Marketing • Section 8
Developers often utilize lighting and walls of windows to make the property stand out. Some also choose to highlight the metal roll-up doors that are iconic of self-storage so passersby will have no question about the function of the building. Well placed signage is also incorporated to help the structure act as its own billboard, informing those who pass by of the presence of the self-storage facility. Word of mouth was also cited as a main driver of new
customers to self-storage stores. In fact, 22 percent of tenants reported learning about their self-storage stores through rec- ommendations by family members or friends. Many businesses try to encourage this kind of marketing with official referral pro- grams. Customers who suggest the self-storage store to friends and family members are then rewarded with rent discounts, cash or gift cards when their referrals sign lease agreements and become customers of the storage facility. Approximately 18 percent of tenants found the storage store while researching options online. Whether searching the Inter- net or browsing the company’s website, online marketing and advertising is gaining steam as customers become increasingly reliant on computers, tablets and cell phones to help them find information and make purchas- ing decisions. Many owners/operators invest heavily in website design and search engine optimization to ensure their facility is easily found by potential renters who are searching the Web for self-storage properties. Social me- dia campaigns through sites such as Facebook, Foursquare and Twitter are also finding their way into storage stores’ marketing plans. The telephone book—once the advertis-
ing staple of the industry—is currently cred- ited with informing approximately 11 percent of customers of the facilities where they rent units. About 10 percent of all storage tenants nationally initially discovered their self-storage facilities after seeing a line ad in a telephone di- rectory. Only 1 percent of renters learned about the self-storage store when they saw a display advertisement in a telephone book. It is interesting to examine the ways
customers recall finding their storage fa- cilities on a region-to-region basis. Tenants in the Northeast had the nation’s highest rate of locating their facilities while driv- ing by the site. Almost half of this region’s self-storage customers reported discover- ing the storage business while driving in the area. Tenants in the West and South- east had the lowest rate of customers who found the facility while passing by the store, with 40 percent and 39 percent of renters, respectively, reporting they initial- ly learned about the business after passing through the neighborhood.
Customers in the Midwest led the nation with the highest
proportion of tenants learning about the self-storage business through word of mouth. Nearly 27 percent of people from the region were referred to the storage store by friends or family members. The Northeast also had a high proportion of custom- ers coming to the store through referrals with more than one- fourth of tenants from this region learning of the self-storage facility by word of mouth. The smallest proportion of customers coming to stores through referrals was found in the West, where only 18 percent of tenants learned about the property through a recommendation from friends or family members. Last year, the West had the nation’s highest rate of Internet
users going online to learn about self-storage stores. In this re- gion, one-fourth of all storage customers said they first learned about their storage facilities online. This figure is more than dou- ble the Midwest’s percentage of customers initially discovering their storage stores on the Web. Only 12 percent of tenants in the Midwest reported learning about their storage stores online. Looking for storage information in telephone directories was most common in the Midwest. In fact, approximately 17 percent
Chart 8.12 – How Facility Was Found by Location Don't Know
Display Ad in Phonebook Flyer or Brochure Other
Line Ad in Phonebook
Saw Facility While Driving Word-of-Mouth Internet/Web
0 Percentage of Renters
1020304050 Source: SSA 2013 Self Storage Demand Study
Chart 8.13 – How Facility Was Found by Business Customers
Executives Saw Facility Driving to/from Work 43% Family/Friends/Co-Workers 21% Internet/Web 16% Line Ad in Phonebook 11% Flyer or Brochure 4% Display Ad in Phonebook 3% Other 2%
Source: 2013 SSA Self Storage Demand Study
2015 Self-Storage Almanac 91
Suburban Rural
Urban
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