOUR TAKEAWAY:
Are you optimizing all of your packaging (and marketing!) for people who have different considerations when they look at it than you do? My friend and fellow keynote speaker David Avrin often talks about the need to have font sizes that are easily readable to guests “who have experienced more life,” as my fabulous ophthalmologist Dr. Brady likes to say! (Talk about a smooth way to say someone is getting older, haha.)
Moving Forward
In 2025, brands are under more pressure than ever to prioritize accessibility and inclusivity. Customers expect—and deserve—an experience that is inclusive and accessible.
Maybe there’s a small change you can implement, whether it’s updating your website, rethinking your physical space, or simply starting a conversation with your team about accessibility and inclusivity.
At the end of the day, creating superfans starts with respect, understanding, and a commitment to delivering an accessible and inclusive customer experience. By taking even small steps toward accessibility, you’re not just improving your customer experience—you’re building deeper, more meaningful connections with your audience.
Here’s to making 2025 your most accessible and inclusive year yet!
