Taco Bell should really up their PR campaign. End of story. All they are doing is making themselves look like unprofessional. Even if it is true that their beef is 88 percent true beef and 12 percent a “special recipe” rather than distributing snarky “Thank you for suing” campaign, they really should try to understand the customers’ complaint and handle it with more professionalism. Taco Bell needs to come up with a plan that will prove that their beef is actually what they say without insulting the accuser.
They should begin explaining why they do not use 100 percent beef in their tacos, which they are doing. Next, Taco Bell’s marketing and advertising must reflect this new campaign of knowledge, again, which they are doing. Including a legitimate study from the USDA, illustrating that the beef is safe to eat and not unhealthy (or going to kill you) along with statistics to back it up. Is also something to consider. Finally, constructing focus groups and filming them, following the Dominoes’ example, could be a fantastic way to demonstrate that they are seeking the customers’ input and are focused on providing a satisfying meal. Taco Bell is not doing, in my opinion, a successful job connecting with customers about this beef issue.
It will be interesting to watch the “Thank you for suing” campaign play itself out. While this public relation effort is an effort, Taco Bell needs to also focus on the customer they target. Explaining their quality beef is only half the battle. Without researching their customers, figuring out how they really feel about an 88 percent beef taco is crucial to a successful re-imaging of their company. Taco Bell is an international company. This suit against them is incredibly harmful to their overall reputation. I believe all efforts and money must be targeted at apologies for not explaining more clearly what their beef was made of, making the nutrition information more available (while it may be online, it should be advertised more in stores and through social media), as well as research their customers reactions to this lawsuit.
I will give them credit for the YouTube video, which has the president of Taco Bell, Greg Creed speaking out against the claims. But I believe it would be more effective to have customers discuss how they feel about 88 percent beef, not the president who never has any real interaction with the customers. People are less likely to listen to someone they cant relate to, such as the PRESIDENT of Taco Bell verses someone who is similar to themselves.
This campaign should also not just end in a couple of months. Taco Bell must now be incredibly cautious about how they advertise and double check with the customers on their feelings towards any marketing strategies. This issue will tarnish Taco Bell’s image for quite some time and to continue their successful business, they must forever change the way they advertise. Nothing should be the same.
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