Hello SS Talkers!

My name is Jim Hawley from Supply Side USA. I’m presenting a seminar on EFFECTIVE WAYS TO IDENTIFY AND REACH NEW SELF-STORAGE CUSTOMERS at the upcoming Inside Self-Storage World Expo http://www.insideselfstorageworldexpo.com in October, and I’m looking for feedback. What are some things you’d like to learn about this topic?”

I very much look forward to seeing you there and having some dialogue that will all help us grow a more profitable business.

Kindest regards,

Jim

Hi Jim,

There are a lot of posts on this topic in the forum - it's one of our favourite subjects.
It would be good to hear what you're thinking of including in your seminar. Then we could give you a steer/vote on the most popular topics, so you could spend more time on those.

Hopefully a helpful suggestion,

Kangaroo Self Storage Glasgow

Hi Kangaroo,

Great feedback. My topics are;

[*] Why are customers there?[*] Local Marketing[*] Store of the Community[*] Retail Merchandising [*] Selling Skills[*] Training

The main focus is understanding the community in which the facility serves and looking at new, creative ways to get the word out about the products and services the facility has to offer.

The first is understanding why customers are there. We explore the TOP 10 reasons people need SS. Then we look at local marketing ideas and creative, perhaps unforeseen ways to get the word out.

The Store of the Community approach is simply understanding your local market and the opportunities for business there. Multi-facility owners must recognize that not all facilities are created equal and the communities they serve can be vastly different from facility to facility.

Then we cover retail products, merchandising and training to cross sell and up sell the customer on other products and services.

Let me know what other topics I should bore into and what about these topics may not be clear so that I can cater to those thoughts.

Look forward to seeing everyone in DC.

Good Selling!!!

Jim

Jim, be sure to read alexlekas in the TV STORY HAMMERS SELF STORAGE for reference for your presentation.

Like your products. Have sold them for years.

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Bob Taylor (Astro)
Blue Ridge Self Storage
Cashiers, NC

Thanks!

We think we do a pretty good job providing a professional retail image for our customers. We also help with training and education of your folks so that they can effectively sell retail products and market to their local communities more effectively.

Let me know any topics that you want me to drill into in more depth.

See you all in DC!

Best,

Jim

Hello Again SS Talkers!

We are fast approaching D.C. and I am excited about the input I am getting from the industry on the marketing top; HIT YOUR TARGET!

Fact is that the majority of you revenue will come from customers within a 3-5 mile radius of your site. Each market that a site sits in has it's own unique differences, challenges and opportunities. It is critical that you get out into the market, collaborate and partner with other local businesses to promote your service and build awareness.

HIT YOUR TARGET will explore proven ideas and some new concepts for effective local marketing of your self storage facility.

See you all in D.C.

Best,

Jim

Hit the military market....if you are anywhere near a military installation...they are GREAT customers! We are near 5 military installattions (in fact our property backs up onto the firing range of one of them) and we have met great people from all over America moving in and out of storage...they are here anywhere from a couple of weeks while they wait for housing to longer when deployed....we knew a big exchange was going to happen between TX and CO military bases, so we sent flyers/marketing materials for our location down to TX with the local Chamber of Commerce and got our name out in front of them before they even got to town.....hit the mobile home parks around your area. they often have limited space and we rent to a lot of people from those areas too....if you can, offer another reason for them to come to your location: truck rentals, box sales, propane exchange, etc...anything to keep your location fresh in their minds.....are these the kind of ideas you were looking for??

AWESOME THOUGHTS!!

Military Markets; HUGE opportunities for SS. College towns also are big as well.

Let's discuss the next level market opportunities, like hospital areas, local businesses, and attractions.

I was talking with a customer in Canada who had a facility right in the middle of an area where they film movies. He never thought of it until one day a movie guy came in asking for some bubble wrap and it dawned on him that studios have HUGE storage needs. He made a sales call and now they are a customer!

Sometimes it's the least obvious places that you can find business.

Any other thoughts out there? Let's keep the discussion going!!!

See you in D.C. Should be a very productive session!!

http://www.insideselfstorageworldexpo.com

One of our biggest and best customers, believe it or not, is a kids consignment shop. Her store is so small and her inventory is HUGE!! She has had at one time a 10x40, a 10x25 and a 10x10, all at the same time. They will bring in new stuff to the 10x10 then sort to go into the bigger units. She keeps everything together seasonally and swaps out from store to storage. Talk about unlikely, I would have never dreamed a business like that would need so much storage.

Home based businesses are great too. Painters, construction people and electricians. These guys are small and can't pay high strip mall location overhead, so they run out of their homes and keep stuff in storage. Same with Landscaping Companies. They park their trucks outside and put their weedeaters and stuff in a small unit. We offer 24 hour access for everyone, but you can always offer that just for corporate accounts. We boast almost 60 businesses in our facility.

ALSO Our Chamber has incorporated a Home Base Business Category. They even have Free Ribbon Cuttings for these businesses. We love to network our small, local businesses in the community. Networking your tenants together is a great benefit for everyone! Hope this is helpful!

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MusicCity Gal

I forgot, the merchants downtown association stores all their christmas decorations here...they are literally in the unit 2x's/year...once to unoad around november to put up decorations and once to reload in january until the next year AND they pay 1 year at a time, every November.....
We also advertise in the back of a couple of motel folders...have gotten several units rented from customers staying there while waiting on housing/closings/etc....also, get to know your local realtors..we both send business each others way(they are REALLY into encouraging people to store stuff while selling and "stage" their house).....we also have had contractors rent units to keep their stuff in and when the local freeway enlargement was underway, we let it be known we had small/large units available for them to store equipment/supplies in....i am looking forward to seeing some creative marketing ideas here!