Rune Gustafson: Customers want real change, not yet more initiatives

Strong brands, and certainly Toyota is one of the strongest brands in the world, will all face a time, often triggered by some event, when their trust is questioned by consumers. The strength of the brand will always be tested by the way it recovers from such a situation. Consumers accept that, from time to time, their favourite brand will make a mistake, but they will not accept a lack of willingness to sort the problem out.

The first mistake made by Toyota was not to deal head on with the issue of the accelerator pedal as soon as it had been highlighted and start an open dialogue with its customers and the world at large. Instead, starved of information, people and the media started to draw their own conclusions.

So is Toyota now starting to rebuild trust with its customers? The inevitable recall programme is under way so it can rectify the technical problem. This is also a chance for Toyota to reconnect with its customers and offer more than just a check-up. It has also already announced organisational changes to put quality back at the centre of everything it does, and also promised to react to customers' feedback. Fairly obvious stuff, but has Toyota tackled the causes that prevented it from doing these things in the first place?

What will reassure customers and the trade is to see real change of behaviour rather than yet another set of initiatives. So trust will have to be rebuilt by Toyota delivering on what it promises. That will take time, and the company will need to prove continuously that it is returning to its previous standards.

Rune Gustafson is a brand expert and founder of The Rebus Partnership