Month: May 2022

The banking industry has faced the fastest transition, jumping head first into the unchartered waters of the digital world. Who would have thought that the Covid-19 pandemic would stream roll every aspect of life into embracing digital skills and services, but here we are now; much wiser and better as we horn in our skills to ensure that our bank throws that essential life line to our customers keeping them afloat in ever changing times.

Digital Banking Services

If someone had told you that in 2022 we would have almost phased out the busy bank halls and queues and embraced faster more efficient technology, you would not have believed it. Not every bad thing is bad for you. On the contrary, the challenges we have faced in the past 3 years have taught us to be resilient, adaptable and welcoming of the technology around us.

Mobile money, digital cards, electronic signature, secure online document wallets, free cash transfers and convenience, the last one rings true. We have moved with the changing times to ensure that our customers experience convenience in banking. One no longer needs to come to the bank for a meeting, not with many platforms offering online meetings, face time, chats and conference calls. The world is your oyster, you just have to define your ceiling to see it.

Is the world ready for this transformation?

The new normal is nothing like what we are used to. The sudden catastrophic events like the Covid-19 pandemic, sudden stock market crashes, the Russia-Ukraine war and generally political instability have created a heightened consumer demand for digital services. We live in a world where you can operate your life without leaving the comfort of your home and this must, one hundred percent be entirely facilitated by the banking industry. Good out of the bad? well this time, yes.

Technology, innovation and new ideas have been born and with that our customer numbers have grown while we work day and night to ensure that they are safe within our digital platforms. The switch to mobile and digital banking has become the single most embraced strategy since the beginning of modern banking, and much more awaits us ahead. No matter where you are around the globe, in lockdown, at home, on a hike so long as you have access to the internet and a mobile device, there are no limitations, you can access your financial services at the click of a button.

Have we mentioned authorizing transactions by facial recognition and fingerprint scanners? Digital banking is here to stay, what we need to do is research and innovate to protect our customers as we navigate through this journey together.

I&M and the Digital Frontier

I&M has launched an extensive shift to digital services aimed at making our clients lives easy. What’s better than your own personal online banking platform, 24-hour online teller support, online loans access and repayments and most of all our best and trusted Global credit and debit Cards?

The uncertainty in the current times requires an excellent partner and I&M is determined to walk with you every step of the way through innovation, research and development until we are in sync with all our customer needs.

Digitizing essential Services (I&M On The Go)

Providing online banking for fast, accurate and easy service delivery, easy mobile payments, access to loans that allow people to access bank services from anywhere. We do not have to run into the bank and fill excessive paperwork for anything as it's all in one package, the I&M On The Go mobile App and Web, where you can carry out bank transactions from the comfort of your house.

Introduction of the new I&M Debit and Credit Mastercard

If Covid, wars and sudden disasters have taught us anything, it’s the power of an excellent bank card that’s global and easy to access. With 24-hour online customer care, we are able to authorize payments, transfer and even give access to urgent finances where needed. You have it all in your hands wherever you go. I haven’t even mentioned the benefits of using these cards. I&M bank offers some of the best debit, prepaid and credit cards that are widely accepted in Kenya and beyond.

We create financial solutions with our customers’ needs in mind. Trust us as we navigate this digital journey together, because we are on your side.

Saving money for a rainy day is a necessary practice that most people know they should, yet they find it hard to do. Sometimes the hardest thing about saving money is just getting started. Today I have a step-by-step guide that can help you develop a simple and realistic strategy, so that you can save for all your short- and long-term goals.

• Record your expenses

The first step to start saving money is figuring out how much you spend. Keep track of all your expenses—that means every coffee, household item and cash tip as well as regular monthly bills. Record your expenses whichever way that you find easy to do. Grab a pencil and paper, a simple spreadsheet or a free online spending tracker or app. Once you have your data, organize the numbers by categories, such as gas, groceries and mortgage, and total each amount. Use your bank statements to make sure you’ve included everything.

• Include saving in your budget

Now that you know what you spend in a month, you can begin to create a budget. Your budget should show what your expenses are relative to your income, so that you can plan your spending and limit overspending. Be sure to factor in expenses that occur regularly but not every month, such as car maintenance. Include a savings category in your budget and aim to save an amount that initially feels comfortable to you. Plan on eventually increasing your savings by up to 15 to 20 percent of your income.

• Find ways to cut spending

If you can’t save as much as you’d like, it might be time to cut back on expenses. Identify nonessentials, such as entertainment and dining out, that you can spend less on. Look for ways to save on your fixed monthly expenses, such as entertainment or cell phone plan, as well. Other ideas for trimming everyday expenses include:

1. Search for free activities: Use resources, such as community event listings, to find free or low-cost entertainment.
2. Review recurring charges: Cancel subscriptions and memberships you don’t use—especially if they renew automatically.
3. Examine the cost of eating out vs. cooking at home: Plan to eat most of your meals at home, and research local restaurant deals for nights that you want to treat yourself.
4. Wait before you buy: When tempted by a nonessential purchase, wait a few days. You may realize the item was something you wanted rather than needed—and you can develop a plan to save for it.

• Set savings goals

One of the best ways to save money is to set a goal. Start by thinking about what you might want to save for—both in the short term (one to three years) and the long term (four or more years). Then estimate how much money you’ll need and how long it might take you to save it.

• Determine your financial priorities

After your expenses and income, your goals are likely to have the biggest impact on how you allocate your savings. For example, if you know you’re going to need to replace your car in the near future, you could start putting away money for one now. But be sure to remember long-term goals—it’s important that planning for retirement doesn’t take a back seat to shorter-term needs. Learning how to prioritise your savings goals can give you a clear idea of how to allocate your savings.

As I conclude, review your budget and check your progress every month. That will help you not only stick to your personal savings plan, but also identify and fix problems quickly. Understanding how to save money may even inspire you to find more ways to save and hit your goals faster.

We all want to be perceived in a certain way by those around us. That affects how we present ourselves to others and how we carry ourselves when we are around them. This is because we understand the importance of creating a good perception about ourselves that ensures we have a good reputation.

When it comes to business, it is not any different…Every business has a brand persona and that determines how it operates which eventually creates a certain perception about it. A good reputation is good for business, a bad one, can be crippling. It is therefore very important for stakeholders to create and maintain a good brand reputation.

Reputational risk is a threat to the positive perception others may have about your brand in general, a product or service you offer. Reputational risk can be categorised into:

• Direct risk: This is as a result of a company's actions or internal issues.
• Indirect risk: This results from actions of the employees of a company
• Peripheral risk: This arises from the actions of business partners.

So what are some of the causes of reputational risk?

• Poor workplace operations and conduct: Misconduct of employees, management and third-parties you work with can affect your reputation. It can lead to your business receiving negative media coverage and consequently affect your reputation.
• Inadequate quality of products and services: Faulty products or substandard services by a company may make its customers lose confidence in their ability to offer quality products and service. This in the long run will create a negative perception about your brand and customer will opt not to buy from you.
• Misleading investors or the public: Companies that intentionally mislead investors and the public with fabricated claims of product success and capabilities or falsified financial reports risk damaging their reputation
• Poor data security and privacy: Data breaches are a major source of reputational risk. Companies whose customer data is stolen by hackers experience significant repetitional damage as consumers lose confidence in their competency to safeguard sensitive data.
• Poor regulatory compliance: A company with poor compliance could be publicly investigated, convicted of crimes, and forced to pay hefty fines – all of which negatively impact the brand’s perception in the marketplace.

How to manage reputational risk

1. Make reputational risk part of strategy and planning

Start by brainstorming with your employees at different levels the potential scenarios that could damage your brand’s reputation. Determine the indicators for each scenario and possible solution to mitigate it before the issue gets out of hand.

2. Control processes

Standardisation, technology, policies, and procedures reduce the likelihood and severity of events that could cause reputational damage. By focusing on consistently supplying quality products and services, it’s much less likely that there will be a harmful mistake.

3. Understand all actions can affect public perception

Your company should have well spelt out policies and procedures to ensure all employees at all levels know how to behave and respond appropriately in any situation.

4. Understand stakeholder expectations

Make sure it is clear and you understand what customers, shareholders and employees expect from the organisation and management, and strive to satisfy these conditions. Don’t set expectations too high by promising offers that you cannot deliver.

5. Focus on a positive image and communication

Customer service, transparency, good governance, and steady growth are some of the most important messages to convey. It’s not possible to please everyone at the same time, so focus on satisfying your most important stakeholders first.

Consistently send out positive communications. Over time, this will build up your reputation in the public mind, lessening the impact of future damages. Always inform clients and employees what’s happening and how you are responding to incidents in the organisation or environment.

6. Create response and contingency plans

What’s the worst that can happen to your organisation and how will you respond to it from a reputation perspective? You should think of the worst-case scenario and how to appropriately respond to it in case it happens.

In conclusion, while in some organization reputational risk may be underestimated, its potential side effect can hugely harm your business. Without an effective reputational risk management, it may take an organization a long time to recover from an otherwise minor incident.

Year in, year out, we set new year resolutions but do we really follow them through to fruition? Did you set new resolutions and goals this year? Did you know that according to the Statistic Brain Research Institute, only 9.2% of all people ever feel that they are successful in achieving their New Year’s resolution? Is it necessary to set them in the first place? Well, we will leave that for you to decide. Say for instance you are planning to purchase your dream home and car or go on vacation, what are some of the things that you can do to ensure that happens? Your resolution here for instance is to increase your number of clients for your business or side hustle within a realistic timeline in order to get that extra money that will help you achieve the set goal. This said, your goals should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound.

A widely quoted statistic showed 80% of people give up on their resolutions by the second week in February. Why is this the case? Why do new year resolutions fail?

• Loss of focus – Say for instance you are planning to lose some weight and somewhere along the way you stop working out. Chances are, you won’t achieve that weight loss. It is therefore important to stick to a routine or quantifiable step towards reaching that objective.
• Lack of an accountability partner – You can identify a mentor or a supportive friend to help you keep track of every stage of achieving your objective.
• Lack of SMART goals – if your goals are not specific enough, it is hard to keep track of them or identify the next steps towards achieving your goals
• State of mind – without a mindset shift, it is hard to change your behavior. Your consciousness will always be your biggest drive.
• Fear of the unknown – perhaps you are subconsciously procrastinating because you are afraid to succeed because you believe that it brings more burden. An article by Forbes describes it as “Feeling Fundamentally Flawed - The biggest and most widely-shared fear is that many of us feel there is something fundamentally wrong with us and that we’re undeserving of great success and happiness. This fear causes us to hold ourselves back from fulfilling our ultimate potential because we feel we inherently don’t deserve it.” 

Now that we know the ‘why’, let’s get to the ‘how’ to turn your goals and resolutions into success:

Make a detailed plan that clearly indicates every step or stage of your goals and set a deadline on when you are most likely to have reached your objective. This will not only keep you focused but you will be able to identify/overcome the obstacles or setbacks ahead.

Learn from your past mistakes. Take some time to reflect on the things that prevented you from succeeding in your previous goals and resolutions. Take note and forge a way forward into a more positive habit. This way, you will avoid repeating the same mistakes again.

Don’t give up. Keep that burning desire to succeed. Keep your head up high and focus on the end goal. Whenever you feel like giving up, imagine where you want to be and remember the sole reason and purpose that you are seeking that success. Change is a process, it takes time. Be patient with yourself and remember that success is a journey, not a destination.

Visualize the goal. Imagine that you achieved that success that you desire. What does it look like? Now that you have that clear picture, take actionable and SMART steps to ensure that you get to where you want to be.  Visualize your success, then take action! Visualizing simply makes you understand and know when you have reached your goal. If you can visualize it, if you can dream it, there's some way to do it. _ Walt Disney

Make SMART goals. As indicated earlier, saying that you want to buy an item is not enough. You have to make a plan that is not only achievable but realistic and achievable within the set time frame. You create a saving plan that works best for you and eliminate habits that hinder you from achieving your desired outcome. In case your goal is to change your habits, for instance eating healthier, you can write up a meal plan and identify triggers that make you eat unhealthy foods and counter them accordingly. If you are planning to shed a few kilos, you can make a fitness and diet plan that works best for you and one that will help you lose that excess weight within a realistic time frame.

 We hope that this year will be your best and that you will achieve all the success you desire!

We are on your side!

Howdy,

We all know how culture is close to our hearts. Most of us do certain things in a certain way despite our level of education or status in the society because it is our culture. We feel it is what defines who we are and gives us a sense of identity.

Most of us spend about 8 hours per day working. This mean means most of our time as adults is spent at work. It is therefore important for our work environment to be friendly and conducive.

Your organisation’s culture will set the tone for your organisation’s work environment. Let’s start by defining what is organisational culture? Organisational culture is a collection of values, expectations, and practices that guide and inform the actions of all team members in a company. It is more like a collection of traits that make your company what it is.

So is organisational culture the same as organisational goals or a mission statement? Of course not! Culture is created through consistent and authentic behaviours, not press releases or policy documents. A company’s culture comes to play when you see how a CEO responds to a crisis, how a team adapts to new customer demands, or how a manager corrects an employee who makes a mistake.

Importance of culture to your company

It defines your company’s internal and external identity: It defines how your organisation does business and how the team interacts with one another, your customers, partners, suppliers, media and all other stakeholders.

Organisational culture is about living your company’s core values: A strong organisational culture keeps your company’s core values front and center in all aspects of its day-to-day operations and organisational structure

Your culture can transform employees into advocates: The greatest advantages of a good organisational culture is that it has the power to turn employees into advocates.

Employees look for something more than just a steady pay-check and good benefits; they want to feel like what they do matters. And when your people feel like they matter, they’re more likely to become culture advocates—that is, people who not only contribute to your organisations culture, but also promote it and live it internally and externally.

Employee retention: employees who feel like they’re part of a community, rather than a cog in a wheel, are more likely to stay at your company.

Your culture transforms your company into a team: The culture at your organisation not only sets expectations for how people behave and work together, but also how well they function as a team.

Culture impacts performance and employee wellbeing: A healthy culture addresses employee’s performance and wellbeing and ensures there is an appropriate balance of both. A culture that stresses performance to such a degree that employees feel like their physical and mental health are being overlooked is a dysfunctional one.

In conclusion, as an employee, the above should be the beginning of a conversation of what does your company bring to the table over and above your pay-check and benefits vs what you offer your company. As an employer, the this should be the beginning of a conversation of what is your organizational culture and how to better it. With that said, let’s meet on the next article where I will guide you on how to build a high-performing organizational culture.

Your bank buddy

Howdy,

Someone once said people with good intentions make promises. People with good character keep them. I believe I have both good intention and character, so as promised in the previous piece, today I would like to guide you on how to build a high-performing organisational culture.

Creating a great organisational culture requires developing and executing a plan with clear objectives that you can work towards and measure. The below steps should serve as a roadmap for building a culture of continuity that will deliver long-term benefits across your company.

Recognising the contributions of all team members

When everyone on the team recognises the accomplishments of others, individuals start to see how they’re part of a whole. According to experts, when an organisation makes appreciating employees part of its culture, important metrics like employee engagement, retention, and productivity improve.

Employee recognition however shouldn’t be preserved for major milestones and anniversaries only, it should be a regular occurrence for it to be part of your culture. Your culture should encourage team members to practice frequent social recognition in addition to monetary recognition.

Monetary recognition is very valuable. Generic mugs trophies and certificates will only gather dust on a shelf. Monetary reward means employees can spend the extra cash on something much more meaningful to them. This will motivate them to go an extra mile to achieve their goals.

Enable employee voice

Create a culture that listens and values feedback. This can be done through surveys and discussions on certain issues. A culture where there is room for feedback makes employees feel their voice is essential and this contributes to employee satisfaction.

Creating a culture that values feedback and encourages employee voice is essential, as failing to do so can lead to lost revenue and demotivated employees.

Make your leaders culture advocates

For your organisations culture to succeed, your company’s leadership should be on board for them to be able to cascade to their juniors. Your leadership team can help build the culture you need by prioritising it in their work lives. percent of employees agree. When employees see leaders living your culture, they’ll follow suit.

Live by your company values

The foundation of your company’s culture is your company values. Your company’s values should not just be a mission statement, you should strive to weave it into every aspect of your business.

Forge interpersonal connections between members

Your organisation’s culture should be accommodative of team members’ cultural diversity. It should also promote communication and connections between team members. Provision for team building activities can be one way to promote this.

Focus on learning and development

Workplace cultures that tend to succeed are those that are have provision for  employees to continually learn and employer willing to continually invest in staff development. Training initiatives, coaching, and providing employees with new responsibilities are all great ways to show your team that you’re invested in their success.

Personalise the employee experience

In as much as team work makes the dream work, each employee has individual needs. You can take surveys to find out what your employees’ value and what their ideal corporate culture looks like. You can use feedback from the survey to tailor your actions to personalize the employee experience for your team. Treating your employees with the same individualism and care you treat your customers will translate into a culture that motivates each individual at your organisation.

As I finish, note that organisational culture will develop even without the employer’s input, but in the absence of that guidance, it may not be healthy or productive. When developing your organisations culture, keep these three basic techniques in mind:

• Improve communication with employees
• Start creating a culture of recognition
• Ensure that all members of your team put your culture into action

You have probably gotten disappointed or frustrated while purchasing a product or service. We bet the unpleasant experience probably left a bad taste in your mouth. You have also experienced a seamless purchase experience that we bet left a lasting impression. Now, let us reflect on the two experiences. One experience was quite frustrating – would you consider purchasing from them again or would you rather switch to their competition? The other experience was quite pleasant - would you be willing to pay a higher price to receive the same premium customer service experience? Some food for thought right there.

In today’s world, the customer is king or queen. Customer experience (CX) is a very fundamental component of any business. It is the overall perception customers have with regards to the impression or experience they have encountered with your business or brand. The aspects can make or break your business. CX focuses on the relationship between clients and businesses as a whole. This relationship is defined by interactions and experiences throughout the customer journey. It is, therefore, also the foundation of loyalty and customer retention.

Brands must focus on improving customer experience as the expectations change. Here are some interesting reasons why:
62% of customers are willing to pay more for good customer service. (2020 Achieving Customer Amazement Study)
According to Shep Hyken’s 2020 Achieving Customer Amazement Study, Did you know that 96% of customers will leave a brand for poor service?
About 84% of consumers have stopped doing business with a brand due to a poor customer experience. (Conversocial The State of Customer Experience 2020 Report)

So, what does a great customer experience look like? You will notice:
An Increase in happy and repeat customers – Repeat purchase of your product/service offering
Speedy delivery of product/service within the set SLA (service-level agreement)
An Increase in the number of referrals - Willingness of a customer to advocate for your brand
Reduced level of churn rate - Customers are satisfied with your product/service offering
Consistent demand of your product/service – a stream of loyal customers
Increase in positive sentiments – Customers love your brand offering and customer service
A sense of brand ownership by staff and customers
Sustainable growth and a clear competitive advantage

The competition for alternative goods is quite is stiff. Customer experience has proven to be a major differentiator in today’s business environment especially in the presence of me-too type of businesses (businesses selling very similar products or services). There are major notable trends in customer experience in our era such as:

Cyber Security – Technology risks are rapidly arising. As a business, this is the practice of protecting customer information by mitigating information risks, anticipating cyber-related risks and responding appropriately when they do
Customer satisfaction surveys – an omnichannel collection of feedback
Automation of processes. e.g. optimized points of self-service, customer service bots, etc.
Rise of personalized or specially packaged messages, products and services
Increased customer engagement and retention programs
Speed, convenience and friendliness through technology while maintaining the human element

As a business or brand, Experience is everything. So, what can you do to win clients with a great customer experience?

Embrace customer feedback – implement feedback collected from (NPS) Net Promoter Score Questionnaires and customer satisfaction surveys
Improve products and services to wow customers
Proactively understand and train customer-facing employees on best practices
Utilize CRM customer data and analytics to cross-sell, match their needs or provide personalized product/service offerings that best suit or anticipate their lifestyle and needs
Exceed your customers’ expectations. Offer speedy delivery via smart automation and actionable insights — across private messaging omnichannel.
Add a human touch element to your service automation. It can be something like a simple greeting or friendly automated process or answer
Keep your delivery promise as stated in your service charter
Offer after-sale services that will encourage repeat purchase and customer retention
Offer a cashback, loyalty or affiliate program that rewards the customer for taking a service or referring clients to the business

Happy customers are the main ingredients of company success. Give customers great experiences and they will buy more from your business and even refer their family and friends.

No matter what, We Are On Your Side!

We all desire money and the concept of it is actually quite intriguing. Don’t worry, we are not about to bore you, we’ll keep it simple, exciting, and easy to understand.

Let’s start off with this interesting fact; Did you know that the Mesopotamian shekel was the first known form of currency? It emerged nearly 5,000 years ago. Money as we know it is considered to be a store of value, a unit of account, and a medium of exchange. It is simply a verifiable record or rather what we use to accept payments for goods and services rendered. Throughout history, the concept, usage, and form of money have evolved over time.  In ancient times, people directly exchanged goods and services through barter trade or exchange. Here, money was considered to be a commodity. Then came the discovery of Gold and Silver coins dating back to around 650 to 600 B.C. This form of money became such a huge hit because it was more portable, durable, retrievable, countable, could be inherited and could be measured. Could the coins be counterfeited? Yes! However, through Archimedes' principle, coins could be tested for their fine weight and the true value would be established.

In as much as coins were a huge milestone, they were quite cumbersome in large quantities, and once again a transition happened - paper money. According to the Guinness World records, the earliest forerunner of today's banknotes was the "Flying Money" used by wealthy merchants and government officials in Tang Dynasty China (AD 618–907). This form of money in economic terminology is considered a ‘legal tender because it is literally legally tendered or issued by the monetary authority or central bank of a nation.

Paper money then evolved to credit money – a financial instrument that was designed to be paid back over an agreed period of time. In other words, the monetary value of credit money is debt. Did you know that the earliest modern thinker to formulate a credit theory of money was Henry Dunning Macleod (1821-1902)? Brilliant mind indeed! Commerce and taxation created obligations between parties which were forms of credit and debt. In this modern-day, there are numerous solutions that take the form of money. There are letters of credit, trade finance, asset finance, and so many other numerous lending products.

The evolution has now transitioned to plastic money, from the 1920s. As we all know, plastic money is an improvement over the traditional banking system because it has reduced the cost of transaction processing, improved payment efficiency, financial services, and the banker-customer relationship. (Sathye, 1999). We now have numerous forms of plastic money in the form of credit, debit, smart and prepaid cards. Speaking of which, we understand that your lifestyle is changing and have just the solutions for you! Explore our one-stop shop to all these forms of cards to fit your financial/lifestyle needs and to carry with you wherever you go: https://www.imbank.com/personal/cards This form of money quote relates with our current lifestyle needs.

In our current contemporary world, the concept of money raises a complex question - Is money tangible or intangible? What do you think? Well, the true definitive form of money remains a blur especially now that we are headed to a cashless future. There are other diverse/speculative forms of money such as cryptocurrencies - binary data designed to work as a medium of exchange, that is slowly gaining popularity. There are also other forms of upcoming forms of digital currencies and fintech that we may not even be aware of.

Money shapes economies, economies shape nations, nations shape history. It follows that the future of money is profoundly important. - Mark Carney. So where are we headed? In an article by Eswar Prasad Tolani Senior Professor of Trade Policy at Cornell University, Money and finance are on the verge of dramatic transformations that will reshape their roles in the lives of ordinary people. We think we’ve seen financial innovation. Prasad foresees the end of physical cash. The world of finance is at the threshold of major disruption that will affect corporations, bankers, states, and indeed all of us. The transformation of money will fundamentally rewrite how ordinary people live.

Since we are talking about money, there are so many investment options such as custody and investment services, stocks, shares, unsecured bonds, wealth management, etc. It is therefore important to understand how money works in these various forms in order to make the best and informed investment decision. As the smart human that you are, only invest in what you understand.

No matter what, We Are On Your Side!

Howdy, hope you’ve been well. Personally, I have been good, I can’t complain

Most of us, have social media accounts and use various platforms present to communicate, share, entertain, learn, seek resolution to our queries plus so much more. Over the years, social media has grown from just being a platform for us to connect and engage with friends and family into one that brands can use to connect and engage with its audience.

As we speak, most businesses regardless of size have a presence on social media. While your brand being on social media has its advantages, it can also be the pin the bursts your brand’s bubble. When all hell breaks loose and people are attacking your brand on social media, what are you supposed to do?

Today I would like to share with you the 3 key pillars of managing social media crisis

Halt normalcy

Start by halting all scheduled posts prior to the crisis. This way your brand doesn’t come off to the public as arrogant or playing pretend. Continuing with scheduled post is as good as giving a gun to your enemy to shoot you. This is because trolls will use your posts to leave provocative comments.

Acknowledgement

Acknowledge the issue but don’t commit to responding to questions yet. You can do this in form of a post. Whether you disagree with the allegations or you are not sure of the facts pertaining to the issue, you can always let the general public know that yes you are aware of abc… but the issue is under investigation and you’ll keep them posted once the facts are clear.

Communicate

After you’ve gathered all the facts internally in relation to the issue and have agreed on the response you want to give your audience, you can start responding to questions. Use visuals and graphics along with words to signal a change in standard operating procedure. As you respond to individual comments, give definitive responses, that way you protect yourself from a never-ending tit for tat conversation with one person yet your comment section and DMs are overflowing. Don’t forget to loop in your staff managing other communication outlets so that in case a customer asks, they are in a position to answer with the right information

Once the storm is over, you can now resume business as usual on your social media pages. Just like any other form of crisis, remember to keep calm and try not to panic. Bad press on social media can spread like wildfire but hey, that’s when your crisis communication plan comes in.

These are just but a few red flags indicative of fraud that a merchant should pay attention to. Remember that as you It’s always a pleasure touching base with you, till next time. Adios!