The new year has hardly been a good one for Toyota Motors. Recalls, a flood of questions over the company’s credibility, eroding consumer trust… phew! It has all the ingredients for a perfect branding nightmare.

The company has sprung into action and is trying to rebuild its credibility. Just that had it been smarter about doing it on the Internet, it could have turned the tragedy into a must-read case study about online brand management.

Yes, the Toyota website (www.toyota.com) does have a recall section. It’s got the usual numbers, FAQs, messages from the senior management, etc. Now, contrast this with an independent website (www.toyotarecall.org) and you’ll know what we are talking about. One look at all the action here and it’s easy to mistake it for an official site. Only that the tagline clearly cries that it’s a consumer effort.

Where the exclusive recall website scores is that it gives people a chance to communicate. It is more of a forum for consumers to express their opinions, voice their worries, and help each other. Remember the PR lessons: don’t block out negative opinion, just counter it? If Toyota had done the same on its pages, it would have gained top marks for transparency and communication.

Not that the company’s official website downplays the recall incident. Just that all the information – positive and negative – about the crisis could be presented much better, and to the company’s advantage.

For now, Toyota will have to gulp down an unpleasant fact: an independent website has stolen its thunder and shown how to take damage control online into a new mode. For others, it’s yet another example of how you should be the first to talk to your customers directly, and let them talk to you.