Proven Ways to Market Self-Storage in 2018
Self-Storage companies have been amassing a lot of property to lease out empty space for storage, and many show interest in being part of the movement, but some find the terrain very hard to manage due to a lack of knowledge about self-storage marketing. So, here are 10 great ways to market self storage if you’re a new owner on a low budget.
For instance, what steps can you take to make sure your business is appearing for people looking for your services within your surrounding area? How much money will you have to invest into adverting and marketing? So, we’re going to attempt to teach you how to market your storage company and help you stay afloat.
It all starts with the value you provide to customers and the quality of your facility and staff. Several different facets come to mind when describing superlatives that carry a lot of weight regarding your company.
Awesome Ways to Market Self Storage – Build a Foundation
Location: Location is key. For an example, Safe & Secure Self Storage is located within a very short driving distance from NYC. The storage rental rates in New York are around double what we charge, so this offers a value incentive to those frequenting self storage facilities in Manhattan mainly, to save half the money they would spend on storage by just traveling a little further.
Facility Cleanliness: No one wants to store their belongings in a messy unclean storage facility. Remember you’re leasing out empty space, the least you could do is make sure it’s clean.
Customer Service: At Safe & Secure we take customer service very seriously, which is why we get several great reviews on several different sites listing our business. It’s important that you practice the same thing, because it creates more “noise” on the internet showing your company in a positive light. This, in-turn makes for a great signal your company has a higher trust level to the average analytical consumer.
Now that we’ve wrapped up the fundamental of maintaining clients and also appealing to them, below we’ll list several proven ways to attract them through various forms of advertising tactics.
10 Great Ways To Market Self Storage in 2018
Here are 10 Great Ways to Market Self Storage When You’re New in the Business
1. Leveraging Social Media
Don’t buy likes or follows as it will deter you from really seeing if your social media marketing is working. Network with company’s and customers alike address customer issues and resolve them all make for a perfect combination on social media. The leading customer acquision company SpareFoot.com addresses this all too well with 10,000 Plus followers and aggressive lead generation campaigns, but what if you’re just a one man show, can you do the same? Yes. The idea is to focus your campaigns on your local region and advertise specials as well as run games offering free gift cards. Now-a-days people on social media can leverage their profiles to learn about the best deals possible. Offering a free month for an average length of lease within 6-9 months is a no brainer. People love deals, give them too them. Check This Link to Social Media Marketing on YouTube
2. Run Contests with Your Current and Past Clients
Your customers and potential customers are your businesses lifeline. Treat them how you would want to be treated as a consumer. Running regular contests will help you keep them involved with your company and also let them know you care about them. Offering a free Starbucks or Duncan donuts gift card for participation in a game it one of the best ways to keep their attention and loyalty. For Example: Duncan Donuts used to be the leading coffee company in the United States, but once Starbucks opened up and started taking up ground it took a large portion of their market share. However, once a year Duncan offers “Free Coffee Day” which in turn brings a lot of those new Starbucks customers back to their home of Duncan.
Bottom Line…
People like to be involved, but they also like incentive, Give them what they want and they’ll give you what you want, business.
3. Reach Out to Local Movers
It’s no secret that the moving industry and the storage industry converge in several areas. Having one of your employees reach out to the local moving company’s in the area to build rapport with them is without a doubt a great idea. Some long-distance movers need to store stuff until their ready for the trek across the country. Offer them incentive to use your storage facility instead of the next guys.
4. Make Upgrades as Your Business Grows
Safe & Secure has a lot of property on their grounds and as we got older some things in the industry started changing, so we started to change with it. If you’re an out-door storage facility, see if you can get some temperature control or install a very advanced security system or even a fence to keep the un-welcomed guests from venturing in the property. If you offer the services people are looking for, people will want to use your services over anyone else, especially if you’re located in a very convenient location. Safe & Secure received a lot of requests for drive-up units and we only had a few because that majority of our units are indoor units. So we invested on installing outdoor drive up units to suffice our customer base.
5. Partnering with Affiliates
Creating affiliate relationships with Real-Estate Agents, Property Managers and other members of industries that frequent self storage is always good for a few leads per year, but this is business and many are in it for the incentive, so make sure you compensate them for their loyalty.
6. Loyalty Programs are a Great Way To Market Self Storage
Customers love a good referral program, especially when it offers free stuff and bonuses for their loyalty. Reward customers for their reviews and or patronage, by giving them a discount or some form of savings.
7. Educate Customers About Your Services
It’s not easy to convey all of the different services your business has to offer, but it becomes easier when you can display it on your website or business listing in an easy to understand fashion. For Example: Our Google business listing is just a listing until I fill it with information about our services which in turn tells google to display it if the persons query matches what our services describe and we’re in the area we’re searching. Our analytics show that after properly filling out and uploading information to our Google Business listing, the views of our business listing went up by 5000% (that’s not an exaggeration). We exceed our local competitors by 100%. Today’s the day of information technology, people want information and accurate information at that. Give them what they want.
86 percent of consumers believe these programs are worth the effort they put into them to achieve a particular reward, and 83 percent say they are more likely to continue doing business with certain companies because of their loyalty programs. According to: InsideSelfStorage.com
8. Get Involved with Local College’s
Several college students travel home for summer break but may not want to haul all of their stuff home too. Reach out to local college guidance counselors and tell them that you have special student discounts for their students. Be persistent in showing that you’re very interested in catering to their students. They will refer and if you’re located in a college town it’s a very good thing. Creating a game or a competition for the local students, maybe a competition to fit a bunch of things properly into a storage unit or designing a storage unit and offer them something in return. This will create some good press and show that you’re interested in the youth of the community.
9. Co-Op Marketing for Self-Storage
Many businesses want to advertise on Google but may not have the budget or the knowhow. However, maybe you have both and are looking for a place to send customers who’s needs you can’t meet. Negotiate a deal to share leads and share the budget with local businesses similar to yours. This allows you to have a budget to compete with the “Big Guy’s” on Google and Bing. Also reaching out to local businesses to layout your flyers is another great way of getting more business too.
10. Using Groupon in a Wise Fashion.
Without a doubt Groupon can drive a lot of traffic. However, many advertisers on Groupon don’t stay on Groupon because they don’t know how to package their deals wisely. There’s no point to using a service that will make you lose money after spending. Advertising is about ROI. So come up with a package that offers good incentive, but doesn’t make you lose money in the process. For Example: Don’t offer 6 months free when they pay for one month. This may seem obvious, but not to those who don’t advertise again on Groupon. Offering a free month when they sign up for the first month is the best way to go. However, you may want to take into account the average length of stay for your customers before you do this.
Well… This Concludes The 10 Great Ways To Market Self Storage in 2018
All-in-all there are undoubtedly more ways to acquire more customers. It’s up to you to do the research and evaluate different strategies through trial and error. If your going to take a shot with a certain form of marketing you have never had experience, don’t go “all in.” Test the waters first see if it’s successful then gauge whether it’s worth doing it on a continuous basis. Once you find a process that works, allocate a percentage of the budget towards that one process, then use some of the rest to try some other new things. Be frugal until you know it works.
