Based in Brisbane, Andy Pudmenzky is a marketing consultant with over two decades of experience in web technologies, marketing, graphic design, theatre audio / visual and event management. | More...
As someone who’s been in the self storage industry for over a decade, I’ve seen vast improvements in the way self storage facilities present themselves. As facilities raise the bar in terms of their marketing & pricing, it’s time to think outside the box in order to continue to stand out from the crowd. Let’s take a look…
Banks and financial institutions are great examples of how much customer service has changed over the last decade. I remember visiting banks as a child with my parents and they were dreary and drab places; high counters, bright fluro lights, staff seated behind perspex screens with a small grill to speak through.
Fast-forward to today and, aside from cash-handling areas, banks are now very open plan with oval tables, designer chairs, incandescent lighting, complimentary espresso coffee (barista courses are cheap these days!) and free WiFi. Banks are now, dare I say it, warm and welcoming environments. Self storage offices need to evolve in this way, too.
Self storage has become so impersonal – yet ‘people’ are the precise reason why self storage exists.
Remove the “dividing counter” between you and your customers and move to an open plan environment with wooden benches, a good coffee machine and non-fluro down lighting.
Can your storers enjoy a complimentary tea, coffee or juice while they complete move-in documentation?
If you’re worried about paperwork getting in the way, then there are plenty of solutions for that – such as online reservations & move-in tools provided by self storage management software applications such as Storman. There’s also paperless storage agreements & the ability to save storer documentation within your management software. For collaborative working, there are some great office productivity tools such as Google Sheets and Google Docs.
Research what other new sites are doing & experiment with new ideas, layouts & designs… such as this “rustic hipster cafe” look.
From time to time, you should also review your facility as a whole. Consider how you can alter aspects of your company such as colour scheme (including physical building colours), your logo, website, vehicle / courtesy trailer branding, staff uniforms, landscaping and so on to bring it into the 21st century. The number of times I’ve seen storage facilities with garden beds that appear to be growing nothing more than black irrigation hoses is concerning!
Kennards Self Storage in Murarrie under construction in February 2017. As a local, I’m keen to see their office layout & design ideas.
A memory that comes to mind is arriving, unannounced mind you, at Safeway Self Storage in Ashmore (now Storage King Ashmore), on the Gold Coast.
Manager at the time, Helen Reibelt, had cooked some apple & cinnamon muffins that morning for her customers and wow… the office smelled amazing – and yet I remember this interaction 8 years later. It’s the little touches that make all the difference.
It was refreshing to see the open-plan office design when Storage King Helensvale opened in 2012.
Something I’m starting to see more of these days is a “demo unit”. Often situated within the facility office, this can be something as simple as lines painted on the ground to mark out the dimensions of your popular unit sizes.
This is a great idea and it gives storers a sense of the space they might need – and might even save you a trip out of the office to find and open an empty unit.
The “demo unit” at Storage King Helensvale shows what units of various sizes would look like.
You don’t work 24/7, but your website needs to. Shift workers, people researching online after work, people moving interstate or from overseas are just some of the many reasons why someone might be visiting your website after-hours.
Ensure it conveys the right messages to help them reach a decision. Your website should make it easy for customers to store with you while their buy intent is high. Perhaps add self-service tools, or even a live-chat function… if you need a hand with any of this, just let me know.
Ensure your online offering is as good as the one in real life… and make sure it works on all devices.
Does your facility offer coffee and tea, or chilled water for storers? How about free WiFi to help them while they’re between houses (and internet providers)? Think about why storers might be using your services and extrapolate. Get your staff together to build a “mind map” of ideas. Here are some to get you started:
Read more about increasing your appeal to potential self storage customers.
Here’s a great use of space at Storage King Helensvale – a bench for storers with internet and power for completing paperwork or just doing a bit of work online to help with their house move; a fantastic idea that likely came up through “out of the box” thinking.
Unexpected loyalty is the process of offering something when the customer least expects it. Rather than always offering discounts to your long-term (e.g. 12 months contract) storers, offer the discount unexpectedly during the course of their stay. A few months prior to, say, ‘Month 11’, send an email or SMS from your management software to thank them for their loyalty and offer a discount of some kind on the final month.
This unexpected loyalty will make your customer feel loved and they’ll likely recommend your business to others. It may also work wonders on that exit survey you’re hopefully sending to them upon move out.
Unexpected loyalty creates long-term B2C relationships and referrals through word-of-mouth & online reviews.
I hope you enjoyed my post. Have you got any ideas to add? Please leave a comment below! You can also read on to explore some of my other marketing & customer experience articles.
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