Marketing your innocence
February 20th, 2009 by Hugh Kennedy
We all must think like global marketers today, and that often means a lot more than just knowing the publications in a given geography.
I was fascinated by the story in today’s FT about Schindler, the Swiss elevator company, a strong BtoB player that has been felled in Japan for simply failing to apologize for an accident it still claims was not its fault. As the article notes, quoting poor Mr. Schindler, “Genetically, [westerners] are pre-programmed not to apologise unless you are guilty.”
So what has Schindler’s failure to apologize for a 2006 Tokyo accident that may not even be their fault wrought for the business? They have yet to sell a single new elevator in almost three years in the entire country of Japan since their ‘killer elevator’ went down the shaft.
I like the checklist at the end of this piece as well. It’s fascinating as an example of how Japan is truly different from the West as well as how plenty of national facets have to be transcreated in marketing as well as translated. Cue image of tardy Chinese officials prostrating themselves in the street before furious mothers who lost their children in shoddily built schools after last year’s earthquakes…
How to handle a product fault in Japan
* Don’t cover it up. This is likely to compound the problem.
* If an accident involves injury or death, display your genuine remorse for any suffering. Offer public condolences.
* Engage Japan’s “press clubs”, where reporters from the country’s leading newspapers attend official ministry briefings.
* If appropriate, implement measures to regain trust. For example, suspend sales or replace management and communicate these changes to the public.
* Establish an independent committee, staffed with trusted figures such as academics, to lead a response.
* Keep staff informed. Morale suffered when Schindler staff in Japan partly learnt about the situation through the media.
