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If you want to reach more of the people you’re meant to serve — and convert more of them — without relying on outdated formulas or brute-force tactics, Frictionless Growth Marketing will show you the new rules of modern marketing and growth.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
Feb 29, 2024 • 37min
100. Research strategies big brands are using to to deliver better customer experiences with Santronya Smith
More brands are acknowledging the many ways consumers are different, and adjusting their marketing approach accordingly to ensure they make all the people they serve feel like they belong with them.In this episode, I sat down with Santronya Smith, Director of Enterprise Sales at Suzy, a market research company, where we chatted about strategies some of the brands she's worked with have used to do a better job of connecting with and serving consumers from underrepresented and underserved communities.Get the Inclusion & Marketing NewsletterGet the episode transcriptSantronya Smith on LinkedInSuzy
Feb 22, 2024 • 35min
99. How this former CMO used inclusive marketing to rapidly grow eCommerce brands with Bryan Alston
One of my goals this year is to bring you more stories of marketers who've been out in the trenches using inclusive marketing to grow their brands. For this episode, I sat down with Bryan Alston, former CMO of Greater Than, who's also worked on brands such as Magic Spoon and GoClove.com. We chatted a lot about inclusive marketing strategies he's used with these eCommerce companies that helped them achieve a greater degree of growth.Get the Inclusion & Marketing NewsletterGet the episode transcript Brand Castle Growth Partners - Bryan's new company
Feb 15, 2024 • 31min
98. How to be authentic in your marketing (and where brands mess up)
People want authenticity in their food. We need authenticity in our relationships. And we definitely crave authenticity in marketing.Today, we’re going to talk about authenticity in marketing.These days especially, more and more consumers want brands to be authentic. That is one of the things that makes inclusive marketing – and really, most marketing effective. Authenticity.Get the Inclusion & Marketing NewsletterGet the episode transcriptEpisode 97 - Inclusive marketing ethicsShaq Buick commercialJimmy Kimmel - Basketball mean TweetsFresh Prince of Bel Air cheesesteak episodeKendall Jenner Pepsi AdBen & Jerry's bans 2 scoops of same flavor
Feb 8, 2024 • 31min
97. Inclusive marketing ethics
Marketing ethics, or more specifically, the ethics associated with inclusive marketing doesn’t get talked about nearly enough as it should.Of course, I’m a big proponent of brands engaging and serving people from underrepresented and underserved communities. But there are times when I wish brands wouldn’t focus on specific communities, and would just leave them alone.Why? Because in certain instances, brands do more harm than good when engaging with certain underrepresented and underserved communities.In this episode I walk you through 5 inclusive marketing ethical considerations, and the mindset you need to have to ensure you're not causing harm to the communities you want to serve.Get the Inclusion & Marketing Newsletter hereGet the episode transcript hereFind links to everything covered in this episode here
Feb 1, 2024 • 16min
96. How to do representation in marketing the right way
Representation matters. We know this. But all representation isn't created equal. In this episode, I walk you through how to do representation in marketing the right way, infused with insights from consumers.Get the transcript hereGet the Inclusion & Marketing Newsletter2021 State of Representation in Marketing StudyOrange FIFA Women's World Cup adEpisode 51: How To Create Inclusive Content That Makes More People Feel Seen with Natasha PierreEpisode 53: The Inclusive Marketing Framework The Big Brands Use with Jerry DaykinEpisode 45: Factors That Influence Your Customers' Success That You Should Be Aware OfMeryl Evans post on LinkedIn about accurate portrayal of people with disabilities
Jan 25, 2024 • 33min
95. Navigating the effective use of AI for inclusive marketing with Joyann Boyce
Everyone has been talking about artificial intelligence (AI) of late. And as more brands and marketers incorporate AI into their workflow, it is important to understand the implications of how AI impacts the inclusiveness of your marketing efforts.To help us navigate this, I sat down with Joyann Boyce, an inclusive marketing strategist, and founder of Inclued AI.Get the episode transcript hereGet the Inclusion & Marketing NewsletterInclued AIPrevious episode with Joyann - #75: Inclusive marketers react to campaigns from Barbie, Sainsbury's, McDonald's, and moreMarketing Made Inclusive podcast
Jan 18, 2024 • 45min
94. Inclusive product design with Sabrina Meherally
Inclusive marketing is about more than just communications. The foundation of delivering experiences that enables you to attract and retain more consumers, including those from underrepresented and underserved communities, is an inclusive product.The products and services you deliver, need to be designed with the identities you've chosen to serve in mind.In this discussion with inclusive product design expert Sabrina Meherally, founder of Pause & Effect, we walk through the essentials of designing products that make it possible for more people to achieve success.Get the episode transcriptGet the Inclusion & Marketing newsletterPause & EffectSabrina Meherally on LinkedIn
Jan 11, 2024 • 22min
93. The Inclusive Marketing Spectrum with examples for each
There's plenty of articles and other content that showcase inclusive marketing examples. The problem with many of those, is they don't really help you understand the different ways in which a brand can engage in inclusive marketing and the impact those various approaches have on the end consumer.It is important to recognize that not all forms of inclusive marketing are created equal.In this episode, I'll walk you through my Inclusive Marketing Spectrum, and will give you examples of what brands in each category on the spectrum looks like in practice.Get the Inclusion & Marketing NewsletterGet the episode transcript hereLinks to examples mentioned in this episode
Jan 4, 2024 • 20min
92. A blueprint for inclusive marketing success in 2024 and beyond
There's no one right way to do inclusive marketing. However, there are some best practices and core principles that when applied will enable you to achieve success in your efforts, and make a positive impact not only in the lives of those you want to serve, but also on your bottom line. This episode includes 5 approaches for inclusive marketing success in 2024 and beyond.Get the Inclusion & Marketing NewsletterGet the episode transcriptArticles mentioned in the episode:2021 - 4 Inclusive marketing trends that will impact your brand 2022 - Embracing these 5 inclusive marketing principles to win more customers2023 -5 Consumer expectations of brands engaging in inclusive marketing
Dec 28, 2023 • 24min
91. Understanding diversity-owned and diversity-targeted media with Carlos Santiago
There's lots of ways to reach out and find your ideal customer. A common way brands have always used is paid media. And as targeting improves, paid media is often a proven way to reach people from underrepresented and underserved communities.In this episode, Carlos Santiago, co-founder of AIMM, the Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing, and I chat about the benefits for brands of engaging in paid media, and the impact is has on the communities.Get the Inclusion & Marketing NewsletterAIMM Research we chatted aboutSantiago Solutions Group
