PLANTING STORAGE SEEDS Your own church or club might


also benefit from having special events at your site. Why not work with your local Parks and Recre- ation Dept. to hold a haunted house or Easter egg hunt at your store? They will decorate the units with their volunteers and can get local law enforcement to direct traffic. One of our managers did this sev- eral times in South Carolina and had attendance of over 3,000. The fa- cility was recognized in the depart- ment’s newsletter, website, and on their signs for sponsoring these suc- cessful events. In other words, the site scored plenty of free advertis- ing! Maybe the Lions or Rotary Club needs a place to have a barbeque this year.


Also included is the invitation we used in


addition to those sent by the chamber. These were delivered during marketing visits to lo- cal businesses and sent


to all our contacts


via email. Other ways to make sure you leave a lasting


impression on the neighborhood is to let non- profit groups use your conference room for free or allow various groups to hold their fundraisers at your site. Examples of this might be a car wash for the local high school band, a blood drive for the Red Cross, a collection site for a Can-A-Thon, coat drive, food drive, or Toys for Tots with the Marine Corp each year.


The more events you hold on site, the more


the traffic in and out of the site, the more busi- ness and brand awareness you develop. This is the goal; create as much awareness of your property as possible with the funds available. This way, when the need for storage arises, you will be the one they think of. As Stacie Maxwell, our vice president of marketing says, “Remem- ber: People do not buy self-storage on impulse; people do not buy self-storage because it’s on sale. People buy self-storage when it’s needed! When it’s needed, your facility should be the one they think of first!” So, the more you get and keep your brand in the public view, the more likely it is that they will think of your facil- ity when the situation warrants.


If you have children or grandchil-


dren, attend local PTA meetings to hand out referral cards. Maybe you could even take your free move-in truck to the meetings and supply your paper or Styrofoam cups (that have your logo on them) to all the local clubs to use for free, or you pass out your logo water bottles at Little League games (ice cold, of course). Anyone can network their way to success if they have a goal in mind. If there are no networking clubs in your area, why not start one as one of our great market- ing managers did in Myrtle Beach? Our team saw an unfulfilled need and used it to their store’s advan- tage. They had been out marketing to all the local businesses, banks, schools, realtors, apartments, re- tailers, and anyone they could find. They started a new network- ing group that soon had more than 60 active participants; she made a name for herself and her store. The numbers proved these efforts were well worth the time and energy.


Low-Cost Marketing You can form strategic alliances al- most everywhere that will benefit


12 There should not be a day that goes


by that you don’t take some kind of marketing action. Send an email or several hundred, make some outgoing calls to generate visits to the site, mail some letters or postcards to some tar- get groups that need your product, and visit at least one local business on the way to and/or from the bank each day.


Use your digital sign to promote


one of your customers or their busi- ness, in addition to your own specials and the time and temperature. That really keeps the locals looking at your sign. Create an e-newsletter that you email to everyone on your contact list from all the cards you gather at meet- ings and events and to the membership of all the clubs and groups to which you belong. Feature some fundraising news, a special customer or business, and show photographs of how they use your storage property to run their busi- ness more efficiently, along with a tes- timonial or quote. Show the logos of all the groups and associations you belong to as well. Photos and logos help you build credibility with your audience far beyond what thousands of words can do.


June 2021


both parties and help fill up your va- cant units. Perhaps you supply the flyers to the best-known local pizza delivery place. They put one on the top of each box delivered and you fea- ture them on your Neighborhood Board with plenty of their coupons or menus available for the taking.


Managers can also work on a coupon


package for all new rentals inside their move-in gift bag. It involves collecting at least $100 or more of local coupons and providing those inside the gift bag to each new rental. This is a much- appreciated service to the new renters and local vendors alike, and can really help you kick off your outside market- ing efforts with a reason for your visit to them, in addition to telling them about your referral programs.


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