Safeguarding Your Brand Identity in the Event of a Data Breach

When a data breach erodes customer trust, your brand pays the price

Data breaches don’t just endanger the affected population, they also jeopardize the reputation of the breached company and their brand. Companies need to act as quickly as possible to restore that trust — even more so in the post-pandemic world, where trust is paramount to customer loyalty and employee retention.71 percent of both customers and employees say they’re likely to walk if a company loses their trust.

Of course, in the aftermath of a breach, communicating the right message to your customers can be tricky to navigate. Two out of five consumers say they’ve lost trust in a company due to a data breach or misuse of data they have heard about. Young customers are even more responsive to lost trust, with 63% of 18-24-year-olds reporting they permanently stopped using a firm’s services following a breach.
Businesses must have the right strategies in place to preserve and protect one of their most valuable assets — their brand. CMOs play a critical role in safeguarding brand identity, yet 71 percent of CMOs are worried about the loss of brand value in the event of a data breach. Preparing aproper breach response plan and arming your CMO with the right tools is essential to protecting your brand. It could mean the difference between a thoughtful, deliberate response to a troubling development and a panicked, stumbling reaction that risks customer confidence (and future business).

Make a breach response plan

As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. With this in mind, start by building out a comprehensive breach response plan. Not only will you limit the damage if a breach takes place, but planning can help you identify possible breaches, which could reduce your risk of one happening in the first place.

Know who to notify, how, and when

Part of this multi-step plan should include when and how to notify the appropriate parties. Per guidance from the FTC, you will have legal requirements to notify certain entities. These requirements vary based on the state you are in and the type of business you are. For example, healthcare providers have unique reporting requirements because they handle sensitive patient information.

Be proactive to predict customer concerns

Try to anticipate the concerns that customers and partners may have in the event of a security breach. Be ready with potential responses to all relevant stakeholders, including your employees, customers, investors, and the general public. The crucial takeaway is never to be caught flat-footed; have a plan of action in place.

Line up your breach partners

The day you discover a breach is not the day to be vetting breach response vendors. It’s go-time and the clock is ticking. You need to already have a partner on speed dial who is onboarded, approved, and ready to jump into action. Forward-thinking organizations establish proactive relationships with incident response partners before a breach occurs. IDX even offers a Priority Response No Cost Master Services Agreement (MSA), to ensure our clients are prepared if a breach occurs and only incur costs if you need our data breach services.

Lean into your brand identity

From social media, corporate blog posts, advertisements, and everything in between, marketers know how to speak in the company’s voice. During a crisis, it’s tempting to throw everything you’ve built about your brand out the window to opt for a simple, canned statement about how you’re doing everything possible to rectify the situation. Don’t do it.

Your customers are customers in part because of your unique brand. Align your company's typical personality with your messaging, even in a crisis. Be earnest, truthful, and apologetic, but continue to be yourself as well. Your customers will find the extra touch comforting, and it will reinforce the trust they place in you.

Timing and transparency are key

The two most critical elements of regaining trust and safeguarding your business’s reputation are timing and transparency. Your customers deserve to know when their information has been compromised and what you’re doing to protect them, in a timely manner.

Delays are costly — in both fines and customer trust

Take a lesson from Uber, who is still making headlines for attempting to cover up 2016 data breach. The company originally paid hackers $100,000 to keep quiet about the attack — and after finally disclosing the breach a year later, has since paid $148 million to settle civil litigation. The lesson: A hindered or delayed notification of a breach can do more damage to a company’s brand than the breach itself.

Fast and accurate notification mitigates harm

This doesn’t mean that you should inform your customers about every single security issue. Still, when a massive security breach occurs, it’s best to get out in front of it with a precise accounting of the violation. A Forbes article interviewing several cybersecurity experts about best practices for businesses in the event of a breach found that the faster and more accurate the disclosure, the less likely a security breach will significantly impact consumer trust.

Start Your Breach Response Planning Today

In our digital, connected world breaches are inevitable, and data security will continue to be a vital component of the consumer experience. 87 percent of consumers say they would not do business with a company if they had concerns about its security practices. Readiness and prevention in the form of a robust breach response plan will empower your team with the tools they need to protect your customers, your employees, and your business.