New research has revealed that businesses are not acting quickly enough to preserve customer trust following a data breach, and that failure to effectively engage customers in a way that matches their expectations will result in irreparable long-term damage to brand reputation.
Porter Novelli Australia, in partnership with Quantum Market Research, has conducted research to explore the hidden impacts of data breaches on affected individuals. Porter Novelli is Australia’s leading public relations firm in cyber incident response and preparation.
The research reveals the social, emotional and financial impacts that high-profile data breaches have had on Australians. Almost half of Australians (48 per cent) impacted by a data breach experienced emotional distress as a result of an incident.
Beyond the obvious stress and concern caused, recent breaches have caused real-world inconvenience for time-poor Australians. One in 10 (nine per cent) had to take time off work to handle the situation, almost one in three (30 per cent) had to change their ID documents, and one in five (22 per cent) had to change financial details.
While the majority of Australians (64 per cent) believe it’s possible for companies to protect their data from hackers, only four in 10 (41 per cent) feel companies are currently doing enough to protect their personal information.
Porter Novelli Australia chief executive officer Rhys Ryan said data breaches were now an inevitability, and all organisations must prepare to respond in a way that aligns with their stated values. “Once you’ve had a serious breach, you no longer have an IT problem. You have a human problem, a reputation problem, a communications problem and a governance problem,” Ryan said.
“Organisations often forget the human experience of having personal information stolen. Instead, they focus on operations and their regulatory obligations – which are important – but they neglect the fragile trust they have built with customers, employees and stakeholders”.
“However, our research shows that organisations that act quickly and operate in a way that is consistent with the values they have communicated to customers in the past, are most likely to retain trust. Almost half of Australians (44 per cent) said they would use that company again and more than one-third would recommend it”.
“For instance, if you’re a consumer-facing brand that prioritises speed of delivery, don’t keep angry consumers waiting on hold – stand up a call centre and give them concierge service. If you’re a charity, be extra transparent to demonstrate your values. The short-term costs may be higher, but the long-term downside can be catastrophic if you get it wrong”.
“Sometimes the way you respond to a crisis can actually enhance trust with your customers – if you behave in a way that aligns what you say with what you do in a crisis”.
According to Porter Novelli there are three key things companies must consider to retain customer trust and preserve brand reputation following a data breach:
- Have a plan in place so you can communicate quickly.
- Ensure you remain empathetic when engaging with people impacted by a data breach.
- Think of a data breach response as an extension of your overall customer experience: does your breach response match the way you want your customers to experience your brand?
