Toyota: The Fragility of Credibility And Trust

· 21 Comments

Toyota Credibility And TrustAs we continue to explore methods to connect more deeply with your customers, I want to turn your attention to Toyota and the fragility of credibility and trust.

Make no mistake, selling a bushel of rotten apples will cripple any company’s credibility. But Toyota’s recent quality and recall headaches are especially devastating.

For more than three decades, Toyota has been synonymous with quality. The reliability of Toyota’s vehicles became a linchpin for the company’s credibility, and its most defining trait. So iron-clad was Toyota’s quality that Consumer Reports magazine would regularly assume an average reliability rating for the company’s newest vehicles, all without ever relying on survey data from Toyota owners.

Consumer Reports no longer gives Toyota a free pass.

And neither do consumers. Quality is a characteristic that you and I no longer associate with the company.

Yes, the halo is broken.

Watch Toyota’s recent television ad below. The ad is brilliant. But do you trust the company now when they tell you that Toyota vehicles are the world’s most reliable?

I didn’t think so.

Here’s a more accurate barometer of the public’s opinion of Toyota:

“I got this beautiful car, now I’m afraid to drive it,” said Maria Ciresi of Smithtown, New York.

I don’t mean to kick Toyota when it’s down. Really, I don’t. I only want you to appreciate that YOUR company’s credibility is inextricably tied to its defining characteristics. And this relationship is fragile. Betray your company’s defining characteristics and your credibility will surely tumble. Just ask Toyota.

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  • http://copperwrite.com/ rick copper

    My client has decided with his three Toyota stores to meet it head-on.
    http://bobrohrmanblog.com/toyota-recall/

    Radio commercials, TV spot and live reads for a week. Store service departments open 24/7.

  • http://copperwrite.com rick copper

    My client has decided with his three Toyota stores to meet it head-on.
    http://bobrohrmanblog.com/toyota-recall/

    Radio commercials, TV spot and live reads for a week. Store service departments open 24/7.

  • Chris Holko

    Very well put, Tom. Brilliant ads and bulls-eye copy can’t save Toyota now. At least in the short term.

    Should be very interesting to watch how they attempt to rebuild their brand. Over the next decade or longer.

  • Chris Holko

    Very well put, Tom. Brilliant ads and bulls-eye copy can’t save Toyota now. At least in the short term.

    Should be very interesting to watch how they attempt to rebuild their brand. Over the next decade or longer.

  • http://www.MarketingBeyondAdvertising.com/blog/ Tom Wanek

    Thanks, Chris. You’re right, it will be interesting to see. In the past, Toyota has been very good at realizing its mistakes and moving forward. We’ll see, they’ve got a big hill to climb.

  • Tom Wanek

    Thanks, Chris. You’re right, it will be interesting to see. In the past, Toyota has been very good at realizing its mistakes and moving forward. We’ll see, they’ve got a big hill to climb.

  • http://www.MarketingBeyondAdvertising.com/blog/ Tom Wanek

    Rick, your client ROCKS! He’s absolutely doing the right thing. And I guarantee this pays off for him, as people won’t soon forget that he stood up and took action. Nicely done.

  • Tom Wanek

    Rick, your client ROCKS! He’s absolutely doing the right thing. And I guarantee this pays off for him, as people won’t soon forget that he stood up and took action. Nicely done.

  • http://newamericanmarketplace.com/ Dennis Collins

    Tom, thanks for your post.

    Toyota has been making large deposits for a long, long time in their “customer trust” account. Clearly there have been some big withdrawals lately, but just like a bank account, I think they have enough rainy day “trust” capital available to survive this.

    As you know it’s not about how many times you fall, it’s about how many times (and HOW) you get up. For me the lesson is that your business better make regular and large deposits to your customer trust account to be ready for the rainy day…and the rainy day always comes.

    I’m curious. Are they handling this right? If you were Mr. Toyota, which Currency of Credibility would you use to get out of this mess?

  • http://newamericanmarketplace.com Dennis Collins

    Tom, thanks for your post.

    Toyota has been making large deposits for a long, long time in their “customer trust” account. Clearly there have been some big withdrawals lately, but just like a bank account, I think they have enough rainy day “trust” capital available to survive this.

    As you know it’s not about how many times you fall, it’s about how many times (and HOW) you get up. For me the lesson is that your business better make regular and large deposits to your customer trust account to be ready for the rainy day…and the rainy day always comes.

    I’m curious. Are they handling this right? If you were Mr. Toyota, which Currency of Credibility would you use to get out of this mess?

  • http://www.MarketingBeyondAdvertising.com/blog/ Tom Wanek

    Dennis, I believe Toyota has handled this poorly thus far.

    It’s gonna take a HUGE investment of power & control. Toyota has to be more transparent with the public. The insurance companies have been warning Toyota for several years now that its quality is slipping. Again, Toyota simply turned its back on its most precious defining characteristic. Trust will not come back quickly.

  • Tom Wanek

    Dennis, I believe Toyota has handled this poorly thus far.

    It’s gonna take a HUGE investment of power & control. Toyota has to be more transparent with the public. The insurance companies have been warning Toyota for several years now that its quality is slipping. Again, Toyota simply turned its back on its most precious defining characteristic. Trust will not come back quickly.

  • http://www.jeffsextonwrites.com/ Jeff

    Tom,

    What I find interesting is how the change in culture changed first, and the change in quality inevitably followed. Seems like when Toyota first got within striking distance of overtaking GM as the worlds largest car manufacturer, they lost site of their TQM culture. Once the culture slipped, so did the quality, and what’s that slipped, well, sales has surely followed.

    Here’s evidence of that slippage long before this fiasco came to light:

    http://www.chetrichards.com/c2w/2009/08/04/how-not-to-grow/

    Another thing is that the competitive environment has changed. Hundai now seems to be doing to Toyota what Toyota did to General Motors:

    http://www.chetrichards.com/c2w/2009/09/22/the-power-of-lean-part-596321/

    - Jeff

  • http://www.jeffsextonwrites.com Jeff

    Tom,

    What I find interesting is how the change in culture changed first, and the change in quality inevitably followed. Seems like when Toyota first got within striking distance of overtaking GM as the worlds largest car manufacturer, they lost site of their TQM culture. Once the culture slipped, so did the quality, and what’s that slipped, well, sales has surely followed.

    Here’s evidence of that slippage long before this fiasco came to light:

    http://www.chetrichards.com/c2w/2009/08/04/how-not-to-grow/

    Another thing is that the competitive environment has changed. Hundai now seems to be doing to Toyota what Toyota did to General Motors:

    http://www.chetrichards.com/c2w/2009/09/22/the-power-of-lean-part-596321/

    - Jeff

  • http://www.MarketingBeyondAdvertising.com/blog/ Tom Wanek

    Exactly, Jeff. Toyota first turned its back on its TQM culture. Toyota’s situation also underscores how quickly things can change in business. Thanks for sharing, Jeff.

  • Tom Wanek

    Exactly, Jeff. Toyota first turned its back on its TQM culture. Toyota’s situation also underscores how quickly things can change in business. Thanks for sharing, Jeff.

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  • http://www.philsforum.com/ Phil Wrzesinski

    Tom, excellent post!

    The lesson I’m taking away here is the importance of staying true to your core values at all costs. Put those values first in everything and remember what brought you to the dance.

    Thanks,

    Phil

  • http://www.philsforum.com Phil Wrzesinski

    Tom, excellent post!

    The lesson I’m taking away here is the importance of staying true to your core values at all costs. Put those values first in everything and remember what brought you to the dance.

    Thanks,

    Phil

  • http://www.MarketingBeyondAdvertising.com/blog/ Tom Wanek

    Phil, I believe you hit the nail on the head!

  • Tom Wanek

    Phil, I believe you hit the nail on the head!