According to a breakthrough survey commissioned by the NGLCC, LGBT-friendly companies may benefit from the purchase decisions made by LGBT business decision-makers.
In a recent survey of the purchasing habits, motivations and behaviors of 1,400 LGBT business decision-makers, 78 percent of respondents said knowing that a company is LGBT-owned or LGBT-friendly would influence their decision to purchase the company's products or services; 44 percent reported that they are "extremely likely" to have a purchase decision influenced by knowing a company is LGBT-friendly.
"Gays and lesbians who make purchasing decisions for their employer often refer to their ‘consumer' loyalties—whether it's their favorite gay-friendly airline, financial company, or some other business—when making those choices at work," said Thomas Roth, president of Community Marketing, Inc., a San Francisco-based LGBT market research and communications firm that conducted the study. "We call this the ‘trickle up' or multiplier effect, where a lesbian consumer might choose a gay-friendly hotel for her personal stays, but also could make a booking for 100 rooms at a similarly known gay-friendly hotel for a company meeting because of that same loyalty."
More than 75 percent of respondents also indicated that they are likely to stop purchasing from a company that is anti-LGBT or non LGBT-supportive.
Survey participants who are NGLCC members or members of an affiliated LGBT chamber of commerce were also more likely to report valuing LGBT-owned and LGBT-friendly companies than other respondents. Specifically, 55 percent of NGLCC members and affiliates are likely to source products from LGBT-owned or LGBT-friendly vendors, compared to just 31 percent of non-members, suggesting the opportunities for companies to grow their businesses through LGBT chamber membership.
"Not only are we proud to be certified by the NGLCC and include it as a differentiator in our sales efforts, but as an NGLCC member, we have been able to tap into a growing community of LGBT-friendly vendors and suppliers for our own business needs," said Jennifer Brown, CEO of Jennifer Brown Consulting. "All things being equal, we prefer to steer business to companies that are LGBT-owned or LGBT-friendly."
Complete results of the survey will be presented at the 2010 NGLCC National Business & Leadership Conference Nov. 18-20 in Washington, D.C.
