Yes, Our Self Storage Is Special

When someone needs self storage they expect to find secure, convenient storage at a reasonable cost.  After having worked for this company for the past five years, it is interesting to watch the self storage industry grow in leaps and bounds in technology and the variety in which storage is offered.  From wine self storage to recreational vehicles there seems to be a niche for any type of storage in the market today.  Consumers are much savvier these days and with the growth of the industry added competition as well.  As the housing boom increased so did the self storage market to keep up with the demand.  Unfortunately the boom went bust and now there are some markets that are saturated with storage facilities increasing the competition even more.

So how do we compete without giving away the store?  It seems anymore when someone calls for self storage on the phone explaining features and benefits their attention is lost because it sounds like they are listening to a broken record.  Most all self storage facilities these days offer a certain level a security so it is almost a given and the self storage consumers have come to expect that.  When you go buy a car and you are sitting in the salespersons office and discussing the price you expect that the selling price would include things like an engine, a steering wheel, tires etc. This is a given when buying a car.  It is the same for a self-storage seeker to expect a certain level of offerings.

Maybe we need to rethink the way we approach selling our self storage facilities to our prospects since what use to work no longer does or has become so watered down it is no longer as effective.  A big trend now is specials, specials, specials which in and of itself is not a problem but the larger risk is conditioning consumers to expect, no even demand, some type of discount every time.  It seems like every other call taken, the first thing out of the callers mouth is, what are your specials?  For the brand new self storage facility that has such high initial operating costs, depreciation not withstanding, they cannot afford to give a free months rent.  Even older properties that have already recouped their opening expenses and the building and property are paid for can have a hard time offering discounts say due to having high occupancy rates.  What we have been witnessing here at our company call center seems to be the battle of the specials between companies we answer for especially in larger metro areas. 

Specials are a great way to secure potential self storage customers and help reduce their initial out of pocket expenses especially for price shoppers, just do not use this as a primary way to sell your property.  If you have great state of the art security equipment certainly sell all that but find something to sell that will set you apart from the competition.  If you have great locations, emphasize that.  If you have an all climate controlled self storage facility, emphasize that. One feature that is used to sell a property and differentiate from the others when possible is having lights in the self storage units.  Can you imagine trying to unload your three-bedroom house in to a self storage unit and not be able to see what you are doing?  Find a feature that is semi exclusive to your property such as lights in the units and sell it, sell it, sell it. 

Let us not discount specials entirely as they do have a purpose and a benefit for both customer and self storage operator.  One thing our company likes to use specials for is a trump card when the customer is sitting on the fence.  Sometimes it just takes that little push to get the customer to commit.  Customers that are looking for permanent or long term self storage need the discounts the most and prepaid specials for six months to a year really benefit the customer. This ensures your occupancy rate is full and less hassles collecting payments and charging late fees.  Okay, all you self storage marketing pros push the envelope and develop new methods to sell with less reliance on using specials.  Remember, we all prefer to explain the quality than have to justify the price now that is special.

GA Storage Units

StorageMart Mannheim & Belmont Franklin Park, IL 60131

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Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

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