When Credit Card Fraud Strikes a Company

"A credit card data security breach was not a positive event in the history of Hannants, but the way the company handled it mitigated the problem and made customers feel like they were included in the solution -- more like partners than like victims. Hannants trusted its customers and their reaction to the news, and the company was rewarded with a largely positive response from its customers in social media."

Credit card fraud can be disastrous for a company, but the Hannants case illustrates a number of important lessons about good CRM. Communicate with the customers. Be open and honest. Don't be defensive. Don't lay blame. Just work to fix the problem and tell the customers what is being done to safeguard their interests. Have good relationships to begin with. That may be one of the most important points. Good CRM, with established channels of communication and a legacy of trust will pay off in bad times.

For a write-up on the Hannants case, see this article.