Author: Emmanuel Yazbeck
When It Comes to Cybersecurity, the Small and Medium Business Community Needs to Do Better
One third of small and medium businesses (SMBs) use free, consumer-grade cybersecurity tools, one fifth maintain no endpoint security, and 43 percent have no cybersecurity defence plans, placing their business-critical assets at risk.
This is a critical oversight. The economic fallout from COVID-19 is a stark reminder that SMBs make up the vast majority of the nation’s businesses at the local level. Small businesses comprise 99.9 percent of all businesses and employ nearly half of all workers.
Customer Engagement: Why Social Media is the Best Option Right Now
Customer engagement has never been more important than it is right now. With so many stores having to temporarily close their doors, marketing efforts have had to move exclusively online.
Gone are the strategies focusing on traditional and print marketing—people aren’t going out enough to see them.
Social media has been a core content marketing platform for most businesses, regardless of their size. And in the current environment, these channels are becoming even more necessary.
From increasing website visits to building customer loyalty, social media offers a number of advantages when most marketing avenues are closed to businesses.
We share a few reasons why social media is the best customer engagement option for companies right now.
US Credit Card company transforms CX with Messaging
This Finserv customer keeps CX at the front and center of their offering by employing over 8000 customer service agents located across the continental US and available 24×7. These agents handle queries phone and digital channels.
Their first foray into digital customer service was in 2006 when they launched live chat support on the website. Although live chat was well received by their customers, their Director of Digital Customer Service and team felt they could do even better.
Long-term impact of #COVID19 on cybersecurity industry
It is clear that whilst efforts are being made to contain the coronavirus, there will be a long-term impact upon society, and therefore a long-term impact upon the cybersecurity industry also. So, having looked at what the short-term consequences could be, Infosecurity now assesses the longer-term impact, and where we could be by the end of 2020.
The move towards remote working will need to be reconsidered, as “education of users is key when looking to keep an organization safe” and while he didn’t believe that this will change too much, the focus of that education will probably be specific towards remote working.
Messaging transforms financial services customer experience
The finserv industry is undergoing a radical shift driven by mounting regulations, changing business models, and razor-thin margins. And as if these challenges were not enough, the emergence of new-age FinTech companies like Apple Pay and Google Pay have disrupted the way consumers perform transactions, resulting in fickle customer loyalty. A study from Bain & Company reports US customers rank disruptors like PayPal nearly as high as banks for trust with their money. This has forced traditional institutions to rethink the way they do business.
Securing remote work in the new norm
The concept of the agile and remote worker has become more prevalent in recent years, as consumer Wi-Fi becomes more faster, we carry corporate laptops or BYOD-permitted smartphones, and realize we don’t all need access to a printer and fax machine. That’s been good preparation for the current COVID-19 lockdown, where remote working has moved from being something that you may do one day a week to something that is the new norm for many people.
COVID-19 changes cybersecurity roles and duties
A majority of cybersecurity professionals have said that their job functions have changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with 90% now working remotely full-time.
According to a survey of 256 cybersecurity professionals by (ISC)2, 81% of respondents, all responsible for securing their organizations’ digital assets, indicated that their job function has changed during the pandemic. The survey, which was conducted this month, also found that 96% of respondents’ organizations have closed their physical work environments and moved to remote work-from-home policies for employees.
Biases in Perceptions of Information Security Threats
As of March 2020, everyone was asked to work from home where possible. This current shift in situation presents not only technological but also human factor challenges for information security. Organizations will have to tailor their awareness campaigns and training to target issues specific to working from home, confronting new security-based obstacles that their employees and clients might be facing.
The New Digital Customer Engagement for the New (Ab)normal
COVID-19, aka Coronavirus, has literally and figuratively changed the meaning of the tech marketing cliché “digital or death”. Consumers are still very wary of exposure to the virus and want to get more things done digitally.
SMC Consulting uses AI for personalized customer engagement
As markets begin to reopen, customers will seek special offers and online options.
“Companies who are adept at engaging their customers with relevant AI-driven messages will have an edge in capturing the business that’s still out there, along with the pent up demand,”
