Marketing to the Toilet Less Population

Marketing to the Toilet Less Population

“World Toilet Day” recently celebrated its 10th year of existence on November 19, 2012, and it was not until then that I realized we live in a world where there is a global sanitation crisis. This day has been designated as a way to draw attention to the sanitation crisis and provide some possible solutions. I say sanitation crisis because hundreds of tons of feces and urine each day are released directly into rivers, lakes, landfills and oceans creating a health hazard resulting in more than 4,000 young children dying because of sanitation-related illness (Davis 2011). It is hard to imagine that “more than 40% of the world’s population does not have access to a toilet. These 2.6 billion people, most living in low-and middle-income countries in Asia and Africa, face the daily challenge of finding a bush, train track or empty lot where they can urinate and defecate in relative privacy” (Davis 2011). According to these statistics, improved sanitation in developing countries is needed desperately. Therefore, I believe there is a large target market available for toilets. Not so much in the United States home market scene but a significant market is available for customers abroad.

“Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large” (American Marketing Association 2012). My campaign is to market flush toilets and/or waterless/composting toilets to those parts of the world suffering from lack of proper sanitation. By marketing toilets to Third World countries, I would hope it would be a factor of encouragement to stop public defecation. In order for my campaign to be successful and stay on track, I will first write a marketing plan. A marketing plan is a “written document that describes your advertising and marketing efforts for the coming year; it includes a statement of the marketing situation, a discussion of target markets and company positioning, and a description of the marketing mix you intend to use to reach your marketing goals” (Entrepreneur Encyclopedia 2012).

Creating customer value, building a meaningful relationship and gaining trust will be a key element when marketing toilets to Third World countries. The benefits of the toilet will need to be explained and encouragement will be needed to stop the practice of public defecation. Once the population has accepted the use of toilets instead of public defecation, it will be important to continue building a strong customer relationship in order to continue improving their sanitation needs in the future.

One approach to marketing a product is using segmentation, targeting and position (STP). This approach is essential in focusing marketing resources on understanding the needs and desires of the target population.