A snappy bumper sticker can help move a product, a candidate or an idea.  Better is a track record of delivering on the promise of the phrase.  Best is when every action of a company is aligned behind it.  Toyota has long stood as a leading example of the best.  Look no further than this from the LA Times:

“For its part, Toyota has come to stand for utter reliability, financial prudence and a certain intelligently independent style. From that perspective, the Prius hybrid represents an America in which personal mobility and personal responsibility are happily compatible.”

But that, of course was before the slow recall of millions of its vehicles for problems on both sides of a really bad penny: sudden acceleration and delayed braking.  A comment at GlobalPost.com showed just how steep a climb the car company faces:

“A few American voices are emerging in Toyota’s defense, but the overriding sentiment is one of anger — mixed with disbelief — that a company synonymous with quality and reliability has come unstuck in such devastating fashion.”

The question now is whether the company can regain its footing no matter how much time or investment.  Much like the tanker Exxon Valdez, the unsinkable Titanic and Union Carbide in Bhopal, Toyota is on the verge of becoming a noun, not a name.

“This book is a Toyota,” said Robert S. Norris, the author of “Racing for the Bomb” and an atomic historian. “The publisher should recall it, issue an apology and fix the parts that endanger the historical record.”  Norris was quoted in a NY Times article revealing that a celebrated best-seller on the Hiroshima bombing was based on lies and self-promotion.  Say it to yourself:  “This book is a Toyota.”

It is one of a few, early instances of the shift of Toyota being an emblem for what’s wrong, but it makes the company’s climb steeper back in to the good graces of the market.  What will come next likely will be a rallying of support, over-communication of changes made in design and manufacture, and better deals on the cars.

But to regain its market-leading standing, Toyota will have to successfully perform in full view of the public over generations.  In the competitive marketplace that autos represents today (see: India, China) that may be too much of a big, hairy, audacious goal.

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The massive Toyota vehicle recall has been described as both a savage hit to the company’s reputation and bottom line.  It has also pointed out the fact that not all context is the same.

In the normal course of a product problem, the kind of release issued by well-respected online automobile advisor, Edmunds.com, would have had real effect.  Here is the lead of the release:

“Edmunds.com, the premier online resource for automotive information has obtained and reviewed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaint database.  A key finding: despite being the subject of intense scrutiny of the company, Toyota ranks 17th among automakers in the overall number of complaints per vehicle sold.”

Based on market share, consumer complaints put Toyota ahead of Honda and BMW.  The problem is that the Toyota story — a high-quality, low-defect, long-lasting automobile manufacturer — has been tarnished not because of the sudden acceleration and slow-braking, but because of the company’s response.

It is thought to have delayed its decision to recall and then did it in a piecemeal fashion.  Toyota’s is not an engineering problem, but one of its image.  NHTSA data is no match for having jilted its consumers.

Here is how one blogger deflated the Edmunds.com trial balloon:

“So, what does all of this mean? That’s debatable. Consider that these issues, which were reported to NHTSA by consumers themselves and entered into an database that’s not checked for accuracy, are not weighted for severity. So, a seemingly trivial issue counts just the same as one that could lead to a serious accident or death.”

The real damage was described well in The Washington Post:

“One thing that has probably changed forever is the idea that the Japanese have superior quality,” said David E. Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. “Toyota is a great company and they’ll go on, but that historic concept of superior quality is probably gone forever.”

Mr. Cole may have some hometown interest, but his point is well-made (no pun intended).  If Toyota is to regain its standing (Edmunds.com projects a one percent drop in U.S. market share as a result of this mess), it will have to deliver on its original promise, one customer at a time.

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As reported in the May 2009 issue of the digital marketing magazine, OMMA, another brand has discovered that it is not about them, but about us. The story is about Scotts Miracle-Gro, a company of many brands and, until recently, many web destinations.

In seeking to quiet the confusion and drive greater customer loyalty, the decision was made to put the customer out front, not the companied. This created a more cohesive and useful presentation. Instead of each brand making its own promise, the company presented its brands in the context of the customer.

The insight is not new, but the discipline required deserves applause. It is more proof that the debate between “the customer is always right” and “the customer can have any color car as long as it is black” is settled.

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