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at these days because Ben talks to a broad
range of guests. You're sure to find a show that covers a type of
marketing technology that could
really make a d
ifference within your business,
such as digital assistance, email marketing, or even
dynamic live. As a result, you might find yourself doing a little binge of this show the same way I did
listen to MarTech wh
erever you get your podcasts.
All right, before we get into this episode, I want to just give you a quick heads up, but we are gonna
be covering some tough topi
cs,
including maternal mortality. So if this is gonna put you into a weird
or not so go
od place, definitely skip to the second half of this episode or skip it all together. I wanna
make sure that you keep your mind right.
When I was pregnant with Luna, Jonathan and I were living in Argentina, so basically for my entire
pregnancy and for her
delivery,
all of that happened in Bueno Aires.
Now, for me, pregnancy was a blissful time, but still even with that throughout pregnancy, there were
a number of emotions that I had to manage, and because of that, there were certain data points and
source
s that I often had to make sure that I limited my intake of.
One of those thing
s was maternal mortality rates,
and you might think of, Hey, Sonia, why are you
thinking about maternal mortality while you're pregnant? But unfortunately, as a black woman, th
ose
pretty horrific data points were something that I was very much aware of.
According to the CDC in the US in 2020, for women overall, there were 23.8 maternal deaths for
every
a hundred thousand live births.
But when you zero in on this number by demog
raphic, there's
a clear outlier in the data. When you look at the maternal mortality rate for black women, it's nearly
double that of the national average at 55.3 deaths for every 100,000 live births.
Now, the US already has a very high maternal mortality
rate, especially whenever you start
comparing it to other co
untries that have high incomes.
One data report showed that while the US
sits at 23.8 deaths per 100,000 live births, the 12 other countries that they compared them to,
including the UK, Canada,
France, South Korea, Netherlands, and Japan ranged from 1.2 to 13.6.
As mentioned, the numbers in the US are quite high in general, but the numbers are just plain
alarming whenever you look at it For black women in the US.
IM_Ep 45_Factors That Influence Your Customers' Success That You Need To Be Aware Of.pdf
2
For my own personal situation
, I was extremely thankful to be giving birth to Luna in Argentina. My
entire care experience from start to finish was an absolute dream, even though we had to make a
few adjustments that last month because the pandemic hit.
But this isn't a case where I
wanna say, Hey, I was okay, so let me not pay attention to a glaring
issue th
at impacts so many other lives.
That's how problems persist.
I bring this topic up on this show today because as marketers and business leaders, the experiences
of people who are part of marginalized communities are often very different from the experiences of
the masses.
And a lot of those instances, the discrepan
cies in the experience aren't really talked about. But if we
looked at the data, we'll see a very different and very clear story.
In the US for instance, we definitely know that there are differences in the quality of care and
outc
omes that exist based upo
n race.
A
nd there's plenty of data to support that one 2016 study. And here's the actual title of it, racial bias
and pain assessment and treatment recommendations and false Beliefs about biological differences
between blacks and whites. Now, this study w
as published in Psychological and cognitive sciences.
The research showed that half of medical students believed that there were biological differences
between black people and white people, and those beliefs impacted how they were actually treating
their
patients.
Here's the abstract of the study. Now it's a bit
medical, so stick with me here:
It's important. Black Americans are systematically undertreated for pain relative to white Americans.
We examine whether this racial bias is related to false
beliefs about biological differences between
blacks and whites. (For example, black people's skin is thicker than white people's skin.) Study one
documented these beliefs among white laypersons and revealed that participants who more strongly
endorse false
beliefs about biological differences reported lower pain ratings for a black (
v
s white
)
target. Study two extended these findings to the medical context and found that half of a sample of
white medical students in residence endorsed these beliefs. Moreove
r, participants who endorsed
the
se beliefs rated the black (v
s white
)
patients pain as lower and made less accurate treatment
recommendations. Participants who did not endorse these beliefs rated the black (vs white
)
patient's
pain as higher, but showed no
bias in treatment. These findings suggest that individuals with at least
some medical training hold and may use false beliefs about biological differences between blacks
and whites to inform medical judgements which may contribute to racial disparities in
pain
assessment and treatment.
To be clear, there should be no race based disparities in treatments, outcomes, or experience within
healthcare. Here's what one nurse I talked to on the topic h
ad to say.
IM_Ep 45_Factors That Influence Your Customers' Success That You Need To Be Aware Of.pdf
3
Candis
:
I'm just trying to think of a disease where the race matters. For the majority of the things,
majority of the disease processes or whatever, when a patient comes in their race has nothing to do
with what's happening.
If you twisted your ankle, what does y
ou being black have to do with your ankle being broken?
Nothing. But as far as medicine and healthcare and how we treat people, it should not be the, it
should not be at the forefront at all.
Now, as I mentioned, race should not impact outc
omes or treatment in healthcare, but the data
shows that it actually does.
This discrepancy in outcomes isn't just limited to the realm of healthcare.
In 2021 Beauty Retailer, Sephora published the results of a large scale research study that they had
com
missioned entitled The Racial Bias and Retail Study. I'll link it up in the show notes in case
you're interested in digging into the full 17 page report. It's super well done, and it's quite fascinating.
In this study, which was industry
-
wide from a retail
standpoint, they found that three and five retail
shoppers have experienced discriminatory treatment. Two and five have personally experienced
unfair treatment on the basis of their race or skin color. And three and five retail employees have
actually wit
nessed bias at their place of work.
Now, this bias doesn't just impact consumers, it exten
ds to retail employees as well.
The studies
show that one in three retail employees have contemplated quitting when they experience racial
bias and unfair treatment.
Now, in response to the report, John Andre Rugo, CEO and president of Sephora America's
reiterated that diversity, equity, and inclusion are core parts of their mission and values. He also
acknowledged that racial bias was at the core of many negative cu
stomer experiences by diverse
shoppers.
I found this quote
from him particularly important:
"B
ut the reality is that the retail experience is not always inclusive to all. The very real issue of
underlying racial bias remains a barrier to ensuring that a
ll of our clients enjoy the sense of belonging
we strive to foster.
"
So we know there's race
-
based disparities in outcomes in healthcare, and we also know that there
are race
-
based disparities and experie
nces in the retail environment,
but there are also
race
-
based
and gender
-
based disparities in outcomes and venture capital.
A 2022 report by nonprofit firm diversity VC showed that only 1.87% of 31 billion worth of venture
capital funds had been allocated to startups with diverse leaders.
Sarah Miller,
chief operating officer at Diversity VC talked about the findin
gs of the report and noted
this:
IM_Ep 45_Factors That Influence Your Customers' Success That You Need To Be Aware Of.pdf
4
"
What we found was that VC back startups wer
e still disproportionately men,
(
89.3%
)
white,
(
71.6%
)
based in Silicon Valley,
(
35.3%
)
, and Ivy League educated
(
13.7%
)
. She also noted that the data
had Harley changed in two years.
"
This comparison to two years prior is a nod to everything that happened in summer 2020 after the
murder of George Floyd, when a number of companies across all industries, including th
ose in the
venture capital pledge, that they would do better with regards to diversity,
equity, and inclusion,
race
-
based and gender based disparities are rampant, and these are in areas where we have actual
data, but what about the disparities that exist
in other industries that still impact a lot of people, even
though we might not have the data to show it? This happens at the consumer level, it happens at
the employee level, and it happens even at the provider level.
Whenever we think about the people wh
o are offering the products, services, and experiences, the
entrepreneurs, the business leaders.
A while back I chatted with Megan Williams who heads the Black freelance online community. She
told me that one of the reasons why she started Black Freelance
was to get answers to common
questions that she was hearing and having herself that weren't found in more mainstream spaces.
Megan:
When I first started freelancing, you know, you're out there, you're learning about things,
and I started running into jus
t some general questions. Like, one of the things that people, you'll
hear a lot of just mainstream freelancers advise people is to post your picture online.
So I started doing that and I noticed that in a couple and maybe ac
tually two specific situations
,
you
know, we were having really good back and forth, people seemed excited, and I saw them check
my LinkedIn and all of a sudden they disappeared and my LinkedIn didn't say anything different than
my website. So you know, that question is in my head, it'
s like, is this because I'm black? Right?
And it
might not have been, you know,
I didn't know.
But what it made me realize is that I had no one to go to, to ask. That kind of question made me
realize not only that there was a need for a site for black fre
elancers, but that people's actually made
me realize that. But then it's more as I started to build the site and started listening to more people's
Lance stories
,
and that's any freelancer, white, black, Asian, Hispanic, whatever, I started to notice
how
their businesses were shaped by their networks and the cultura
l experiences they were having.
Sonia:
Okay
Megan:
And if we realize that people's freelancers experience are not, you know, culturally neutral,
everyone is having, everyone's experience is sha
ped by something bigger than themselves.
Sonia:
Okay
Megan:
So that you know,
we needed to start paying attention or like I wanted to start paying
attention to, you know how black freelancers careers are shaped by their cultural experiences.
IM_Ep 45_Factors That Influence Your Customers' Success That You Need To Be Aware Of.pdf
5
And in the world of entrepreneurship, there are plenty of unconsciou
s biases that many B
lack
people, as well as other people from marginalized and underrepresented communities have to deal
with on a regular basis
that their peers, counterparts,
who
are part of the dominant group do not
have to experience popular b
usiness c
oach
Jereshia
Hawk went into a lot of detail about this and
her personal experiences with it in a r
eal, she published on Instagram
-
I'll link to it in the show notes
so you can se
e it for yourself.
Alright, we'll get to why so many experiences are different for people
from marginalized communities
right after this short break.
T
he other day I watched a frustrating customer experience unfold. Jonathan, my husband, was
calling
the cellphone company. He pressed the button to talk to someone in Spanish, and the phone
system then switched over to Spanish, which it should have only to have a live person come on the
line in English whenever you can. It is good practice to avoid fric
tion in the customer journey.
It really helps in delivering experiences that make more of your customers, including those who are
often underrepresented and underserved, feel like they belong. Sometimes doing that is easier said
than done, but with HubSpot
, it actually is easy. That's why more companies are choosing HubSpot
CRM, a platform that brings your marketing, sales, and service teams together all in one place.
It seamlessly connects your teams. Sales, marketing, customer service and ops have a compl
ete
view of the customer journey with real
-
time data at their fingertips. Your teams won't trip over each
other and you'll be equipped to deliver better customer experiences, which leads to more customers.
Ditch the friction and your customer experience. L
earn how HubSpot CRM can help your business
grow
[email protected]
.
All right, let's talk about why so many experiences across industries are different for people from
marginalized communities. I've already allud
ed to several of them, but let's go ahead and call them
out specifically.
First up is privilege. We all have some degree of privilege, and I'm definitely not saying that privilege
is a bad thing. How
ever, we do need to get better.
Acknowledging that privi
lege does exist and
noting the impact that privilege has on people's success, the time it takes to get there, and the
resources that are required.
Using the venture capital example, a man who went to an Ivy League college has baked in privileges
that incr
ease his likelihood of achieving funding for his startup than a woman or even a woman of
color who also went to an Ivy League university.
We gotta start acknowledging privilege and the role it plays in the outcomes that the people you
serve achieve.
Another factor that's at play is bias, both conscious and unconscious. Now, using healthcare as an
example, if medical professionals believe that black patients have a higher tolerance for pain, then
the data shows that they are going to undertreat them fo
r pain, which of course influences negatively
their outcome.
IM_Ep 45_Factors That Influence Your Customers' Success That You Need To Be Aware Of.pdf
6
I included conscious bias here because even though I want to believe in the good of everyone and
that nobody would intentionally do anything to harm another person, I also don't want to be so na
ive
as to think that people aren't aware of the biases that they have. And then sometimes those same
people will lean into acting in accordance with those beliefs.
Another reason why disparitie
s exist in both the treatments,
experiences and success rates
of
people from underrepresented and underserved communities in comparison to dominant groups is
because of negative stereotypes.
Now, let's say there's a negative stereotype out there that black people are lazy, and I'm not just
pulling this one out of th
e air. This one actually exists. I'm gonna drop a link to an academic paper
that discusses this
stereotype where it originated,
how it has been perpetuated for generations in
the show notes.
So if you held the belief or the negative stereotype that black
people were lazy and then you found
out that someone that you were considering hiring as black, that belief can cause you to either
decide not to work with them, perhaps to try to pay them lower than what you were
intending to pay
someone else,
or it can e
ven cause you to have them jump through additional hoops to be able to
get the job that other people don't have to go through.
And one additional reason I want to know for why the experiences and the outcomes for people who
are part of marginalized commun
ity are often different is because of unawareness.
When you are unaware of the plight and the experiences and the differences in the outcomes that
people from underrepresented and unde
rserved communities experience,
then it doesn't even
register in your radar of what types of things from an equity standpoint you could be or should be
doing to level the playing field so that those outcomes can be more consistent for all the people that
you serve.
Now, I walked through
a number of different examples in various industries of where disparities
exist, and we really just cannot assume that these disparities don't exist within our own industries or
even our own brands that we work on.
That's why it is essential that you beco
me aware of the disparities that exist for people for
underrepresented and underserved communities, particularly within your industry and your brand.
Why? Because whenever you know that certain groups receive different outcomes, then you can
work to put p
roducts, services, experiences, processes, systems in place that help to level a playing
field so that everyone can achieve the same types of outcomes that directly address those problems
for the brand that you work on.
I worked with one client a while bac
k who was looking at the data that was showing that the black
community in particular had higher incidents of complications associated with Covid and they were
getting vaccinated at lower rates than other communities. So they worked to implement
programmin
g specifically focus on the black community that helped them improve their covid related
outcomes and stay healthy.
In addition, as you're working to improve the outcomes and level of playing field of what's happening
in your own brand and business,
you c
an also expand your efforts to your industry at large.
IM_Ep 45_Factors That Influence Your Customers' Success That You Need To Be Aware Of.pdf

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IM_Ep 114_What is normal anyway?
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IM_Ep 114_What is normal anyway?.pdf
1
What is normal anyway?
What does it mean to be normal, really?
Is it something we should all aspire to, something we should avoid, or is it really just a false construct
that we've all been conditioned to believe is true?
In this episode, we're gonna get into the ins and outs of, quote, unquote, normal as it relates
to
consumers and the way it shows up in society, the way it shows up in marketing, and how we should
be thinking about and considering it when it comes to our inclusive marketing efforts.
Lots to come after this short break.
Okay. So we see a lot of advi
ce and quotes floating around in all kinds of places from all different
sources, and it all goes something like this. Let me know if you've heard any of these phrases.
Don't be like anyone else or this one. No one ever made a difference being like everyon
e else or
this one, which is much more direct. Don't be basic.
And when we look at the types of things that society rewards, it's easy to understand why these
sayings are out there.
Look at athletes, the best athletes in the world, those that are househol
d names like Simone Biles,
Michael Phelps, Michael Jordan, Serena Williams, Lebron James, Lionel Messi, and Usain Bolt,
These folks are anything but basic or like anyone else.
Even if we look at people in work, leaders are often looking to award and prop
up top performers.
People who go above and beyond that perform at a high level at a level that is above that of their
peers.
Even look at the names we hear about in business and entertainment all the time. Names like Gary
Vaynerchuk, Elon Musk, Beyonce, T
aylor Swift, and Rihanna. So on one end of the spectrum, we
reward, we talk about, and kind of look up to and elevate people in certain contexts that are not,
quote, unquote, normal or clearly not like the rest of us when it comes to their abilities and re
cognize
accomplishments. In this sense, not being normal is desirable and a great thing.
And then on the other end of the spectrum are people who just want to be, quote, unquote, normal.
I've talked several times about how sometimes people who are differen
t don't want to feel or be
different. I remember some years back, I had a colonoscopy.
Hopefully, that isn't too much TMI for you. And I remember being thrilled when afterwards, the doctor
came back and told me my colon was unremarkable.
There was nothin
g noteworthy or out of the ordinary, and that was music to my ears because, in this
case, having something noteworthy could have meant a whole lot of health challenges. No bueno.
So when I go to a restaurant, sometimes I just wanna feel normal whe
n it com
es to the food options.
I hate having to be the person who has to ask all the questions and have the special requirements.
IM_Ep 114_What is normal anyway?.pdf
2
Do a quick search on Reddit, and you'll see plenty of posts with people expressing their desire to
be, quote, unquote, normal, and sharing about all the ways they feel different from other people how
it makes them feel, and how it makes them feel isn't goo
d.
Normal seems to be a spectrum, and where people fall on that spectrum seems to vary by situation.
So we've got exceptional on one end, clearly, people who are not like others and are celebrated for
it. Then on the other end, we've got people who feel d
ifferent from everyone else and just want to
feel normal.
They want to fit in. They want to be basic because for them the consequences and emotional toll
of
not being like everyone else is too much of a burden, but this whole thing is kind of confusing. D
o
we wanna be basic or not? Ultimately, it comes down to this difference being a fact.
People are often okay with being different if they know there's a reward for it. People are often not
okay with being different if they feel like there's a perceived pun
ishment or negative consequences
associated with it. It's a great thing to be gifted at your craft or the things that you do.
It's not so good when you feel less than for showing up in a manner that is different from what is
considered to be normal. But t
his brings up another important question.
Who decides what normal is? It used to be that it was normal in a family for a husband and a father
to go to work and the wife and the mom to stay home and care for the kids and the household.
Income households w
ith no kids by home and care for the kids or even dual
-
income households
with no kids by choice, plenty of single
-
parent households, and even households with happily single
people with no kids. I saw a data point a few years ago that said that less than ha
lf of kids in the US
grew up in a household with 2 heterosexual parents in the home.
So if we think about data like this, what is normal? Is it a nontraditional household? Normal is fluid.
Doctor Lyudmila Prasilova is a psychology professor and author of t
he new book, The Canary Code,
a guide to neurodiversity, dignity, and intersectional belonging at work.
Lyudmila has been on this podcast twice before talking about neurodivergence in the workplace and
neurodivergence as a consumer. I will drop links to
both of those episodes in the show notes below
so you can listen if you haven't done so already.
For your reference, those were episode number 57, neurodiversity at Work, how to Create a Culture
Where Everyone Thrives, and episode number 60, designing inc
lusive experiences for
neurodivergent consumers.
Alright. So Doctor Lyudmila's book is fantastic. You should definitely check it out.
I'll also link to it in the show notes for you. So in her book, The Canary Code, Lyudmila lays out
some definitions that
I find super interesting, including this one of neurotypical, which she's written
as a person or people whose neurodevelopment falls within the range conventionally seen as typical
but prevailing cultural standards is enabled by their society for a given p
eriod.
Another definition in this category that caught my attention is that of neurodiversity, which in this
book is defined as a biological fact that there is a limitless variety in human neurodevelopment with
many neurotypes and individual differences.
IM_Ep 114_What is normal anyway?.pdf
3
Neurodiversity as a concept refers to the full range of variations in human cognition, emotion, and
perception. And this other definition of neurodivergent is a person or people whose neurological
development or functioning diverges from the range conve
ntionally seen as typical. That is dyslexic
or dyspraxic person may refer to themselves as neurodivergent.
As a neurodivergent person, a group of ADHDers or people with a specific phobia are groups of
neurodivergent people. Some use neurodistinct, neurosp
icy, and other creative variations of this
term.
So in the book, she went on to write this commentary that has struck me for months, months. It was
so good and so eye
-
opening. Here it is. She writes, if neurodiversity applies to everyone, is anyone
at all
neurotypical? Some believe that neurotypical does not exist.
That everyone is in some way neurodivergent. However, according to an autistic psychologist and
thought leader Nick Walker, this argument stems from the false assumption that neurotypical is jus
t
a synonym for normal.
The belief in quote
-
unquote normal minds and brains is associated with the medical pathology
paradigm and does not make sense from the neurodiversity paradigm perspective. Neurotypicality
is socially and culturally constructed.
Dom
inant cultures operating within the normal versus pathological paradigm create cultural
expectations of normativity. Hence, children and adults are repeatedly told to act normal and not be
weird.
The collective belief in normal creates an image to which p
eople are expected to conform or else. A
neurotypical person is 1, able to convincingly and reliably perform according to expectations of
neuronormative functioning throughout one's life without unbearable suffering, and 2, chooses to
maintain their perfor
mance and comply with the standards of the dominant culture.
The reward for compliance with dominant standards or
neuronormativity
is a perception of normality
and consequently neurotypical privilege. The neurotypical brain may not exist, but the neurotyp
ical
privilege of conforming to
neuronormative
expectations without making
oneself sick does. Dang.
Dang.
Dang.
Every time I read it, that's my response. So from Ludmila's research and other research in this area,
this whole concept of normal is off and is
causing harm.
From a marketing standpoint, we've seen examples of brands moving away from using the word
normal because it causes harm. Unilever, which makes brands such as Dove, Vaseline, and Axe,
recognizes the power of words they use in their marketin
g.
And in 2021, announced that it was removing the word normal from all its beauty and personal care
packaging and advertising. This is a global and super serious undertaking. The decision to make
such a change was rooted in inclusion.
The company conduct
ed a research study of more than 10,000 people and found that more than
half of people thought that the beauty and personal care industry can make people feel excluded.
IM_Ep 114_What is normal anyway?.pdf
4
Further data from the study showed just how much power the beauty industry has in the way
consumers feel about themselves.
From the research, 6 in 10 people agreed the beauty industry creates a singular notion of who or
what is quote unquote normal, and 6
3% of people agreed not having the word normal on packaging
and in advertising would inspire people to feel more positive about the way they look. In addition to
removing the word normal from packaging and advertising, Unilever decided to double down on
wh
at they are calling positive beauty efforts.
And noting that more than 1,000,000,000 people use their products every day, the company
announced that they are taking the opportunity to embrace a new era of beauty, one that's inclusive,
equitable, regenerat
ive, and positive.
In a statement, Unilever spokespeople gave more detail on how the brand intended to make positive
change. They said we are setting out to transform the systems that hold individuals back by
advocating new policies, laws, and social norm
s that will promote inclusion, health, and well
-
being
for all members of society.
Apart from that statement, I want to highlight that they are advocating for new social norms, implying
that what is considered to be normal can be changed.
From an inclusive
marketing ethics standpoint, the core premise is not to cause harm. And it seems
that in a lot of cases, this whole idea of normal causes harm to people who don't fit into the
predetermined mold of what normal is.
So what's a marketer to do?
I'm gonna c
over that by reframing your way of thinking about normal after this short break.
And by chance, if you haven't listened to the episode on inclusive marketing ethics, I'll drop a link to
that in the show notes for you. There's a super important episode. Ep
isode number 97, Inclusive
Marketing Ethics.
Okay. So here's my point of view.
I think we mistake a desire to be normal with the root of the desire, which is really to just belong. So
I think I've mentioned this to you before, but just in case I have it,
let's go over it again.
Here's my favorite definition of belonging. It comes from Chris Brogan's book, The Freaks Shall
Inherit the Earth. Chris wrote fitting in often means shaving off your unique edges, hiding, and
masking what defines you,
and
discardi
ng any behaviors appearances
,
or images that prompt others
to question you or push away from you. In other words, and this is me talking, fitting in is all about
trying to be normal.
Back to the book. Chris wrote, that belonging is about finding that plac
e where you finally let out a
deep breath you had no idea you were holding and feeling with great certainty that the people around
you understand you.
Belonging is about being you and knowing that that is more than enough.
Here are
a couple of other
defini
tions for you to help bring everything together.
IM_Ep 114_What is normal anyway?.pdf
5
Inclusive marketing is all about acknowledging the many ways in which consumers are different,
intentionally choosing which of those identities your brand will serve, and then authentically
incorporating
consumers with those identities throughout all phases of your marketing mix. And just
in case you didn't know, here's a definition of diversity. It's simply the presence of differences within
a given setting. Diversity is normal or a better way to say it i
s diversity is common. Which brings me
to my first point about what marketers should do, and that is
to
take care with terminology. Let's not
call things normal such as behaviors or ways of operating, ways of thinking,
and
ways of being.
Let's not call the
m normal if it will cause harm to someone for being labeled not normal if their
approach is something different from that. Let's not call things normal
without
having a true
understanding of what is actually happening in the world, not just our own percept
ion of it.
For instance, according to the Takeout, most American households eat dinner between the hours
of 5:0:7 and 8:19 PM. Emma Haupp says that the average dinner time in the US is 6:22 PM. My
household eats dinner at 9 PM.
Does that make us not norm
al? When you consider my husband is Argentine and that in Argentina,
dinner time is between 8 and midnight then we are eating at a very common time by Argentine
standards. That's why terminology and the words we use are so important. So let's get better ab
out
the words we use.
Call things what they are. Dry skin, oily skin, fair skin, dark skin, sensitive skin, not normal skin, and
other skin. There's a diversity of skin types, so let's acknowledge that in the terminology we use. It's
size 0, size 8, size 1
8, size 24, not normal size
and
size.
There's a diversity of body sizes and types. So let's acknowledge that in the terminology we use. If
you mean common, say common. If you mean standard, say standard.
If you mean average, say average. Terminology is im
portant. So just know that the use of the word
normal is setting you and the people on the receiving end of the term up for problems.
2nd consideration for marketers
about
this whole normal concept is that customer experience
matters.
Remember, customer
experience is the vehicle with which the people you serve feel included by
you or like they belong with you. So even if you go through all the effort of intentionally including
people from specific communities, if the customer experience
is
substandard or subpar, then it
serves to make people feel not normal or othered and absolutely like they don't belong.
I've gone through my inclusive customer experience spectrum in a lot of detail in episode 93, the
inclusive marketing Spectrum. I'll
drop a link to that in the show notes so you can access it easily.
But even with the best intentions, because remember, your intentions are never a marker for
success, It's the way in which the end consumer feels that matters. But even with the best intent
ions,
if the experience you're delivering makes it clear that someone is different or kind of makes them
feel penalized for being different, then you're reinforcing the message you're not normal.
So when I go to a restaurant when I have to ask for an alle
rgen
-
friendly menu or pay an extra $2.50
for a gluten
-
free bun, you're sending the signal it's better to be normal, or you're reminding me that
I'm different from everyone else when there is no benefit to being different.
IM_Ep 114_What is normal anyway?.pdf
6
In this case, there's a penalty
of $2.50. When a Spanish
-
speaking customer this is relevant to any
language, has to scroll down to the footer of your website to find the link for the Spanish language
version of the website.
The experience you're delivering says, we value you and your ex
perience less because you're
different. As a brand, you don't wanna make people feel bad about their differences or make them
feel othered or less important or like a burden or a nuisance because of what makes them different.
Differences are common, so it
is important to deliver experiences with that in mind so as not to
deliver a less
-
than experience that makes people feel like they don't belong with you.
That
brings me to the 3rd and last point that I have for you today is to remember that belonging is
t
he goal. When the people you serve feel like they belong with you, they will reward you with their
attention and their loyalty.
When they don't, they will go off in search of another option that does make them feel that way, that
does make them feel like
they belong. So be intentional about everything that you do. Think about
all the identities of the consumers you've chosen to serve and ensure that everything you do
throughout your marketing mix sends the signal you belong here.
Whether that's ensuring y
ou have adequate representation in your visual imagery,
or
having
products, services, and experiences that ensure not only that everyone can get what they need from
you, but also that everyone
achieves
success at the same rates. Make sure you're evaluating
everything you do regularly to ensure you're delivering that sense of belonging to everyone you
serve, not just those that society deems as, quote, unquote, normal.
That may mean audits of your marketing and customer experience, user testing with consume
rs
from different identities, and even a deep dive into your data to ensure that everyone you serve is
achieving success at the same rates no matter their identity.
Do what you gotta do to ensure you're delivering belonging to everyone who encounters your
brand
no matter where they're encountering it.
That's it for today's episode, but that doesn't need to be the end of the conversation. Let's continue
to chat about this whole concept of normal, what it means for you, how you feel about it, and how
you use
it in your brand or not. Let's continue the conversation. Tag me on social. Send me an email.
Let's have a chat in the DMs. I wanna hear what it is that you're thinking and dialogue more on this
topic.
If you like this show, do share it with a friend,
or
colleague in your network. It doesn't have to be just
us talking about it. Let's bring others into the conversation. And, also, if you're enjoying the show,
please leave a rating and review for it in your podcast player of choice. It really does go a long
way
towards helping more people discover the show, which I like to think helps more people and
marketers operate more inclusively.
Are you getting the inclusion and marketing newsletter? If not, really, what are you even doing?
Each week, I send news, tip
s, insights, stories, and all other kinds of goodies to attract and retain a
bigger, more diverse, and fiercely loyal customer base. Go to inclusion and
marketing.com/newsletter to get signed up. I will also drop a link to you in the show notes for you so
you can access it easily.
IM_Ep 114_What is normal anyway?.pdf
7
Until next time, r
emember, everyone deserves to have a place where they belong. Let's use our
individual and collective power to ensure more people feel like they do.
Thanks so much for listening.
Talk to you soon.

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The Inclusive Marketing Spectrum With Examples For Each
Not all forms of marketing are created equal. To be clear, here in this community, we praise progress
over perfection. I am also here to give you the insights and knowledge you need so you can deliver
better customer experiences so that you can convert mor
e the people you want to serve and ensure
That more of them thrive when interacting with your brand, products, and services.
So in today's episode, I'm gonna walk you through The 5 categories of my inclusive marketing
spectrum, something I normally have o
nly previously covered in the curriculum in my course
Inclusive Brain Academy, Today, I'm happy to share that with you. I'll also drop a link to Inclusive
Brain Academy in case you'd like to check it out, and grab it for yourself.
The 1st category on the
spectrum is, of course, not where you want to be. The 2nd category is a
market improvement, but not really where you wanna stay. And the last 3 categories deliver better
experiences overall with the
last 2 categories being ideal.
Now I do want to note that
this spectrum is fluid. As a brand, you may deliver certain experiences
that are in one category and others that are part of another. How you serve certain customer groups
may appear in 1 category, and how you serve other customer groups could appear in a
nother.
The goal here is to open up your awareness so you can make intentional choices about where to
focus your efforts and make improvements.
The inclusivity spectrum is one of the markers I use as a part of the evaluations I do for my inclusive
market
ing audits for brands. So if you're interested in having 1 done for your brand, let me know. I'll
drop a link to that in the show notes so you
can get more details.
Alright.
After this short break, we'll get into the 1st categories of my inclusive marketi
ng spectrum.
The 1st category on the inclusive marketing spectrum is exclusion marketing. Now there's really not
a ton to say about this one. Just know that it is rampant.
This is when companies don't take into consideration the fact that consumers have
differences, and,
thus, they don't accommodate those differences in any way. They cater to the mainstream and only
the mainstream.
Now this choice doesn't mean that there is ill intent on behalf of the marketers and business leaders,
but the impact on peo
ple with differences from underrepresented and underserved communities is
real. Brands that exclude will soon learn that it's cost
ing them customers and revenue.
So, hopefully, they'll get hip to the fact that they should be intentional about including mor
e people
in their marketing.
Now as I mentioned in the introduction, this form of Exclusion may be what you engage in for
customer groups you've decided aren't your area of focus.
Now when I describe exclusion marketing, I don't mean that these customers
aren't welcome in your
business. If they come to you, I'm sure you'll gladly take their money and gladly serve them.
IM_Ep 93_The Inclusive Marketing Spectrum With Examples For Each.pdf
2
In most instances, marketing that excludes means the marketing and the customer experiences you
deliver don't do anything to acknowledg
e the specific needs of a group customers with a shared
identity.
So, for instance, if your marketing does nothing to intentionally include people over the age of 50,
They may still be welcoming your business, but it means that all your focus and attentio
n is on
customer groups that don't have this identity.
Of course, excluding certain groups or not being intentional about including them in some way is
your choice to make. Just know that in making this choice, you're likely going to convert a whole lot
l
ess
people who have this identity.
Alright. The 2nd category in the inclusive marketing spectrum is what I like to call raise your hand if
you're different. Alright. So I don't want to rail too hard against this one because in this instance,
brands are try
ing, but the experience they are actually delivering is falling short and it doesn't make
the actual consumer feel good in many instances.
And we can all agree that making consumers feel some type of way isn't a good thing. It causes
unnecessary Friction
that could cause them to walk away from you and never look back.
So why is this approach something you want to avoid? Because people have different relationships
with that thing that makes them different, and sometimes their relationship with what makes t
hem
different is fluid. They don't always want to have to bring it up, think about it in a specific moment,
or have to let strangers know about their difference
to get their needs met.
So as marketers and business leaders, if we can avoid making this a par
t of the customer
experience, let's do it. Alright. So my favorite example that illustrates this comes from the great
Shonda Rhimes from her book, Year of Yes. Here's a clip of Shonda talking about a specific
experience she had where, basically, she was fa
ced with the choice of whether or not to raise her
hand to acknowledge that she was different.
Shonda Rhimes
:
You tell a story that you it kind of dawned on you one day when you were trying
to buckle a seat belt in an airplane and you couldn't. I got on
an airplane. I was going to New York
from LA, and it was like a 1st class seat. You know, they're bigger, and I was like, this is gonna be
really comfortable. I got in my seat. I took off my shoes. I pulled out my book. I went to buckle the
sea
t belt, and
it wouldn't buckle.
And I thought to myself, well, something's wrong with this belt. It's broken. And it wasn't the seat
belt. It was me. And I thought, well, I could get a seat belt extender. I could ask the airline attendants
to give me a seat belt
extender, or I could die and not have a seat belt extender, and maybe the
plane will crash or I'll fly out of my seat when we take off. And I decided that I would risk it and just
fly out of my seat because I wasn't gonna say anything.
In the book, Shonda
goes on to say how she ended up losing a 100 pounds, and it's a wonderful
story, but her weight loss isn't the point here. The point is she would rather die than say something
to the flight attendant about what she needed. Another example, this is very co
mmon at restaurants.
IM_Ep 93_The Inclusive Marketing Spectrum With Examples For Each.pdf
3
As a gluten free person, I don't feel any shame about being gluten free, but sometimes I absolutely
hate hate Being the person that has to ask all the questions at the restaurant or to have to request
a special menu.
Sometimes I jus
t want to walk in and order off the main menu without having to ask any questions
and just be like everybody else. One other example of this is when someone who speaks another
language and, for instance, they are in an area that has a decent percentage of
the population who
speaks that language.
So let's use Spanish for instance. It can be frustrating for customers to have to go and ask
a worker
if they speak Spanish.
Again, they are having to raise their hand to see if it is possible for them to get what
they need. A
better option that I've seen in a few places, I think Target It was the 1st place that I saw it. They had
the workers wear a name tag that said, so it was clear to a customer that this was someone who
could help Them and they could just approa
ch them quote unquote normally without having to ask
the question first whether or not the person spoke their language.
Alright.
These 2 categories on the inclusivity spectrum really isn't where you want to be. I just wanna
reiterate though, the raise yo
ur hand if you're different is Still better than not being inclusive. But if
this is where you are, make sure that you're working actively to Get to one of these other places
with time.
So if this is where you are today, just make sure that you put a plan
in place to work to move from
this category in the spectrum to one of the other 3 that I will cover afte
r this short break.
Alright. This
is the next 3 options that I'm gonna cover are much better places to be on the inclusivity spectrum.
The 3rd categor
y on the inclusivity spectrum is called You've Got Options. This one is definitely a
better category to be in than the first to that I mentioned. So in this you've got options category, it's
when you're acknowledging that people have differences and you pr
ovide Shins to them to self
select what it is they need from you without having to call out to someone, a stranger really, that
they are different.
For example, at Sprinkles Bakery, which I love, they've got a full range of cupcakes. Most of those
cupcake
s are not gluten free. They have 2 gluten free cupcakes, red velvet obviously, which is really
the only one that I care about.
They've got a vegan cupcake, and they've got a sugar free cupcake. They cater to people with these
dietary restrictions by provi
ding them with some options. Those options are limited, but they are
options.
Those options are clearly labeled, so the customer just has to tell the employee which cupcake they
want and off they go. Walmart recently introduced Sensory friendly hours from
8 AM to 10 AM every
morning for their stores in the US and Puerto Rico.
They do this for their shoppers who have sensory processing disorder, which is common among
people with autism, ADHD, PTSD, and dyslexia. Now that would be an example of a retailer o
ffering
the options that accommodate people whose needs are different from others.
And one other example of the You've Got Options category on this inclusivity spectrum, I saw th
is
at a theme park a while ago.
IM_Ep 93_The Inclusive Marketing Spectrum With Examples For Each.pdf
4
The roller coaster had an aisle marked for pe
ople who have a wider frame and or broader shoulders.
So when you're standing in line you're standing in, you know, the long line and then you get to the
place where you're actually about to get in an aisle For the seats that you want to sit in on the roll
er
coaster, you would just go to the one that had it labeled on the overhead sign that this line or this
particular seat accommodated people with a broader frame that needed extra space.
Now the beauty of it was that anyone could get in that line, People who needed the extra space and
people who didn't. So the option to self select what you needed without having to call attention to
those needs made it a much more to experience.
Okay. So
the 4th category on the inclusive marketing spectrum is a good one. This is a place where
you should aspire to get to if you aren't here already. And quite frankly, it needs better name, but
I'm jus
t gonna work through right now.
So the name the label that
I have for it right now is You're Normal. Normal my problem with the
name is the word normal.
Normal is kind of a weird word because, Really, what is normal anyway, but that's a topic for another
day and another episode. But really, sometimes people just
Don't wanna feel different. They don't
wanna have to think about their differences. They just wanna have the same type of experiences
with the same number of steps and achieve the same degree of success as as everyone else.
So anytime a brand can work to
acknowledge the ways in which people are different without making
them feel different, That's when. So here are some examples of how some bran
ds have done that
successfully.
Underwear and shapewear brand Skims Makes shopping for undergarments that match y
our skin
tone a seamless experience. If you go to the website and wanted to buy a bra for instance, there's
a large range of Shades that make it easy for you to pick the one that matches your skin tone.
I'll drop a link to it in the show notes in case you
want to see how this works in action. Fenty Beauty
has 40 shades of foundation to cover people who have different complexions all over the world.
Every shade is covered.
No one shade is elevated above the other. A few years ago, retailer Old Navy launche
d its bod
equality campaign, which they called a fashion revolution.
Now with this new approach, they removed plus sized sections from their stores and as a category
on their website an
d put all the clothes together.
This way, people didn't have to feel ot
hered by
having to go to a different section of the Store to find the items that work for them.
One other element of their new way of operating is that all sizes and all styles are the same price.
So if a size 6 pair of jeans cost $25, that same style of
jean in size 24 would also be $25.
Now, it used to be that Old Navy and this is a common practice for lots of brands that prices are
higher on items for people who don't fit into what is considered to be quote unquote normal.
Now I know this firsthand because a ton of restaurants will charge you extra for gluten free bread
on a hamburger for instance.
IM_Ep 93_The Inclusive Marketing Spectrum With Examples For Each.pdf
5
So it's kind of not only are you different, but you've gotta pay more for being different, which isn't a
good feeling. So fee
ling like you're normal and you aren't being charged a tax because of your
difference is a good thing. I think one of my favorite examples of this Whole your normal part of the
Inclusive Marketing Spectrum c
omes from technology companies.
If you buy a new
Samsung phone or an iPhone and you'll see that it is configured to work in so many
languages. Same with cars because the screens that are unsigned on the dashboard Word of those
cards have words on them. Right?
And this even works with cameras. The choose
your language functionality is already built in, so
people who speak Spanish, French, Portuguese, Japanese, or Hindi can easily go in and select
which language they want to use the product in, and everything changes. This whole language thing
works in reta
il settings as well.
About a year ago, Jonathan switched cell phone companies because of the phone he that he bought.
Now he has a different phone, and I asked him if he wanted to come back to the company that I was
on and maybe we could save with a famil
y plan. And he thought about it for a minute and the
n
decided to stay where he was.
Why? Because the guy who works in the AT and T store is bilingual, And Jonathan can go into the
store without me and ask the questions and get the help he needs because the
guy speaks Spanish
and the process is seamless.
He doesn't have to go in and ask if someone speaks Spanish and experience that frustration. I
remember when I did my MBA internship With a company in Montreal way back when, Montreal,
the language is Englis
h and French.
So whenever you would go shopping, I would go into the stores, and the people who were working
in the stores, they were bilingual. They spoke both English and French, and so whatever language
you spoke to them in, That's the language they sp
oke back to you in.
There was no having to ask, do you speak English? Do you speak French? They just spoke the
language, and it was a seamless experience no matter which of those 2 languages you are
speaking.
The key thing here that makes the approach wo
rk so well is that it does not center any one identity
as normal or right, or even as if it is more profitable or preferred for or by the brand. It just
acknowledges that people are different and builds products, services, and experiences accordingly
that
make the people that they're serving not feel differ
ent in any way, shape, or form.
Okay. So the last category on the inclusive marketing spectrum is exclusively for you. There are
some groups of customers that have very specific needs that make it more di
fficult to fit into a your
normal approach that is designed for a broader group of people.
That's why some brands have chosen to serve these customer groups by providing products,
service, and experiences that are just for them that address these unique n
eeds.
This strategy and approach works both for building entire companies around as well as with
developing specific products and services as a component of your broader offering.
IM_Ep 93_The Inclusive Marketing Spectrum With Examples For Each.pdf
6
Nike has used this Strategy is 1 piece of their product offering on a fe
w occasions. 1 is with their
FlyEase shoe designed to help you get into and out of your Shoe without the need for hands. Now
the shoe and the technology for it were designed specifically to be accessible for people to use no
matter their ability and was de
signed in collaboration with insights
from the disability community.
Another is with their pro hijab line of performance Sportswear for Muslim women athletes prefer to
cover their heads for religious reasons. Hote Hijab, I hope I'm saying that right, It's
a fashion
company that focuses on Muslim women exclusively with their principal products being hijabs,
including ones made for sport. They also sell hijab magnets and other accessories.
Nubian Skin is a brand dedicated to providing nude hosiery and lingeri
e for women of color. The
founder, Ade Hassan, created the company after Struggling to find nude lingerie and hosiery that
master skin tone. I have totally been there, totally, and it's been a frustrating experience.
And on more than one occasion I've tot
ally, unfortunately, looked a hot mess because I've been
caught with hosiery that was not my skin tone of nude. Boom.
So note in the previous section, I mentioned that SKIMS takes that your normal approach making it
easy for consumers to select undergarmen
ts that fit their skin tone. Now, this Nubian skin example
falls into the exclusively for you category because it caters specifically to women of color.
Some people, particularly those from underrepresented and underserved communities, prefer to
buy from
people who've catered to them exclusively and quite frankly, where the people behind the
brand share their identity.
Sometimes they prefer this than the brands that cater to the masses. So that's just something to
take into consideration. And one other ex
ample of this exclusively for you strategy is Canyon
Bakehouse Gluten Free, a company that specializes in selling, you guessed it, gluten free breads
that are also free of other common allergens for people.
We have a lot of Canyon Bakehouse bread in our h
ome, and it is so, so, so good. Now this
exclusively for you works for se
rvice types businesses as well.
Megan Williams is the founder of Black Freelance, an online community that helps freelancers of
color thrive. She told me that early on in her own free
lance career, she saw the same questions
popping up over and over again that were specific to people of color.
As a result, mainstream outlets serving freelancers didn't cover those topics. Black Freelance filled
that void. And then you also have Shapes a
nd Curves Fitness. These are both gyms that are for
women only. So there's a lot of examples of this particular category on the inclusive marketing
spectrum to be found out in
the wild. So there you have it.
Those are the categories on my inclusive marketing spectrum.
I'm curious to know where do the
product services and customer v
ariances you deliver fall on this
spectrum. I'm also curious to know for you as a consumer, which of these do you fur, and are mor
e
likely to buy from. Let me know. Shoot me a DM. Shoot me an email. Let's chat. Let's have a
conversation on social.
IM_Ep 93_The Inclusive Marketing Spectrum With Examples For Each.pdf
7
I wanna hear your thoughts in your experiences. If you like this show, I would love it love it love it if
you would leave a rating and
review for it in your podcast player of choice. It really does go a long
way toward helping more people discover the show.
Also, are you getting the inclusion of marketing newsletter? Each week, I send stories, news,
insights, and other goodies to give you what you need to attract and retain a bigger and more diverse
customer base. Go to inclusion in marketing.com/newsletter t
o get signed up. I'll also drop a link to
it in the show notes for you.
Until next time, r
emember, everyone deserves to
have a place where they belong.
Let's use our individual and like the power to ensure more people feel like they do.
Thanks so much fo
r listening.
Talk to you soon.