Managing your Brand in an Insecure World
Managing your Brand in an Insecure World
Before we embark on our journey through the challenges of managing your brand, we should define what a brand is. A brand is what people think about when your name is mentioned or seen in print – it is the perception of your company in the market. Brand is more than a logo, more than a tag line and it is more than a well crafted advertising campaign. You do not really own your brand. You own the logos, the copyrights etc... Your brand is owned by your clients, prospects, analysts and the media as it is the reputation and perception in the market that you have created. Brand value is determined in part by your brand and related company activities such as public relations, customer service experiences, as well as successes and failures in the market. It does not matter what size of company you are, everything you do affects your brand. Protecting that brand in an insecure world is not easy by any stretch, but it should be part of your contingency plans.
If a brand is what people think about when they hear your name, what happens when they hear your company name in connection with a privacy or security breach or identity theft? Business success depends highly on trust and confidence in the relationship between client and company. A breach of security or privacy can shake the foundation of trust. Your company brand is your reputation and when your reputation is affected the damage can be irreversible.
According to a survey conducted by the Poneman Institute, about 50% of clients said they would move their business if they lost confidence in their suppliers’ ability to protect data. A loss of reputation means a quantifiable loss of business.
The reality of our insecure world is that incidents will occur no matter what safeguards, policies and procedures are deployed. Companies need to be prepared to deal with events both efficiently and effectively. The good news is the proper handling of a security/privacy breach such as an exposure of customer information can actually increase customer loyalty and trust. If brand is what people think about when they hear your name, they will remember how you handle these types of issues also.
How would you like to outsource your brand? Unthinkable? When you outsource critical IT functions, you also risk an impact on your brand. There have been countless stories in the media about third party providers inadvertently exposing sensitive client data. Be very diligent when you choose your outsource partners. Don’t assume they have good security and privacy practices – demand to know, make it a part of your SLA. Clients will ultimately hold your company accountable. Don’t let your brand be affected by poor due diligence.
A few thoughts on managing a security/privacy breach:
• Alert management that a breach has occurred
• Verify the facts
o When did the incident occur?
o What business area was affected?
o What if any personal or corporate data was compromised?
o Where did the incident take place?
o How many stakeholders were impacted?
o How did it happen?
o Who knows about it?
• Evaluate the significance of the incident by reviewing:
o The sensitivity of the information exposed
o What quantity of information was compromised
o The potential for unlawful use
o The dollar value of the assets exposed
• Communication best practices to employ when you suffer the inevitable breech
o Develop your key messages for internal and external communication
o Select the appropriate spokesperson and/or a response team
o Ensure you communicate to all staff that they are to refer all related requests to the response team
o Distribute scripted responses to all designated spokespersons
o Determine the appropriate method of communication i.e.: letter, conference call, meetings, news release etc…
o Notify all distribution channels
Document and learn from the incident by soliciting feedback from all involved constituents to determine whether policies/procedures need to implemented or amended or to determine if more training is required.
Good Security and Privacy practices are simply good business practices. Today’s customer is very demanding and extremely aware of their leverage positions. Help protect your corporate reputation, protect the information diligently and you can “Live Your Brand” everyday with the confidence and trust your clients and stakeholders demand.
Managing your Brand in an Insecure World - To learn more about this author, visit Leanne Bucaro's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
Managing your Brand in an Insecure World
Before we embark on our journey through the challenges of managing your brand, we should define what a brand is. A brand is what people think about when your name is mentioned or seen in print – it is the perception of your company in the market. Brand is more than a logo, more than a tag line and it is more than a well crafted advertising campaign. You do not really own your brand. You own the logos, the copyrights etc... Your brand is owned by your clients, prospects, analysts and the media as it is the reputation and perception in the market that you have created. Brand value is determined in part by your brand and related company activities such as public relations, customer service experiences, as well as successes and failures in the market. It does not matter what size of company you are, everything you do affects your brand. Protecting that brand in an insecure world is not easy by any stretch, but it should be part of your contingency plans.
If a brand is what people think about when they hear your name, what happens when they hear your company name in connection with a privacy or security breach or identity theft? Business success depends highly on trust and confidence in the relationship between client and company. A breach of security or privacy can shake the foundation of trust. Your company brand is your reputation and when your reputation is affected the damage can be irreversible.
According to a survey conducted by the Poneman Institute, about 50% of clients said they would move their business if they lost confidence in their suppliers’ ability to protect data. A loss of reputation means a quantifiable loss of business.
The reality of our insecure world is that incidents will occur no matter what safeguards, policies and procedures are deployed. Companies need to be prepared to deal with events both efficiently and effectively. The good news is the proper handling of a security/privacy breach such as an exposure of customer information can actually increase customer loyalty and trust. If brand is what people think about when they hear your name, they will remember how you handle these types of issues also.
How would you like to outsource your brand? Unthinkable? When you outsource critical IT functions, you also risk an impact on your brand. There have been countless stories in the media about third party providers inadvertently exposing sensitive client data. Be very diligent when you choose your outsource partners. Don’t assume they have good security and privacy practices – demand to know, make it a part of your SLA. Clients will ultimately hold your company accountable. Don’t let your brand be affected by poor due diligence.
A few thoughts on managing a security/privacy breach:
• Alert management that a breach has occurred
• Verify the facts
o When did the incident occur?
o What business area was affected?
o What if any personal or corporate data was compromised?
o Where did the incident take place?
o How many stakeholders were impacted?
o How did it happen?
o Who knows about it?
• Evaluate the significance of the incident by reviewing:
o The sensitivity of the information exposed
o What quantity of information was compromised
o The potential for unlawful use
o The dollar value of the assets exposed
• Communication best practices to employ when you suffer the inevitable breech
o Develop your key messages for internal and external communication
o Select the appropriate spokesperson and/or a response team
o Ensure you communicate to all staff that they are to refer all related requests to the response team
o Distribute scripted responses to all designated spokespersons
o Determine the appropriate method of communication i.e.: letter, conference call, meetings, news release etc…
o Notify all distribution channels
Document and learn from the incident by soliciting feedback from all involved constituents to determine whether policies/procedures need to implemented or amended or to determine if more training is required.
Good Security and Privacy practices are simply good business practices. Today’s customer is very demanding and extremely aware of their leverage positions. Help protect your corporate reputation, protect the information diligently and you can “Live Your Brand” everyday with the confidence and trust your clients and stakeholders demand.
Managing your Brand in an Insecure World - To learn more about this author, visit Leanne Bucaro's Website.
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
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John AlexanderJohn has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center. I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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