In recent years, several countries have introduced legislation to ensure websites and digital platforms are accessible and inclusive for all. However, not everybody has been jumping at the opportunity to open up their services and experiences to the widest possible audience. In the US, where Section 508 tackles accessibility for government websites and other electronic content, figures for June 2022 to May 2023 showed fewer than 30 percent of federal websites fully conform.
Meanwhile in the UK, a study by the Society for Innovation, Technology and Modernisation found that four in 10 local council homepages fail basic tests for accessibility.
For customers with disabilities, this may not come as a surprise. The 2024 WebAIM Screen Reader User Survey quizzed 1,500 screen reader users around the world about whether they thought website accessibility has improved since 2023. Almost half said they saw “no change”, less than 20 percent said websites are generally less accessible, and only 35 percent said they are more accessible.
In the private sector, however, there are signs the situation could be about to improve.
When CX Network conducted its 2024 research into the Global Sate of CX, a notable trend was uncovered: for the first time, the accessibility and inclusivity of contact channels emerged as a top-10 investment priority.
When analyzed further, we found that the bigger the budget the more accessibility is prioritized. For example, among practitioners with US$2.5 million or more to invest in CX this year, accessibility of contact channels increased to the fifth most important spending priority.
According to Kate Brouse who worked for the National Telecommuting Institute in the US for seven years, there are multiple factors contributing to this, including growing populations of older people with specific access needs, and shifting attitudes among Gen Z’s, who are demanding the language around disability reflects society’s shifting attitudes.
RELATED CONTENT: How accessibility drives CX personalization
In her role at NTI, Brouse worked with CX professionals to create remote jobs for disabled Americans and advocated for their rights in the workplace and beyond. She says: “Companies are driven by revenue and if you are leaving a piece of that pie on the table it will go to a competitor. If your website isn't accessible or your customers can't meet you on the channel they want, then you're simply losing out.”
Lost revenue isn’t just about sales; there is the financial and reputational cost of accessibility lawsuits to consider. In the US, 4,605 web accessibility lawsuits were brought against companies in 2023, an increase of 500 year on year.
In 2023, 82 percent of lawsuits involved ecommerce sites and the remaining 18 percent covered multiple major sectors including food services, education and healthcare. Furthermore, 25 percent of all those who were sued last year have been sued before for the same reason.
“There's a big misconception that accessibility guidelines online are not law, but they are,” Brouse says.
Five steps to improve accessibility in customer service and CX
According to Brouse, there are five steps any organization can take to improve the accessibility and inclusivity of their online experiences and services – and stave off any potential lawsuits.
1. Create customer personas with disabilities
A foundation of journey mapping, customer personas allow an organization to understand how different consumer groups may approach and navigate the journeys that comprise the overall experience, then adjust their design accordingly.
As Jeannie Walters, founder of Experience Investigators, explains in this article for CX Network, diversity and inclusion are key considerations when creating modern customer personas.
She says: “Personas should zero in on what is important to customers around how and why they need your product or interact with your brand.”
However, many organizations do not include personas with disabilities or additional access requirements. “It's so easy to think of, but most people don't think of it,” Brouse says.
“When designing your customer journey, ensure you have a persona with a disability. If you are not sure what that journey looks like, then simply find someone who has a disability within your organization and ask them. It could be one of your employees, a family member of an employee, or if you cannot find somebody there are disability organizations and even social media influencers who are loud and proud about their disability, and they would love to be involved,” she adds.
2. Test websites with a screen reader
Screen readers are an assistive technology used by millions of people around the world who cannot see or read websites.
However, they cannot overcome inbuilt accessibility issues. When the 2024 WebAIM Screen Reader User Survey asked whether better assistive technology or more accessible websites is more important to UX, almost 86 percent said more accessible websites, while only 14 percent said better assistive technology.
Brouse says the incorrect use of alt-text and caption fields is one of the most common errors companies make when optimizing their sites for screen readers.
Brouse says: “Your caption should explain why an image is there and the alt-text should describe what is in the image, and those fields should be applied to all images, pictures, charts and graphs. Also, when you are using hashtags in any articles or social media post, make sure to capitalize every first letter of every word, so the screen reader can distinguish.”
Brouse says all companies should test their website with a screen reader. “There are plenty of free readers out there and it can be incredibly enlightening. When Etsy did this, they took one afternoon to demonstrate the experience of a screen reader user and everybody said ‘this cannot happen’.”
3. Make inclusivity part of company culture
As demonstrated by the Etsy story, adopting new processes and catering to new customer personas requires organization-wide buy-in.
“This one is not as easy as it sounds, but it is an easy first step to take. It needs to be from the top down and from the bottom up, but you can do it easily by showing people what the experience is like for someone with a disability who is calling into your contact center,” Brouse says.
From a process perspective, there are a number of tasks that can be championed to foster the correct culture and ensure accessibility is at the heart of every experience. These involve thorough user testing after web updates and regular training for all team members involved in experience design.
Brouse says: “Accessibility isn't something where you can say, ‘OK we achieved it, job done’. There are always going to be new standards.”
4. Offer alternative channels for everybody
Although the rise in lawsuits in the US is directly linked to web accessibility, there are many other channels available for sales and support.
It is best practice to ensure all channels are inclusive and accessible, rather than expecting one customer persona to exclusively use one channel.
Referencing the established communications preferences that different generations have, Brouse says: “You can't just say, OK, it's easy for anybody to reach you by phone. Because not everyone is going to want to reach you by phone.”
It all comes back to customer convenience. Our Global State research also found the customer’s demand for convenience is the most influential behavior at present. It is of little surprise that customers with disabilities also want convenience.
Brouse says: “Our attention spans and the effort that we're willing to put into something today is so small. People with disabilities usually have to take more time, but if they know they can get something somewhere else and it will be easier for them to do so, they will go to your competitor.”
5. Work with your vendors
While there is a lot of work that can be done in-house to improve omnichannel accessibility, third-party solution providers also have a role to play.
“Approach your vendor and say you want to understand and know every single accessibility option that is available. Ask them for training, because they are likely to be knowledgeable,” Brouse advises.
RELATED CONTENT: Inclusive design: The critical
foundation of digital UX
Avoiding a lawsuit isn’t the only reason to make a digital customer experience more accessible: according to statistics from the World Health Organization, 16 percent of the global population has a disability and this means a significant share of any customer base will require additional support to access content, buy from your brand or seek support.
Brouse says: “Once you help people understand the journey by having personas with disabilities on your journey mapping, it really helps people begin to understand. It enlightens you in new ways.”
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