Andrew Little, Chief Operating Officer, Get Safe Online, brand nerd and believer
I am fortunate to have worked in both the private and third sectors. I am also fortunate to have worked long enough to have an informed and robust view on ‘partnership’ – an oft abused word! I am especially energised by the recent grave challenges facing M&S, Co-op and Harrods in rebuilding trust and brand equity post widely publicised cyber-attacks. Are they best placed responding alone?
Brand reputation and equity is a hard earned right. M&S, Co-op and Harrods have treasured places in the UK conscious through longevity, quality, consumer empathy and focus and not least investment. All are facing disruption in trading and threat to their brand through online threats. Beyond the pure technical grunt necessary (which may well involve highly paid expert third parties) what can be done to restore confidence in these brands’ online presence. Get Safe Online – an agnostic, authoritative expert in online safety for consumers and businesses – has long provided bolster to companies threatened in this way. How? I compare it to a kite mark, which provides a stamp of reassurance to customers, supply chain and other stakeholders. In more human terms, it’s adding a second voice – independent, credible – to yours, with that added layer of informed, understandable, useful and positive advice to further reassure.
Get Safe Online – founded in 2005 by CEO Tony Neate, the Cabinet Office and the then High Tech Crime Unit (now NCA) – has persisted and flourished in offering core counsel to new and diverse audiences, and has proved very good at it. If we weren’t, our private and public sector partners (like Lloyds and Barclays) and challenger brands (like Airbnb and viagogo) would not keep working with us. The message is broadly the same – eliminating the weakest link by improving online behaviours. HOW we get this across to your workforce and customers is the clever stuff.
So why wait? Your customers and supply chain partners have trust high on their priority list. Trust can benefit from support. Get Safe Online listens and learns and attunes action to your audience and your message. I repeat: we are very good at it. Why wait for a cyber incident? Contact us now!
