Think objectively about your business for a moment. Why do you think your customers are with you? Are the products you offer all that different from your competitors?
Most companies in fact offer products quite similar to those of their competition, and rely mainly on customer loyalty for repeat business. And in industries with very high homogeneity in products – paper, say, or building materials, or any number of others – companies must distinguish themselves by means other than the products themselves, such as garnering customer loyalty through outstanding customer service.
With that in mind, take a look at the results of a new survey by Detica NetReveal, a UK-based business consulting firm, which found that a whopping 65% of Americans want “more insight” into the security and anti-fraud measures in place to protect their money. The survey of more than 1,000 U.S. adults ages 18-64, asked a range of fraud-related questions, including the respondents' previous experience with fraud and perceptions of risk and responsibility. In addition to gauging customer's feelings about current financial security measures, the survey found that nearly as many Americans – 61% - place the burden of providing those measures squarely on the banks.
Clearly, not providing transparent and easily customer-accessible financial security is an invitation to get left behind. But this in no way lets businesses enacting just any halfhearted measure off the hook. Nearly one out of every two people surveyed by Detica felt they were lacking information on how they are protected (contrast this to the 65% above who wanted more insight). Similarly, of those who dealt with a fraud incident recently, the survey found only 37% were fully satisfied with the bank's response. The upshot of the survey strongly suggests that only fraud-security policies that maximize the flow of information to customers, while still keeping their identities far away from thieves, will satisfy.
Detica's survey focused on the retail banking sector, but easily applies to every institution that holds sensitive customer data – which is to say, just about every institution. Processing credit cards or extending credit necessarily involves trafficking in information that can potentially be used for fraud. So whatever your business, whatever the industry – take a good look at your anti-fraud measures in place. Are you doing all you can to safeguard the information from thieves, while still supplying the maximum to the customers? If not, chances are you're losing business to someone who is.
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