Toyota Recall, Spin & Social Media: A PR Crisis Case Study in the Making

February 5th, 2010

#Toyota

Hashtags, using the # sign on Twitter to notate a topic, combined with a major brand name signify one thing: people are talking about this brand – a lot. It could be positive, it could be negative. But, when people are talking about a brand, those brand executives should be paying attention. Today, a search for #toyota on Twitter will show that it’s not excitement over a new model that’s the hot topic, but yet, the Toyota recall.

There’s no doubt social media can play a large role in public relations efforts at companies of all shapes and sizes. In fact, social media marketing has opened up new, if not more personal and immediate, avenues to handle crisis management. When the Toyota recall news broke, thousands turned online to research or share fears, frustrations, and questions. With so much public concern and outcry, there has to be a public response.

From boardroom to town hall

In a day of immediate information and rapid viral infection of news, PR executives at corporations do not always have time to sit in a board room and discuss how to break news to public or devise a plan to spin the story. In days past, consumers may get a letter making them aware of a recall. There may have been a press release sent that makes its way to a small, verbatim blurb in the business section of newspapers. In some cases, the CEO may not be available for comment. Today, news spreads faster and people hear about crisis, even if they aren’t involved or affected. Today, those companies in crisis don’t hide from the public — if they’re smart.

I just received an e-mail from Digg.com that displays a very public, transparent approach by Toyota to address consumer concern over the Toyota recall. Digg is hosting a live video interview with Jim Lentz, CEO of Toyota on a feature called Digg Dialogg. Users can submit questions for Jim Lentz and the most popular, or Dugg, will be used.

digg toytal recall dialogg

I clicked on the e-mail headline to go to the Digg page promotiong the interview with Toyota There is a large picture of Jim Lentz, the CEO of Toyota. The page includes his bio. He’s there, in person, just like you and I.

digg toyota recall

Toyota CEO is being up front and personal during this PR crisis

While writing this post, I checked the official Toyota Twitter account and saw that the car manufacturer is making great use of Twitter, too. Within minutes after I received the Digg e-mail, they also updated Twitter accordingly. A quick scan here shows they have been actively making updates. From the account itself, you can see that Toyota already had a social media presence and strategy in place (looks like a whole dedicated team, in fact), so when crisis hit, they didn’t have to scramble to create a social media presence to respond. That should be a lesson to any large company – be proactive.

Toyota is using Twitter to respond and inform to the recall

What is important here is that the way we respond to a crisis is changing. No longer is it a prepared press release to one-sided media. No longer do people need to partake in that tainted word of spin. Instead, social media allows companies to have an open forum, ask what the audience wants to know, and respond in person and live . While no one can say that a massive auto recall is not a scary event bound to affect many people negatively – being without transportation, injury (or the worse alternative), or financial hardship – we must give Toyota kudos for the way it is responsibly responding to this PR nightmare.

Size doesn’t matter

This Toyota recall is huge. But, no matter what the size of a company or organization, remember that you can use social media to monitor your brand and respond to known issues.

By reacting fast and being transparent, you can gain more respect, save face, and continue to rally support. Crisis happens – but true reputation management really involves how that crisis is handled. People may not remember exactly what the company did wrong; but, they will always remember if they avoided the issue or, worse, pulled the wool over the eyes of customers.

If in crisis: Don’t ignore it. Don’t hide. Instead, acknowledge, listen.

Social media gives you a prime opportunity to do that. Social media isn’t the only way to do this; traditional methods are still important. There should still be a plan and PR people at any company should have some training on how to handle the pressure of a crisis, including learning about these new methods that have been introduced recently. Responding to crisis can now be, well, a (Toyota) hybrid of methods.

P.S. The history of spin and crisis management is fascinating. I took a course in Spin & PR at Wilkes University during my undergrad days, and it was interesting to see how well or poorly companies handled crisis throughout the years. Before technology, there was more time, more ways to cover up bad news. Here’s a case study on one of the most popular spin case studies in history, the 1982 Tylenol Scare.

Why every small business needs a web presence (and how you are losing business without one)

January 29th, 2010

by Donna Talarico

I was digging through the archives today of some old  blog posts because I wanted to find a statistic on the importance of local search for small businesses — even if they are not online stores. I found the article in an archived post from an old version of the blog that is no longer available. I wanted to reshare that post in its original form because, one year later, a professional informational website design is still something that so many small businesses are lacking.

Since this article, I’ve stumbled across so many more articles on this subject matter, such as Internet Retailer’s article, Small Businesses Have Yet to Adapt to Consumer Habits, study says or Local Search Grows 58%, Outpaces Overall Online Search from Marketing Vox. Couple that with all the new iPhone apps and websites that allow users to check in at locations, having a link to click has never been more important for your business.

It doesn’t matter if you are a doctor,  lawyer, chef, or electrician; you need an informational website as a calling card for your business, like this one for Pazzo Restaurant or this one for the Scranton Cultural Center. It is so, so, so important to have not just a website, but a quality website with current information. If you do have a website presence, it better not be one of those free homepage templates you get with your local ISP service filled with cluttered text, poor graphics, and outdated programming.

So – here is that original article I wrote which tells the story of how a local appliance store lost my business because they didn’t have a website.

From November 28, 2008:

I am working on a presentation with a co-worker about local small businesses getting online. I ran across a great statistic from Entrepreneur Magazine:

A websites’ role in small business:

  • 53% of small businesses with websites say their sites are primarily to provide company credibility 49% use it to generate sales
  • 38% brand awareness
  • 33% generate leads
  • 29% it provides a critical building block for developing the products and services they sell.

–Interland, September 2005

The particular day we were working on our outline, I brought up a recent experience that I plan on using in the presentation. I moved two months ago and, with being so busy at Solid Cactus, I just haven’t purchased a new washer and dryer- one of the only perks at my former pad. After two freaky trips to the laundromat, I plotted to finally get new appliances. My first step? Research prices!

washerI try so hard when I do the brick and mortar thing to shop local. Here in the Wilkes-Barre area we have a few local appliance stores. Their hours often don’t coincide with my work hours for browsing- I found this out one day when I ventured to one at 7:02 p.m. I tried to peek into the window to see price tags, but no luck. I returned home and did a web search for both places I wanted to check out- no website!! Not even an informational site to post hours.

Even if these appliance places did not want to sell online, they should have a website for the other above reasons Internetland’s stats suggested. I could have seen the sales they were having, the brands they sell, perhaps in-store pricing, maybe hours of operation. Had I been compelled by their offerings, I could have made arrangements to go to the local store to make my purchase.

The bottom line is: I was LOOKING for information at my local stores and couldn’t find anything. From not being online, they missed out on a sale. I still wanted to make the purchase in person; I just did not have the time to comparison shop all over the Greater Wilkes-Barre Area.

What did I do? I comparison shopped online at all the chain stores with locations in my area and then visited in person the place with the best price/service. I felt guilty not buying from the local guy, but it came down to the ease of research and the convenience factor.

Many, many people- probably millions- like to check out a store’s website before heading out. Think about how many times you were deciding where to go for lunch or dinner and you pulled up the website to check out the menu before going?

Informational sites, and of course, eCommerce sites can be a profitable complement to a brick and mortar store. And hey, if these local guys jump on board the bandwagon, they could very well get my next major purchase- a television. Yep. Still need one of those, too.

Why Leave 2009 Behind? Do it Again in 2010!

December 31st, 2009

by Donna Talarico

The New Year is always about change. I woke up this morning after an odd dream that involved Scott Sanfilippo announcing on the loud speaker that we could leave at noon after we wrote our Best of 2009 blog posts. While I am still am hoping for that announcement in two hours, I was more inspired by the second part of Dream Scott’s broadcast.

Best of 2009?

It hit me. As the people line up behind barricades in Times Square or are take lunch breaks at the mall to get their last minute sweaters and purses for the evening’s festivities, people are also thinking about the new them. What will they change this year? What can they do better? Those are great, positive ways to think about your personal and professional life, but I think we’re overlooking something.

The Best of 2009!

What did you do well in 2009? What strategies worked for your marketing? What products sold like Oprah’s book club nods? What  social media promotions worked for you? What routines proved efficient?

Rather than just think forward about doing new things, consider what worked well in 2009 and make them stick in 2010! Ever notice when fast food chains try out new, special burgers or sandwiches for a limited time only, and then, the limited time turns into forever? That’s because it was a solid menu choice that made sense to keep around. As you prepare for 2010 in business and in life in general, think about the things that brought you the most success and happiness in 2009 and carry them into 2010.

The way I see it, at least since I was woken up this morning, going into a new year is not just about resolving to make changes; it’s also about resolving to keep up with things that worked in the past.

And, while I’m on the Best of 2010, here are some of my personal Best of 2009 moments at Solid Cactus:

– The much-awaited release of our Advanced Search for Yahoo! Store

– Joining the Web.com family

– Two great eCommerce boot camps, April and October, at SC Headquarters. Such fun times!

– Seeing our client Janis Krums become a social media superstar

– Moving into my new position in corporate marketing

– Attending Internet Retailer Convention & Expo (IRCE) in Boston with fellow Cacti and catching up with clients and former colleagues

– The 24-Hour Programming Marathon for Black Friday

Happy New Year, everyone! Best of luck in 2010!

P.S. I also hope to dream less about work in 2010! That’s right, Scott. You were my dream guy in the last dream I had in 2009.

Holiday Happenings at Solid Cactus

December 28th, 2009

Solid Cactus celebrated the holidays with a luncheon at both our Shavertown and Wilkes-Barre, PA locations on December 23rd. Besides plenty of great food, we had our annual Christmas Tree Judging and after lunch gave away some great prizes.

Christmas Tree Contest
Each department put their own spin on this timeless holiday decoration. In the end the Business Office took home the grand prize, lunch for the department at Fire and Ice in Shavertown. The Internet Marketing department won a pizza party from Pizza Perfect in Shavertown for being the runner-up.

Employee of the Month Give-Way
All team members who were and “Employee of the Month” during the year were entered into a drawing for an XBox 360. Kyle Senak, LAN Administrator, took home the prize in Shavertown and Jill Emmert from the call center took the prize in Wilkes-Barre.

TV Time!
All non-manager team members were entered into a drawing for a 42″ and 32″ television. In Shavertown, the 42″ went to Michelle Johnson from Internet Marketing and the 32″ went to Kyle Ruane in Design. At the Wilkes-Barre Call Center, Danielle Lavelle took home the 42″ while Donna Wertz took home the 32″.

Here are some videos of what went on during the day:

Solid Cactus Christmas Tree Judging

Solid Cactus Holiday Luncheon – Shavertown, PA

Solid Cactus Holiday Luncheon Prize Giveaway – Shavertown, PA

Solid Cactus Holiday Luncheon Prize Giveaway – Wilkes-Barre, PA

Holiday Greetings from Solid Cactus

December 28th, 2009

What better way to extend holiday wishes to our clients and friends than with a virtual card featuring some of the Solid Cactus team members? Not only was it fun for us to put together (just ask the team members who volunteered to be “wavers” during the filming), but our virtual greeting is also environmentally friendly!

From all of us, to you, Happy Holidays!

Holiday Shoppers Turned to Social Media in a Big Way!

December 14th, 2009

CB107693That sound you hear is time passing on the 2009 holiday shopping season. We had Black Friday. Cyber Monday came and went. So what’s next?

UPS Wednesday.

Well, it’s not really called that, but Wednesday, December 16th, is tapped as the biggest shipping day of the year for the men and women in brown. It’s the last day where a store owner in Zone 2 can get a ground package to a customer in Zone 8 before Christmas. In the world of eCommerce, it’s also the end of the holiday season. So for the next few days, consumers are going to be shopping and shopping like mad.

In a recent report published by comScore, sales increased 3 percent over last year from November 1st – December 6th. A 3% increase isn’t that impressive considering sales only increased by a half-billion-dollars to the new high of $16 billion. There was one trend worth noting: 28 percent of holiday shoppers said their purchasing decisions were influenced by what they read on Facebook or Twitter.

The fact that over a quarter of shoppers bought because of what others said on Facebook or Twitter is a wake-up call for every eCommerce store owner. Social media has now become as important as pay-per-click and search engine optimization and if you’re not taking advantage of it, you should! And unlike PPC, to send a tweet or make a post on Facebook doesn’t cost you anything more than the few seconds it took you to write your pitch.

If you don’t have a social media strategy in place today it should be on the top of your 2010 wish list and if you need a little help in formulating that plan, our Internet marketing experts are here to help.

Happy Holidays!

PS: Donna Talarico and I were featured on our local NBC station on Cyber Monday talking about how businesses and shoppers were using this new form of advertising to promote sales and promotions. Watch the story here.

Solid Cactus Webmaster’s “Tech”spertise Featured in Northeast PA Business Journal

December 10th, 2009
Jeff Li made the paper for his geek savvy.

Jeff Li made the paper for his geek savvy.

Kudos to Solid Cactus webmaster, Jeff Li, for being featured in the Northeast Pennsylvania Business Journal. (Because, who else would Barr turn to when he needed a local geek? The local webmaster of an eCommerce firm, of course. That’s double-geek!)

In an article and a sidebar article by Josh Barr, “Year in Review: Area tech xperts talk Hits, misses and wishes,” Li and other local techies (like our friends at BabyAge.com) talk about emerging technology trends in 2009 and what they anticipate for 2010.

Mobile technology ranks high, for instance. Websites are now optimizing for the smart phone browsers. But, Li steals the article in the sidebar when he talks about Transformers. Real ones.  : )

How to Cross Promote as a Multi-Channel Merchant – What you can learn from catalogs and L.L. Bean

December 8th, 2009

by Donna Talarico

llbean2It’s no secret that I am an Internet addict. If my fingers aren’t striking keys, either on a keyboard or the touch pad on my iPhone, than I am probably showering or sleeping.

But, I am also a traditionalist and, as of late, have been trying to give my tired eyes a break from staring the screen. And it’s a welcome change, because I prefer to read my books and favorite magazines on paper. And, don’t tell the marketers what I am about to say because I cannot possibly handle the surge of mail that will be sent to me,  but I am 99% likely to buy SOMETHING from every mail order catalog that gets sent to me. Here’s why.

It’s cozy to sit down and page through as I am eating a quick (usually pre-prepared or microwaved) meal at my kitchen table. I give every item close attention as I turn the pages, whereas online if I am rushed, I will just scroll, click, and maybe miss something that I’d otherwise be interested in. I circle or dog ear items I like. I leave the catalog out on my table or coffee table. A few days later, I page through it again. The catalog is tangible. It’s always top-of-mind. And the best part? I can still order online. But, it’s a more intimate shopping experience. I am definitely an out-of-site-out-of-mind kind of person, so a physical reminder works for me.

The latest mail order sales catalog I received was L.L. Bean’s Christmas Favorites 2009.  LL. Bean is a long-time, successful mail order company. These guys have been around nearly a century, first as a store, then a catalog, and has since adapted (well) to the new technology. Now, I must admit that I’ve always been attracted to the ruggedly handsome and outdoorsy guy, so the models they selected? Mm. But now that I got that off my chest, here’s the real point of this blog post: As I paged through this catalog, earmarking fuzzy slippers, warm boots, and maple syrup, I realized L.L. Bean has done a stupendous job of combining their roots of an catalog with the new technology of today.

From L.L. Bean we can learn how print catalogs and eCommerce stores can be combined:

Converging Catalog Selling and eCommerce Tip #1

Publishing product reviews from the website into the print catalog. This was done in a stunning manner and not L.L. Bean capilizes on their produt reviews, also using them on its print catalog. Brilliant.overdone. Certain top-sellers they wanted to push also included a brilliantly-designed full-page ad, complete with a product review. One made me laugh out loud: “Is it wrong to be in love with a door mat?” Bet you didn’t realize how many ways having product reviews could help your business. (I smell another blog post!) But for real. Did you ever think about taking those product reviews and using them in other marketing?

Converging Catalog Selling and eCommerce Tip #2

Encouraging e-mail newsletter sign-up. Sprinkled through this catalog, L.L. Bean encourage catalog readers to visit the website to register for e-mail notifications of sales. This is great because while people, like me, love getting the catalog, they only arrive a few times per year. Signing up for the e-mail will allow for updates year-round. So, while you can’t click on catalog, you can create enticing copy that will encourage someone to visit the website next time they are online. And, you can bet your bottom dollar that if someone took the time to go from paper catalog to the website to sign up for a mailing, they are a highly-qualified person to target e-mail marketing toward.

Converging Catalog Selling and eCommerce Tip #3

Encouraging online ordering. L.L. Bean has all the bases covered. You can mail in your order. You can place an order by phone. Or, you can go online. The same can be said about an eCommerce store. At Solid Cactus, we stress the importance of a toll-free number, so even solely e-commerce stores take phone orders. So offering a variety of ordering options increase conversions.

Converging Catalog Selling and eCommerce Tip #4

Catalogs are still alive. Simply put, for all the reasons I mentioned above, people still love to shop by mail. Perhaps companies aren’t printing as plentiful, and only sending print catalogs to more targeted lists or perhaps only to repeat customers, but it’s still a very viable method. It was recently announced the J.C. Penney isn’t publishing their thick catalog anymore; however, they are still printing their more targeted, smaller, specialized mailers. Catalogs don’t have to be large. If you are a smaller eCommerce store, consider doing a brochure with top-sellers to include in an annual mailer, or to send out with orders.

And, if anyone I know and love is reading this, those Winter Shearling Boots (A) on page 44…. size 8 please.

Solid Cactus Featured on WBRE-TV Discussing Cyber Monday

December 2nd, 2009

NBC affiliate, WBRE-TV in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA came to Solid Cactus headquarters on Cyber Monday to discuss the use of social media on the biggest shopping day of the year for etailers.

Consumer Reporter Jeff Chirico interviewed Solid Cactus co-founder, Scott Sanfilippo and Interactive Media Specialist, Donna Talarico on the use of sites like Twitter and Facebook on Cyber Monday. The broadcast can be seen below:

Cyber Monday & Online Shopping: Solid Cactus in the Media

November 30th, 2009
Keith Schaeffer at the Solid Cactus Program-a-Thon, where he and four other programmers worked 24-hours straight. Photo courtesy of Kristen Mullen/Citizen's Voice

Keith Schaeffer at the Solid Cactus Program-a-Thon, where he and four other programmers worked 24-hours straight. Photo courtesy of Kristen Mullen/Citizen's Voice

by Donna Talarico

The Sunday, November 29, 2009 edition of the Tribune newspapers (which runs in the Wilkes-Barre Citizen’s Voice, the Scranton Times, and the Hazelton Standard Speaker) feature coverage of the Solid Cactus Cyber Monday Program-a-thon.  “Local retailers prepare for Cyber Monday,” by staff writer Jim Dino, mentioned our eCommerce programming event, local and national retailers, as well as interviewed local Wilkes University professor Dr. Anthony Liuzzo, a local economics expert.

And today, WBRE’s consumer report Jeff Chirico stopped by with photographer Tony to interview Scott Sanfilippo and me on social media’s role in Cyber Monday. Scott and I talked about how the explosion of social media is helping shoppers find deals and helping online and brick and mortar stores gain followers (on Twitter) and fans (on Facebook). And, since social media is something still relatively new to eCommerce, there are sure to be plentiful deals exclusive to social media, as retailers are going to want to track sales made via sites like Twitter and Facebook.  Search for “Cyber Monday” on Twitter, as well as use the hashtag #cybermonday (not all stores use the hashtag, so search both ways!), or simply find the stores you like and follow them to find deals.  Same thing on Facebook: Become a fan of the stores you love. Many are offering specials, as well as special contests!

Be sure to check out WBRE-TV if you live within the Northeast PA coverage for Jeff’s story on social media and Cyber Monday, and the news station will surely post the video as well later this evening at www.PAHomepage.com.

Happy Cyber Monday and happy deal hunting!


The ideas and opinions expressed within this blog are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect Web.com's positions, strategies or opinions.
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