Commentary
Are you ready willing and ABLE to increase your market share?
Irene Collins, managing director, EIQA (Excellence Ireland Quality Association - The Guardians of The Q Mark)
Every year businesses in Northern Ireland spend hundreds of millions of pounds in a bid to get new customers through their doors. but what if customers are not actually physically able to get through your doors?
Last month the International press and on‑ line forums were buzzing as EIQA (Excellence Ireland Quality Association ‒ The Guardians of The Q Mark) launched a utopian concept to the marketplace. Accessibility for all! A vision that some day Ireland would become the first ʻABLE Tourismʼ destination in the world. Government Ministers lauded the concept and big business rallied behind them, whilst eliciting the famous Obama mantra of “Yes We Can!”
But why? Why would big business and governments jump to get on the bandwagon? Could it be that the concept of Ireland having the first ABLE city has actually got their pulses racing? A utopian world where every business, restaurant, shop, pub and club is accessible, Or, could it be the money?
The Gold Train
Letʼs face it, itʼs money! Thatʼs usually what makes the pulses race, except in this case the bandwagon is more like a gold train. Itʼs simple mathematics. By the end of this year alone, it is estimated that more than 201,000 people in Northern Ireland will have a disability. Add to that our growing ageing population of over 65ʼs; who incidentally have almost identical requirements to people with disabilities such as good access, easy to read signage, etc. and you immediately add an additional 247,000 people to your potential customer base.
Thatʼs almost half a million customers that are available to you if they know that you are ABLE to do business with them. Never mind the additional friends and family who are more than happy to change their shopping habits depending on how a business deals with accessibility. (Disability Customer Survey, 2006)
Facebook One guy whoʼs good at doing the math is Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who recently made history when he was finally able to put a dollar value on the company that captured the ʻteen poundʼ by turning online social networking into a global culture. The university wiz‑kid and his early investors raised $16 billion in their much‑anticipated debut on the Nasdaq Stock Market, making Facebook the most valuable U.S. Company ever to go public, with a valuation of $104 billion. This hugely successful concept of targeting an entire sector of society showed great similarity to the trend that occurred in the late 1990ʼs and early 2000ʼs, when businesses made millions by targeting the power of the ʻpink poundʼ. And now it would appear that the eyes of
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big business have set their sights on the ʻaccessible poundʼ, because the reality is that businesses and organisations that put accessibility at the forefront of their strategy create a competitive advantage for their business and capture increased market share. In these financially difficult times itʼs not that easy to create innovation within the marketplace without a vast capital spend and dedicated R&D. But perhaps innovation is not what is required here. Perhaps we need to see what is right here in front of us, that we have a huge market just waiting to be tapped.
Accessing the Accessible Pound So how do you and your business target the 35 per cent of the population in Northern Ireland who are the holders of the accessible pound?
Well firstly, you may already have an accessible environment, but if your customers are not fully aware of that fact, then it can affect their discretionary spend. Itʼs vital therefore to remember that new customers need a reason to choose you over your competitor, so you need to let them know that you are ready, willing, and ABLE. Secondly, itʼs important to let all of your customers know that your team have a basic understanding of the requirements of doing business with them. Most disabilities are not always immediately obvious, so although
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many of us may think that wheelchair users are our target audience, they are in fact only three per cent of the target market.
And last, but certainly not least, is the reality that most disabled people become disabled during their working lives with 33 per cent of over 55's in Northern Ireland currently having a disability. So itʼs important that your own team know that if they develop a disability whilst working for you, you are ready to give them the support they need, meaning that your environment is still a great place for them to work.
So, just think, how differently your business would perform if you were to gain just one percent of the business generated by the 448,000 people in Northern Ireland who are either over the age of 65 or have a disability. Just as you would have been wise to invest in Facebook, had you known how lucrative it would be, itʼs now wise to identify ways to ensure that accessibility is a priority for your business.
The power of the ʻaccessible poundʼ has never been stronger. Governments are following it, big business is following it and now, if youʼre wise, itʼs time to stand at the top of the queue to ensure that you are ready, willing, and ABLE.
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