NBDC Commissions 2nd National Public Opinion Survey on Disability

    NEW YORK, NY, October 27, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The Marketing Anthropology Project (MAP), a program of the National Business & Disability Council (NBDC) at The Viscardi Center, today announced that it commissioned Cygnal to conduct a national survey in mid-September about consumer attitudes on disability. The survey, which was conducted to celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month, interviewed consumers whose buying decisions were mostly likely to be influenced by a business' practices toward individuals with disabilities.

"When consumers with disabilities view television programs, movies, online content, or even observe the onslaught of product promotions, there is one thing that is often missing: people like them," summarized Brandon M. Macsata, NBDC General Consultant. "Increasingly though, there is more attention paid to the lack of disability diversity in advertising, marketing, and employment - especially since it represents the fastest growing consumer market in the world."

MAP is the first-of-its-kind in the disability market, offering a platform for businesses to understand better the pockets of the global disability culture that influence consumer attitudes. The results of the survey will be presented on Monday, December 5th in New York City during a MAP/NBDC Business Roundtable.

SOME KEY FINDINGS:

- 73% of consumers will purchase goods and/or services from a business if they knew the business employs individuals with disabilities.
- 66% of consumers will purchase goods and/or services from a business that features individuals with disabilities in their advertising.
- 78% of consumers will purchase goods and/or services from a business that takes steps to ensure easy access for individuals with disabilities at their physical locations.
- 70% of consumers will purchase goods and/or services from a business that takes steps to ensure easy access for individuals with disabilities on their website, kiosk, or mobile app.
- 65% of consumers are less likely to purchase goods and/or services from a business that has been fined by the federal or state government because they discriminated against individuals with disabilities.
- About 47% of consumers believe that organizations should accommodate individuals with special needs by request, with respect to a business' approach to consumers with disabilities.
- Most consumers (62%) believe that businesses didn't do enough to market to consumers with disabilities.

Said Cory Brown, Cygnal's Vice-President for Data & Strategy: "What the findings show is that US consumers are highly sensitive to the way businesses treat individuals with disabilities. When deciding how to shop, Americans overwhelmingly take into account how businesses treat their disabled employees; how they feature them in advertising; and how they provide access to their stores or online experiences. Interestingly enough, this seems to stems from a majority of people reporting that they experience some sort of impairment or disability themselves."

The telephone survey was conducted September 12-17, 2016 among 866 U.S. consumers, with a margin of error of +/- 3.33%. Cygnal, using live operator phone technology, conducted all interviews. Landline interviews constituted 77% of the calls, while 23% were conducted by cell phone.

To learn more about NBDC, visit http://www.nbdc.com. To learn more about Cygnal, please visit http://www.cygn.al.

For more information about the national survey or NBDC corporate partnership opportunities, contact Brandon M. Macsata by phone at 516.465.1596 or email at [email protected].

About the National Business & Disability Council (NBDC) at The Viscardi Center: NBDC is an employer organization and comprehensive resource for disability best practices. Through its tiered model, NBDC offers its corporate partners information, research, consultations, workshops and trainings, publications and benchmarking strategies on how to create, implement, grow and measure first-rate disability programs.

Founded by Dr. Henry Viscardi, Jr., who served as disability advisor to eight U.S. presidents and became one of the world's leading advocates, The Viscardi Center provides Pre-K through High School education, school-to-work transition services, vocational training, career counseling and placement, assistive technology and workforce diversification assistance to children, adolescents, and adults with disabilities and businesses. A global leader, it employs more than 300 professionals, including experts in education, human resources and technology. Learn more at viscardicenter.org.

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