Crafting the Customer Experience For People Not Like You: How to Delight and Engage the Customers Your Competitors Don't Understand

THOSE WITH DISABILITIES

It’s said that one in four people suffer from mental illness. And millions of people have physical disabilities. Some disabilities are obvious, and some are not. A customer’s disability may prevent him or her from doing business with you. But sometimes you can make small, low-cost, or even no-cost tweaks to your product or service to make it user-friendly for those with disabilities. Let me give you an example.

The Segway, a two-wheeled self-balancing battery-powered electric vehicle, is a wonderful way for amputees to get around and be mobile. It’s fast and nimble. And although anyone can use a Segway, it’s a product that makes sense for those without legs. Consequently, it’s a popular item for veterans who have lost a leg (or both) through their military service. I was moved by an article I read recently about a man who is a double amputee and had a custom seat made for his Segway that fits his unique needs. But in order to transport the Segway, he requires assistance from others. He needed help loading and unloading the Segway into a vehicle. Most of us like to be able to do things ourselves, without having to depend on others. So although having a Segway afforded this man a great deal of mobility, he still needed others to assist him in using it. Enter the SegVator: a specially created vehicle designed to transport Segways that even recharges the Segway when it is being driven.

Two things in this article impressed me greatly: First, the SegVator was ...