Surviving the competitive landscape of the self storage industry requires more than amazing facilities and stellar customer service. To both acquire and keep customers, you need a top-notch Sales and Marketing team. Sales and Marketing are pivotal in any self storage business, both large and small. In fact, the importance of Sales and Marketing to all self storage businesses can’t be overstated. Let’s dive into how Sales and Marketing tactics impact the self storage industry and how you can harness them to propel your business to new heights.
In the self storage industry, where customers have a plethora of options to choose from, standing out is imperative. Sales and Marketing principles are the linchpin that not only attracts new customers, but also helps retain them, ensuring a steady flow of revenue and sustained growth.
Businesses communicate their unique selling propositions through strategic sales and marketing, build brand recognition, and foster customer loyalty. Ask any marketing professional, and they’ll tell you that it’s better to retain your existing customers for one simple reason: it’s more cost-effective to keep your existing customers than get new ones.
Sales: The Gateway to Revenue
Sales in the self storage industry are not just transactions. In the self storage industry, Sales require a unique understanding of customers unlike any other industry for an often overlooked reason by many self storage operators: most customers searching for extra storage space are undergoing life-changing events, and often traumatic events. Customers who are expecting a new child need to store their suddenly “extra” furniture that doesn’t fit the new nursery, or customers who just lost a parent and need to store a deceased parent’s furniture. Or it’s time to move mom in, and that customer needs extra space to store her furniture. Each of those example customers, also known as personas in the Marketing world, require apt storage solutions, but if combined with additional value that meets their specific needs in their life cycle – that might transform a 3-month customer into a 3-year customer.
Consequently, the self storage sales process requires not just identifying potential customers, but an understanding of their storage needs so the customer journey in your sales process can guide them toward making an informed decision.
Savvy self storage operators implement a sales process that blends excellent customer service by team members with in-depth knowledge and the ability to build rapport with customers to close the sale – that’s how you can sustain your ideal occupancy rate.
Marketing: Crafting a Resonant Brand Image
Marketing, on the other hand, is about creating a compelling narrative for your business. It involves identifying the unique aspects of your self-storage facility and communicating them effectively to your target audience. Marketing in the self storage industry encompasses a myriad of activities, from traditional print and other offline advertising channels to digital marketing and social media management.
Clearly, marketing requires a lot of content creation, which many self storage operators find daunting. Yet, this facet of marketing is typical of all business types in the respect that the focus of it is to tell your ideal customer about your unique selling experience and how that fits their need.
Simply put, it ensures that when customers think of storage solutions, your brand is at the forefront of their minds.
Integrating Sales and Marketing for Optimal Impact
Integrating Sales and Marketing is crucial for ensuring your brand message is consistent and that efforts in one area complement and amplify the other. A cohesive strategy where Sales and Marketing work in tandem can enhance the customer journey, ensuring that from the first point of contact to the final sale (and beyond,) the customer experiences a seamless, positive interaction with your brand.
Digital Dominance: Leveraging Online Platforms
Online platforms have emerged as powerful tools for both Sales and Marketing. A robust online presence, complemented by a user-friendly website, SEO-optimized content, and active social media profiles, significantly enhance your visibility in the crowded digital space. Online platforms also offer a direct line to customers, providing invaluable insights into their preferences, behaviors, and feedback.
If you aren’t marketing your brand in the digital world, or your marketing activity is lethargic, you’re losing customers to active online competitors. The exact nature and best practices for specific platforms are beyond the scope of this blog, but unless you excel online on all of the channels you use (Facebook, Instagram, X, Pinterest, etc.), it’s wise to consult with an experienced professional on that platform.
Key Takeaways: Sales and Marketing as Pillars of Success
Sales in the self storage industry isn’t just a necessary mechanical function of your self-storage business. Rather, it requires a trained team that both understands your customers and how their varied wants and needs align with your products and service offerings.
Sales and Marketing are the pillars supporting your business success and growth in our industry. Through strategic, integrated, and customer-centric Sales and Marketing efforts, self-storage businesses can carve out a niche in the competitive market, build a loyal customer base, and ensure sustained profitability and growth.
In the realm of the self storage industry, where competition is fierce, the role of Sales and Marketing is not just essential – it is critical.
Do you have a sales and marketing question or any other question related to owning, operating, acquiring, or building a self storage facility? Contact Peter Spickenagel at 248-600-4970.
Peter Spickenagel, President and CEO of Citizen Storage Management, is a nationally recognized expert in self-storage management. A frequent speaker at national conferences, he advises industry leaders and owners on key topics such as Revenue Management, Operational Best Practices, Creative Marketing Campaigns, and technology trends.
