Knowing Your Customer • Section 4


advertising decisions hinge on reaching out and appealing to the right target audience, it is critical that owners and op- erators have the necessary information to accurately paint a picture of the tenants who most commonly rent units at their self-storage sites.


O


Empowering Storage Professionals The 2014 Self-Storage Almanac reported—for the first time— actual data collected from all tenants who were renting units. Thanks to the new 2017 Self Storage Demand Study published by the SSA, we are once again able to report this new and updated customer information.


This information sheds light on the definite wants and


needs of customers from all customer segments, which is in- deed beneficial to facility operators as it empowers them to provide the services and amenities their renters need in order to have the best possible self-storage experience. For ex- ample, properties with a high concentration of older renters might want to focus their efforts on more convenience- oriented services such as professional packing and moving assistance. On the other hand, self-storage operations with a high percentage of commercial tenants may choose to ex- tend extras like on-site conference rooms, free Wi-Fi, central workspaces, or other amenities that carry special appeal for business customers. (For business customer specifics, please refer to Section 5.)


Pinpointing a self-storage store’s customer base also aids


owners and operators in creating effective marketing and advertising campaigns. In today’s competitive environment, many self-storage professionals are choosing to tailor their efforts to reach their target audience. (For additional data on marketing, please see Section 7.) Everything from the message to the medium is specifically selected to reach a precise group of people who are deemed most likely to rent a storage space at the facility.


This type of marketing, however, is only possible


when owners and operators know the demographics and characteristics of the groups they want to target. Often, self-storage professionals implement tracking programs to help quantify the effectiveness of marketing campaigns as well as glean some basic information about the custom- ers who rent spaces at the self-storage store. Move-in and move-out surveys can also give owners and operators a good amount of demographic information that can be used to help identify future self-storage renters.


Four Customer Categories In general, self-storage customers fall into one of four main categories: commercial, military, students, and residential


2018 Self-Storage Almanac 53


ne of the most important factors in the success of a self-storage operation is to know about and under- stand your customers. Because many operational and


renters. Commercial tenants at self-storage properties are made up of area businesses and contractors who rent space to store goods off site. This is often a cost savings when com- pared to the price per square foot of self-storage versus the cost per square foot when housing the same items at the business location. In addition, some customers are required


For example, properties with a


high concentration of older renters might want to focus their efforts on more convenience-oriented services such as professional packing and moving assistance.


to store inventory and samples at a location outside of their residence. Other business owners like to utilize off-site stor- age to house large equipment or paperwork away from their homes or offices. In these kinds of situations, self-storage is often the best, most affordable option.


As seen in Chart 4.1, residential customers, on average,


make up 77 percent of a facility’s customer base, while busi- ness customers represent approximately 19 percent of the tenants. Remember that this can vary by physical location and region. Some facilities can have as much as a 40 to 50 percent business segment. While the business customer segment is discussed in detail in Section 5, it is important to understand that these customers are often seen as an ex- tremely stable tenant pool and are arguably the most highly desired of all renters given that they tend to pay their rents on time and often report longer than average tenancy rates.


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