The Tylenol incident

The Tylenol incident is one of the success story of retaining a company’s top market position when you are facing disastrous situation when your product causes the death of our customers. Every one during 1982, when the incident happened, was speculating that this is the end of Tylenol’s manufacturers, Johnson & Johnson. They were able to identify customer-defined values that stress on the importance of what customers look for in a product or service and the organization that is delivering that product or service (David L. Goetsch; Stanley B. Davis, 2016, p. 96).

The point of discussion is if the incident happens today, would Johnson & Johnson be able to win back my trust? What I have read about the incident from different sources, I think that if Johnson & Johnson applies the same strategies that they did then, they will most certainly be able to win back my trust. At that time they had a two phase strategy (“The Tylenol Crisis: How Effective Public Relations Saved Johnson & Johnson,”). The first part of the strategy was not to focus on their market share that had declined by the uncertainty that was caused by the incident. They run extensive media campaigns to inform their customers about what has actually happened and requested their customers to stop using Tylenol family of medicine produced by Johnsons & Johnsons. This in other terms was an acceptance of their responsibility of what had happened. If say, today the same thing happens, and Johnson & Johnson, instead of misleading their customers, educates their customers, in my view the majority of their customers will accept the hidden apology in their message. I will also do the same. As a customer, it would mean for me that the company has not put its interests in front of my interest.

The second phase of the strategy focused on bringing the medicine back to the market. When I was reading about this case one of the part of the second phase was assigning 2250 sales person to educate the people in the medical profession about the new precautionary measured that have been taken by Johnsons & Johnsons (“The Tylenol Crisis: How Effective Public Relations Saved Johnson & Johnson,”). I personally am greatly influenced by the point of views of the people in medical profession. As I am not a doctor, what my doctor suggests to me is of great importance in medical conditions. If Johnson & Johnson would reach out my doctor. I believe that my doctor enjoys the authority to influence my understanding of such a dreadful event that had happened. I will definitely change my strict views about the products of Johnson & Johnson and once again start using its products.