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If you want to reach more of the people you’re meant to serve — and convert more of them — without relying on outdated formulas or brute-force tactics, Frictionless Growth Marketing will show you the new rules of modern marketing and growth.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 13, 2025 • 36min
150. Super Bowl VIX: Analyzing ads, decisions, commentary, and implications
The Super Bowl recently happened in the U.S., and there was a lot of chatter leading up to it, during it, and well after it on a number of fronts related to inclusion and inclusive marketing. In this episode, I cover a lot of it, including the NFL changing the phrase in the end zone, the singing of 'Lift Every Voice and Sing' during the pregame, the ads, and much more.Get the Inclusion & Marketing NewsletterRoger Goodell says NFL got it wrongLedisi sings 'Lift Every Voice and Sing' at the Super BowlRoger Goodell reaffirms the NFL's commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion ahead of Super Bowl VIX (first minute)All Ads for Super Bowl VIXStatistics on diversity in Super Bowl VIX adsSuper Bowl ads focused on women's empowerment
Feb 6, 2025 • 15min
149. Inclusive marketing as an organizational standard, not an option
In episode 141 of the podcast, I talked about what is important for you to have to be effective with your inclusive marketing efforts over the long-term. In that episode, I talked about 10 different elements, and in this episode, we’re going to talk more in depth about what is arguably the most important element – leadership declaration.Get the Inclusion & Marketing NewsletterEpisode 141: How to be more effective with inclusive marketing over the long termEpisode 113: How Lysol drives brand growth with inclusive marketing with CMO Gary Osifchin
Jan 30, 2025 • 25min
148. Answer this question to convert more customers
When it comes to attracting new customers – and especially customers from underrepresented and underserved communities, it is important to remember that a looming question in their mind is: “Is this product for people like me?”People like me could be anything — tall people, people who are introverts, people who speak my language, people from my socioeconomic background, people who aren’t tech savvy, people who are left-handed, people who are immigrants, people of a certain religious faith, people with a larger body size, people who are neurodivergent, people who are ex-convicts, people who are single, and the list goes on and on and on.But as a brand – if you want to convert more of these consumers, it is critical that you answer this question for the people who are considering your product as clearly and as quickly as possible.With this critical question in mind – in this episode, I’m going to walk you through 5 ways to focus on answering this question in a way that clearly and quickly communicates to the people you want to serve that they do indeed belong with you.Get the Inclusion & Marketing NewsletterTabitha Brown TTLA testimonialKitKat Iftar bar commercialGoogle Pixel 8 'Javier in Frame' commercialBoots controversial Christmas ad
Jan 23, 2025 • 17min
147. A critical lesson for marketers from the Blake Lively v. Justin Baldoni saga
Over the last week I've been riveted by ongoing developments in the legal feud between actress Blake Lively and actor and director Justin Baldoni, who worked together on the film It Ends With Us.There so much to unpack with the filings, however, there is one point, that is the focus on this episode, that is very relevant to you from an inclusive marketing standpoint as you work to establish it as just the way marketing is done for your brand.Get the Inclusion & Marketing NewsletterBlake Lively lawsuitJustin Baldoni lawsuitEpisode 117: Power dynamics in brand imagery
Jan 16, 2025 • 43min
146. How to use data to increase customer success for all, with Deborah Pickett
A core element of being effective with inclusive marketing and therefore any inclusive marketing strategy — is data.We’ve got to know not just the rates at which your customers overall achieve success, but we’ve also need to know what that data looks like by subgroup.In other words - we need to find out if everyone is achieving success at the same rates.Now I’ve noticed the as I talk to different people and marketers about this, at times the thought of capturing and analyzing data in this manner feels uncomfortable.So I thought it would be helpful to have a dialogue about this with someone who is steeped in data - particularly by subgroup all day every day.After this short break - you’ll hear my conversation with Deborah Pickett — who will be bringing her expertise with data in the education system — and we’ll apply it to what you do in marketing’sThis is not Deborah’s first time on the show —- she stopped by way back in episode #19 - The Critical link between equity and customer success. It was a really great episode if I do say so myself, so if you haven’t listened, I’ll drop a link to it in the show notes so you can check it out.Get the Inclusion & Marketing NewsletterEpisode 19: The critical link between equity and customer success with Deborah Pickett
Jan 9, 2025 • 33min
145. How to implement systems for inclusive marketing, with Kumi Croom
Agencies are an integral partner and part of the marketing process for many brands. But when it comes to incorporating inclusion into the work brands produce, if the agency isn’t an inclusive marketing or multi-cultural marketing agency, infusing inclusion isn’t something that always happens consistently.So that’s why I was excited to sit down with my guest today, Kumi Croom, Managing Director at Duncan Channon, a marketing agency, who’s done a really fantastic job of operationalizing inclusive marketing into the way her agency shows up and delivers for clients.Get the Inclusion and Marketing NewsletterDuncan Channon
Jan 2, 2025 • 35min
144. A chat with Wistia co-founder and CEO about inclusive marketing
In this episode, I had a conversation with Chris Savage, co-founder and CEO of Wistia, a video marketing company, on their Talking Too Loud podcast, all about inclusive marketing.Get the Inclusion & Marketing NewsletterWistia
Dec 27, 2024 • 1h 22min
143. The mistake that made me
On this episode -- I'm bringing you an interview I did with Eman Ismail, on her super cool show Mistakes That Made Me. In it, I talk about my journey to becoming an inclusive marketing strategist, and the mistakes I made as a business owner (for years) that led me to be in this position today. And of course, we get into a real good chat about inclusive marketing in practice -- which you'll find at the beginning of this episode.Get the Inclusion & Marketing NewsletterMistakes That Made Me podcast
Dec 19, 2024 • 32min
142. How to make more people feel seen, with Jasmine Star
Representation matters. I think people know this, and get it intuitively, but for some, it can be hard to do in practice consistently. In this episode -- I'm bringing to you my chat with Jasmine Star on her podcast --- which is all about how we can do a better job of bringing representation to the forefront of our thinking, as we work to make more people feel seen, supported, and like they belong with our brand.Get the Inclusion & Marketing Newsletter
Dec 12, 2024 • 18min
141. How to be effective with inclusive marketing over the long-term
As I've worked with clients of various sizes over the years, one of the things that has become clear is that an organizational transformation is required. You can't do the same thing or slightly different things every now and then and expect to attract and retain a more diverse customer base over the long term.In this episode, I walk you through nine core components of the organizational transformation needed to enable sustained inclusive marketing success—in essence, to help you build an inclusive brand.Get the Inclusion & Marketing Newsletter
