Toyota’s reputation for quality, which seemed impossible to topple, began to wane in recent weeks in the aftermath of recalls centering on unintended acceleration. Rather than standing on the sidelines, or speaking to customers through traditional media outlets alone, Toyota Motor Sales, USA, has taken to the Web, and begun reaching out to customers via social media.
Recently, Jim Lentz, President and Chief Operating Officer of Toyota USA, answered questions on social media website Twitter. Twitter is one the most popular social media websites, and enables users to share thoughts and content in real-time, which has made Twitter a source to discover breaking news. Because of real-time interactivity and its ability to garner feedback fast, Toyota’s President and CEO addressed the most pressing questions concerning the recall using Twitter just last week, and helped quells rising confusion over process of repairing the defective accelerator.
Continuing his campaign to reduce confusion and apprehension over recent quality issues, Jim Lentz will now be moving on to Digg, where he will continue to answer the questions of yet another active online community. Digg is a social news website made for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the Internet, by submitting links and stories. With its innovative voting systems, users can vote and promote stories to the “front page,” which gives the most popular stories the most visibility in the community, and the most traffic.
Beginning at 2 pm PST, Jim Lentz will be addressing questions and comments within the Digg community. He will also be speaking to Digg about what exactly happened, and what steps Toyota is taking to further educate and inform consumers.
Online social media websites are great places for automakers to engage a breadth of existing and potential customers. The primary reason for this is that they provide a dialogue, and real interactivity, as opposed to one-way communications channels such as television advertising. Toyota and Jim Lentz are clearly making every effort to put customers at ease. The most obvious way in which they’re doing this is by facing concerns head-on, without merely hiding behind press releases or TV spots. Will gestures leave the Toyota brand unscathed by the recall fiasco? Possibly not, but these efforts will not go unnoticed either as many customers will appreciate the transparency and the chance to get answers from the very top.
Tune in to the Digg Dialogg to hear Lentz live, or check back on this automotive blog for updates.
