The only safe bet with Toyota this year is that it seems like they will have another recall. Their persistent recalls and public quality inquiries have shattered their once unquestionable quality reputation.
In an attempt to fix their tarnished reputation,Toyota is running a television campaign touting quality awards,SMART teams, and $1 million spent on safety per hour. But can Toyota’s current television blitz is wipe the massive recalls from America’s memory? They claim to have better safety than their competition and they have a safety website to prove it. The site touts the following:
- The Star Safety System:Toyota is the first manufacturer to make the features of the Star Safety System standard on every vehicle.
- SMART Teams:To ensure rapid response,Toyota has established SMART Teams. Short for Swift Market Analysis Response Team — are rapid response technical teams that perform on-site analysis (there are 200 engineers and technicians that make up these teams).
- Safety Awards:Yes,Toyota has won safety awards,including five vehicles chosen by 2010 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety as Top Safety Picks.
The site touts several other facts like the number of features that make up the SMART system (5 features);the number of feet of test track a V6 Camry takes to stop from 70 MPH on a test track;and 1,000,000 which is the number of dollars Toyota spends every hour on safety.
Missing Numbers
From a consumer perspective,spending a million on safety per hour may sound impressive,but will it trump the knowledge that 2.3 million vehicle recalled in January for gas pedal issues? Will the fact Toyota has won more safety awards than any other brand (per their commercial) compensate for the fact JD Power reported Toyota slipped to 21st in new vehicle initial quality (lowest ever for the manufacturer in the 24-year survey history)?
In general safety is assumed for new car buyers today. It comes standard. If a company is talking about safety,chances are their vehicle is recalled for extreme situations like roll-overs,fuel leaks, or inability to stop. If they obsess over safety, they appear as an insecure brand over-compensating for deficiencies —and most likely they are. This is the conundrum Toyota is in: do they ignore the situation and let it fade away or do they attack it head on trying to build their reputation back? Apparently Toyota is going for the latter.
Given this,the problem with the current campaign is that the messaging and Toyota’s actions are the expected. There is nothing new,novel,or worth talking about. Toyota has massive recall –look we spend a lot on quality! Toyota slips in quality ratings —look we have SMART teams! While I don’t expect Toyota to spend millions of dollars on a campaign to say “We screwed up.”—the timing of the campaign will limit the effectiveness and the believability of the ads.
Safety Actions
So is there another way? Maybe. While I don’t think any one marketing action can wipe away the previous five months of turmoil,there may be actions Toyota can take in the future which will build back their reputation:
- Embrace Your Owners:This is probably the biggest missed opportunity Toyota had. Stories from owners on how Toyota embraced the recall and exceeded expectations would go a long way shaping public perception. Having dealerships open 24 hours until the last recall is fulfilled is not only an admirable business action to treat owners appropriately,but also makes for a great story owners can pass along (just please don’t create a cheesy commercial —let the word-of-mouth carry the story).
- Real Safety Enhancements:Toyota’s Star Safety System is just marketing speak ladened with industry acronyms (e.g. Brake Assist (BA),Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS),Electronic Brake Force Distribution (BFD?)) without clear tangible value. There seems nothing new here,nor is there a differentiating product safety benefit. If you truly have a safety story –a story that benefits the driver (e.g. think OnStar),then tell it, otherwise wait until the $1 million per hour produces something worth talking about.
- Stop Talking:As I write this Toyota just announced a recall for 137,000 Lexus vehicles in the U.S. for engine issues. The multi-million dollar risk Toyota continues to run is there safet-vertising will be nullified by their own forced actions —another recall.
A recent Starch research study has revealed a 24% drop from before the recalls to post-recall with also a large drop in consideration.
Great blog! It helped me gain some valuable insight on Toyota’s actions after the recall,and allowed me to interpret the post-recall marketing strategy.
Thanks!