The art of selling toilets to
low-income consumers
Four rules to improve your go-to-market approach



Insights shared by:

Shihab Uzzaman
Circular Economy
Lead

Ken Owino
Communication
Specialist

Gerwin Jansen
Inclusive / Digital
Innovation Lead

Selling new products in low -income markets can be an extremely difficult task. Low-income consumers often have little to spend and are therefore picky when it comes to choosing the products and services they purchase.

With customers being that risk- and change-averse, the main sales principle is: ‘present something that is desirable and trustworthy’.

The sales challenges are even more entrenched when offering products that deal with water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). It is a sector in which service providers often mistake ‘needs’ for ‘wants’. However, what we think people need, might actually not be what they want.

Are you a WASH entrepreneur? Ask yourself whether you are equally successful in communicating to your end-customers as to the donors that finance your work. Donors in the WASH sector pay to see health benefits, your customers on the other hand, are more likely to pay for something else. They pay for benefits that are short-term, credible and aspirational.

In this article, we highlight four ways of improving your marketing of WASH products to guarantee success in low income markets. These strategies are based on Bopinc’s decade long experience of working with social enterprises and partners like TRANSFORM and Aqua for All.

Rule 1: Build a brand that is aspirational

Having a strong brand can attract customers that become loyal users and ambassadors in the communities you operate in. It also will help you to recruit and retain talented employees. WASH enterprises are encouraged to explore brand archetypes other than the typical “caregiver” that is often used in the sector. Why not consider brand archetypes (from this guidebook) such as:

  • The Hero: On a mission to make the world a better place, the Hero is courageous, bold, inspirational.

  • The Explorer: Finds inspiration in travel, risk, discovery, and the thrill of new experiences.

  • The Jester: Brings joy to the world through humour and fun.

When choosing your brand archetype, it is important to first develop a deep understanding of your customers, your competitors, staff and organisational values. All these insights should be used as input to create an exciting brand identity which is a combination of a brand archetype and specific brand values

In our project with WSUP and their social enterprise SWEEP in Bangladesh, we strengthened their brand to portray the SWEEP pit latrine emptiers as heroes of their community that deliver on key customer values we identified: safety, convenience and compliance. The unique SWEEP brand was displayed through flyers and shop signage for small retail stores where customers could sign up for the pit latrine emptying service.

In our project with WSUP and their social enterprise SWEEP in Bangladesh, we strengthened their brand to portray the SWEEP pit latrine emptiers as heroes of their community that deliver on key customer values we identified: safety, convenience and compliance. The unique SWEEP brand was displayed through flyers and shop signage for small retail stores where customers could sign up for the pit latrine emptying service.

Shop signage showing the SWEEP pit emptiers as heroes of the brand, with tagline: “Do you want your septic tank to be emptied without the smell and hassle? SWEEP is just one call away!” Image: Bopinc

Rule 2: Get your value proposition right

As mentioned above, creating demand for your product or service begins with knowing what your customers WANT, not what you think they NEED. Conveying the need for your product will not suffice if it does not relate to what customers want and what they are willing to pay for. Successful innovation is tied to effective value propositions that are validated, iterated, and refined (more about this in this report from Nielsen).

When designing your value proposition, take a holistic approach to identifying consumer pains and gains that you can tap into. These do not necessarily have to be WASH related. The team of Naiss in Mozambique, for example, repositioned their toilet cubicles as aspirational bathrooms that give consumers the option to (gradually) upgrade it with mirrors, decorated tiling and a shower. No longer presented as technical objects like “improved latrines”, Naiss’ customers can now choose to purchase a dignified bathroom experience that they might have dreamt about.

Similarly, in our project with the NGO Water & Life, and their subsidiary enterprise SJP in Bangladesh, we took a different angle and developed a value proposition targeting young couples. After cutting the SJP brand loose from the NGO’s brand, which created space for a more commercial identity, we designed a new customer experience with touchpoints and materials that encourage husbands to buy their newly-wed a toilet of SJP. Because with a SJP toilet, young families can enjoy a “tension-free life”, a value proposition that is conveyed through this TV commercial, as well as through printed materials that were disseminated by the SJP brand ambassadors, we trained on the right messaging. Both examples are based on aspirational values and short-term gains for WASH customers.

SJP sales agents going door-to-door to promote their WASH services.
Image: Bopinc

Rule 3: Be creative and consistent with your marketing

Behaviour change is not a one-off marketing trick. It is crucial to develop ongoing relationships and keep nudging customers on the desired behaviour, using new WASH services. To make this effective you should leverage triggers, abilities, and motivators to encourage customers to adopt new behaviours. Triggers are the things that can help customers to WANT to start the desired behaviour. Abilities are the things that can ENABLE customers to start the desired behaviour. Motivators are the ways that will help customers STICK to the new behaviour.

Unilever, the producer of Lifebuoy soap, has applied these behaviour change levers in their hand washing campaigns that aimed to get customers to wash their hands regularly to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Lifebuoy customers are given instructions that enable them to wash their hands correctly. To keep them motivated to continue with this new behaviour, Unilever established a loyalty scheme that provides soap at discount for regular users. Getting children to wash their hands? No problem, Unilever developed superheroes that are brought to life in animations, radio shows, music, games, and school visits. These superheroes remind and reward children that stick to good handwashing behaviour. Read more about Unilever’s handwashing campaign design here.

Sales agents use virtual reality to let consumers experience their future toilets.
Image: Bopinc

Rule 4: Don’t forget to train and motivate your sales agents

With the three rules above in place, your endeavours might still be in vain if you forget about rule number four. Success depends on your sales agents (or retailers) and their motivation to sell. Many enterprises have learned the importance of recruiting sales agents with a strong drive to carry out the tasks involved. However, our experience shows that as soon as agents struggle to sell, for example, because they lack creative and persuasive means, their motivation goes to waste.

Using the latest technology can make the sales and communication efforts of your agents (or retailers) more engaging, effective and fun. In 2017, Bopinc developed the first virtual reality (VR) sales tool for sanitation enterprises. Sales agents use a US$ 20 VR-headset in which they place their smartphones. Agents give the VR headset to customers who get to experience the toilet, as if they’re really there. Because in the end, seeing is believing. After a six-month pilot campaign with Naiss in Mozambique, the sales agents reported higher numbers of leads generated, reduced time spent per customer, and - most important of all - an improved motivation to sell. Watch the testimonial video of the Naiss sales manager here.

Similar findings were achieved when we replicated the use of the VR tool with Sanergy in Kenya, an organisation that has a track record of experimenting with innovative marketing materials for their agents. Besides experimenting with the VR tool, Sanergy produced lightweight scale models of their toilets that agents could carry around.

Capacitating sales agents (or retailers) is vital to the success of your brand and marketing activities. So make sure they become true brand ambassadors with branded attire that they love to wear. And don’t forget to train them on the key messages (from your value proposition) that they should incorporate when interacting with customers. Try roleplay and embrace slight deviations from the sales script if this makes the storytelling more natural to them.

Lastly, it is important to acknowledge agents for who they are to your business. They are not only selling your WASH products and representing your brand, they are also your eyes and ears in the market. Incentivise them to collect and share customer feedback with you. It allows you to establish essential feedback loops and co-create better value propositions and marketing strategies with your team.

In summary

Getting these four items right will help you go a long way in making WASH products desirable in low-income markets. They show that selling toilets is an art: it requires creativity, out-of-the-box thinking and constant experimentation, until you get it right for your consumers. Is your sales team ready for this?

If you have innovative marketing ideas but need funding to realise them, check the current opportunities with TRANSFORM and Aqua for All.

See our website for more information on our work in WASH and other sectors. Bopinc has a consumer-centric toolkit for branding, marketing and behaviour change. Contact us at info@bopinc.org, if you're interested.