Crisis Management 2.0 – Toyota
Growing up in a Toyota, I have to admit… I live, breath and die Toyota. There are very fond memories of my family riding the forest green Camry on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway to either my parents job or the local Pathmark. But the minute news struck about Toyota’s recall, I immediately went to the boards to see what was going on.
How did Toyota handle the spread of concern and feedback on the web? The story goes back to the history and culture of Toyota.
This wasn’t magic that poofed into the air to make the recall mess go away. It was over decades of brand building, focus on quality and customer relationships that made the recall less off a threat and more of an opportunity to showcase their strengths. Their ability to respond to the recall put them ahead of the mess rather than behind it. Toyota’s secret to success has always been to deliver what they promised from the start; quality and a continual emphasis on customer service.
Their will to put the safety of the public first became the reason why the recall did not have as much as a negative impact as it could have. The company followed up such measures with a Twitter account to address the issue, offering Q/A sessions to the users of Digg for the CEO and the other, endless efforts to be upfront and personal. In the end, transparency is the name of the game. The string of humorous commercials promoting their minivan line has also proven to move away from the recall and bring an uplifting feel to the situation. In all honesty, it works.
Last month, Toyota reported that it recovered its sales and increased profits based off the previous quarter.
Take a look at the viral video below. The video echoes brand recognition, a sense of “they get it” allure, promotes their high quality product and offers some comic relief. It has a great share appeal, too!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql-N3F1FhW4&feature=player_embedded
Now, lets go get our Swagger Wagon.
http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2010/02/09/reasons-why-toyota-will-recover-quickly-from-the-recall-mess/