To fine-tune your crisis response skills, we’ve advocated watching other organizations and practitioners handle real-life traumas and analyze their emergency strategy and tactics.
For example, the ongoing Toyota recall crisis has provided a bonanza of crisis management lessons, all of which belong in your crisis communications notebook, if they’re not there already.
If you haven’t been able to watch this landmark case study unfold in media of all forms from print to social, let me bring you up to speed. The developments beginning in the middle of February yielded particularly interesting crisis response learnings.
Toyota’s Crisis Communications Troubles
Toyota Issues Confusing Information to Media
Auto giant Toyota, long renowned for its high-quality vehicles, surprised industry insiders and consumers alike by recalling 8.8 million vehicles for safety defects. One of those defects is called a “runaway accelerator,” also called “unintended acceleration.” In this situation, the car’s accelerator pedal is jammed open and the driver cannot slow or stop the car.
With literally millions of Toyotas being repaired and Toyota executives testifying before a U.S. House Community regarding the situation, a company official announced, “The parts we are installing may not be fixing the acceleration problem [in our vehicles].”
The announcement, which was true and needed to be made as soon as possible, literally destroyed any further credibility the company had with customers and regulators.
Crisis Response Lessons
Before you or a spokesperson releases a statement on behalf of your organization make double-certain every single word, letter and punctuation mark in the statement is accurate. Ensure that the information it contains is verified by the organization and any other entity that is involved in the crisis.
Ensure your crisis response plan includes a “boilerplate”outline for this type of statement.
If you don’t know, say you don’t know.
Toyota Crisis Communications: Company’s Priorities Became Confused
During the last week in February, Akio Toyoda, the company’s president, apologized for the grief and concern caused by Toyota vehicles in thousands of accidents. The “priorities” Toyoda cited were a set of business principles the company adopted in April 2001.
“These priorities became confused,” Toyoda explained at the congressional hearing, “and we were not able to stop, think and make improvements.” According to Google Media, this statement was picked up by some 58,000 news and information outlets within six hours.
Crisis Response Lesson
In all seriousness, a statement like this should call into question the type of organization for which you are working.
Crisis communications professionals have two audiences during an event.
The first audience is, of course, people affected by the crisis. For corporate or agency communicators, the second audience is comprised of the news directors, editors, reporters and other media professionals who tell your story.
Your accomplishments, achievements and, most importantly, your honesty, professionalism and reputation become your resume in the in the communications business.
If you ever find yourself in an organization whose CEO has just said over a live microphone or in front of a camera, “those priorities became confused, and we were not able to stop, think, and make improvements…” make your next call of that day to a headhunter.
