Accessible Information Formats
Another post thats not about Internet Marketing but it’s certainly worth considering when wanting to increase your customer. Remembering there are 1000′s of people with reading difficulties and catering for them will definately do your business good!
I hope the following will give some guidance when deciding to offer Accessible Information Formats for your disabled customers:
1. Ask your disabled customer what format he/she prefers to access any written information – giving your customer a choice, gives you and your staff a great feel good factor and if you are genuinely keen to offer your product/service in a format they prefer, it will massively increase your chances of a sale.
2. Use plain English in a clean font such as Arial or Helvetica – people that have eye conditions such as tunnel vision, cataracts or peripheral vision and have to magnify documents in order to capture all of the information will appreciate you doing this for them. Plain English ensures that the document is not too wordy and is easy to understand and using a clean font enables the disabled reader to recognise the digits quicker that fancy fonts. It also helps when magnifying the font as it can limit the distortion.
3. Look at offering information on matt paper to reduce the glare. This makes the text easier to read. I am not suggesting you need to always move away from nice glossy paper but if you have important information to relay, consider printing a few copies onto matt paper for those customers who will really benefit from this format.
4. Consider using different coloured paper like pale lemon or a pale blue – you will be able to help many customers who have dyslexia by making this small modification. White paper is often too bright and the print can appear to move around on the page. Coloured paper reduces/eliminates this effect.
5. Simplify your message where possible. Consider using flow charts, diagrams or pictures to demonstrate instructions – such as booking process or directions.
Many of your customers can only digest small amounts of information at any time. Maybe English is not their first language. If they are deaf and BSL is their main language, too many long words could be confusing. Customers with learning disabilities often understand pictures easier than the written word. Remember they have a big spending power too.
6. Using Large Print – Point 16 or above can be very beneficial for people with eye conditions such as tunnel vision or cataracts.
Trying to find a word is really frustrating – think how you feel if you need to wear corrective glasses to read and you haven’t got them to hand. Your customers could experience this feeling on a greater scale every day of their lives. To increase the fonts to point 16 isn’t really a big issue to ensure you get that sale- is it? A word of warning though remember to reformat any documents, simply enlarging by using a photocopier can cause confusion and broken/distorted text.
7. Don’t make assumptions that a person has or hasn’t got a disability – It’s not always obvious. Advertise the fact you can offer information in other formats be proud and remember each disability is different so your customers needs will also differ from person to person. When they ask for accessible formats remember to ask what format they would prefer. Don’t assume as it could be embarrassing for all parties!
I know of a two deaf people who, when visiting their local restaurant were given Braille menus to read. They just stared at the blank paper confused as to why the waitress had given them a document specifically for a person who was blind and also a Braille reader. Rather embarrassing!
8. Consider what information your customer will need to make an educated decision to use your services over a competitor – try not to over-complicate, simple is best.
9. When designing company literature always try to keep a copy of the text in a word document for easy Braille transcription – it keeps the price of printing down and can be transcribed very quickly.
10. Shout about your Accessible Formats – tell everyone. It will definitely increase your sales and your reputation as a caring organisation. You will also be ensuring that you comply with disability legislation.
Sue Berry
