DE&I: The Triad Elevating Customer Experience

In today's interconnected world, brands and businesses seek to resonate with a global audience. As companies reach across borders, cultures, and communities, the importance of incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusion into every facet of business becomes undeniably paramount. These aren’t just central concepts of nurturing employee experience: they are also foundational to creating holistic customer experiences that resonate with a wider audience.

When a product or service is designed, it's not just for a homogeneous group. It’s for a diverse set of customers with different identities, backgrounds, abilities and needs. Diversity in design teams ensures that a wider array of perspectives is considered, reducing the risk of 'blind spots'. This leads to products that are more universally appealing and functional. 

Inclusion isn’t just about representation; it's about ensuring voices are heard and respected.

An inclusive design process actively involves people from diverse backgrounds in co-creation and feedback. It's the difference between creating for a community and creating with a community. This results in a more robust CX, where the product or interface feels personalized and intuitive for a broader and diverse audience.

Equity in design ensures that everyone, regardless of their background or ability, has a fair and just opportunity to be a significant contributor. This might mean additional resources or different approaches for specific groups to ensure they get the same value from a product or service. It's the acknowledgment that ‘one size fits all’ is a myth.

Beyond the moral imperative, the advantages of incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusion into CX are numerous. Diverse teams bring unique perspectives leading to out-of-the-box solutions, developing products and services that have a broader appeal, catering to a wider audience.Inclusive design reduces the risk of overlooking significant user challenges or barriers. When customers see themselves reflected in a product, service, or interface, it builds a sense of trust and connection. They feel valued and understood, which in turn fosters brand loyalty.

Many companies globally have taken giant leaps in incorporating DEI into customer experience and product development. Nike, Unilever, and Procter & Gamble to name a few,  aim to reflect and cater to their diverse consumers globally and have improved product design processes, as well as launched new product lines. And yes, there are examples, when attempts have gone badly wrong. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t set the bar higher and keep trying! 

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are integral, guiding principles in customer experience and design. They allow services and products not just to serve, but to empower, relate, and revolutionize the future. A future with a positive impact.