With all of the recent negative press running circles around Toyota, there is no denying that they have a long road of damage control ahead of them. Dealers are looking for support and buyers are wondering what the future will hold. Regardless of what happens, Toyota has realized that their corporate-level response should be swift and targeted. But how do you reach your customers in today’s social climate? With so many people migrating away from traditional media, what avenues do you take to respond to standing customer debates surrounding negative press?
Domino’s Pizza had the answer to this question with the fall-out from a food tampering incident less than a year ago. An isolated incident became an online sensation when two employees grotesquely improvised the ingredients on a Domino’s pizza. The response? The CEO of the company quickly created a well thought out YouTube video that completely addressed Domino’s strict food quality standards and its dedication to the satisfaction and safety of its customers. It was a good response.
And although Domino’s created their Social Media community by jumping head first in response to a potentially harmful event, they made it in the game. Now Toyota is faced with the task of addressing their existing and potential customers in a similar manner. By utilizing their Social Media profiles to proactively engage their community, they offered complete transparency to their customers instead of hiding behind excuses and the one-way pipeline of traditional media.
Shortly after the recall was announced, Toyota teamed up with Digg to start the discussion between Toyota and its customers. Here is an excerpt from the main page:
“With the recent controversy surrounding the Toyota vehicle recall, one of the largest in history, we want to give you an opportunity to take your questions right to the top. Toyota US President and Chief Operating Officer, Jim Lentz, will be in the hot seat for our latest LIVE Digg Dialogg, where he will tackle your questions head-on. He’ll be sitting down with us to provide perspective on what happened, what Toyota is doing about it, and what consumers need to know.”
By using Digg in conjunction with their Twitter and Facebook pages, they entered a multi-front battle to enter the conversation instead of putting notifications only on traditional media like television or print advertisements. Both of the latter mediums are one-directional streets. You have to choose your message carefully and you have no way of knowing how it was received. Using Social Media provides an outlet for both the business and the consumer to continue the dialogue, giving the company a personal face as the problems unfold in real-time.
The damage may have already been done for Toyota, but by approaching the problem through personal interactions and offering a direct line to the inner circle of Toyota, they admitted fault and offered a solution for frustrated customers to voice their concerns.
