Having implemented the actions offered in the PR strategies plan, it is important to remember that those actions may fail to succeed and, in this case, crisis and contingency planning are to be imposed. In the case of negative public response, the company is to think about other strategies. One of the first steps which are to be committed is the research. The research may be based either on the Internet interview or on the simple questionnaire at the street. The interview is to be properly developed, the questions are to be directed at understanding why people still refuse to use the services of the company and to buy their products rather than search for the preferable. The researchers have to understand why those who used the company products after the crisis and the company recovery strategies refuse to use the services. One of the questions which are to be asked is about a person’s awareness of the information which has recently been distributing and why it failed to affect him/her (Bivins, 2011). The company is to understand why the customers failed to react appropriately to their PR strategic steps.
After the reasons are defined, it is important to reconsider the stages where the mistakes were made. The company referred to many particular strategies with PR implementation. Using the Internet and other mass media sources, the company tries to impose on the customers the idea that Toyota is a safe company that may be trusted. However, some of the possible actions Toyota could refer to were omitted. Having conducted an analysis of the received results and having understood where the company failed with the already committed initiatives, it should correct those making the PR campaign more corresponding to the customers’ desires.
The following steps should be made as to the crisis and contingency plan issues in case of a negative public response. First, the company is to reconsider its media relations, having increased the notifications about safe and friendly Toyota direction. Second, Toyota is to reconsider its social network marketing, having developed several interviews and other marketing issues aimed at gathering data about the clients. Such marketing may involve financial benefit from offering necessary information for the company in a form of a discount. The intranet options are to be used with higher frequency. Toyota is a big company that constantly has something to tell its customers. People are to hear the company name more often.
Toyota has to reconsider its government relationships and public affairs using “coordinating activities with legislators on local, state, and federal levels. This includes legislative research activities and public policy formation” (Seitel, 2011). Public relationship research and writing should take a special place in the further actions of the company. It is impossible to return a good image to the company without understanding the particular reasons for the unfavorable attitude. The predictions of the company may be wrong therefore, the research is to be conducted, and based on this research, the clients’ needs are to be met. Philanthropy is the activity which was ignored while implementing the previous PR strategies. In the case of the negative response to the previous activities, this strategy is to be referred to. The company is to present gifts to corporations in need. People like such actions, and when they see that Toyota is interested in people not only in personal income, they are sure to become in favor again. Coordinating special events is another strategy that was missed before and which is to be used this time (Seitel, 2011).
Reference List
Bivins, T. H. (2011). Public relations writing: The essentials of style and format (7th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Seitel, F. P. (2011). The practice of public relations (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.