Accessibility

Business Consultancy project
Accessibility
Presented by Aya HAMED
Executive MBA
19/05/2016

Consultant presentation
• 2007: Graduation as an Electrical Engineer, National
School of engineering in Tunis, Tunisia
• 2008-2010: Quality Engineer in Automotive industry,
multinational company, operating in Tunis, Tunisia.
• 2011-2014: Production Manager in Food industry, Small
size French company, operating in Tunis, Tunisia
• 2015-2016: Full-time Executive MBA student at Leeds
Beckett University

Contents
Background
iCare project
Aim and objectives
Methodology
Key findings
Recommendations

Background iCare project Aim and
objectives
Methodology Key findings Recommendations
Background • “To remain competitive in the
workforce, the National
Federation of the Blind
believes that blind people must
have equal access to the same
products and services as the
sighted. Smartphone
technology is increasingly
critical to full participation in
modern life.”
Dr. Marc Maurer,
President of the National
Federation of the Blind (NFB).

• the UK is claimed to be a “smartphone society”
(Ofcom, 2015).
• This figure is not equally represented among the UK
society, and some groups are more likely to be left
behind the growing trend (Ofcom, 2015).
Non-
disabled
All disabled Visually
impaired
Multiple
impairment
Any mobile 89% 85% 83% 82%
Smartphone 66% 41% 48% 29%
Tablet 42% 30% 33% 23%
• This exclusion affects not only the well-being of
these groups but also the economy (DAA, NA).
• The low rate of the people with disabilities
using high-tech technologies such as
smartphones and tablets can even accentuate
their exclusion, especially, due to the
importance of technology in the daily life and in
the work place.
Background
objectives

‘iCare’ project
• The ‘iCare’ project was founded in April 2014, when
Mark Skelton, a Talk Direct employee lost his sight
“Instead of sacking me they decided to create
a completely new role for me and put me in charge of a
project called ‘iCare’ ”
(Mark Skelton, interview with SRSB, 2014)
objectives
The main actors in the project ‘iCare’ are Mark Skelton,
the ambassador of the project, Linda Jones, Talk Direct’s
sales operations director and the Gurus in the different
Talk Direct O2 shops.

Aim and vision of the iCare project
• Aim of the project: to help visually impaired people use smartphones and tablets by
offering them the needed training, in the perspective of helping them gain more
independence, catch up with the technological advances , and improve their daily lives.
objectives

Aim and objectives of the consultancy project
Aim: A marketing communication plan for the project ‘iCare’
Objective 1: Evaluation of the current marketing strategy of the project iCare.
Objective 2: Competition offerings for visually impaired people
Objective 3: Benefits + barriers of the smartphones/tablets' use for visually impaired people.
Objective 4: How demographics affect the use of these devices by visually impaired people.
Objective 5: How the severity of the visual impairment +presence of other disabilities affect the
use of these devices.
Objective 6: Recommendations for a communication plan for the project ‘iCare’.
objectives

Journey of the CP and key dates
objectives

Methodology
Findings
Question-
naires
(primary
data)
Interviews
(Primary
data)
Secondary
data
Secondary data analysed:
- Statistics from RNIB reports
- Governmental websites for the analysis of the macro-
environment
- Websites and social media of the societies and charities
(RNIB, Action for Blind, SRSB…)
- Websites regarding the accessibility options and accessible
apps in different operating systems: iOS, Android.
- Talk Direct website
- Social media used for the iCare project: Twitter, Blogs,
YouTube channel
- Data concerning number of visits on the digital marketing.
- The use of traditional marketing (flyers, CDs…)
objectives

Interviews
objectives
Smartphone/
tablet use
Participants Age Severity of the
sight loss
Employment status Main points evoked
Smartphone
and tablet
user
Janet 55 Severely sight
impaired
unemployed - Impact of the sight impairment on the daily
life
- Benefits of the use of the devices
- Difficulties in using the devices
- Expectations from the mobile provider
- Barriers to the use of the devices
Claire 65 Severely sight
impaired
unemployed
James 38 sight impaired Full time working
with visually
impaired people
Not a
Smartphone
or tablet
user
Helen 84 Sight impaired retired -Impact of the sight impairment on the daily
life
- Barriers to the use of the devices
- Feedback after the demonstration of the
accessibility options
Elisabeth 90 Severely sight
impaired
Retired and
volunteering

Questionnaires: Sample description
61%
39%
Distribution of the participants according
to gender
Female
Male
18-24 25-44 45-64 65-74 75 and over
Total 1 5 16 10 12
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
Distribution of the participants according to age
groups
objectives
Total number of
participants = 44

objectives
5%
61%
5%
2%
27%
Distribution of the working status of the
participants
Full-time employed
Retired
Self-employed
Student and part-time
employed
Unemployed
9%
17%
4%
9%52%
9%
Distribution of the average annual income of the
participants
£10,001 and up to £20,000
£20,001 and up to £30,000
£30,001 and up to £40,000
£40,001 and above
I don't know
Up to £10,000

objectives
66%
34%
Distribution of the participants according to the
severity of the sight impairment
Severely sight impaired
Sight impaired
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
Since birth 10 years and more (but
not since birth)
5-10 years 1-5 years Less than one year
Distribution of the participants according to the
duration of the sight impairment

• Top 3 of the additional disabilities
among the participants:
1- Hearing impairment
2- Epilepsy
3- Heart diseases
59%
41%
Distribution of the presence of other
disabilities among the participants
No
Yes
objectives

Questionnaires: smartphones/tablet use
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
A Basic handset A smartphone A specialized phone None
Different kind of mobile phone used by the
participants
45%
55%
Tablet's use among the participants
Yes
No
objectives

objectives

SWOT “analysis” of the project ‘iCare’
Strengths
• High engagement from the main actors in the project
• Training of the Gurus on accessibility
• Real-time use of twitter about the project
• Use of Twitter for business to business marketing.
• Public Relations
• Work on behaviour changing
Weaknesses
• The YouTube channel + the videos
• Absence of link between webpage of the project and its
social media
• Absence of an accessibility statement in the website
• Low number of followers, re-tweets
• The accessibility of the website
• Weak usage of traditional marketing
Opportunities
• an inclusion program for people with disabilities by UK gov.
• The benefits of the use of high-tech products.
• The technological advances for accessibility of smartphones
• the apps are increasingly revolutionary for the people with
visual impairment.
• Weak competition in doing an upstream work with visually
impaired people
Threats
• Low average income of the visually impaired people.
• Smartphones and tablets might be considered as devices
which increase isolation, and discourage visually impaired
people from having a social life.
• Competition
objectives


objectives

Competitors analysis
Virgin
Have a dedicated accessibility webpage
on the website
partnership with the charity Scope to
help people with disabilities.
Sponsoring disabled people when doing
competitions
Accessibility e-learning module
completed by a large span of their
employees
working with the Digital Accessibility
Centre (DAC) in order to make their
website more accessible.
launching a program of basic digital
skills, started in Glasgow
offering Large Print, Audio or Braille
Documents for the people with visual
impairment
Vodafone
on the website + linked to the YouTube
channel
Vodafone foundation, which is operating
internationally, and among others, it is
promoting accessibility.
There are several videos on YouTube
about accessibility.
impairment
EE
on the website
Priority Fault Repair service for disabled
customers.
Tailored disabilities service
impairment
Three
on the website
Accessibility webchat
accessibility team offering help to
disabled customers
impairment
objectives
Talk Direct do the same
Talk Direct have something similar
Talk Direct don’t do it



objectives

Barriers to the use of smart devices (from interviews)
1. The lack of confidence and intimidation due to visual impairment
“ it can be very intimidating to go to a shop and ask for help“
2. Being unfamiliar with technology before sight loss
“People who never really touched technology, it is more intimidation of the idea that they
are not used to”
3. Some people think that they don’t need a smartphone or a tablet
“my friends are dying I am afraid and I don’t have so many people to talk to”.
4. Family or sighted friends influence
“when I go to the shops where I shop, they order a taxi for me when I finish shopping…”
5. Fear of technology
“Getting people to try it in the first place, that’s the biggest barrier”.
objectives

objectives
4
8
10
6
2
5
9
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Total
Reasons behind not using any smartphone/tablet
Cost
Lack of skills
Sight impairment
I don't need it/them
Not comfortable with technology
Lack of awareness of the
possibility of using these devices
Other
Barriers to the use of smart devices (from questionnaires)

• Among the other reasons evoked:
 Influence of age and the problem of memory
"I can easily forget how to use it“
hearing impairment
“absence of amplification”
Influence of family
"My son has no patience to teach me" "he also told me
if I can't use a simple mobile phone, I can't use a
smartphone“
objectives
100% of the participants
who don’t have a
smartphone/tablet,
never had them before.
Barriers to the use of smart devices (from questionnaires)

1- Increased independence
“It does all sort of things I can’t do without such an assistance”
“that’s brilliant! It sounds like you have your sight back!”
2- Accessibility options
“I am learning because they talk to me and tells me what to do, it is good”
“texting somebody with Siri, it is the quickest and easiest way to do it”.
3- Different apps
“it reads on my post to me, it reads my goods, my packaging, it has got my food on it, it reads
instructions about to make things, and I have a GPS apps which directs me from a place to
another”
4- Communication with family and friends
“I know with the smartphones…you can register the numbers in the phone, so that you just
press a button… that would be great”.
5- Entertainment
“I have a lot of games on my phone, it is just fun to do what people who can see can do”.
objectives
Benefits of the use of the smart devices (from interviews)

objectives
Benefits of the use of the smart devices (from questionnaires)
11
15 15
13
6
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
Total
Benefits of using a smartphone/tablet according to the
participants
Ability to adapt the settings to the specific eye
condition
Applications included
Communications with family and friends
Increased independence
Others




objectives

Influence of demographic factors
objectives
1
5
11
3 3
5
7
9
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
18-24 25-44 45-64 65-74 75 and over
Smartphone/tablet user according to age groups
No
Yes
14 13
7 10
Not smartphone/tablet user Smartphone/tablet user
Distribution of smartphone/tablet use per
gender
Male
Female

objectives
2 2
4
1
2
12
4 4
2
1
2
8
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Up to
£10,000
£10,001
and up to
£20,000
£20,001
and up to
£30,000
£30,001
and up to
£40,000
£40,001
and
above
I don't
know
Smartphone/tablet use per annual income
Yes
No
1
2 2
8
10
19
2
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
Student and
part-time
employed
Full-time
employed
Self-employed Retired Unemployed
Smartphone/tablet users according to working
status
Yes
No
Influence of demographic factors

Relation between the use of smartphones, tablets and computers
objectives
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
Tablet owner Not tablet owner
Relation between Smartphone ownership and
tabet ownership
A smartphone
A Basic handset
A specialized
phone
None 4
3
13
6
3
9
6
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Owner of a computer Not owner of a
computer
Distribution of the mobile phones used per
ownership of a computer/laptop
A Basic handset
A smartphone
A specialized phone
None

objectives
Influence of demographic factors (summary)
• Age groups can be considered as the only demographic factor influencing the
adoption of smartphones and/or tablets
• The under-representation of the visually impaired people who are working made
drawing any conclusion for the influence of the working status on the adoption of
smartphones and tablets, quite difficult.
• The reticence of the participants on revealing their average annual household income
is a barrier to draw a conclusion regarding the correlation between this factor and
the use of the smart devices.





objectives

Influence of the severity and duration of the sight impairment
objectives
16
7
13
8
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
Severely sight impaired Sight impaired
Distribution of Smartphone/tablet use according to the
severity of the sight impairment
Yes
No
8 8
2
5
3
11
2
3
2
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Since birth 10 years and more
(but not since
birth)
5-10 years 1-5 years Less than one year
Smartphone/tablet use according to the duration of
the sight impairment
Yes
No
• It is quite tricky to draw any conclusion regarding the influence of the duration of the sight
impairment as a factor for the adoption of smartphones and tablets, because of the small
size of the sample, especially for those who lost their sight since, at most 10 years.
• Nevertheless, it can be mentioned that people who are born with sight impairment and
those who are severely sight impaired are more using these devices

Influence of the presence of other disabilities
objectives
 there is no significant difference
between the 2 groups.
Nevertheless, the sample of Visually
impaired people with disabilities is
quite small, and didn’t cover a large
range of disabilities, such as learning
disabilities, or physical disabilities.
12
9
14
9
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
No additional disabilities Having additional disabilities
Smartphone/tablet use according to the presence of
other disabilities
Not smartphone user
Smartphone/tablet user

Expectations from
mobile provider
Marketing channels
objectives

Expectations from mobile provider (interviews)
1-Priority
“This is costing me money... you know I have got to pay someone to bring me here”
2-Knowledge about accessibility features
“It is important that they have some knowledge…about what voiceover does”
3-Increased awareness about visually impaired people
“Learning proper guiding techniques to guide someone to a sit, reading what on a
paper sheet, to make sure they known what exactly they are doing before they sign”
4-Getting help as any other customer
“I am a customer and I deserve to be helped”.
objectives

Rate of satisfaction with mobile provider (questionnaires)
objectives
3
1
6
1
2 2 22
4
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
EE Giff Gaff O2 Talk Talk Three Virgin Vodafone
Mobile provider and rate of satisfaction
Yes
No

Evaluation of Talk Direct (questionnaires)
Customers satisfied Customers not satisfied
“staff is helpful, but they tend to do things
without explaining what they did when I got
for assistance”
"the staff is helpful"
"they let me know about the change in tariff"
"they provide me with Braille bills"
"the stuff is trained on how to behave with
visually impaired people"
"the services is not the same in all stores",
"they don't have good knowledge about
accessibility, I probably know more than they
do"
“they are unaware of the apps and services I
require"
objectives

Marketing channels (questionnaires)
objectives
5
6
9
8
2
1
2
3
7
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Sight impaired Severely sight impaired
How the participant learnt about the feasibility of using a smartphone/tablet
Friends or family
Society for visually impaired
Event for visually impaired
Leeds city council
Media
Other

objectives
14
16
13
5 5
14
28
20
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Total
Communication channels used by the participants
Radio
Friends or family
Internet
Leeds city council
Social media
Events for sight impaired people
Societies for sight impaired people
Others
Among the other reasons evoked, the audio magazines, from RNIB was a recurrent answer
from the participants, other audio magazine from other societies such as Macular society.
Marketing channels (questionnaires)






objectives

Behavioural Segmentation
Group 1: « the experts »
• They already have smartphones, tablets, computers
• They are using them since more than 2 years
• They are using internet
• They have good knowledge about accessibility options
• They know about apps
• They are aware of the benefits of these devices
• They are more likely to advise other visually impaired people to
adopt them
Group 2: « the novices »
• They have smartphone/tablets
• They are more likely to have them since less than 2 years
• They have limited use of their devices
• They are more likely to need assistance with their devices
• They might not know about apps
Group 3: « the un-informed »
• They don’t have these devices
• They often don’t know about accessibility options
• They might think that their visual impairment is a barrier to use
these devices
• They might not have the skills to use these devices
• They are more likely to be open to change
Group 4: « the laggards»
• They don’t have these devices
• They might have very limited knowledge about the internet
• They might think that they don’t need them or they don’t
like them
• They might just need a mobile phone for emergencies
• They are more likely to be in the group age of 75+
objectives

Target Audience
Group n° Why to target the group? Best marketing
communication mix
Group 1:
“the experts”
-This group of visually impaired people is more likely to
promote the benefits of smart devices.
-They often have the label of ‘geek people’ and other might
approach them to ask for advice
- Converting them into O2 customer and knowing about
‘iCare’ project can help spread the word of mouth
marketing.
- Sales promotion
- Digital marketing
- Public Relations
Group 2:
“The novices”
- This group needs more assistance to learn more about
their devices; when being informed about the project ‘iCare’,
and the help it can provide, they can be convinced to
become O2 customers.
- Traditional marketing
- Public Relations
- Word of Mouth
- Events and experiences
Group 3:
“the un-
informed”
This group need to pick awareness on the possibility to use
the devices. The iCare project can bring these information to
the societies they are used to go or to the events for visually
impaired people…
- Events and experiences
- Personal selling
- Advertising
objectives

Recommendations on Digital marketing
objectives
Recommendation 1 • Improve the accessibility of the website.
Recommendation 2
• Link the webpage of the project ‘iCare’, the twitter
account, the official blog of Mark and the YouTube
channel.
Recommendation 3
• Use of the promotion link from twitter to increase the
number of followers of Mark Skelton’s account.

Recommendation 4
• Create a Facebook page for the ‘iCare’ project, since Facebook is the most popular social
media used.
Recommendation 5 • Improve the YouTube channel of Mark Skelton.
Recommendation 6
• Increase the blog activity blog of Mark. Blogging frequency to be increased to one blog per
week (at least).
objectives
Recommendations on Digital marketing

Recommendations on traditional marketing
objectives
Recommendation 7
•Multiply the means of traditional marketing :
•Audio CD
•Flyers in accessible format, such as Braille and large prints.
•More presence in local Radios, in Yorkshire.
•More presence in local newspapers, in Yorkshire.
Recommendation 8
•Promote the project ‘iCare’ in the Audio magazine from RNIB “connect
magazine” which is a monthly magazine
Recommendation 9
•Keep up with PR activities and diversify them.
•Example: Launching a competition with universities for designing apps
that can be useful for visually impaired people, and creation of a panel to
select the best one, which will be awarded

Other recommendations
objectives
Recommendation 10
•Promote via visually impaired celebrities, by doing a video where the
celebrity can talk about how he/she is using her devices and how useful
they are for her daily life.
Recommendation 11
•Tailor few of the advantages for the visually impaired people might interest
them in the context of O2 priority
Recommendation 12
•include the accessibility training for the gurus in the induction period, as
well as make them fully aware of the project ‘iCare’ before they take their
positions.
Recommendation 13
•Develop an e-learning module about accessibility features in the
smartphones/tablets to be done by all the store employees.
Recommendation 14
•Produce short videos about “success stories” with some of the O2
customers who are expert in using their devices, and share them in social
media

Long term recommendations
objectives
Recommendation 15
• Generalise the ‘iCare’ project to help people with other kind of
disabilities.
Recommendation 16 • Spread the project nationally in all parts of the UK
Recommendation 17 • Increase presence in national media.
Recommendation 18 • Switch the project into a national foundation.






objectives


References
• Ofcom. 2015. The Communications Market Report: United Kingdom. [ONLINE] Available at: http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/market-data-research/market-
data/communications-market-reports/cmr15/uk/ . [Accessed 3 April 2016].
• DAA. 1800. Inclusion. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.daa.org.uk/?page=left-inclusionc . [Accessed 3 April 2016].
• Gov.uk. 2014. family Resources survey UK 2012-2013. [ONLINE] Available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/325491/family-resources-survey-statistics-2012-2013.pdf . [Accessed 3 April 2016].
• RNIB. 2013. Sigh Loss UK. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.rnib.org.uk/sites/default/files/Sight_loss_UK_2013.pdf . [Accessed 20 April 2016].
• Communications consumer panel. 2015. We’re Not All the Same! Older and Disabled People’s Experiences of Contacting Communications Providers. [ONLINE] Available
at: http://www.communicationsconsumerpanel.org.uk/downloads/were-not-all-the-same---final-report-171215.pdf . [Accessed 19 April 2016].
• AT&T. 2011. AT&T introduces Mobile Accessibility Lite App for blind people. [ONLINE] Available at: http://globalaccessibilitynews.com/2011/10/07/att-introduces-
mobile-accessibility-lite-app-for-blind-people/ . [Accessed 3 April 2016].
• Talk Direct. (2015). our products. [Online]. Available from http://www.talk-direct.com/ Last accessed 28/12/2015.
• SRSB. 2014. Mark Skelton. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.srsb.org.uk/Mark-Skelton/ . [Accessed 3 May 2016].
• Ofcom. (2014). Latest customer service satisfaction levels revealed. Available: http://consumers.ofcom.org.uk/news/customer-service-satisfaction-levels-2014/ . Last
accessed 01/05/2016.
• Vodafone UK. (NA). Accessibility – access for all. Available: http://www.vodafone.co.uk/accessibility-services/index.htm. Last accessed 01/05/2016.
• EE . (NA). 4GEE PHONES FOR THE BLIND OR VISUALLY IMPAIRED. Available: http://ee.co.uk/help/getting-started/accessibility-with-ee/phones-for-the-blind-or-visually-
impaired. Last accessed 01/05/2016.
• Virgin Media. (NA). Helping everyone enjoy the internet. Available: https://my.virginmedia.com/customer-news/articles/helping-everyone-enjoy-the-internet.html. Last
accessed 01/05/2016.
• Three. (NA). Accessibility.. Available: http://www.three.co.uk/Privacy_Cookies/Accessibility . Last accessed 01/05/2016.
• Kotler, P. and Amstrong, G. (2005).Principles of Marketing. 11th edition. Pearson. London
• White, P. (NA). In Touch. Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qxww . Last accessed 01/05/2016.

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