Toyota is having a rough time of late. Faced with having to recall millions of vehicles globally, its profit for the year is likely to be entirely wiped out by the estimated $2bn cost of the recall. However, the public relations story is causing further damage to the company. How it reacts over the next few days and weeks is likely to have a major impact on the severity of this damage.

That’s where the web comes into play. Shocked and dismayed customers are sure to pay attention to the media’s cries of horror, but they will also recognise that they need to pay close attention to the official line by Toyota. They will turn to the internet to find out the logistics of the recall and the way they need to interact with Toyota and its dealers in order to get their cars fixed up. Besides actually fixing cars quickly and efficiently, the web represents Toyota’s best chance to repair some of the damage to its reputation.

The good, the bad and the ugly

We looked at three of Toyota’s websites around the world: UK, US and France. This cursory research shows a patchy – but in some places encouraging – understanding of how the web can play a major role in Toyota’s salvation. The UK site shows the most promise and this is where we’ll focus most.

Toyota UK have set up a recall page (click here for a screengrab) that brings together a collection of information and channels on which customers can follow Toyota’s official line on the matter:

• The core part of the page contains a form inviting customers to enter their vehicle details in order to ascertain whether they will be affected by the recall.
• There’s a big and bold telephone hotline with opening hours clearly indicated.
• They’ve set up an RSS feed from their blog and a link to their Twitter page.
• They’ve taken the trouble to add information about the insurance implications of the recall and a statement about the code of practice for vehicle recalls in Britain.
• The commercial director has published a YouTube video which can be played right off the page and the Managing Director has published a written statement.
• Then there’s an FAQ and various other statements and pieces of information about the recall.

The US Toyota recall page (click here for a screengrab) is a little disappointing in comparison with the UK site. They’ve got all of the information regarding the recall on the site but they have not embraced the diverse channels on which they could reach their customers.

The France Toyota recall page (click here for a screengrab) – the worst pick of the bunch by a long way – merely contains a press release and various links to unrelated pages on their site.

Toyota UK: a model for crisis planning?

Watching how companies react in times of crisis always provides valuable lessons into how to manage reputation. Toyota’s reaction is by no means a text book case – there’s clearly poor coordination between the corporate entity and its local operating companies. However, looking at what they have done on the web in the UK provides a good case study for other companies who are fated to face similar crises in future and – more importantly – for those companies who take crisis planning seriously.