Insights from the Valuable 500. Why you need Easy English for your business.
How do you share your business’ messages with your customers or clients? I would bet that it involves a lot of written text. It might be print ads, brochures, emails, newsletters, text message reminders, social media posts, website content, instruction manuals, forms to fill out, invoices, bills… the list goes on.
You want to tell people about who you are, what your product or service is for, and why they should choose your business. You want your customers to know things like
· what fees need to be paid and when
· how to order your product, make an appointment or request a quote
· how to give feedback or make a complaint
· your policy on returns, refunds, cancellations, etc
· your terms of service.
Are you making this information easy for all people to
· find
· read
· understand?
Any of these communications can and must be developed and be available for the 44 % of the adult Australian population who do not have the literacy to manage a range of day-to-day reading tasks. It is called Easy English.
A recent white paper from the Valuable 500 shows us how important accessible information is for businesses. It is so you can reach all your potential customers. This paper focuses on disability, but, of course, all customers will appreciate clear, straightforward information about your business. You never know what other things a potential customer is trying to manage in their life. Stressors and being time poor contribute to poorer day to day literacy skills.
The team from the Valuable 500 worked with Yale University and Open Inclusion to survey disabled consumers around the world. They also did focus groups in 7 countries, including Australia, and gathered insights from other research. Here are some key findings.
The business case for disability inclusion
· The disability community, immediate family, and friends make up 73% of the global population.
· The global disability market has an estimated $13 trillion of disposable income.
· For every $1 spent on accessibility features and inclusive design, companies see an average revenue return of over $9.
About brand communications
· 53% of respondents said they struggled with inaccessible advertising.
· Brand communications posed even greater challenges, with 63% facing barriers at least occasionally.
· 92% of respondents believe that brands have a duty to ensure accessible communications.
About digital inclusion
· 71% of disabled people say they have abandoned a website due to excessive barriers.
· In the UK, studies estimate that improving the accessibility of e-commerce sites for disabled users could contribute £420 million in new revenue for businesses.
Does business need to change what they do?
The findings are clear that people with disabilities find many brand communications, advertisements and websites difficult to access, understand and use.
This is losing your company revenue.
We know that 40% of Australians have a disability or long-term health condition (AIHW, 2022). We also know that 44% of Australian adults have low literacy. It is an invisible disability. Even when you have well-developed literacy skills, it is harder to read when you are time-poor, stressed, sick or in pain. It is also harder to read when it is about numbers (like a fee structure), or it is a new topic you do not know much about. Reading about anything to do with your health, health services and health options, now it is 60% of adult Australians who you are missing.
We also know more than 60% of the population struggle with using digital tools. In 2023, the Australian Digital Inclusion Index (ADII) findings inform us 1 in 4 (25%) of adult Australians are currently digitally excluded. Another 10.5 % only have mobile phone access, which limits their data and usage. Read another blog about people using mobile only access. This data is significantly worse for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and the more rural and remote you are. Other potential customers with possibly one or more of these identities such as incomplete secondary education, not working, or unable to find work, with a disability (and can be a hidden disability), low or very low incomes, people with English as a second language, older people, the more likely you are not communicating with them in a way they can use, read and understand.
Are your communications missing the mark for all your potential customers?
What will Easy English do?
Using Easy English you will
· Increase the number of people using your business
· Increase the number of people who understand your information
· Have happy customers, who want to return to you
· Reduce complaints. Customers have a greater understanding of your information
· Reduce the time front of house staff have to explain information, fill in forms for clients etc
· Grow your business
· Develop a reputation for being a socially inclusive and welcoming business
Access Easy English can help
· write Easy English versions of your brand communications and all other documents
· train your staff to write Easy English, and provide consultation on implementation of Easy English across your business
· share insights about literacy in your sector, like our Insights to Literacy for Communications and Marketing Webinar and other webinars such as Technology for Easy English.
· consult and design your website for people with low literacy. View our Read Easy English website which receives lots of positive feedback from people with low literacy and people with low digital literacy
Check out our recent work with Auto & General holdings for one of many great examples of how businesses can use Easy English to make their information more accessible, and grow their potential customer base.
Sierra Morabito
Specialist content writer
Cathy Basterfield. Founder, Access Easy English
Office phone: 0466 579 855
Email: sierra@accesseasyenglish.com.au
Website: https://accesseasyenglish.com.au/ and www.readee.com.au
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/accesseasyenglish
LinkedIn: Cathy Basterfield and Access Easy English
Twitter: @accesseasyengli
