Most organizations that claim to be committed to digital accessibility lack one of the most critical elements of an accessibility program: direct feedback from people with disabilities. We predict that in 2025, half of accessibility efforts will have negligible customer experience (CX) impact because they lack best practices like this. That’s too bad, as lackluster approaches to digital accessibility also prevent organizations from reaping the many benefits of accessibility and expose them to legal and compliance risks. In the US, recent Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title II updates require digital accessibility for state and local governments and those that work with them. For organizations operating in the EU, the European Accessibility Act (EAA) compliance deadlines are now just six months away, so it’s important to take steps now.

Accessibility Team, Meet Your Voice-Of-The-Customer Team

The EAA requires organizations to offer a way for consumers to report accessibility issues and to establish processes for reviewing and addressing that feedback. If you’re leading accessibility work, it’s time to get acquainted with your organization’s voice-of-the-customer (VoC) team and take advantage of tools and best practices that they’re already applying to gather and analyze customer feedback. For example:

  • Make it easy to provide feedback. Include a clearly labeled, prominent path to share accessibility feedback on your website; users shouldn’t have to hunt for it. If that link takes the user to a feedback form, test it to ensure that it’s accessible. If your VoC team is running feedback surveys on your websites and apps, work with them to flag accessibility feedback that comes through those channels so that you can act on it quickly.
  • Take advantage of customer feedback management (CFM) technologies. It’s possible that your company already has a CFM platform with features that can help you apply text mining and other analytics techniques to derive insights from feedback. These tools might also help you streamline the process of closing the loop with customers that provide feedback. Chat with your VoC team about what tools are available and how you might use them.
  • Mine customer feedback for accessibility insights. You’re likely already receiving feedback from customers about accessibility. Work with your VoC team to cut survey data by segments, such as customers aged 65 and older. Create a set of keywords that might indicate an accessibility issue, such as “trouble seeing” or “hard to understand.” Ensure that everyone understands that by finding and addressing these issues, you’re helping all customers — an idea often referred to as the curb-cut effect.
  • Act quickly on feedback and use it as an opportunity. Approach accessibility complaints as an opportunity to improve experiences for all customers rather than a damage control exercise. One investment firm invited customers who filed accessibility complaints to join a client advisory panel, compensating them for participating in research to inform future product design.
  • Proactively gather feedback. In addition to providing a way for customers to share feedback when they want to (reactive feedback), establish a regular cadence of experience research to learn from and improve experiences for customers with disabilities. Remember that emotion — how customers feel about their experiences — is the biggest driver of loyalty. Ask questions to understand not just if the experience works but whether customers feel valued, appreciated, and respected when interacting with your brand.

Let’s Connect

If you’re a client and would like to ask us questions or discuss how to implement these practices in your organization, set up a conversation. You can also connect with us — Gina Bhawalkar and Colleen Fazio — on LinkedIn if you’d like.