Frictionless Growth Marketing
Sonia Thompson | Inclusive Growth & Customer Experience Strategist
Brand growth today depends on removing friction from your marketing and customer experience to attract and retain more of the people you want to serve.
Frictionless Growth Marketing is the podcast for marketers, business leaders, and founders who want to grow by eliminating the messaging, experience, and strategy gaps that quietly push customers away every single day.
Hosted by Sonia Thompson, Inclusive Growth and Customer Experience Strategist, the show breaks down how modern brands drive sustainable growth by designing frictionless customer journeys, building trust with identity-rich growth communities, and adapting to changing consumer expectations with clarity and confidence.
Each week, you’ll hear practical insights, real brand examples, and candid conversations with marketing leaders and subject-matter experts on:
Brand strategy that fuels long-term business growth in the age of modern marketing
Customer acquisition, retention, and loyalty in today’s market
How friction shows up across the customer journey — and how to remove it
Identity-driven marketing, cultural relevance, and belonging
What’s actually working now with today’s values-driven consumers
If you want to reach more of the people you’re meant to serve — and convert more of them — without relying on outdated formulas or brute-force tactics, Frictionless Growth Marketing will show you the new rules of modern marketing and growth.
Because when you remove friction, you remove barriers to growth — for your customers and for your business.
Frictionless Growth Marketing is the podcast for marketers, business leaders, and founders who want to grow by eliminating the messaging, experience, and strategy gaps that quietly push customers away every single day.
Hosted by Sonia Thompson, Inclusive Growth and Customer Experience Strategist, the show breaks down how modern brands drive sustainable growth by designing frictionless customer journeys, building trust with identity-rich growth communities, and adapting to changing consumer expectations with clarity and confidence.
Each week, you’ll hear practical insights, real brand examples, and candid conversations with marketing leaders and subject-matter experts on:
Brand strategy that fuels long-term business growth in the age of modern marketing
Customer acquisition, retention, and loyalty in today’s market
How friction shows up across the customer journey — and how to remove it
Identity-driven marketing, cultural relevance, and belonging
What’s actually working now with today’s values-driven consumers
If you want to reach more of the people you’re meant to serve — and convert more of them — without relying on outdated formulas or brute-force tactics, Frictionless Growth Marketing will show you the new rules of modern marketing and growth.
Because when you remove friction, you remove barriers to growth — for your customers and for your business.
Episodes
Mentioned books
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
Mar 21, 2024 • 33min
103: Why we fumble when talking to people different from us (and how to fix it) with Topsie VandenBosch
Have you ever encountered someone different from you, and then fumbled your way through interacting with them?I know I have, and I included a few of those stories in this episode. From my observations -- it seems like too often, we struggle to build authentic connections with people who are different from us, and I wanted to explore why that was.So I sat down with Topsie VandeBosch, a mindset and emotional intelligence consultant for business leaders, and a licensed psychotherapist.Topsie helped me understand why we behave in this way and gave some super practical tools for how to do better so we can authentically build relationships with people who are different from us -- which is becoming critically important as demographics change in our society.Get the Inclusion & Marketing NewsletterTopsie VandenBosch websiteTopsie VandenBosch LinkedIn
Mar 14, 2024 • 38min
102. How (and why) to get better at talking to your customers with Andi Jarvis
Customer intimacy is one of my five pillars of building an inclusive brand. The most effective way to build customer intimacy is through actually talking to your customers. But a lot of brands don't do this -- and get nervous of even the thought of doing so, especially when it comes to people from underrepresented and underserved communities.So in today's episode we're going to fix that. I sat down with the brilliant Andi Jarvis, the founder and Strategy Director of Eximo Marketing, a marketing strategy consultancy based in the UK and Ireland. Andi also hosts the Strategy Sessions podcast.Get the Inclusion & Marketing NewsletterStrategy Sessions podcastAndi Jarvis on LinkedIn Andi Jarvis on Instagram
Mar 7, 2024 • 40min
101. Multilingual SEO Strategies to reach more consumers with Sarah Moon
Search engines connect interested consumers with willing brands. That's why smart brands optimize focus on SEO to make it easy for these curious customers to find them.But too often, brands forget about customers who have the problem their brand solves when it comes to consumers who speak other languages -- even when they are equipped to serve customers who speak other languages.In this episode I sat down with Sarah Moon, an SEO marketing and business strategy consultant, to cover practical ways you can do multilingual SEO to so you can attract and convert consumers who are looking for what your brand offers.Get the Inclusion & Marketing NewsletterGet the episode transcriptSarah Moon
