Success in running a small business isn’t solely dependent on the amount of resources and talents you have on hand. A great deal of it hinges on its ability to champion inclusivity. It needs to engage with people coming from diverse backgrounds and show empathy towards groups that shouldn’t be excluded from the opportunity to do business with you. By championing inclusivity, you’re also positioning your small business as a provider of equal opportunities.
Inclusivity is more than just a trend that small businesses need to follow just because everyone is doing it. Inclusivity is also part of a small business’s moral responsibility towards its community. Setting it aside will only harm its potential for expansion as well as its reputation. For this reason, businesses no matter how small must opt to incorporate an inclusive vision by focusing on the activities that matter the most. Here’s your guide on how you can do that for your brand:
1. Make inclusivity a part of your mission
Before you can look for ways to make your business more inclusive, you will have to include it as a major principle driving your business forward. This would mean going back to the foundation of your brand and making changes to your vision and mission statements as well as setting specific goals focused on granting equal opportunities to employees and clients.
As simple as it looks, making such changes to your brand’s driving principles provides you with a guiding force that helps you narrow down your decisions to those that best fit the goal of inclusivity. Be sure to mention how you want to impact your target market regardless of racial, religious, and socio-economic backgrounds. The impact might not be immediate, but revising your brand’s goals this way puts you in the right direction.
2. Review your business’s current condition
Once you have shifted your business’s goals towards becoming more inclusive, you need to check how close your current situation is to accomplishing them. You may have to consider conducting an internal audit and identify areas you may need to develop or fix. You might feel as though your team on the ground needs greater diversity or you want to manufacture your products using sustainable materials and approaches.
No matter the case, an internal assessment will help you uncover the areas that fall short of your business’s thrust toward greater inclusivity. You just have to share the findings with your team and organize a brainstorming session to find out what else needs to be done. From there, it will be easier for you to plan programs, initiatives, and projects that align with your business’s overall goals.
3. Run an empowering marketing campaign
Part of pivoting towards more inclusive business practices is letting your community know about the new direction you’re taking. This would mean coming up with a marketing campaign that informs and educates your offline and online audience about your business’s goal of championing diversity and sustainability.
For this, use your social media platforms to introduce campaigns that align with your brand’s specific inclusivity goals. If you run an apparel store, you can promote a product line that caters to plus-sized customers or features selections designed by Black-owned brands.
Your aim here is to build an organic community through your brand’s messaging. As you do so, ensure that your campaign doesn’t come off as forced. You will want your thrust for inclusivity to be authentic and with a clear intent to empower the communities you want to engage with. When creating inclusive marketing materials, exercise cultural and social sensitivity.
4. Make changes to the atmosphere
Aside from ensuring that your marketing campaign engages with your target audience, you will need to make sure that your physical store promotes a culture of inclusion and accessibility. This would mean installing mobility aids such as custom ramps from Chequer Plate Direct and providing nursing stations for customers as well as employees.
If your establishment has an elevator, install one that comes with controls in Braille. You should also use large and clear signage that can help elders and people with partial visual impairments navigate around your store. What’s more, you can also use diverse models to feature your products. That way, you will be able to cater to customers coming from different ethnicities.
5. Train your staff
The cornerstone of a more inclusive small business is the way your employees approach customers regardless of their backgrounds. You need to make sure your staff are properly trained to handle customer requests and questions civilly and respectfully. Allowing them to treat your clients with a lack of sensitivity won’t bode well for your brand’s reputation. At best, you will only repel people from different communities rather than invite them through your doors.
When training new staff members, especially those tasked with directly helping customers, make sure they are well-equipped to handle any issue and dispute with a sense of empathy and sensitivity. Diversity training can go a long way in teaching employees to be advocates of inclusion, so make it a part of your business culture to educate your team about using appropriate language and address negative feedback coming from customers.
Endnote
In this modern age, there’s no room for discrimination of any form. Let your business play its part in championing inclusivity by keeping these tips in mind.
