Restroom business in Germany

July 6th, 2009 | Posted in: marketing

OK guys, here’s one that is about toilets. Yep, toilets. While traveling through Germany on my way to Florence a couple of weeks ago I was amazed by the German Sanifair system at all the autobahn service areas.

Usually you have to pay 50 cents for some dodgy, smelly toilet where you feel everything you touch might kill you. Besides the fact that the toilets are extremely clean, this is not the reason for writing this post. They have come up with another great business model. You have to pay 50 cents to get in, but this gets you a ticket. This ticket gives you a 50 cent discount on all your purchases in the store.

Great idea if you ask me. Besides the fact that you get your money back, it also stimulates the sales in the store as people don’t want to ‘waste’ their 50 cent discount. They have created a win/win situation. Now this is an example of smart marketing at work.