4 Ways that DEI Elevates the Customer Experience

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Enhance Your CX Strategy

You may have been hearing about more and more companies launching Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Many organizations have created a DEI committee as a foundation for these initiatives. These committees help establish a welcoming work environment where all employees feel seen and heard.

But the benefits of a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace are not solely enjoyed by your internal teams. These efforts can also have a significant impact on your customer experience (CX) strategy as a whole. But how do DEI and customer experience influence one another?

At Radius Global Solutions, we embrace diversity and welcome employees of all ethnicities, races, ages, abilities, religions, cultures, genders, and sexual orientations. As a result, both our staff and our clients have enjoyed a more positive, welcoming environment. Read on to learn 4 ways that a commitment to DEI can bolster your customer experience strategy.

#1: Creates a Better Understanding of Customers

Chances are, your customers come from a wide variety of backgrounds. Your team can conduct market research all day long, but nothing will help you understand your customer base more than having shared experiences.

DEI initiatives can help your business better empathize with and serve the needs of your diverse customer base. This leads to more personalized service as a whole. Your customers want to feel seen and heard, and your diverse team will be able to provide insights into how to do so more effectively.

Also, a diverse customer experience team can translate into better access to new markets. Not only can you better understand your existing customers, but you can expand your target market to areas that you may not have previously understood how to reach.

A result of this improved understanding is stronger customer relationships. And better stronger relationships = improved retention.

#2: Boosts Customer Trust and Loyalty

Have you ever grimaced at an advertisement that’s completely out of touch? Worse yet, have you ever seen an ad that you found to be personally offensive? Chances are that you would not purchase from a company that clearly lacks awareness when it comes to right and wrong.

And you’re not alone. Research by Harris Interactive revealed that 35% of consumers will not buy products from a business that creates an ad they deem offensive. It matters to people what messages your business is putting out there. Nobody wants to be associated with a brand that has a negative reputation.

With a diverse and inclusive workforce providing input on marketing campaigns, you’ll gain multiple perspectives on your overall message. As a result, you can avoid potentially launching distasteful ads that make members of your audience feel excluded or even mocked.

Additionally, customers today care more about company values and even make purchasing decisions based on them. In fact, a recent Harris Poll study revealed:

82% of shoppers want a brand’s values to align with their own.
Three-quarters of shoppers surveyed have parted ways with a brand over a conflict in values.

“COVID-19 drove people to reflect on their priorities, elevating concepts like community service, equity, and sustainability. Today’s consumer not only wants savings and convenience, but also wants to feel good when a company that aligns with their values gets their money.” – Giusy Bounfantino, VP of Consumer Packaged Goods at Google Cloud

#2: Reduces Language Barriers in Customer Service

Does your business currently only offer customer service in one language? Most companies in the United States solely provide support in English. But this means that you are excluding millions of potential customers. In fact, research shows that 29% of businesses have lost customers as a result of not offering multilingual support.

When customers need to call your business for a question or issue, their experience will immediately be less positive if they cannot get the information they need in their native language. They may even consider placing their business with a company that can offer multilingual support.

However, a more diverse and inclusive workforce can help solve this challenge. A bilingual contact center like Radius Global Solutions offers a variety of advantages for both your business and your customers. Your customers and your employees will enjoy being able to speak their first language to one another, which helps boost retention and customer relationships as a whole.

By hiring bilingual or multilingual individuals, your customers can feel at ease knowing that they can speak their native tongue when they contact your brand. This also allows you to streamline the customer experience when they call. Your customers can press a number that corresponds with the language they prefer. Then, they’ll be transferred to an employee who speaks that language.

#4: Offers Additional Opportunities for CX Innovation

It’s important to remember that DEI is not about being politically correct or avoiding discrimination accusations. It’s about recognizing and valuing the unique experiences that each individual brings to the table. And when your staff feels appreciated and empowered in their workplace, they’re less likely to look for employment elsewhere.

By creating a more diverse and inclusive work environment, your business can tap into a wider range of new insights and perspectives. These unique ideas can then lead to more innovative and effective services for your customer base. Problem-solving and brainstorming will be a quicker and more effective process when your team can offer multiple perspectives from their diverse experiences.

Encouraging each member of your team to share their thoughts can help your organization stay ahead of the curve and provide customers with the best possible experience. Although technology will always be essential for driving innovation, any brand can buy the latest and greatest customer service tech. But nobody can replicate your unique team.

Enhance the Customer Experience Through DEI

At Radius Global Solutions, we specialize in delivering memorable customer experiences for our customers in multiple industries. Our 4,000 employees across 14 global locations come from diverse backgrounds which allows us to offer a variety of unique perspectives to your business.

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