Building Customer Trust in the Age of Digital Services

The amount of security breaches experienced by organizations continues to increase, putting customer trust at stake. This means that the level of trust consumers put on companies to protect their personal data is more important than ever. However, there is a clear divide between how companies view their responsibility to protect our information and the expectations that we (the consumers) have.

This is amplified through the findings of a recently conducted survey from CA Technologies and Frost and Sullivan, which found that less than half of consumers surveyed (49 percent) are willing to provide their personal data in exchange for digital services. Additionally, 90 percent of organizations claim that they are very good at protecting consumer data, despite nearly half (48 percent) of business executives admitting that their organization has been involved in a publicly disclosed consumer data breach in the last year. Half of the customers that use or have used services from an organization that experienced a data breach stopped using those services because of the breach, causing a loss of revenue for companies.

This is a risk that organizations cannot be willing to take — it increases the importance of making security a top priority in every business. There are a few things that organizations need to keep in mind to manage and increase digital trust for their company.

Elevate

The importance of security needs to be elevated beyond just the security professionals. Across every function, security needs to be prioritized to drive forward a security-driven culture. The survey found that while business leaders view that they have sufficient security measures in place, only 60 percent of cybersecurity professionals feel that non-security staff are trained to protect consumer data.

Build

Building relationships with customers outside of the products and services that you offer is extremely important. Gone are the days that relationships with consumers are solely built upon your offerings. Customer relationships that are long-lasting are the ones where the consumers feel safeguarded from the risks associated with sharing their personal information.

Transparency

Consumers are no longer asking, but rather demanding, that companies are transparent about how personal data is being utilized. The ongoing success of all digital service providers is reliant on the ability to provide transparency and open communication to customers on how, where, and why data is being utilized to gain and maintain their trust.

According to the survey results, business leaders overestimate consumer trust in their organizations. To close the gap between perception and reality it is imperative that organizations utilize the right tactics to establish and grow customer trust. This will not only have a positive relational impact on customers, but it will have a long-lasting positive impact on business growth and success.