In last week’s PR Week mag I was quoted with my thoughts on the Toyota crisis. My comment was submitted on Monday, when the crisis was just beginning to hit the media.
Things have clearly moved on at pace since. It’s escalated to front page national coverage. The negative comments from the US Transportation Secretary last week were particularly damaging, as was the evidence Toyota knew about their accelerator issues some months ago.
Delays in recalling cars here in the UK and customer frustration over Toyota’s customer helpline has not helped. They’ve been hit with new concerns over their Prius braking system this morning, taking the shine of a major jewel in their crown.
My view on the video is the mix of reassurance, apology and answers works pretty well. You shouldn’t worry about making these video responses too polished, they should be quick, genuine and accurate.
They should have posted it earlier though, but probably felt nervous about taking this proactive step. I have seen criticism in the UK media that the Toyota GB Managing Director only started to comment on the issue on Thursday last week, adding to the sense that they were trying to keep their heads down.
I think the video will help, but it needs updating on a regular basis because so as not to go out of date quickly as the media agenda moves on. It’s also really important they work on the customer service line issues because the sentiment behind the video will be lost if customers can’t follow up with a phone call to discuss their own situation.
Toyota have taken some sensible steps, but they’ve been slow in critical areas and the crisis has over taken them. The media are now leading the agenda and they are being forced to follow.
This has blown up into front page news for three key reasons. First, it’s a critical issue of consumer safety that directly affects over 180,000 people in the UK. Second, they have such a strong reputation for quality, any problem is a big deal. Finally, despite the catastrophic performance of car makers, they have weathered the storm better than many. This crisis threatens to have a long tail and many media commentators are suggesting it could cripple their business. A major wobble for one of the most successful global corporations of the past two decades is big news, no matter how you look at it.
Toyota recall
All these Toyota recalls are causing a great deal of damage to their brand equity. more than 2 million motorcars in the US to sort out sticking accelerator pedals. 4.2 million automobiles in the US to fix pedals getting lodged below floor mats. 690,000 cars in China owing to imperfect electrical window switches. Toyota boss on Television to apologise for recall and still the mass media stress more concerns as the company gets more pestered. I wonder how much brand value this has cost the company.