Modern businesses must consider accessibility because, first and foremost, it’s the moral thing to do. As a human being, you want your service to be available to everyone, including people with disabilities. Besides that, there are also other benefits of ensuring accessibility in your business.
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Avoid lawsuits
The ADA or Americans with Disabilities Act mandates institutions, whether public or private, to allow equal access and inclusion to people with disabilities. It includes businesses in various industries. A widely known example of this is a lawsuit filed by a blind client against Domino’s. He was unable to order from their site even when using a screen reader. You don’t want to deal with the stress of facing a lawsuit and spend a lot of money if found guilty.
Reach more customers
According to CDC or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 61 million adults in the US have some form of disability. That’s 26% of the country’s adult population or 1 in 4 adults. If your business is not accessible, you miss the opportunity of reaching this audience. Modern companies must have accessibility both on-premise and online since customers now access their services through these settings.
Increase conversion rates
Since more customers can check your business and know about the products or services you offer, it will also increase your conversion rates or sales. For example, if you own a restaurant with accessibility features like a wheelchair ramp, people with disabilities will choose you over the other restaurants that do not have this. If you offer online ordering, your site should also be accessible to everyone to get more orders. For example, your website must have an accurate audio description of the menu, so blind clients or those with poor eyesight would know what you offer. A company that specializes in audio description can help ensure the accessibility of your website.
Improve your brand
As a business, you want to have a good reputation. You want people to have a positive impression of your brand because it will benefit your business. Other companies would want to work with you, sponsors will give you their support, and customers will choose you. Providing quality service to everyone and showing inclusion to people with disabilities will provide your company extra points on how others perceive it.
Provide a better customer experience
The ultimate goal of every business is to ensure that customers are satisfied. You need to give the best customer service experience for this. If they do not find your service convenient, they will not be happy about it. Not only will they leave your company, but it will be easy for them to spread the word about your poor service. It will hurt your reputation, and others who read or hear about their feedback may have second thoughts about doing business with you.
Accessibility in your business will positively affect it, as stated above. Plus, it can also help attract the right employees. A company that adheres to its moral obligations and chooses to do what’s right is what they want to be part of.
