It seems like every day there is a new company in the news dealing with a security breach. From Target to Equifax customers feel like companies are just giving away their data. When these security breaches happen, there is a siginficant amount of digital trust the company loses. No one wants to do business with a company that can’t keep their private data and information safe and secure.
Most companies begin with digital trust from their customers and the public, until they lose that trust in a security breach. However, customers are becoming increasingly wary of handing over their information to any company.
In an Edelman survey, customers ranked brand trust as a top consideration when making a purchase, with 81% of customers saying they “must be able to trust the brand to do what is right.” Some 40% said they would stop doing business with a brand if it lost their trust. And organizations that promote digital trust are able to participate in 20% more digital ecosystems, according to Gartner.
In partnership with AppRiver, we have discovered that if you are able to show digital trust in your company, you will be able to:
- Attract and retain top talent. Companies that emphasize an ethical corporate culture that values integrity are better able to recruit and retain employees. What’s more, an environment of trust increases morale and employee loyalty as well as builds a healthy work environment that encourages honesty and openness.
- Create business intelligence. Improvements in collecting, organizing, and analyzing data produce insights that lead to better business decisions.
- Improve financial performance. A well-implemented compliance operation reduces costs and improves efficiency, which bolsters the bottom line. An organization that’s seen as high “trust” tends to have higher financial returns, reports the Harvard Business Review.
- Attract buyers and cement deals. In today’s hot M&A market, buyers are performing deeper due diligence. A company’s ability to demonstrate its financial performance, reputation, and integrity can speed up a transaction.
- Enhance relationships with regulators, auditors, and stakeholders. More transparency paired with an ability to produce information quickly makes auditors’ and lawyers’ jobs easier.
So, how can you ensure digital trust in your company? Download our full proactive compliance program documentation here.
Some highlights from the document include:
Step 1: Decide what needs to be covered – What data do you have that could potentially be covered under government regulations? Where do you store this data?
Step 2: Determine what tools are necessary to cover the data – Once you have discovered what needs to be covered, and where it is located, you are ready to find the tools that will help you ensure compliance within those programs.
Step 3: Deploy the tools you decided on – With your tools decided, you are ready to implement your compliance strategy. Install or otherwise configure the tools you will use to ensure your company’s compliance.
Step 4: Drive testing and continued compliance – Testing and reviewing your solutions is vitally important. If you never test out the tools you are using in real world scenarios like a lawsuit, you won’t be prepared when the situation arises. Make sure your tools are working and your company will remain compliant.
If you protect business communications, keep up with changing regulations and legal requests, and establish strong culture, you build digital trust. And digital trust is the key to staying competitive in a landscape that will
only continue to change even faster, especially here in Orange County, California.
If you need help choosing and implementing compliance tools, please give us a call. 888.890.0201