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If you want to reach more of the people you’re meant to serve—and convert more of them—without leaning on outdated formulas or brute-force tactics (that quite frankly are less and less effective each day), this show will guide you through the new rules of modern growth.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
May 30, 2024 • 23min
113. How Lysol drives brand growth with inclusive marketing with CMO Gary Osifchin
Recently, rankings for the Most Culturally Inclusive Brands were announced. The rankings come from the Association for National Advertisers’ (ANA) Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing (AIMM), in partnership with the Cultural Inclusion Accelerator (CIA). For the second year in a row, the Lysol brand has been awarded “Best in Ad Effectiveness” by more than 80,000 consumers with a broad diversity of identities. I wanted to find more about Lysol's approach to inclusive marketing, and how they've gone about becoming so effective in their efforts. So I sat down with Gary Osifchin, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and General Manager at Reckitt U.S. Hygiene, the makers of Lysol. Gary had a TON to share, and there's a lot to learn from he and the team's approach. Get the Inclusion & Marketing NewsletterLysol
May 23, 2024 • 36min
112. How to make your email marketing inclusive with Samar Owais
Most business engage in email marketing to some degree. And because email marketing is such a commonly used tool that reaches a broad diversity of consumers, it is important to understand how to ensure the emails you send are inclusive, and make the people you serve feel like they belong with you, rather than pushing them away from you.So in this episode, I sat down with email conversion strategist Samar Owais, founder of Emails Done Right, to chat through the ins and outs of inclusive email marketing.Get the Inclusion & Marketing NewsletterSamar Owais
May 16, 2024 • 33min
111. How to deliver inclusive brand messaging with Diane Wiredu
Brand messaging is a critical component of the marketing strategy for any brand. And when it comes to ensuring that your brand messaging speaks to all the people you want to serve, including those from underrepresented and underserved communities, it takes intentional effort to ensure your brand messaging will resonate. In today's episode, I sat down with Diane Wiredu, a brand messaging strategist and founder of Lion Words, to talk about how you can ensure you're delivering brand messaging that will clearly show the people you serve that you see them, get them, and that they belong with you.Get the Inclusion & Marketing NewsletterLion Words Diane Wiredu on LinkedIn
May 9, 2024 • 25min
110. Essential Lessons from Nike's WNBA Signature Shoe Controversy
It's reported that Nike will be signing a signature shoe deal with Caitlin Clark. While excitement for, viewership, and support of women's sports, including the WNBA are on the rise, there are some major disparities happening from a representation standpoint.Nike's shoe deal with Caitlin Clark amplifies the problem. In this episode, I walk you through what's happening, dive deeper into the root cause of the issue, and cover how all of this impacts your brand.Get the Inclusion & Marketing NewsletterLinkedIn post that inspired this episode Episode 45: Factors that influence your customers's success that you should be aware of
May 2, 2024 • 36min
109. Cultural intelligence for marketers with Dr. Anastasia Kārkliņa Gabriel
Cultural intelligence is essential for any brand that wants to be effective with their inclusive marketing efforts. It is the foundation for helping you engage in an authentic way to make people from underrepresented and underserved communities feel seen and like they belong with you.In this episode, I sat down with an expert who actually wrote a book on cultural intelligence for marketers -- to talk about that very topic.Dr. Anastasia Kārkliņa Gabriel is a cultural theorist, writer, social critic, and strategist specializing in inclusivity within marketing, media, and tech. She's currently a senior insights lead at Reddit, and has consulted for brands inclusing Nike, Samsung, Disney, Ulta Beauty, and Amex.Get the Inclusion & Marketing NewsletterDr. Anastasia Gabriel on LinkedInCultural Intelligence for Marketers book
Apr 25, 2024 • 36min
108. A framework for inclusive communications with Dr. Suzanne Wertheim
Communication is a core part of marketing. And yet it feels like so many brands struggle with communicating in a manner that is both inclusive and authentic. As a result, a lot of times brands struggle with communicating in a manner that doesn't turn people off or push people away that they would prefer to draw closer.In today's episode, I sat down with Dr. Suzanne Wertheim, a linguist, inclusive language expert, and author of The Inclusive Language Field Guide. During our chat, we cover a framework for using inclusive language that gives you the confidence you need to design your communications in a way that makes more people feel like they belong with you.Get the Inclusion & Marketing NewsletterThe Inclusive Language Field GuideDr. Suzanne WertheimEpisode 15: Getting started with inclusive language with Nailah King
Apr 18, 2024 • 31min
107. How changes to the 2030 U.S. Census impacts your brand today
Major changes are coming to the 2030 Census in the U.S. And even though we're a few years away from those changes taking effect, the implications for brands start now. In this episode, I walk you through the changes the U.S. government recently announced for the Census, why the changes were made, and how they impact your brand.Get the Inclusion & Marketing NewsletterU.S. Census Changes Just ApprovedSample 2030 U.S. Census QuestionnaireSuzanne WertheimSightsSet Consulting - Renita Bryant
Apr 11, 2024 • 29min
106. How Zumba built a global customer base in more than 180 countries
Inclusive marketing really is just doing marketing well. Even though we aren't there now, eventually, we'll get to a place where won't even need to call inclusive marketing inclusive marketing anymore -- it'll just be the way we do marketing.The good news -- we're not too far away from that being our reality. That's because that's the way some brands are already operating today. Zumba is one of those brands that has that approach.In today's episode, I sat down with Zumba's Chief Marketing Officer, Carolina Moreas, who gave a ton of insight into the way the brand operates, that has enabled them to build a global and fiercely loyal customer base in more than 180 countries.Get the Inclusion & Marketing NewsletterZumba
Apr 4, 2024 • 28min
105. How The Home Depot became "The Most Culturally Inclusive Brand"
The Home Depot was recently named "The Most Culturally Inclusive Brand" by the ANA’s Alliance for Inclusive & Multicultural Marketing (AIMM).I thought it would be great for you to learn about their approach to inclusive marketing, so I sat down with Chante LaGon, Sr. Manager of Multi-Cultural Marketing at The Home Depot to get insight into how they think about and execute inclusive marketing.There's lots to learn from this chat. Pull out your pen and dig in.Get the Inclusion & Marketing NewsletterThe Home Depot
Mar 28, 2024 • 26min
104. How smart brands use an inclusive marketing consultant to spark growth
Inclusive marketing is a fairly new discipline. As a result, inclusive marketing consultants and strategists are newer areas of expertise for talent.Whenever I introduce myself and explain that I'm an inclusive marketing consultant, coach, and strategist, I always find that I need to explain what that means. That includes sharing the ways I support clients for people to get it. An inclusive marketing consultant isn't like a copywriter, sales person, or even market researcher where people tend to understand right away more or less what you do.Thankfully, more brands are focusing on building inclusive brands that attract and retain a bigger and more diverse customer base. As such, I thought it would be helpful to understand how an inclusive marketing consultant can support you in your efforts. This is especially relevant if inclusive marketing isn't firmly rooted into the DNA of the way your brand operates.Get the episode transcriptGet the Inclusion & Marketing NewsletterBook a call with Sonia
