Customer & Site Information • Section 6


three-year period ending in 2010, the Internet as a source for cus- tomers hovered between 9 percent and 13 percent. By 2011, that number had increased to 18 percent, and by the end of 2014, it had increased to more than 23 percent—nearly one-fourth of all customers.


In terms of the drive-by source, it is interesting to note that


the percentage in 2014 (38.8 percent) was only slightly above 2006’s 37 percent. In 2009, this category topped out at 47 per- cent, dropping over the following three years to 40 percent, and returning thereafter to the high-30 percent range after a dip to 28.7 percent in 2013.


The remaining category in Chart 6.10 reflects repeat custom-


ers, customer referrals, and customers from an event such as a community func- tion, chamber of commerce social, open house, holiday event, or open house. Since 2006, this has been a steady source of business for USG. Additional informa- tion about some of the special event tech- niques the company used can be found in The Hat Lady Speaks by M. Anne Ballard, president of marketing, training and de- velopmental services for USG, and pub- lished by MiniCo.


Given the increased importance of the


Internet and email as a marketing source to attract customers, it has also shifted the dynamics of self-storage managers. No longer can they be merely efficient at renting space in person or on the phone. Today’s managers must be profession- al and tech savvy—more so than ever


100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500


50 0


1999 Calls 2000 2001 Walk-Ins 2002 Leases 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Source: Universal Storage Group 2016 Self-Storage Almanac 71


0.00% 50.00% 100.00% 150.00% 200.00% 250.00% 300.00%


2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Year


% Calls to Leases % Calls to Walk-Ins 2013 2014 Source: Universal Storage Group Chart 6.12 – Number of Calls, Walk-Ins, Leases Converted (Per Store Average)


before. However, this does not diminish the importance of face- to-face and over the phone encounters. As seen in Chart 6.11, today 87.50 percent of USG calls are converted to leases, with walk-in conversions being significantly higher.


Table 6.1 on page 72 reports the number of facilities USG


customers visited before making their decisions. Remarkably, 81.9 percent chose USG without visiting any other sites. Only 18.1 percent visited other facilities with very few contacting more than three competitors.


Once a customer made the decision to store at the USG facil-


ity, statistically they rented for a minimum of 1.76 years or 643 days. The 2003 number has steadily increased with customers


Chart 6.11 – Traffic Conversion Ratios


Average


Percentage


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