If you ask your tenants how they heard about you or found you, and you track the results, what is the No. 1 response?

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John Carlisle
Community Manager, Self-Storage Talk
Virgo Publishing LLC
jcarlisle at vpico dot com
312-623-9395

#1 - Drive by

#2 - Word of mouth

#3 - Internet

#4 - Phonebook

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Wayne
All American Self Storage
Palmdale, CA.


All arguments can be resolved ... with high explosives and Humor!!!

Years ago our rental agreement had a list with a box to check. Phone book was at the top--and was the most popular choice.

Now we have a fill in the blank below where they sign. Repeat customer (or referred by family/friend) and internet are at the top. Drive by is up there also.

I for one believe in the "melting pot" theory of marketing. Keep your name out there in a variety of sources. And I also feel a large portion of phone book answers actually had a "little bug" put in there ear at some point and look in the phone book to get the number. So they answer phone book.

For 2 years now I have wanted badly to reduce my yellow pages expenses and haven't been able to. I do hope in the next year or two to accomplish that. Main directory $8400 per year and 2 other directories about $1200 for both annually.

Of course my favorites are the zero cost-- repeats & referrals! And I don't have much expense in the internet listings/website.

We took the leap this year -- reduced our AT&T from $1350/mo to $450/mo. Maybe next year we can dump it forever!

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Wayne
All American Self Storage
Palmdale, CA.


All arguments can be resolved ... with high explosives and Humor!!!

1. Drive by

2. Previous tenant

3. Referrals

4. All others

We are a small seasonal town. Lots of people leave after the season, and return the next spring. With the ebs and flows of the economy, people move in than out, upsize and then downsize. It is a constant battle to find ways to keep people here until they recover.

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

1. Referal
2. Current/previous tenant
3. Yellow pages
4.Internet
5. Very few drive by's as we are off the beaten path on a dead end street.

Our Marines make or break us sometimes. When a unit deploys we fill up , when they come back we empty out . Fortunately they have all been coming back lately.

1. Drive By / Sign (has always been #1)

2. Referral

3. Internet

4. Previous Customer

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MusicCity Gal

These are our top 3

1. Drive by (either saw our sign or free truck)
2. Found us on the internet
3. Referral (just had some new card printed) handing them out left and right!

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I'm an Angel I swear! The horns are just there to keep the halo up!

1. Drive-by.
2. Web.
3. Referral.
4. Return Customer.

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Never put limits on yourself!

Shannon

"My friend rents/rented here."