PLANTING STORAGE SEEDS Send out press releases for every event
you participate in or sponsor, as well as anytime you have a special message or story to tell. Make sure to include photo- graphs, contact information, and a strong headline with an interesting story. Invite the local media to your events; you never know when it might be a slow news day and you make the 6 o’clock news. Yard sales, wine tastings, ice cream socials, commu- nity days, fall festivals, customer appreci- ation cookouts, and seasonal displays will assist you in building traffic to the site and making your facility memorable to every- one in the area when they pass by and see your efforts from the street.
With the current technology there
is no reason you can’t compete and win against the competition. Use email, social media, and the web to stay in touch with customers, prospects, groups, and orga- nizations to which you belong. Email is
practically free marketing and our Constant Contact subscriptions average about $65 a month for approximately 5,000 contacts, and then follow up since you have the computer and salaries already covered.
Don’t forget about your competition as well. This is an often-overlooked
source for rentals. Go by monthly to drop off your current information and let them know you pay for referrals to those they can’t serve due to being full on that size or customers needing a product type they don’t have. Maintain good re- lations with your competition and make sure you have seen them with your own eyes. This way you won’t get trapped into selling on price only. You will know they don’t have any climate-controlled, contractor size units, or their driveways are too small for large trucks, or they don’t really sell boxes or supplies. You can compete on service, programs, amenities, hours, special unit types, and not just price selling, which is rampant in the industry today. Don’t fall into this trap. Get out there, see everything for yourself, and learn to generate your own traffic through networking and local participation. It is money in the bank.
Just get out there weekly and spread the word; it is easy, costs very little, and produces big benefits for you and your store.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• M. Anne Ballard is president of training, marketing, and developmental ser- vices, Universal Storage Group.
June 2021
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