Increase Market Share

Accessible sites are generally more usable to everyone – including people with disabilities, older people, people with low literacy, people who are not fluent in the language of the site, people with low bandwidth connections to the internet, people with older technologies, and new and infrequent web users – thus increasing the market segments and number of people who can successfully use the site. Increased usability means users achieve their goals more effectively, efficiently, and satisfactorily. When users have a positive experience they are more likely to use the site or application more thoroughly, return more often, and share their experience with others.

Worldwide, 750 million people have a disability and three out of every 10 families are touched by a disability. In the United States alone, the estimated 62 million disabled persons – 10.2 million who are blind – have a purchasing power of 175 billion dollars. Of the 62 million Americans with a disability, four in ten are online.

According to the article, “How the Internet Is Improving the Lives of Americans with Disabilities,” these users spend more time logged on and surfing the internet than non-disabled users. On average, they spend 20 hours per week online. This population is a significant and growing market, says the National Organization on Disability – and they are turning to the internet to shop.

An accessible site can be an opening to a greater market share which includes those in the broader disabilities community. Organizations should also factor in people who use older devices, have slower internet connections, as mobile devices. All of these user segments can benefit from web pages with image alternatives, structural markup, proper linearization, and so on. Improving the accessibility and usability of sites will enhance the user experience for all users and improve customer acquisition, satisfaction, and loyalty.

Access and Grow Public Sector Revenues

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, requires that Federal agencies’ Electronic and Information Technology (‘EIT’) be accessible by people with disabilities. Section 508 requires that an agency procure the most Section 508 compliant product currently available on the market. Accessibility is therefore a critical differentiator for many companies selling to the public sector.

Some years ago, Kofax, the world’s largest information capture vendor, and Quality Associates Inc. (‘QAI’), a Kofax Certified Solutions Provider, announced that the Social Security Administration (‘SSA’) awarded a five-year blanket purchase agreement to Kofax in the amount of $20.9 million. QAI worked with SSB BART Group (Level Access’s old name!) and subsequently beat out four or five other solution providers that were bidding on the project. A primary factor in Kofax winning this business was the fact that the company’s platform was customized to make it the most Section 508-compliant solution currently available in the information capture market.

Similarly, Fujitsu Corporation contracted with us to bring a high level of Section 508 compliance to their public sector offerings. This partnership helped Fujitsu obtain a $41 million public sector contract that had previously been awarded to Kodak.

Access the Global Public Sector

It’s not just the United States! Extensive accessibility legislation is present in many nations and markets today including the European Union, Canada, Australia, and Japan. The relevant portions of accessibility legislation require that best efforts be made in order to ensure that physical and electronic business areas can be used by individuals with disabilities.

Organizations that don’t plan for digital accessibility can find themselves shut out of some markets until they are able to share proper documentation or accessibility roadmaps.

Drive Innovation

By embracing accessibility and inclusive design practices, many organizations are able to reach new innovations as a valuable byproduct. Often times, teams find that by designing with a more diverse group of people in mind they can get better overall creations and new ideas that apply to all users.

Microsoft has found success in recent years thanks to an increased focus on accessibility and has integrated this into their marketing as well (“The Power Of Purpose: How Microsoft Unlocked Inclusivity To Drive Growth And Innovation”). Google has also sought to make an impact on accessibility and found new innovations and ideas because “…the accessibility problems of today are the mainstream breakthroughs of tomorrow.” There are many everyday examples: capabilities like screen magnification, captions, and voice control are in regular use by the general public without people thinking of them as purely ‘accessibility features’.