Toilet Instructions

toilet

I recently spent a couple of weeks in New Zealand. Beautiful country.

One of the most memorable things I saw there: Signs illustrating the right way to pooh.

This is not B.S. These signs were as common as fart jokes in a boys locker room.

On the rightā€¦ a drawing of a person sitting on a toilet. Thereā€™s a green checkmark next to that drawing. On the left, a drawing of a person with feet on the toilet seat, squatting over the bowl. Thatā€™s a no-no. Big red ā€œXā€ next to that drawing.

Toilet dos-and-don'ts diagram


One takeaway: If youā€™ve seen one toilet, you HAVENā€™T seen ā€˜em all.

Youā€™ve got your “modern” sit-down, flush toilets. Youā€™ve got your primitive, outhouse toilets. And youā€™ve got your pit toilets.

For those who havenā€™t had the pleasure: A pit toilet is a big hole in the floor — sometimes with plumbing attached, often without. Spread your feet to shoulder-width. Bend your knees and lower your butt until youā€™re in position, and thenā€¦

(Who needs a thigh-master when you have a pit toilet?)

I tried to imagine whatĀ pit-toiletairesĀ must think the first time they see a sit-down toiletā€¦

…Why is the pit elevated?

Or the first time they figure out the operating instructions for that sit-down toiletā€¦

…Wait a minute!? Iā€™m supposed to sit with my bare legs on THAT!?

(Maybe squatting on a toilet rim doesnā€™t seem so crazy after all.)

Anyhow, the folks who run public bathrooms in New Zealand figured that some of their visitors needed crapping/peeing instructions.

(Common myth: Thomas Crapper invented flush toilets, thus pooh has a synonym in his honor. Not true. Crapper popularized the device that was invented years earlier. ā€œCrapā€ had already dropped into English slang long before Thomas did his business).

Naturally, there are marketing lessons to digest hereā€¦

First, know your market.

If your market is comprised only of sit-down-toiletaires, no need for poohing instructions. But as tourism has grown in New Zealand, and the market has shifted to includeĀ pit-toiletaires, new messaging was required.

As your target market shifts, your messaging must shift.

Also, if you want to change behavior or drive action, you must deliver clear, concise, direct messages. Donā€™t assume your target audience will act without your direction.

That applies to emails, websites, social media posts, letters, telemarketing scripts andā€¦and, of course, toilets.

You must deliver the call-to-action and operating instructions.

So letā€™s toast the public toilet operators in New Zealand who got it right. Raise your glasses andā€¦ bottoms up!

Don't go away yet..

p.s. Coaches, authors, and consultants hire me to power-up their creative content and storytelling to captivate prospects, stand-out and book more business.

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Tom Ruwitch

Tom Ruwitch is the founder and CEO of Story Power Marketing. For more than 30 years, he has helped businesses grow by delivering powerful stories using a variety of different media.

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