March marks Disability Awareness Month
But what does that have to do with our spaces, and how can you ensure your space is accessible on all platforms?
– 1 in 4 people are disabled
– A quarter of your potential audience might be unable to visit or interact with your business simply because they’ve not been considered.
– 3 out of 4 disabled people (72%) have experienced negative attitudes or behaviour in the last 5 years. (According to Scope.org’s most recent census)
– Particularly in the UK, accessibility can improve the lives of 16 million disabled people, plus many others who would benefit.
The retail industry has a lot of work to do to ensure their places are accessible.
Being accessible is not just about wheelchair accessibility, as less than 8% of disabled people use a wheelchair.Â
Accessibility can cover a wide range of services and thought processes, including:
– A physical audit for those with mobility limiting conditions
– Providing disability equality training for the staff
– Ensuring that the digital elements of the company can be engaged with.Â
Get in touch to find out how to bring this to your place.
Considering the barriers of living in a world not designed for you, many disabled people will not bother to go to a place without knowing they can get there, be there, and do what they want to do, just like everyone else. Therefore, having accurate and helpful information on a website can be the difference between having disabled people come to your site or not.
‘Nothing about us without us.’Â
This slogan has now become famous as the accepted policy that affects groups. Whether national, ethnic or disability-based, it explains the obvious: if you want to welcome someone, listen to what they need.
To do this, Toolbox Marketing is working closely with a Disability Access Consultant to present all our clients with the ability to have their site audited. Â
Following the audit, we can create an Access Guide, a fundamental document to welcome that ¼ to your site! Our access consultant can offer a range of services to improve your business’s digital elements and physical space to put you ahead of the competition.
This Disability Awareness Month, work with us to make your business more accessible, expand your audience and welcome even more demographics to your business.
For more information, get in touch, and we can let you know how having an Access Consultant through Toolbox Marketing can boost your business.