With all that is going on with Toyota these days, I am reminded of the Tylenol case that was studied over and over at business schools as the marquee case study of how to handle crisis. As a brief synopsis, there was a media scare when it appeared that the Tylenol bottles had been tampered with and people were dying because of it. The company, with huge cost implications, immediately pulled all bottles until it could figure out what had happened. The brand was back on the shelves a short time later and it is widely thought that the beand was stronger because of the way that the company reacted to the sitaution.
I wonder, though, in the age of social media and citizen journalism and the immediacy of information, would the reaction that they had been seen as immediate. In fact, can it be said that any company can react immediately to a situation in this age of social media and social communications. I wonder this because I keep asking myself – is Toyota handling the situation in the best way that it could? Is there more that they can be doing? Could they have done it quicker? Could they have been like the Tylenol team?
I do think that they can and should be more in the eye of the consumer and building off of the brand strength that they had built for so long. In this new world, the reaction does need to be immediate but it also need to be public and social. Use the channels that are available to you and let the momentum take it. Control the message by putting a face on it and engaging with the customers to keep whatever trust you can and build back whatever trust you lost. I would argue that in this day and age saying publicly – in video and online – that you d not have all of the facts, that you are investigating, and that you want to partake in an open and engaging dialogue is a must for any crisis management. There is no longer the time to regroup, investigate, meet, and caucus for weeks on end and then to issue sparse public messaging. Customers feel close to brands and expect immediacy and personal contact from brands they trust.
Am I way off?
