Section 8 • Marketing
of customers in the region said they utilized line ads in phone di- rectories to connect with their self-storage facilities. Relying on a phone book to find a storage facility was much less common in other regions of the nation where approximately 10 percent of customers credited display and line ads in telephone directories with informing them about their self-storage facilities. Customers from various population densities credit different
media and methods with informing them about the self-storage facility where they rent a unit. At 46 percent, almost half of the group’s respondents said they first discovered their self-storage stores while driving by the property. (See Chart 8.12). Urban cus- tomers were much less likely to find their storage stores while passing by the area. In total, only 37 percent of urban renters said they learned about their storage facility while driving in the area—a figure that is nine percentage points below that posted by tenants from suburban and rural locations. A relatively high proportion of customers rely on recommen-
dations to help them pinpoint the right self-storage facility for their needs. In 2013, one-fourth of tenants from both rural and urban locations used a referral from friends or family member to learn about the facility where they store their goods away from home. For suburban renters, the proportion of tenants finding a facility through word of mouth amounted to 18 percent. An equal percentage of urban and suburban customers re- ported connecting with their self-storage stores after searching
online. In the highest density areas, approximately 20 percent of customers learned about their storage facilities on the Web. Likewise, 20 percent of suburban renters said they first learned about their storage store online. Rural customers were less likely to become aware of their storage stores on the Internet with only 13 percent of customers from low population density areas discovering their storage facilities after searching online. It is interesting to find that rural customers used the Internet
in the same proportion as they utilized the phone book when searching for a storage facility. Approximately 13 percent of rural tenants said they found the facility where they rent a unit while looking through the phone book. In other population areas, approximately 10 percent of suburban customers and 12 per- cent of urban renters said they initially discovered their storage stores through a line or display ad in the telephone directory. A large portion of business customers learned of their stor-
Chart 8.14 – How Facility Was Found by Student Customers
Saw Facility While Driving 36% Word-of-Mouth 30% Internet/Web 22% Line Ad in Phonebook 8% Flyer or Brochure 4%
Source: 2013 SSA Self Storage Demand Study
age facilities when driving past the property. Approximately 43 percent of commercial tenants said they first become aware of the business as they drove through the area. Word of mouth was another popular way for business clients to learn of a storage store as 21 percent of commercial customers said they first con- nected with the storage business after receiving a referral from a friend or family member. This group of customers reported rely- ing on the phone book and Internet in nearly equal proportion when attempting to pinpoint a storage store. In total, 16 percent of commercial renters found the storage business online and 14 percent learned about the storage facility after seeing a line or display ad in a telephone book. The vast majority of students learned about their fa- cilities while driving in the area, through word of mouth, or after searching online. More than one-third indicated they first discovered the self-storage store while passing by the property. Approximately 30 percent had friends or family members who recommend the storage busi- ness and 22 percent found the facility on the Web. The largest proportion of tenants in the military
Chart 8.15 – How Facility Was Found by Military Customers
Saw Facility While Driving 29% Internet/Web 23% Line Ad in Phonebook 23% Word-of-Mouth 18% Display Ad in Phonebook 1% Other 5%
Source: 2013 SSA Self Storage Demand Study
92 Self-Storage Almanac 2015
learned about their storage facility while driving through the area. Almost one-fourth used Yellow Pages or the In- ternet to find their self-storage stores. Less than 20 per- cent of military renters relied on word of mouth to learn about the business where they lease a self-storage unit. With the right marketing and advertising campaigns,
facilities can take their messages to the community, en- suring their target customers are able to find the store quickly and easily any time they are in need of storage. Since marketing can be a very expensive, solid tracking programs can be implemented to help owners and op- erators determine which efforts are producing the most success. This data can be further analyzed by the cost of the campaign, giving storage professionals a good idea of the price they are paying to acquire each new custom- er. With this kind of information, owners and operators can reach out to the community in a cost conscience and effective manner and help achieve a stable stream of both customers and income for the storage business.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132
