Remove the friction quietly costing you conversions, customer loyalty, and brand reputation.
Most brands don’t realize where or how friction shows up in their customer experience – until it’s already negatively impacting sales and trust.
Get clarity, confidence, and a concrete plan in as little as two weeks.
The Cost of Friction
(and What It’s Doing to Your Brand)
Every day, brands lose potential customers they’ve invested significant time, money, and effort to attract – and don’t even realize it.
It’s not that the product missed the mark. It’s that the experience made people feel like it wasn’t built for them.
Friction shows up quietly. It hides in everyday moments that shape how people see and feel about your brand – for example:
An important link that’s too hard to find.
A lack of representation in your imagery or testimonials.
A layout that isn’t designed with accessibility or neurodivergence in mind.
A video that’s missing captions.
The time it takes to reach someone that speaks your preferred language on a customer service line.
The gap between what your brand says about inclusion and how it actually shows up.
These moments happen in every industry – even for brands with the best intentions.
When efforts toward authenticity in marketing don’t fully translate into the experiences customers encounter, friction shows up fast – and it shows up everywhere.
You don’t have to imagine it. Here’s what it looks like in real life – straight from the people experiencing it.
For instance, this Spanish-speaker went to this website for a car brand and could not find the place to change the website content into Spanish (even though the brand had already invested resources in translating the content). The friction prevented him from taking the next step forward.
And this Black woman struggled to find enough people who looked like her, that weren’t also workers on this hotel’s Instagram account. That friction caused her to hesitate to book a stay.
This hearing impaired woman struggled to watch a long-form interview of a podcast on YouTube because the visuals in the 30-second introduction were so overwhelming, she couldn’t focus on the captions. The friction prevented her from taking the next step forward.
This gay man experienced friction when he was on a hotel website and couldn’t find anything that made it clear that he would feel safe if he chose to stay there. That friction impacted his buying decision-making process.
And this woman who follows a gluten-free diet struggled to find the information she needed about menu items that were safe for her to eat on a restaurant’s website. That friction caused her to be frustrated with the experience the restaurant delivered, before ever setting foot in the door.
Each of these seemingly small moments represents a person who wanted to engage, but saw something that made them hesitate or walk away.
Multiply that across every campaign and channel, and the cost becomes clear: lost revenue, wasted ad spend, and disappointed customers who quietly move on.
The good news? Once you know where and why the friction is happening, you can fix it – often with small but powerful changes that deliver measurable results.
That’s exactly what the Inclusive Growth Audit is designed to do.
How the Friction Finder Growth Audit Works
You don’t need to guess where friction is costing your brand growth – or how to fix it. Each audit follows a proven, collaborative process designed to turn insight into action and give you a clear path forward.
Step
1
Clarify Your Goals and Prioritities
After booking, you’ll complete a short intake form that captures your brand objectives, key audiences, and focus areas.
This ensures your audit zeroes in on what matters most to your growth.
Step
2
Kick-Off Strategy Call
We’ll review your inputs together, align on desired outcomes, and confirm access to the materials I’ll be reviewing.
You’ll leave this call confident that we’re focused on the right opportunities from day one.
Step
3
Comprehensive Review and Analysis
I dive into your customer experience across the agreed-upon channels and internal systems – identifying where friction appears and why it exists.
This stage combines qualitative observation with evidence-based assessment, not opinion.
Most clients receive their full audit findings within 2–4 weeks of their kickoff call (timelines vary by scope and responsiveness).
Step
4
Findings + Recommendations Report
You’ll receive a detailed, prioritized roadmap that highlights:
- Immediate fixes to remove friction
- Medium-and longer-term opportunities to strengthen inclusion, conversion, and loyalty
- Clear next steps your team can take right away
Step
5
Results + Action Session (60 minutes)
We’ll review your audit findings together, cover questions, and outline a plan for next steps.
Clients leave this session with both quick wins and a clear roadmap for what to do to keep making progress.
Here’s what that kind of clarity and confidence looks like in action:
“
I learned so much. And I think it’s also amazing to see how at the beginning I was a bit, not pessimistic, but in a way I was thinking, “wow, we are not doing enough, it’s so tough.” And instead now, I mean that I also have a clear understanding, I have a new light and I find myself finding a bit of these inclusive bits in different parts and brand activities and so on, something before I didn’t really recognize. [I have a lot of] optimism and for sure a great and new perspective on the topic and how to deal with it so I think for sure you managed to equip us with a lot of good knowledge that we can for sure already use and spread to our colleagues and even in our normal daily life.
Sustainability Manager,
Global Consumer Packaged Goods Multinational
“
What’s Reviewed in the Audit
Each audit is customized to the channels, assets, and audiences most relevant to your brand.
The goal: to surface the friction points that limit connection, conversion, and belonging – and provide a clear, actionable roadmap for improvement.
Customer Understanding
Because growth starts with knowing who you’re designing for – and how their lived experiences shape what they need.
This part of the audit evaluates how deeply your brand understands and reflects the audiences you aim to serve.
- Buyer personas, audience profiles, or customer segmentation frameworks
- Customer research, insights, and other relevant data
- Alignment between target audiences and the experiences currently being delivered
Outcome
Uncovers gaps between how you define your customers and how they experience your brand.
Customer Journey & Experience
Because every touchpoint shapes how people decide whether they belong with your brand.
This review identifies the moments of friction and opportunity across your customer journey.
- Website experience and accessibility
- Social and community engagement
- Digital marketing (email, paid media, search, and content)
- Product and service touchpoints
- Advertising and campaign materials (TV, radio, print, banner, and video)
- In-store, ons-site, or event experiences (where applicable)
Outcome
Reveals where your customer experience supports connection – and where it quietly pushes people away
Internal Systems & Brand Alignment
Note: Included in full for select audit tiers. Foundational brand assets (like guidelines and creative briefs) are reviewed across all audits.
Because the systems behind the scenes determine whether inclusion and consistency are built into everything you create.
This review assesses how well your internal processes enable your team to deliver inclusive, frictionless experiences for all the people you desire to serve:
- Brand guidelines, visual identity systems, and tone-of-voice documentation
- Creative briefs and templates, campaign decks, and playbooks
- Influencer or collaborator briefs and playbooks
- Review and approval processes
- Creative process (ideation to approval)
Outcome
Ensures your internal infrastructure supports – not hinders – customer experiences that drive growth.
Findings & Recommendations
Because insight only matters if it drives action.
This final stage synthesizes what we’ve learned and translates it into practical, prioritized guidance.
- Immediate fixes to remove friction
- Medium – and longer-term opportunities to strengthen inclusion, conversion, and loyalty
- Clear next steps your team can take right away
Outcome
Each recommendation is specific and actionable – giving your team the clarity and confidence to move forward with purpose.
Customer Understanding
Because growth starts with knowing who you’re designing for – and how their lived experiences shape what they need.
This part of the audit evaluates how deeply your brand understands and reflects the audiences you aim to serve.
- Buyer personas, audience profiles, or customer segmentation frameworks
- Customer research, insights, and other relevant data
- Alignment between target audiences and the experiences currently being delivered
Customer Journey & Experience
Because every touchpoint shapes how people decide whether they belong with your brand.
This review identifies the moments of friction and opportunity across your customer journey.
- Website experience and accessibility
- Social and community engagement
- Digital marketing (email, paid media, search, and content)
- Product and service touchpoints
- Advertising and campaign materials (TV, radio, print, banner, and video)
- In-store, ons-site, or event experiences (where applicable)
Outcome
Uncovers gaps between how you define your customers and how they experience your brand.
Outcome
Reveals where your customer experience supports connection – and where it quietly pushes people away.
Internal Systems & Brand Alignment
Note: Included in full for select audit tiers. Foundational brand assets (like guidelines and creative briefs) are reviewed across all audits.
Because the systems behind the scenes determine whether inclusion and consistency are built into everything you create.
This review assesses how well your internal processes enable your team to deliver inclusive, frictionless experiences for all the people you desire to serve:
- Brand guidelines, visual identity systems, and tone-of-voice documentation
- Creative briefs and templates, campaign decks, and playbooks
- Influencer or collaborator briefs and playbooks
- Review and approval processes
- Creative process (ideation to approval)
Findings & Recommendations
Because insight only matters if it drives action.
This final stage synthesizes what we’ve learned and translates it into practical, prioritized guidance.
- Immediate fixes to remove friction
- Medium – and longer-term opportunities to strengthen inclusion, conversion, and loyalty
- Clear next steps your team can take right away
Outcome
Ensures your internal infrastructure supports – not hinders – customer experiences that drive growth.
Outcome
Each recommendation is specific and actionable – giving your team the clarity and confidence to move forward with purpose.
“
The company determined that the multicultural segment was a strategic growth lever, but we did not have expertise in house to run a marketing strategy. As we established the team, we started working with Sonia to get an idea on how we are currently doing from a multicultural, and inclusive marketing in general markets perspective. Sonia was an incredible partner where she was able to audit our currently advertising portfolio with her team and give a comprehensive POV on not only images, but approach and strategy. She also gave detailed recommendations and rationale on what we could do better. Overall, the learnings really helped to maximize our ability to engage with different audiences and to drive the business.
Sonia also was an important part of pulling through the work as she became an integrated member of the brand team when we were reviewing creative briefs, creative and copy. Her insights and expertise helped us ensure that we were implementing the right imagery, tone, stories and messages to the right audiences.
Marketing Director at Global Fortune 500 Company
[Fortune Global 500]
“
Find the Right Level of Clarity, Growth, and Momentum for Your Brand
Each tier helps you identify and eliminate the friction holding your brand back – whether you’re just uncovering where it exists or ready to transform your customer experience from end to end.
The Clarity Audit (aka the Bruno) – Uncover what’s holding your growth back
Investment: $3,000
Perfect for smaller teams or brands ready to uncover the hidden friction holding back growth.
What’s Included:
- Audit of your customer experience (website, social, and key marketing assets)
- Review of brand guidelines, creative templates, and key messaging
- Audit of buyer personas
- Product offering review
- Light social listening to capture audience sentiment
- Findings + recommendations report
- 60-minute results and action session
The Growth Build Audit (aka the Barry) – Optimize for stronger connection and conversion
Investment: $6,000
Ideal for growing brands ready to pinpoint where friction is limiting connection and conversion – and turn those insights into growth.
What’s Included:
- Everything in the Clarity Audit
- Deeper analysis of your customer journey across more channels
- Expanded social listening and competitor scan
- Partial internal systems review (brand documents, creative process, and collaborator playbooks
- 3-5 Customer interviews aligned with your target personas who will evaluate your customer experience
- Findings + recommendations report
- 60-minute results and action section
The Momentum Audit (aka the Beyoncé) – Elevate your experience for measurable, lasting growth
Investment: Custom quote for enterprise clients
Built for enterprise teams, agencies, and brand portfolios ready to remove friction at scale and design systems that sustain inclusive growth over time.
What’s Included:
- Everything in the Growth Builder Audit
- Comprehensive multi-channel audit (digital, social, advertising, content, product, influencers, and more)
- Internal systems review (creative process, team enablement, and training materials)
- 12-16 Customer interview across a range of identities conducted across your brand portfolio to evaluate real customer experiences and points of friction.
- Comprehensive report detailing findings, recommendations, and growth opportunities, supported by customer insights and qualitative expert insights
- Executive summary and presentation of findings to your leadership team
Who’s Leading Your Audit
Hi, I’m Sonia Thompson — an Inclusive Growth and Customer Experience Strategist who’s spent years helping brands deliver experiences that make every customer feel like they belong.
Before my time as a consultant, I spent almost a decade in marketing at Johnson & Johnson, learning firsthand how big brands build customer loyalty — and where friction often hides. I also earned my Green Belt in Six Sigma and hold an MBA from Florida A&M University – a combination that grounds my approach in both strategy and systems thinking.
Since 2017, I’ve helped organizations of all sizes do the same, applying those lessons to make inclusion a growth driver, not just a value statement.
I have partnered with brands across industries — from healthcare to finance to consumer goods — including Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Novo Nordisk, Merck, UNC Health, BioLife (a Takeda company), and Henkel (supporting brands like got2b, Schwarzkopf, Persil, and Perwoll) — along with smaller, fast-growing brands that wanted to remove friction and better connect with the people they serve.
Across industries — healthcare, tech, and finance — the goal is the same: help brands grow by understanding, including, and serving more of their customers, better.
Through my Inclusion & Marketing platform — the podcast (part of the HubSpot Podcast Network), newsletter along with my columns for Forbes and Inc. — I share the tools and insights brands need to turn inclusion into a growth advantage.
Every Day You Wait, Friction Keeps Costing You
You’ve already invested time, energy, and resources to attract the right customers. But if your customer experience wasn’t built with all of them in mind, you’re losing opportunities for brand growth and making a bigger impact.
When you remove friction, something powerful happens: your customers feel seen, your team delivers with confidence, and your brand becomes a place where more customers achieve success and stay loyal over time.
The Friction Finder Growth Audit shows you exactly where and how friction shows up — and gives you the strategy, systems, and insights to keep it out.
Because when every customer feels like you designed your products, communications, and experiences with them in mind, your brand grows stronger, faster, and more sustainably.
Ready to remove the friction, and take the limits off your growth?
Ready to remove the friction, and take the limits off your growth?