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C R IS IS C O M M U N I C AT I O N S : PA R T 2WHY TIME IS SO CRITICAL IN CONTACTING YOUR CUSTOMERS

CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS: WHY TIME IS SO CRITICAL IN CONTACTING YOUR CUSTOMERS If hackers accessed your organization’s confidential

information or if your customers were suddenly left

without service, would your team know how to contact

them in real time? Would you be able to communicate

vital information about what to do next? Would you

know the best channels for delivering key information

to help them make informed decisions?

It’s more than just an academic question. According

to a 2017 global study of data breaches commissioned

by IBM, “the faster the data breach can be identif ied

and contained, the lower the costs.” That same study

found that data breaches in 2017 averaged $3.62

million per incident.

Many companies have contact information in their

customer profiles, but quite often, that information

can’t be easily extracted to facilitate emergency

communications. In our work at CSG, we have

seen too many organizations become unwittingly

vulnerable because they don’t have an established

process that outlines specif ically how customers

should be contacted in a crisis—by USPS, email,

text, phone, or a combination of channels including

websites and social media outlets. Since time is of the

essence in a data breach, it’s critical to have customer

contact information in a format that can be easily

accessed and used.

Without a plan and routine simulations to see how

your team would perform in an actual crisis, your

company may be taking on more risk than it realizes.

THE HIGH COS T OF DATA BRE ACHES1

THE AVER AGE COS T OF A DATA BRE ACH WAS $3.62 MILLION IN 2017. THE AVER AGE COS T PER DATA RECORD WAS $141 IN 2017.

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RUN & GROW YOUR BUSINESS

A customer outreach plan after a data breach is

important enough in its own right, but there is a

corollary benefit that is equally as important. Knowing

how your customers like to be approached is critical

to increasing engagement and motivating customers

to take the intended action. Data consistently show

that offers and/or key messages delivered via the

customer’s channel of choice signif icantly increases

the response rate and flow of critical information.The opposite is also true. For example, sending a

letter via USPS to a millennial who uses a smartphone

for practically everything will dramatically reduce

the response rate. For f inancial services, health

care, telecom, utility and other regulated entities in

particular, effective communication is the difference

been success and failure.

WHAT TO DO

So what’s the best way to make sure you understand

the communication preferences of your customers?

First, from a strategic perspective, organizations

need to recognize that data isn’t just bits of

information; it is a corporate asset. The richer and

more complete your data, the more likely your

organization will be able to respond in a crisis—and to

succeed in its marketing and engagement efforts.

Second, from a tactical perspective, organizations

need to continually update and refine their data. That

means not only creating more f ields in their database

to include customer communication preferences,

but also periodically asking them to update their

preferences. If your organization has never done that,

CSG can help you develop a plan.

NOTIFICATION COS TS OF SECURIT Y BRE ACHES ACCORDING TO A RECENT IBM S TUDY,1 NOTIFICATION COS TS ARE THE HIGHES T IN THE U.S. AT $690,000 PER INCIDENT. 2 THESE COS TS INCLUDE THE CRE ATION OF CONTACT DATABASES, DE TERMINATION OF ALL REGUL ATORY REQUIREMENTS, ENGAGEMENT OF OUTSIDE E XPERTS, POS TAL E XPENDITURES, EMAIL BOUNCEBACKS AND INBOUND COMMUNICATION SE TUPS.

POS TAL BRE ACH U.S. COMPANIES AL SO INCUR THE GRE ATES T E XPENSE AT $1.56 MILLION PER BRE ACH. 2 POS TAL DATA BRE ACH RESPONSE AC TIVITIES INCLUDE HELP DESK AC TIVITIES, INBOUND COMMUNICATIONS, SPECIAL INVES TIGATIVE AC TIVITIES, REMEDIATION, LEGAL E XPENDITURES, PRODUC T DISCOUNTS, IDENTIT Y PROTEC TION SERVICES, AND REGUL ATORY INTERVENTIONS.

THE RICHER AND MORE COMPLE TE

YOUR DATA , THE MORE LIKELY

YOUR ORGANIZ ATION WILL BE ABLE

TO RESPOND IN A CRISIS—AND TO

SUCCEED IN ITS MARKE TING AND

ENGAGEMENT EFFORTS.

1, 2. IBM/Ponemon Institute, 2017 Cost of Data Breach Survey, June 2017.

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Industry best practice is to reach out to customers

by email, phone and/or USPS. Using a combination

of channels is the most effective way to gather that

information. Because one communication channel may

not be enough in a crisis, companies should f ind out a

customer’s second preference.

Choose your key messages

Define yourtarget audience

Decide on your overarching

objectives

Select the channels of

communication

CRISIS COMMUNICATION

PLAN

In essence, organizations should strive to create a rich

customer profile that includes contact preferences,

as well as the history of engagement with that

individual—recent purchases, order size, purchase

location, product type, or a confirmation of terms of an

agreement. That way, you can see how your customers

are interacting with you and easily access the contact

information in case of a crisis.

THE BOT TOM LINE

A data breach or crisis can destroy the public’s trust

in a company, but as important is how the company

responds when its reputation is on the line. If a

company does the right thing during a crisis and

recovers nicely, the damage can be neutralized. In

some cases, you may actually strengthen brand loyalty

because your company responded so admirably.

WORK WITH CSGCSG is a provider of strategic business

communications and one of the nation’s leaders

in using advanced color technologies to create

communications with maximum impact. We provide

fully integrated, end-to-end solutions for secure

data management, multichannel communications,

offset and digital printing of material, storage, order

fulf illment, distribution management, and direct mail.

We understand complex program design and

management, and we have unmatched institutional

experience in delivering exceptional results. We

provide proactive program management, securely

handle and manage all materials, orders and data, and

have superior technical expertise with storage, order

management, fulf illment, printing and multichannel

distribution assets.

T HIS W HI T E PA P ER IS ONE OF A SERIE S OF P ER SP EC T I V E S ON M A N AGING A CRISIS . T O SEE MOR E , V ISI T H T T P S:// W W W.C S GI .C OM/R E S OUR CE S/ T Y P E/ W HI T E - PA P ER S/

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CUS TOMER ACQUISITION & DE VELOPMENT

CSG helps you increase the lifetime value of your

customers. We facilitate customer engagement and

drive revenue by delivering world-class strategy,

technology and fulf illment. We turn data into business

intelligence to help your team understand consumer

behavior. Then we create compelling offers and calls

to action that motivate consumers to act and keep

them coming back to you.

END-TO-END PROGR AM MANAGEMENT

CSG can manage the entire order and fulf illment

supply chain, from material development and design to

production, storage, ordering, picking, fulf illment, and

distribution, to audit and compliance reporting. Our

process employs formal security and cyber safeguard

procedures that protect confidential data. We apply

state-of-the-art technology and expertise that offer

you maximum control, f lexibility and transparency

while maintaining the absolute integrity of their

information and materials.

GROW YOUR BUSINESS WITH US

Our teams create the strategy to increase revenue

and market share.

Acquire new customers

Upsell products and solutions with more features

Cross-sell products—offer new products to existing customers

Build customer loyalty and renewals

Accelerate customer response via digital and mobile channels

Identify the most profitable and least profitable customers

Raise the response rates of hard-to-reach consumer populations

Use effective analytics and sophisticated models to accelerate marketing growth

Reduce customer acquisition costs by increasing the effectiveness of your marketing communications efforts

RUN YOUR BUSINESS WITH US

We deliver a wide range of cost-effective, high

quality solutions.

Redundant IT servers and FTP communications

with formal cybersecurity protocols to guard all

data and processes

Variable digital full-color imaging operations to

personalize and customize communications

Conventional offset 4-color printing operations

ePresentment communications to accelerate

payments

Email communications and tracking

Text communications and confirmation

Intelligent inserting and mailing operations

Automated kitting and fulf illment operations

National distribution from coast-to-coast

to speed delivery ensures no disription in

business

Tracking and auditing from receipt of data to

mailbox

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A CONSULTATIVE PARTNER

CSG serves as a consultant, a collaborative contributor, and a trusted expert. We add value and improve results

to all of your deliverables—letters, forms, statements, digital media, marketing services and more.

For more information, contact marketing@csgi.com.

ABOUT CSGCSG simplif ies the complexity of business transformation in the digital age for the most respected communica-

tions, media and entertainment service providers worldwide. With over 35 years of experience, CSG delivers

revenue management, customer experience and digital monetization solutions for every stage of the customer

lifecycle. The company is the trusted partner driving digital transformation for leading global brands, including

Arrow, AT&T, Bharti Airtel, Charter Communications, Comcast, DISH, Eastlink, iFlix, MTN, TalkTalk, Telefonica,

Telstra and Verizon.

At CSG, we have one vision: f lexible, seamless, limitless communications, information and content services for

everyone. For more information, visit our website at csgi.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

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