John Tantillo’s Winner and Loser of The Week: Akio Toyoda & Congress
This past week saw two brands go head-to-head, and one emerged as a definitive winner and illustrated some real marketing truths to boot. Without further ado:
Winner
Akio Toyoda is the clear marketing winner this week. The third-generation head of the family company reminded anyone who was listening what responsibility to one’s brand means.
First, Toyoda expressed how deeply hurt he was by his defective vehicles:
"As you well know, I am the grandson of the founder, and all the Toyota vehicles bear my name. For me, when the cars are damaged, it is as though I am as well. I, more than anyone, wish for Toyota's cars to be safe, and for our customers to feel safe when they use our vehicles."
Then Toyoda did something that must have made his lawyers crazy (something I don’t think you’d ever see an American CEO do —and that’s not a compliment): he admitted that too-fast growth had distracted the company from its long-time focus on safety and likely resulted in the tragic problems:
"I would like to point out here that Toyota's priority has traditionally been the following: First, Safety; Second, Quality; and Third, Volume. These priorities became confused, and we were not able to stop, think, and make improvements as much as we were able to before, and our basic stance to listen to customers' voices to make better products has weakened somewhat."
But he wasn’t done. After stripping away all defensiveness or public relations maneuvering of the kind that ultimately gets in the way of the best marketing, Toyoda told the audience what steps he and his team would take going forward to make Toyota cars safer than ever and restore the brand’s reputation for top quality.
Among a series of smart and practical plans that involved creating a direct feedback loop from customers back to Toyota’s management and design teams, he told Congress that he was a qualified test driver and that he and his team would be directly involved in assessing their vehicles. In other words, he left no doubt that safety was going to be Priority #1 at Toyota.
His statement, delivered in a quiet, steady voice, might have been heavily accented but it could not have been more effective. Toyota’s legendary quality hadn’t come from nowhere; it had been built over generations by committed family members, and it was going to be restored under his leadership. (This message was reinforced by the fact that he has only recently become the head of the company.)
I’ll leave you with Toyoda’s words (if this doesn’t go to the heart of marketing, I don’t know what does):
"We now understand that we must think more from a customer-first perspective, rather than a technical perspective, in investigating complaints and that we must communicate faster, better and more effectively with our customers and our regulators."
Fuggedaboutit, Toyoda-san.
The Loser
The losers were for the most part sitting directly across from Akia Toyoda in the hearing.
It was clear from listening to their statements that they hadn’t really listened to the man across from them. In fact, some of the congressmen seemed simply oblivious to the game-changing comments of the Toyota boss. They were going to read from their little scripts no matter what.
Yes, they had their constituents to appeal to and wanted to convey their outrage, but if Toyoda’s statement showed anything, it showed that sincerity and genuine engagement with the matter at hand is the better marketing route.
In a period when the electorate seems more disillusioned by its government than ever, the congressional members on display only reinforced the image of politicians out of touch. Bottom line, they looked like they were playing for points or too slow to change course when the facts changed right in front of them.
If they had planned to knock it out of the park —i.e., look like they were really giving it to a corporate villain— they certainly failed, since Toyoda’s performance made him look like anything but. If anything, they looked like they were beating up a nice guy who was really trying to set things right.
Listening was what Toyoda did, and listening is what Congress must be seen doing if there’s going to be a brand turnaround for these politicos. Stay tuned, but I won’t be holding my breath.
And, remember, things are always easier when you keep marketing and branding in mind.
TODAY'S TANTILLO TAKEAWAY -
Listening to your customers is the core of all marketing.
John Tantillo is a marketing and branding expert and the founder and president of Marketing Department of America. His book, “People Buy Brands Not Companies”, is available on Amazon.com
