Frictionless Growth Marketing
Sonia Thompson
Friction is the enemy of growth.
And Frictionless Growth Marketing is the show for marketers, business leaders, and founders who want to grow by removing the friction in their customer experience—the kind you may not even realize is pushing people away every single day.
Hosted by Sonia Thompson, Inclusive Growth & Customer Experience Strategist, the show teaches you how to create sustainable growth by designing customer experiences that feel seamless, intuitive, and human—experiences that earn deep trust with today’s identity-rich, values-driven consumers.
Each week, Sonia breaks down what it really takes to grow in today’s market with today’s customer—from evolving traditional tactics so they actually work now, to decoding shifts in customer behavior and expectations, to learning from brand case studies so you can adapt with clarity and confidence.
You’ll learn how to:
Build frictionless customer journeys that convert
Engage identity-rich growth communities with authenticity
Design inclusive, high-performing growth strategies
Elevate brand trust, belonging, and loyalty
Remove the messaging, experience, and operational barriers holding your business back
Plus, you’ll hear candid conversations with marketing leaders and subject-matter experts about how the smartest brands are winning by putting identity, belonging, and experience at the center of their growth engine.
If you want to reach more of the people you’re meant to serve—and convert more of them—without leaning on outdated formulas or brute-force tactics (that quite frankly are less and less effective each day), this show will guide you through the new rules of modern growth.
And Frictionless Growth Marketing is the show for marketers, business leaders, and founders who want to grow by removing the friction in their customer experience—the kind you may not even realize is pushing people away every single day.
Hosted by Sonia Thompson, Inclusive Growth & Customer Experience Strategist, the show teaches you how to create sustainable growth by designing customer experiences that feel seamless, intuitive, and human—experiences that earn deep trust with today’s identity-rich, values-driven consumers.
Each week, Sonia breaks down what it really takes to grow in today’s market with today’s customer—from evolving traditional tactics so they actually work now, to decoding shifts in customer behavior and expectations, to learning from brand case studies so you can adapt with clarity and confidence.
You’ll learn how to:
Build frictionless customer journeys that convert
Engage identity-rich growth communities with authenticity
Design inclusive, high-performing growth strategies
Elevate brand trust, belonging, and loyalty
Remove the messaging, experience, and operational barriers holding your business back
Plus, you’ll hear candid conversations with marketing leaders and subject-matter experts about how the smartest brands are winning by putting identity, belonging, and experience at the center of their growth engine.
If you want to reach more of the people you’re meant to serve—and convert more of them—without leaning on outdated formulas or brute-force tactics (that quite frankly are less and less effective each day), this show will guide you through the new rules of modern growth.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Apr 6, 2022 • 19min
14. Are you taking more than you give?
Today we're going to talk about a common type of toxic relationship between brands and underrepresented communities: Extraction.True inclusive marketing is about sharing power and creating belonging. Belonging cannot exist when one party is constantly extracting value from the other. As we dive deeper into the concept of extraction, I will share examples from today’s business world with the hope that by bringing these harmful practices to light, we can all start to do better.This episode will also cover:
The concept of co-creation and the different forms it can take
Best practices for engaging with communities you want to learn from and the dangers of traditional market research
Lessons learned from a popular Disney film
How to start adding value instead of extracting it, so everyone wins
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Mar 29, 2022 • 40min
13. How representative is your brand, really? A conversation with Gradient
We know that inclusive marketing is the future of marketing. As we move towards this future, more and more cutting-edge tools are becoming available to help brands assess their progress.How inclusive is your brand’s visual communication? In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Raquelle Zuzarte, Founder and CMO of Equity Project for All, and Frederico Salvitti, Tech & AI Specialist. Their AI platform, Gradient, shows brands where they stand on diversity and inclusion through comprehensive data-driven analysis of their visual imagery.Our conversation will cover:
What is the current state of representation and marketing from a diversity and inclusion standpoint?
What are examples of major brands or industries that have been making strides in these categories?
How to build customer intimacy through listening and observation
The importance of authentically and sincerely expressing your brand’s core purpose
How brands can start building stories around people who have traditionally been underrepresented and underserved
How the Implicit Association Test can help you recognize and address your blind spots
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Mar 22, 2022 • 15min
12. We are not the same, so don’t treat us the same
Equality is essential in certain aspects of society. But in some situations, unapologetically treating people differently will help you win the attention, adoration and loyalty of more consumers, especially people that brands often ignore.As a business leader, how can you decide when it's appropriate to treat everyone equally, and when you should treat certain groups of people differently? In this episode, I will go through my 3-step process for identifying these situations, so you can do a better job of consistently making life better for the people you serve while also making them feel like they belong with you and your brand.Get the episode transcript hereGet the Inclusion & Marketing newsletter here
Mar 15, 2022 • 26min
11. The end of the majority and what it means for you with Julye Williams
The Census Bureau projects that by 2043, the US will become a minority-majority. What does this major shift in the makeup of our population mean for your business? In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with my friend Julye Williams, founder of Project 2043, about how business leaders can start leaning into the power of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.Be prepared to do the inner work! The first step is to acknowledge and accept that our world is changing. After reflecting and setting your intentions, you can begin to think about how you can help your business thrive in a diverse society. My conversation with Julye will also cover:
What does it really mean to be a good ally?
The relationship between inclusion and power
How to exercise your power to help level the playing field within your sphere of influence
Advice for small business owners
How to create more equity, balance and opportunity both personally and professionally
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Mar 8, 2022 • 27min
10. How and why to create inclusive buyer personas
The last thing you want to do as a brand is exclude potentially loyal customers. One of the best ways to make sure you aren’t doing that is by creating a Buyer Persona. In this episode, I talk about how creating a Buyer Persona and treating those that fall under that profile as your friends will create a more inclusive brand that consumers keep coming back to.In this episode I go over:
How creating a buyer persona create a roadmap for your company to follow to bring ideal customers closer to your brand
3 ways that having a Buyer Persona will help your brand create content
How excluding people in your buyer persona if done intentionally can actually help your brand
3 ways to tell if your buyer personas are a repellent to potentially loyal customers
4 steps to include your intended customers into your buyer persona
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Mar 1, 2022 • 23min
9. Why differences are profitable with Gelaine Santiago
Who decides what is mainstream?In today’s episode, I talk to Gelaine Santiago about how she rewrote her script and lead her companies by focusing on her story. Gillian began her businesses' branding by following the conventional idea of “mainstream,” but it wasn’t until she ditched that idea that she saw her customer base grow like never before.Gelaine is the CEO of Cambio & Co, a Filipino jewelry company, and Sinta & Co, a Filipino wedding company. Through running those companies she has learned about the power of storytelling, and now helps small businesses and entrepreneurs reach new audiences through the mastery of storytelling.We also talk about:
How to defy the gatekeepers
What mainstream actually is
How brands can authentically represent differences even if their team are not a part of those communities
Connect with Gelaine:
Her website
Her brands Cambio & Co. and Sinta & Co.
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Feb 22, 2022 • 21min
8. The role of culture and values to build an inclusive brand
An inclusive brand means an inclusive culture. In this episode I cover how to approach building a company culture that is healthy, competitive, and most importantly: inclusive.Some of the points that I cover include:
How building a core document (value statement, company statement, or mission statement) codifies company values and culture for your team
Ways that brands weave their core company values into their social media content
3 high level steps to build and nurture a company culture that is healthy and competitive
Lead by example
The importance of starting the work at the top of the company ladder in order to set a tone for the entire company
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Feb 15, 2022 • 13min
7. What happens to people most brands exclude
Brands have power. Your consumer wants to see a reflection of themselves in your marketing. They want to be treated equally, not discriminated against for any pre-existing conditions. In this episode, I share my journey of finding health insurance after quitting my full-time job and going freelance and my struggles of getting affordable coverage due to my pre-existing condition.I also cover examples with Unilever, my husband Jonathan’s experiences, and the ADA.What is the impact on the people who have the problem that your business solves who can’t achieve the process of the transformation you deliver because they can’t access it?Get the episode transcript hereGet the Inclusion & Marketing newsletter
Feb 8, 2022 • 24min
6. How to build an employer brand that attracts and retains a representative team with Desiree Booker
In this week's episode, I interview Desiree about how a company’s brand and DEI (Diversity Equity, and Inclusion) must be considered and developed to create a positive employee experience.Company culture has shifted away from “you’re lucky to have this job,” and instead given a lot more control to the employee. Desiree and I go over what companies need to think about to attract ideal talent and then retain them.We go over:
The importance of investing in the candidate and employee experience
How creating a good company culture can directly impact your employee's ability to deliver their best work and be their best selves
How to balance social proof without doing it in a performative way
Is it important to think about all different levels of employees (full-time, part-time, contractors, etc.)?
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Feb 1, 2022 • 35min
5. Strategies to build a brand that serves a broader group of customers with Tevia Celli
Tevia has been in the fitness business for 18+ years, and in today’s episode, I talk to her about her role in creating a more inclusive space in the fitness world.We cover:What inclusive means in the fitness world, price inclusivity, location inclusivity, and how all of those play a factor in Tevia’s businessTevia’s experience running her own Cycling Studio and how she broke down norms by bringing on a more unique set of instructors than what the industry standard used to beHow CycleBar creates a community bound by inclusivity specifically by working outside of the studio wallsCycleBars work in fundraising for different causes including MS, environmental damaged areas, and riders who are in needGet the episode transcript hereGet the Inclusion & Marketing newsletter
