Cult Toyota Fights For Company's Honor

Most view social media as a two-way dialogue between companies and customers.  This means of communication is great for gaining valuable customer feedback.  In the case of Toyota, it also serves as a great way to hurl insults and complaints at a company.

According to The Big Money, Toyota’s “fan base has actually grown by nearly 10,000 since the recall was announced.” 

 Instead of reflecting a Toyota pounding-session, where the conversation is dominated by the outraged and the disheartened, the Facebook page of the shamed company seems to reflect a mixture of anger and sympathy, with some loyalists vilifying the media for “over-hyping the recall.” 

Across the world in Toyota’s birthplace of Japan, many locals echo this sentiment. 

According to Advertising Age’s article entitled “U.S. ‘Overreaction Stirs Empathy for Toyota at Home”, these citizens are shocked by the amount of media coverage the recall is receiving.

Some feel that there is an ulterior motive for the U.S. media’s fascination with the recall.

Citing the U.S. car market’s demise, many Japanese automakers feel that the domestic U.S. auto market is seeking to profit from the woes of Toyota by exacerbating the crisis. 

An article entitled “Toyota’s U.S. market share breaks down” supports this theory, stating, “The troubled Japanese automaker will probably see its market share drop to its lowest level in almost five years, giving the runner-up spot in the U.S. back to Ford Motor Co.” 

Watching the auto-giant fall on its face as its reputation is dragged through the mud does not sit well with the Japanese, who fear the loss of confidence in Toyota will translate into a loss of confidence in Japan.

Given the lingering tainted perception of Chinese production after the toy and paint recalls, this concern is justified.

The drop in production quality is linked to the company’s rapid growth. 

Abandoning its traditional, lengthier model of production, which included preparing the human resources division first and foremost, for a speedier one in which employees were often not properly trained, is the source of the problems. 

As the company seeks to return to its basics of manufacturing excellence and its pursuit of perception, the values that gave the company its advantage, U.S. loyalists stand with their beloved company, battling those who dare denigrate the brand in the social media arena.

[Via http://lcooks1.wordpress.com]

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