Every year, companies spend billions of dollars on marketing. While this is an investment that pays off for many, for some companies the effort goes down the drain. There are many factors that can ruin a company’s marketing investment and one of them is malware. Therefore, as a business owner, it is essential to invest in the right tools to protect your systems and computers from malicious software. You could spend a lot of time and money interacting with prospects and fail to realise profits all because of a simple virus. This article highlights the key ways in which malware can affect your marketing efforts.

Lost Sales and Customers

Malware can ruin your computers and systems leading to a disruption in your interactions with the customers. When you and your team are not there to serve customers on time, you lose sales. Additionally, you could lose future business since some of these customers are less likely to return to your website or online store later. When this happens, you won’t get returns for the money you spent attracting these customers.

Loss of Customers’ and Marketing Data

Some malicious software can cause data loss from your computer or system. They can either delete or modify the files in your computer. Loss of customers’ data is a big blow to any company. This data is an asset to the organisation and it helps in offering personalised services to the customers. It is useful in planning campaigns and remarketing to the dormant customers. Loss of marketing plans and past marketing analysis reports can also ruin your marketing efforts.

Loss of Company Reputation and Legal Consequences

While deleted files may not do much harm to the company, data theft can cripple your operations completely. When customers learn that your website was attacked by hackers, they will lose confidence in your business. Thus, all the marketing effort you put into winning their trust will be lost. Remember, it can be very difficult to rebuild trust, especially in today’s competitive world. When sensitive information gets into the hands of attackers, there could be legal consequences. Legal consequences can cost your business lots of money and also create a bad name for your brand.

Selling Sensitive Information to Competitors

By using malware, hackers can steal your passwords, get access to your systems, steal critical information and sell it to your competitors. They can sell your marketing plans and other key business secrets you use to remain competitive.

Since malware is here to stay, the only thing businesses can do is to protect themselves from attacks. The first step you should take is to learn about anti-malware. Making an investment in the right software is the best way to ensure that your systems are prevented from attacks. Also, the software will detect and remove the malicious software immediately in case your system is infected.

The second step you should take is to ensure that everyone in your company is trained on how to stay safe online. Mostly computers are infected when downloading files, visiting other websites, clicking a link on the email or clicking a pop up. Finally, since you never know how strong an attack can be, it is advisable to invest in backup storage.