Top Ten Ways to Market to People with Disabilities

9. Reach out to customers with disabilities through main stream advertising. One in five people in the United States has a disability. And their "Entourage" is ever bigger. The Entourage is made up of friends, family members, souses, care givers, and even acquaintences. These people support disability issues and are sensitive to the needs to people with disabilites in general. Every time a member of the Entourage sees an opportunity for the person they know with a disability, they tell them about it. It's that simple! For more information on the Entourage and how you can tap into this market, email me at craigkennedy@ckconsultingonline.com

Top Ten Ways to Market to People with Disabilities

8. Creat advisory committees including people with disabilities to evaluate compacy-wide accommodations, facilities, and adaptive devices. This gives people with disabilities (PWD) a say in what happens and a chance to fix problems before they arise. This also provieds and avenue for PWD to voice their problems and concerns to a person with a disability rather than some other company official that may not be as sensitive to their needs. For instance, there are two major airline companies that work with a disability advisory board and they consistently have the highest ratings from consumers with disabilities. To learn more about the entourage and the potential of the disability market visit http://www.ckconsultingonline.com/ or email me at craigkennedy@ckconsultingnline.com

Top Ten Ways to Market to People with Disabilities

7. Reach out to customers with disabilities through any number of disability publications (Sports & Spokes, Venture magazine), radio shows (Blog Talk Radio: Access Anything), and the internet. There are dozens of disability related magazine and Ezines that go out to hundreds of thousands of People with Disabilities around the country. And with the power of the internet and social networking, you can reach even more of these customers than ever before. Remember that there are 55 million people with disabilities in the US alone and more than 800 million world-wide! To learn more about disability publications and avenues for marketing to this rapidly growing market visit http://www.ckconsultingonline.com/.

Top Ten Ways to Market to People with Disabilities

6. Employ People with Disabilities (PWD). Be sure that your company knows the current statutes and regulations regarding Equal Opportunity Employment of PWD. This is a very hot topic right now, and often times PWD are just as qualified as non-disabled applicants. And with the unemployment rate among PWD at an all time high, they may also be more appreciative and dependable than other employees. Be aggressive in your recruiting efforts and be sure to include a variety of disabilities in your work force. With a simple disability awareness and sensitivity training session included for all employees, they will fit right in with everyone else. And remember that it has been proven that people with disabilities are more likely to patronize a business that also employs people with disabilities. (source: UMASS Center for Social Development & Education). For more info on how to meet employment requirements email me at craigkennedy@ckconsulingonline.com OR visit me at http://www.ckconsultingonline.com/

Top Ten Ways to Market to Market to People with Disabilities

5. Know your customer. Know your customer. Know your customer! The basic building blocks of advertising and marketing make it essential to know who you are marketing to. Until recently, there were no statistics or demographics available on what people with disabilities (PWD) spent their money on, where they traveled and how often they traveled, or how much money they spent. Thanks to the Open Doors Organization we now have some demographics to work with. Open Doors has conducted two groundbreaking studies on travelers with disabilties, discussing how often they travel, how much money they spend (airlines, lodging, food & beverage, & retail), and what types of problems they most often encounter. These studies have really opened the doors for businesses to learn about this HUGE untapped market. For more information or to learn how to become more accesssible, visit me at http://www.ckconsultingonline.com/ or send me an email to craigkennedy@ckconsulingonline.com.

Top Ten Ways to MArket to People with Disabilities

4. Intergrate People with Disabilities (PWD) as models, actors, and spokespersons in your advertising campaign. Stats tell us that 1 in 5 people in the United States has a disability, but 1 in 3 people know someone with a disability. By placing a person in a wheelchair or a blind person with a seeing eye dog in your advertising materials, you are speaking very loudly to the disability community. This doesn't even have to cost extra money. Simply replace certain people in your advertising with people with disabilities and you are saying that all PWD are welcome at your business. For more information on these marketing tools and how we can help you, visit http://www.ckconsultingonline.com/.

Top Ten Ways to Market to People with Disabilities

3. Affiliate your company with a National disability organization. There are hundreds of organizations that support people with disabilities such as the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, March of Dimes, and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Pick one of these or a local organization to align your company with and be sure that your employees get involved too. Whether through an annual fundraiser or a yearly donation, your help will encourage the organization you are supporting to give your company recognition through their Web site and other channels to bring more exposure to your brand. For more information on hoe to market to people with disabilities, email me at craigkennedy@ckconsultingonline.com