CX lessons from Verizon’s customer data breach

The recent headlines raise the question: how can organisations ensure they don’t lose their customers' trust as a result of a data breach?

Last month a human error left the personal data of 6 million Verizon subscribers vulnerable to hackers and scammers. Names, phone numbers and, more importantly, subscribers’ pin numbers were made publicly available on an Amazon S3 storage server.

While the issue was based on an incorrect security setting rather than a common data hacking/breach – it doesn’t change the anxiety and vulnerability subscribers can feel.

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As the number of hackings and cyber-attacks continue to rise, organisations need to put customers’ data concerns at ease by providing them efficient access to the most up-to-date information on the state of their account.

How did Verizon fail its customers?

As the news broke a month after the incident, Verizon specifically noted that no loss of theft of customer information occurred. So how did Verizon fail its customers?

By only commenting on the news as it was picked up and providing no additional customer resources on the topic, Verizon’s actions only minimally reduced customer anxiety. With news outlets telling Verizon subscribers to change their pin immediately to avoid scammers adding services to their plan, customers could be put into a state of panic.

Additionally, by leaning on advice and information from the news, rather than the brand they subscribe to, customers can lose trust in Verizon leading to reduced brand loyalty and increased likelihood that a customer will jump to a different provider.

Give customers transparency and access

Two of the most important characteristics of a successful customer experience plan are transparency and access. Addressing the first, Verizon and other brands should be transparent about data breaches, providing customers with enough information to feel informed and confident that the situation is handled.

New developments in AI and chatbot technology enable brands to update these resources in real-time to ensure customers are consistently receiving accurate information on an event. This helps to build trust for a brand, with customers reliant on providers do everything they can to protect their data.

When it comes to ensuring customers have access to CX resources, organisations need to also ensure the right information is available at every possible customer contact channel – be it web-based, mobile or social. In this way, customers can feel confident that they can get their questions answered regarding a potential hacking or security breach, without having to jump through customer service hoops.

Beyond providing information on the state of a particular situation, the right access also creates the opportunity for a brand to more easily dispel rumours and provide accurate next steps for customers to guard themselves against an attack.

In Verizon’s case, this would have meant implementing the right technologies to create opportunities on all channels for customers to quickly ask if they need to change their pin number or closely monitor for new added services, rather than depending on news media to provide that information.

While the data breach itself may not be at the fault of Verizon, what the carrier did fail to do was implement a CX strategy that helped to ease the anxiety of its customers. Operating in today’s digital world it is imperative that brands continue to open up access and transparency at a pace consumers expect.

Leveraging new developments in AI, automation and knowledge management, is it more than possible for brands to more effectively communicate with their customers, and therefore build trust and maintain customer satisfaction.