Top tips for making your business more accessible – and why it will boost your profits

The spending power of disabled households, known as the Purple Pound, is estimated to be worth £274 billion a year in the UK. Yet many businesses are unknowingly missing out on this market because their products, services, or physical spaces are not accessible to disabled people. In fact, businesses are losing around £2 billion a month by failing to meet the needs of disabled customers.

A recent event at the West Midlands Business Festival, How to Harness the Purple Pound, hosted by Beacon Vision at the Beacon Centre in Dudley, explored the business benefits of making products, services, and spaces more accessible. Expert panelists including Lisa Cowley, CEO of Beacon Vision, shared practical tips to help businesses attract and retain customers from disabled households.

Here are some simple ways you can make your business more accessible — and profitable:

Improve your website’s accessibility

Your website is often the first touchpoint for potential customers, so it needs to be easy to navigate for everyone. Simple changes like adding alt text to images (and making that text engaging to tell your brand story) and ensuring your site is compatible with screen readers can make a huge difference. Avoid using PDFs for important documents as these can be hard to access.

Rethink your physical space

If you have a physical location, making small changes to improve accessibility can significantly increase footfall. Provide clear instructions on how to find you, including public transport options and photos of your entrance. If you know a disabled customer is visiting, reserve a parking space for them. Check that your doors are easy to open, and avoid blocking access with outdoor furniture or signage. Using high-contrast colours for seating, signage, and flooring can help visually impaired customers navigate your space more easily.

Train your team

A warm and understanding approach from your staff can make a world of difference. Provide disability awareness training so your team feels confident in welcoming and supporting disabled customers. Encourage them to ask for feedback from disabled customers on how your business can improve accessibility — and act on that feedback where possible.

Be flexible in your communication methods

Not everyone can use a telephone or navigate a website, so provide multiple options for customers to contact you. This could include email, live chat, or video calls. Also, consider using larger font sizes in your email marketing and limiting the use of images so key messages are clear.

Invest in empathy — it’s a competitive advantage

The key takeaway from the How to Harness the Purple Pound event was that empathy creates loyalty. If your business shows genuine care and understanding, customers will keep coming back, and they’ll tell their networks about you, too.

Making your business more accessible doesn’t have to be costly, and the financial rewards can be huge. Not only will you expand your customer base, but you’ll also build a reputation as an inclusive, forward-thinking business. And as the event panelists highlighted, customers appreciate when businesses make an effort, even if it’s not perfect.

For more support on making your business more accessible or to connect with organisations like Beacon Vision, contact Business Growth West Midlands today.

Credits: Huge thanks to the event organisers and panelists for providing their insights: Presented by Lisa Cowley, CEO of the Beacon Centre, with panelists Dee Robert Molloy, Head of People Solutions at Staffordshire County Council, Philip Mills, Director of Finance at Lionheart, and Debbie Fox, Head of People and Governance at Beacon Vision. Delivered as part of the West Midlands Business Festival.

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