BulletProofBlog the blog on crisis communications

Toyota’s decision to halt sales and production of eight of its 10 best-selling models in North America is a costly course of action. But it’s a step the automaker – and the U.S. Department of Transportation – felt was necessary to reassure consumers.

The temporary shutdown sent Toyota shares tumbling nine percent on the New York Stock Exchange and erased $13 billion in market capitalization. With rental car companies pulling Toyotas from their fleets, competitors acting fast to leverage the situation, and another round of recalls in Europe in the offing, some might wonder why Toyota would choose to compound its financial woes.

But Toyota isn’t concerned with the next fiscal quarter; it’s thinking about the next 20 years – and for good reason. After the drip, drip, drip of recalling millions of vehicles due to sticky accelerator pedals and faulty floor mats linked to several fatal accidents, Toyota found itself confronting its own Tylenol moment. It had to either take decisive, sweeping action to demonstrate its concern for consumer safety, or risk losing a reputation for quality and safety it took 30 years to build.

Most everyone remembers or has heard of the Tylenol recall. Upon learning in 1982 that its best-selling pain-reliever had been tampered with and caused cyanide-related deaths in the Chicago area, Johnson & Johnson immediately recalled 31 million bottles of Tylenol in a nationwide recall. The company didn’t wait for more information or limit its response to the affected geographical area. Johnson & Johnson understood that it was no longer in the over-the-counter medicine business; it was in the safety business. And it acted accordingly.

The move came at great cost to J&J’s bottom line, just as Toyota’s recent decision will. But because J&J ran to the light and did everything in its power to keep consumers safe, the company’s initial losses were followed by unprecedented growth and an actual uptick in brand credibility and trust that lasts to this day. Simply put, J&J understood the restorative power of sacrifice – and it seems Toyota now does as well.

Whether Toyota’s dramatic response will ultimately yield similar results remains to be seen. After all, it’s a lot more expensive to halt sales of $28,000 automobiles than it is to recall $1.29 bottles of pain-relief capsules. But like J&J before it, Toyota is sending a strong message that nothing comes before the safety and well-being of its consumers.

Gene Grabowski is Senior Vice President of Crisis and Litigation at Levick Strategic Communications, the nation’s top crisis communications firm, and a contributing author to Bulletproof Blog. Connect with him @crisisguru.