The Marketing Edge
Why did we go over all of this history and facts in our first entry of this three part series? I wanted to share its significance in the marketplace and how you can mold the importance of it to make it a competitive advantage.
If you are not PCI compliant and the previous article did not motivate you to become compliant , then allow me to put another spin on this. Many of your competitors will choose the “bottom-line”” over protecting their customers best interests and you have an opportunity to gain a large amount of consumers resulting from your competitors greedy and short-sighted point of view. What do you think will happen if it is found out that your competitor is not compliant and you are? Who automatically becomes the white knight whose trust level just went through the roof? You guessed it – that would be you.
If you put security measures in place that adhere to PCI DSS standards, then you have every right to advertise the fact that you are fully PCI compliant. As consumers are becoming more and more aware of the PCI regulations, the recognition of the PCI Standard will become customary. Not so long into the future consumers will come to expect that you are PCI compliant if you are to do business with them. If not, then you are more than likely going to lose those consumers to a competitor with a safer shopping experience.
A Value Add
Is PCI Compliance a value add? Of course it is. Is a security guard walking in your neighborhood a value-add to the security of your community? Is having airbags in your car a value-add to keeping you safe in case of an accident? I don’t have to answer these loaded questions, as you already know the answer. As such, is PCI compliance going to be a value add for a vendor taking credit cards on the web? Sure, just because the general population is not fully aware of PCI DSS yet, does not mean they aren’t going to be. All it will take are a couple more security breaches and everyone will know about the business of PCI.
Perception is Reality
Why is there a security guard walking around the mall? Is he/she really going to be able to keep folks safer? What are the chances of the security guard being in the right place at the right time to fend off a crime? Chances are pretty slim, but knowing that a security guard is there provides an inherent sense of safety, and potential criminals are going to try more vulnerable targets, before they decide to perpetrate a crime of a patrolled business.
The same holds true for your online business. If folks know that you have met every compliance standard, potential thieves will go for the more vulnerable website. Of course the flip-side of the coin is that if you are that vulnerable business, your competition is slowly painting a bulls-eye on your shingle if you don’t begin securing yourself.
Now that you see how PCI compliance can give businesses a distinct marketing advantage, it’s high time that we share how you should use it to get the best for your business. We will cover this valuable information in our third and final installment!
Stephan Boehringer is the CEO of Get The Clicks, a web marketing company. Stephan has over 20 years of experience in the field of web marketing, and has been a speaker and consultant for many years. Stephan is passionate about web marketing and helping their clients be the best they can be.
Stephan Boehringer graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science in Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services.