Toyota is one of the world’s leaders in the sphere of car assembly and sales. The production process of the company is based on the ideas of mass production and attempts to satisfy the largest amounts of customers possible by the high quality of Toyota’s cars and by their relatively low and acceptable prices. However, the policies Toyota implements in respect of its customers demand further consideration and improvements to be made (Armstrong & Kotler, 2006).
First of all, Toyota has a rather developed web-based system for handling customers’ complaints. There is an internet page where every customer can leave his/her comment on the problem he/she has had with the Toyota car or the level of service he/she received from the company, and be sure that the complaint will be considered by Toyota officials and the respective improvements will be made (Automix, 2009). The customers can also provide their feedback on any other issue of Toyota, assess its cars or recommend possible improvements. There is an official website of Toyota and specific mail addresses in every single location of Toyota branches all over the world where people can send their feedback.
Toyota cares about informing its customers of any new or already existing products it offers. Media campaigns, internet promotion, and the overall fame of the company allow its customers to be well aware of any innovations Toyota offers (Goliath, 2002). Placing orders with Toyota is possible via Internet, mail, or directly by the customers attending the company’s office in any specific location. Tracking orders is carried out through the system of monitoring that includes control over the production process, shipping, logistics, etc. Toyota makes sure that every customer receives his/her order timely and the product received is of the highest quality possible (Toyota Parts Zone, 2002).
Drawing from these data, Toyota’s customer policy evidently has its strong and weak points. The strong points of Toyota’s customer policy include the clear focus on every smallest detail of achieving customer satisfaction and the opportunity presented to the customers to influence the development of Toyota by providing their feedback about the company’s products. As for the weaknesses, Toyota’s customer policy is based on the Internet too much thus depriving the customers having no access to the web of opportunities to effectively express their ideas about Toyota, its products, and services (Toyota’s Customer First Policy, 2009).
Accordingly, the following three initiatives can be recommended to Toyota to improve its customer policy. First of all, the company needs to approach its customers closer. In other words, every Toyota distributor has to adopt the practice of personal communication with customers in order to directly collect their complaints, feedback, recommendation, etc., and provide them to the central office. Secondly, the system of discounts and rewards should be implemented in respect of the loyal customers who stay with Toyota for years. Thirdly, the customers are to be rewarded for the constructive criticism of Toyota and are to be offered repair works of their cars either free of charge or at lower prices in case if their critical notes helped update Toyota’s products or services. These initiatives are currently not observed in Toyota’s customer policy and their implementation can greatly benefit the company’s relations with its customers. Every person likes to be treated as a unique one and likes to be rewarded for his activities. Therefore, Toyota might give people what they like and thus increase customer loyalty and satisfaction levels.
References
- Armstrong, G., & Kotler, P. (2006). Marketing: An introduction. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
- Automix. (2009). Toyota Customer Complaints.
- Goliath. (2002). Toyota Special Policy Assures Customer Satisfaction And Emphasizes Importance of Proper Vehicle Maintenance.
- Toyota’s Customer First Policy. (2009).
- Toyota Parts Zone. (2002). Sales Policy.